Ever accidentally break a beloved trinket, only to have the day saved with the creative and deceptive use of sticky putty? Receive a hand-me-down garment from your great-great-grandmother with patches in all the right places? Have a friend tell you, “I think the super-glued cracks adds character to your fine China!”?

WORN is very excited to be teaming up with Toronto Craft Alert and City of Craft to present For Keeps: a Mending Show.

Filled with mended works – originals and photographic portraits by photographer Danijela Pruginic – For Keeps is a celebration of everyday beauty and the intricate stories behind things we care enough about to fix when broken.

You may be harbouring a piece of art in your home without even knowing it. If you have a garment, textile, or household object with visible repairs and a story to tell, we’d love to see a photo and learn about its history. Objects that can be mounted on a wall are preferred.

You can submit your piece here, but act quick: the deadline for submissions is on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.

WORN will be hosting the opening reception (date to be confirmed, but you can still start getting excited), and the show will run from December 9th to 18th 2010, at the Great Hall’s Cream Tangerine Café Gallery during the annual City of Craft fair.

Above: Slipper Darning (2010). Work and photograph by Becky Johnson.

The world will be a little less sweet without you.

THE DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 10TH AT MIDNIGHT!

Our intern positions offer valuable opportunities for those interested in fashion and publishing. Because WORN is a small magazine, our interns work alongside our editors, writers, and graphic designers helping with real tasks (never fetching coffee or picking up dry cleaning) and getting a chance to show their stuff.

Why choose WORN? We are an independent print publication dedicated to offering a unique and inclusive perspective on fashion and style. Our readership is expanding dramatically throughout Canada and internationally. We are increasingly recognized by fashion lovers, vintage hounds, academics and artists as a truly unique and smart magazine for people who want more fashion and less fluff.

Application deadline is September 10th, 2010.

Applications and more information about available positions.

The King of Carnaby Street, Jeremy Reed’s biography of fashion designer John Stephen, escapes many of the familiar tropes that biographies tend to fall into. The “life” of John Stephen, as indicated in the title, is really only his professional one, with little of the typical biographical exposition bookending each side. Reed begins his story with the Glaswegian’s arrival in London in 1952 at the age of 18. Six years later he opened the first boutique in Soho’s Carnaby Street and played a key role in transforming the neighbourhood into the a shopping and cultural hub.

Perhaps due to the fact that Stephen himself was a private man during his heyday, Reed has built his story around the major cultural events of the era when he was active. Though Stephen’s career is the focal point, the book equally functions as the story of London in the 1960s, of Carnaby Street and of the mod subculture. Other cultural figures like Mary Quant, Foale & Tuffin, the Beatles and the Who all make appearances, emphasizing the influence of different types of artists on each other. While forging a link between clothing and music is nothing new, Reed also manages to draw parallels between fashion and drug culture, as well as social ideologies popular amongst the young in trendy London. As he detailed the tendency of Mods to prioritize aesthetics and borrow from other cultural movements, I wondered how seamlessly they would fit in with today’s tumblr generation.

Reed’s choice to focus on Stephen’s contribution to fashion rather than dramatizing his personal life is a smart one, making the book read less like the novelization of a Lifetime movie and more like an intelligent deconstruction of an influential designer’s oeuvre. That said, this method does carry its own pitfalls – occasionally, the books lags sometimes when it goes into detailed accounts describing the techniques Stephen used to cut a suit or all the possible colour combinations of striped trousers he designed (though design aficionados – and I’m sure there are many among WORN’s readers – might appreciate these details). Other times it began to feel repetitive where Stephen’s dealings with other famous people are brought up – it seems every page carries at least a few references to the Kinks, Mick Jagger, or other stylish rockstars, to the point of excess.

For me, the most intriguing aspects of Stephen’s story were the ways he used his clothing to provoke the status quo. Stephen, a gay man, was forced to live most of his life in the closet, putting on airs of being an eligible bachelor for his young fan base. However, he used his clothing as a means of blurring the lines of gender presentation, often designing androgynous clothes for both men and women. Men’s clothing was his specialty, and many of his designs were much showier than what men had previously worn – jeans became tighter and shirts came in flamboyant colours like pink and aquamarine. Stephen turned shopping into a recreational activity for men by making his stores have a nightclub feel.

The King of Carnaby Street, while giving a general idea of who John Stephen was as a person, is more about the influence a provocative design aesthetic can have on a generation than a typical biography. True, Stephen was the driving force behind his line, his business philosophy, and his success, but it’s the clothes that are the stars of this story.

The King of Carnaby Street: The Life of John Stephen
By Jeremy Reed, Haus Publishing London
book review by Anna Fitzpatrick
photography by Hillary Predko

Fan photos from Jakarta make me happy!

When my mother got married she kept her career and maiden name, but what best encapsulates her as a classic Second Wave feminist is her wedding gown: a simple, waist-less, off-white dress that she wore to parties for years afterwards. For women like my Mom, who rejected restrictive post-war dresses along with restrictive post-war roles, fashion was considered a superficial frivolity, if it wasn’t outright ignored. When asked, she can only describe a handful of past outfits from memory, but their significance is increased by their small number. What makes the blue dress she packed for a trip to Portugal stand out more than the business suits she wore every day to the office?

Love, Loss and What I Wore, written by Nora and Delia Ephron, brings clothing to the foreground in order to recount women’s memories of growing up, hooking up, aging and discovering their identities. Based on the surprise bestseller by Ilene Beckerman, in which the author told the story of her life through drawings of memorable outfits along with tales from other women, the show is as much a party as a play, the gathering of the sisterhood to dish cathartically about the terrors of bras, change-rooms and over-stuffed purses.

The Toronto cast, seated in a row and dressed chicly in black, is made up of the friendly faces of Canadian TV. Louise Pitre portrays Beckerman, whose life stories and poster-sized illustrations provide the only narrative structure. Her gentle reminiscences are often overshadowed by the more risqué tales recounted by the other actors.

Mary Walsh’s raspy screams are perfect for the humiliation of a woman who bought a cutting-edge paper dress in the ’60s, only to get her period in the middle of a dinner party. Andrea Martin brought down the house with her rant for women who hate purses: describing the inevitable disorganization, Martin declares that “in a horrible, awful way, that handbag is you!” Charming Paula Brancati and Sharron Matthews round out the cast by representing the younger generation.

The play is often compared to ‘The Vagina Monologues’ and it’s interesting that the show which uses a taboo body part to comment on the female experience predated one which uses clothing for the same purpose. By examining grief through a story about housecoats and turning another about mini-skirts and boots into one about rape, ‘Love, Loss and What I Wore’ argues that clothing can be used in overcoming difficult experiences. Audiences may laugh knowingly at a chorus of mothers’ criticisms (“You’re going to wear that?”) but they walk away reflecting on the importance of dressing sensibly for their mother’s generation, or clothing’s role as a bonding ritual between mother and daughter.

It’s unsurprising, given the writers and the cast, that the play often focuses on the experiences of middle-aged women. At times the subject veers away from clothing and towards the aging process. A part during which Martin asks, “What happened to my arms?” as she jiggles her arm-fat, makes perfect sense when one learns that the play was also drawn from Nora Ephron’s book on aging, ‘I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman’.

The show could be criticized for not better reflecting the lives of women of different ages, races, classes and sexualities, but for women like my Mom, caught between their girdle-wearing mothers and thong-clad daughters, the play reminds them that our outer-wear can unlock the key to our inner selves. Or, as Martin says, sometimes your purse “is you!”

review by Max Mosher

photography by Taryn Pimento and Margo Foster

In my capacity as WORN’s Official Musician, I was invited by a reporter to compile the imaginary “WORN Fashion Journal Original Soundtrack Album.” Although excerpts of it may have appeared in Humber College’s newspaper, I thought that my full list might be of some interest to our blog readers.

The WORN soundtrack is a combination of songs that are popular at our events, popular in the office, or featured in the magazine. Ideally, dialogue from WORN appears between tracks (a la Pulp Fiction, and other 90s soundtracks).

Track Listing below!


1. You Can’t Hurry Love — The Supremes
This song is discretely quoted somewhere in almost every issue. A must.

2. Daddy Cool — Boney M
Filled the dance floor at every event we’ve had - and just look at their album covers.

3. He Hit Me and It Felt Like a Kiss — Hole
I don’t think Hole ever released this cover version officially, but it’s all over the internet. Courtney Love, sixties girl-groups, Carole King and feminist/post-feminist politics are all inextricably linked with WORN in numerous ways.

4. Let Me Kiss You — Nancy Sinatra
Ms. Sinatra has appeared in WORN a couple of times, but “Boots” is way too obvious. Her 2004 comeback album came out while Serah-Marie was concocting the idea for the journal, so it was an easy choice.

5. I Put a Spell on You — Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
I wrote a little piece on Jim Jarmusch’s personal style for issue 3. Screamin’ Jay comes up in Jarmusch’s films numerous times, and you can’t really question the fashion choices of a guy wearing a cartoon bone in his hair.

6. Spirit in the Sky — Norman Greenbaum
On the few occasions we’ve done fashion shows, we always use this as the music. Probably our ultimate runway choice.

7. I Believe When I Fall in Love — Stevie Wonder
It has figured prominently at the events we’ve thrown with Slowdance Night, and it’s a highlight of my and Serah-Marie’s wedding CD, which is always a popular door-prize at our Valentine’s events.

8. Warm Leatherette — Grace Jones
The spectre of Ms. Jones figures in WORN several times (see our “Cut to the Grace” photoshoot, issue 7). This cover of the Normal song always gets them dancing.

9. Gift & Seasonal — The Chorus Barloff
This is my band. This song is about your parents buying you clothes for Christmas.

10. Zebra Kiss — Donzelle
We featured her in issue 6, and I love the picture that accompanies this track on her MySpace.

11. Blue Suede Shoes — Elvis Presley
Sonya Topolnisky wrote an impassioned defense of the King’s jumpsuits for issue 6 so he has to feature on the soundtrack somewhere. I was tempted to choose more obscure clothing-related titles like “Big Boots” or “Something Blue” but, frankly, they suck. We want the WORN soundtrack to be listenable, so I went with the obvious choice.

12. Mercy Seat — Nick Cave
Personally, I can’t stand him, but Nick Cave’s an icon thats made an appearance in Worn (issue 1), so he’s got to be here somewhere. I think this song’s pretty okay.

13. Safety Dance — Men Without Hats
The band started in Montreal, as did WORN, and there’s an article about safety pins as fashion accessories in issue 2. Something by Television or Richard Hell would’ve been more appropriate, but people seem to associate this with safety pins for some reason, and it’s real popular at our events.

14. Je T’Aime…Moi, Non-Plus — Jane Birkin
Written by Serge Gainsbourg for Brigitte Bardot (and rejected). Sexy, stylish, atmospheric, campy and WORN.

15. Cherry Bomb — The Runaways
So many songs to choose from here, but this is the hit. Their manager, Kim Fowley was profiled in issue 3, but we really should do something about them specifically at some point. Just search youtube for old concert footage and be wowed. Narrowly beat out Joan Jett’s solo “Bad Reputation.”

16. Tear it Up — The Cramps
We did a feature on psychobilly fashion for issue 4. Members of Montreal band the Gutter Demons were featured, and I was really tempted to put them on the album. But Lux Interior passed away last year and I’m still a little devasted, so I went with the psychobilly grandparents. If you can track down a copy of the film “URGH!: A Music War” check out the incredible performance, with Lux wearing nothing but ill-fitting spandex pants and black mascara singing the entire song with the mic jammed in the back of his throat.

17. Just a Little Lovin’ — Dusty Springfield
The “Dusty in Memphis” album goes into the office cd player at least once a week.

18. King’s Lead Hat — Brian Eno
“ENOBOX II: Vocals” rarely goes a week without a spin, either.

19. Material Girl — Madonna
The title of our regular feature on fibres. Mandatory.

20. Gold — Spandau Ballet
The Material Girl Column in issue 6 is subtitled “Spandex Ballet,” a nod to these 80s crooners.

21. Grease — Frankie Valli
Coco & Laura’s sidebar on tanning lotion in issue 6 notes that “Greece is the Word.”

22. Paint it Black — Rolling Stones
Coco & Laura also note that black paint was once used as primitive sunburn protection.

23. Heart and Soul — Diane & The Javelins : We decided on the title “Art and Sole” for our collaboration with the Bata Shoe Museum and Keds very early on. This song got stuck in my head every time someone said the title. This is my favourite recording, found on most Joe Meek compilations.

24. Devil With the Blue Dress On — Shorty Long
Issue 9’s piece on vintage denim is titled “Devil With the Blue Jeans On.” Close enough.

25. Who Are You - -The Who
The subtitle of Gwen’s “Everything I Know About Fashion I Learned from My Mother” column in issue 9. Also, my Editor-in-Pants/spouse, Serah-Marie, calls this “Theme from CSI.” Good illustration of the differences a slight generation gap can create…

26. Hockey Night in Canada Theme — Dolores Claman
Really the only appropriate thing to listen to while perusing our Don Cherry piece in issue 10.

27. Norwegian Wood — The Beatles
Fashion designer Angie (and her line that shares the name with the Beatles song) is featured in issue 10.

28. After Hours — The Velvet Underground
The lyrics accentuate a photo-spread in issue 6, and Moe Tucker is a personal style-icon. This song can’t go anywhere but last on any album.

-Ted Kulczycky

Sonya, our New York editor and lady who knows her vintage, has opened an Etsy shop to sell off some of her gems! The Commissar Vintage shop looks pretty nifty already, and I’m not too shy to say I took my first crack at graphic design and did her banner and avatar. Go forth and shop!

xoxo,
Serah-Marie

I’ve never been much for sneakers. I often visit my neighborhood and surrounding area shoe lockers just to yawn at the same design I saw occupying the shelf four years ago, but in a different colour or with some celebrity or athlete’s name on it. I began to see the error in my ways when I picked up Art & Sole, written and designed by Intercity.

Intercity’s “sneakers” are sports shoes originally intended for basketball, skateboarding or just strolling, elevated to their own subculture by the skateboarding and hip-hop style phenomena. This detailed and up-to-date sneaker art history features oodles of Nikes, as well as other famous labels including Vans, New Balance, and Onitsuka Tiger. Lesser-known labels like Madfoot!, JB Classics and The Quiet Life also make an appearance.

The book is divided into halves: Sneakers & Art looks at collaborations and projects, while Art & Sneakers is composed of sneaker art, publications, exhibitions and toys, all sneaker-themed. Among the toys featured were Swiss design collective +41’s mini chocolate kicks crafted to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Air Force 1 and Takara Tomy’s Nike Transformer dolls, oscillating between toy-shoes and toy-toys.

So by this point you can imagine that this book has a few more tricks to offer than your average sneaker stand. It showed me about 200 pages of shoes and shoe art I’d never seen before. Great. But, what the volume does meaningfully through its pages and pages of sculpture and obscure sneakers is bring out the artfulness in the sneakers themselves; even if, like me, you don’t really care very much about how limited your editions are or whether they are made of chocolate, this book will teach you about who makes these sneakers, and why these everyday masterpieces have become so collectible. And I don’t need to have a room full of runners in Plexiglas backlit cases to appreciate that.

For example, in a handy two-paragraph gloss, I learned about a sneaker I don’t think I’ll easily find in the suburbs, FEIYUE (pronounced stop-living-in-a-bedroom community-with-little-commercial-variety), a name as vague and hard to enunciate as an Ikea cabinet’s. These shoes were actually invented in the 1920s in Shanghai, and were favored by martial artists for their “flexibility and comfort.” French collective Seven Dice designs FEIYUEs, limiting them to only two styles, high and low top. Clearly, these shoes are kind of special.

And that’s the effect of this book. Sneakers with seemingly little material difference to the layman’s eye are given two pages of close-ups, and suddenly they hold their own unique place in a wonderful sneaker gallery. No longer are the shoes simply special or noticeable to those who collect or obsess over them, but even the kitten heel connoisseur is given some insight into why some people go so bonkers over sneakers (the people who do go bonkers over sneakers will probably relish this book for its obscure detail and inspiring objects). That seems to be the art of Intercity, exposing the story and creative value behind something we might never have looked at so closely. Apparently mundane, everyday objects become art. It happened to Greek vases. Why not kicks?

Art and Sole by Nathan Gale (Laurence King Publishers, 2008)
review by Stephanie Herold
photography by Ave Smith

Staff meetings, no matter how many cheezies and beer might be consumed during, always have a tendency to be more business than pleasure. However, when Anisha said she could give us access to her apartment’s roof (and, ahem, indoor pool) for the evening, we were up there faster than a teen getting pregnant at Degrassi High. I think every meeting could be made more productive when you are eye-level with the CN Tower.

photography by Hillary Predko and G. Stegelmann