There are two things l love in this world: pretty clothes and bangin’ parties. Any combo of the two will completely convince me that while shopping and drinking is a dangerous combo wallet-wise, it’s also a very clever way to promote a space, as proven by the Vintage 69 Housewarming Party.

My roomie Adam and I start getting ready like we would for any party: getting dressed up, changing eight times each, and sipping some bourbon while we fluff our hair. Already it’s more exciting than a regular vintage outing, which, for me, is generally a happenstance occasion when I am wandering aimlessly around the neighborhood. We discuss what would be the best time to get there, and the possible consequences of our equally dire financial situations, just like we’d do before any other party.

We get there pretty early and already the place is full of fashionable revelers snapping photos of each other. It really does feel like a house party: there’s beer, crackers and cheese, and a DJ to set the scene. The abundance of gorgeous and unique items is great for the party atmosphere, since there are conversation pieces everywhere. For example, one new friend explains the purchase of a doll’s head toilet paper cover, which was currently being used as a beer cozy, as “the sort of thing you’d only buy under the influence.”

Increasing sales through inebriation is an obvious benefit to the retail party. It also offers other unique opportunities for customer service. Marilyn, the owner of Rozaneh Boutique on the top floor, offers me delicious homemade ice cream in the clothing-strewn kitchen. After that, the purchase of a pair of her pretty crochet gloves seems not only fun, but fair. Plus, it even comes with a free drink ticket!

However, as the evening progresses, and I use up my ticket, I find my attention span is just as impaired as my sense of judgment. There seems to be some sort of calm necessity for me to focus, strip down, and actually try something on. It can be awkward being the only customer in a store, but being part of a well-dressed, chatty mob is also a bit distracting, though certainly far more pleasant.

In the end, the good company saved my bank account, but I also can’t wait to go back and see what I missed.

- Alexandra Barton

When I heard last year that the Olsen twins would be releasing a book chronicling their fashion influences, my mind immediately flashed towards the Paris Hilton-penned Confessions of an Heiress - after all, it seemed like another set of tabloid darlings were trying to add “author” to their resumés. But, to their credit, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s coffee table book, Influence, is not another collection of gaudy images depicting Chihuahuas in pink tutus. True, neither one of the Olsen twins is a particularly innovative writer, but the content of the book is mostly made up with of the words of others, composed largely of in-depth interviews with a total of twenty fashion designers, models, photographers, artists and editors.

What Mary-Kate and Ashley lack in writing skill, they more than make up for with their eye for talent and knack for asking intelligent interview questions that other publications seem to gloss over. Granted, the artists they talk to are interesting enough on their own, including the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Terry Richardson and Peter Beard, but the interviews cut to the core of their work, focusing on the entire span of each career from their origins to the struggles faced along the way. They are accompanied by richly detailed visuals, including a 1976 Newsweek cover featuring Diane Von Furstenburg and a letter Diana Vreeland wrote to journalist Bob Colacello concerning a magazine article about Josephine Baker.

Considering that the Olsen twins are probably more used to giving interviews than conducting them, they manage to keep the focus on the subjects at hand. Oftentimes, their own gushing admiration shines through, but the effect is more endearing than anything else. The twins’ enthusiasm for and knowledge about those that they interview create a casual tone, making each interview seem like a conversation between good friends. Model Lauren Hutton shares advice about relationships and men, and Proenza Schouler recounts jokes about Jack McCollough’s hippie phase, in which he had “dreadlocks down to [his] nipples.”

Of course, Mary-Kate and Ashley haven’t totally omitted themselves from the text. There is a solid 36 page chunk in the middle of the book that serving serves as a scrapbook for of the twins’ more material influences -childhood images, vintage book covers, LPs, mementos from famous friends. While the accompanying text can get a little self-indulgent, especially when each girl takes a turn answering the Proust questionnaire (really, Mary-Kate? Your favourite heroine of fiction is Cleopatra?), there is no denying that the Olsen twins have access to some beautiful, one-of-a-kind stuff; you aren’t very likely to find an signed Ghesquière sketch in just any scrapbook.

Unlike other starlets who try to convince the public that they’re “normal, typical girls,” Mary-Kate and Ashley make no such attempt to relate to their audience, for better or for worse. While it might be hard to identify with a couple of twenty-somethings who can easily spend a grand on a Balenciaga frock, it’s easy enough to get caught up in the Olsen twins’ blatant passion for art and fashion. Ultimately, they reached the goal they set out for - in allowing yourself to get sucked into the detailed images and insightful interviews in this book, you can’t help but feel a little bit inspired.

By Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Penguin Publishing, 2008
Reviewed by Anna Fitz