Para Mix-in It Up

*UPDATE*

So I decided to switch up the focus of my blog and make it more of a General Purpose kind of thing. I don't know much about fashion, as you can probably decipher from my previous posts, and I heard somewhere that blogs are the new journals. This is going to be a self-serving kind of thing, and if you don't like it.. well... you can make a blog yourself, lazybones!

That being said, here's a post about a local Winnipeg clothing store...

I sat down with local clothing shop owner, Candy Lam, to see why her pet project “Para Mix” is such a success story in the relatively sparse Winnipeg market.

Q) What made you decide to go into the garment industry?

A) Well, it started when I first moved to Winnipeg and I needed something to do to kill time. My husband was busy studying for his masters and I decided that I wanted to sell stuff outside, like a garage sale kind of thing. But my husband thought that I would be kidnapped so he got me a kiosk at City Place. Then eventually I made enough money to move to our spot on Osborne and we’ve been there ever since.

Q) Were you ever wary to open up a store in Winnipeg?

A) I was too young to worry when I started, and it was all supposed to be pretty short term. Everyone in my family runs a store and so I thought “why not me too?” It’s been ten years now since Para Mix opened.

Q) What influences your personal style and the kind of clothes you buy for the store?

A) I like to try and find beauty in everything. I like weird stuff, no brands. Hong Kong style really influences me.

Q) What kind of clothing style do you think is unique to Winnipeg?

A) There are lots of artsy people here. Winnipeg is a breeding ground for creativity and I think a lot of people like to express themselves by the clothing that they wear.

Q) What do you think is the biggest fashion don’t of all? Crocs? Socks and Sandals?

A) In my opinion, there’s not really anything that would always be considered a fashion don’t. I think if people wear their clothes with confidence you can pull anything off. I guess the only thing I can think of is when there are too many pieces in an outfit. Often a look is better with a little editing, and it’s always good to see the person wearing the clothes, and not the clothes wearing the person.

Q) What’s a good fashion tip for the readers at home to follow?

A) Hmm... Let’s see. Everyone has a different kind of style, so I guess my advice would be to make sure that your clothes are making you happy, otherwise, what’s the point? You shouldn’t have to “suck it in” the whole day, and you can always find clothes that are comfortable and also fashionable, especially the way trends seem to be going now.

Para Mix is located in the heart of Osborne Village. According to their Facebook page, they “specialize in finding the perfect outfit for any occasion, whether it be your 18th birthday, your grad, wedding social or a special night out on the town! All clothing we carry is a one -of-a- kind, imported from overseas, and we also carry a variety of different purses, accessories and shoes. Our inventory changes daily so come check it out soon and come back often!”

The store also regularly catalogs their available inventory here.

Brr, It's Cold in Here

Alec Ruest – Shoe Sales

Jacket – The Bay

Cutoffs – Target

Now that it’s getting colder and winter is settling in, it's time to tuck away the summer clothes and bust out the dumpy, shapeless sweaters. I personally have the hardest time picking out a good sweater from the thrift store, but can't afford a real sweater from a real store. What am I to do?

Does anyone know a legit place where I can get some quality winter duds fo' cheap? I’m in a permanent state of freezing over here!

Jegging Pride

Chelsea King - Student

Dress - H&M

Jacket - Zara

Necklace - Forever 21

Oxfords - Salvation Army

Today's topic: Jeggings!

What do you think of them? I personally think they're great. I don't know why they didn't come into fruition long ago. It's as if, very recently, someone finally figured out that a lot of people have a lot of different body shapes. WOWZERS! What a breakthrough!

Celebrities wear them

source

Conan O'Brien wears them:

source

And I'm not ashamed to admit that I wear them.

Jegging pride!

Out-Fit for a King

Brett Harapiak - Red River College Student

Vest - Salvation Army

Shirt - Salvation Army

Shoes - Value Village

Hat - Value Village

Pants - Kings

Belt - MCC

I've said it before and I'll say it again, thrifting is the s@#$.

One man's junk is another man's treasure, and this manbearpig/bloggette has found a Scrooge McDuck's haul of treasure from Thrift Stores over the years. 

Ch-ch-check it out today, what are you waiting for?!?!?!

Comic Con-Artist

On Halloweekend I ventured over to my first ever Central Canada Comic Con.

I was super nervous because I feel like a poser, having recently began my foray into all things comic/graphic novel/etc. I read Alan Moore's "Watchmen" last summer and it changed my life.

So I worked on an Altair (from Assassins Creed) costume for a month, popped it on and went to the Convention Centre on Saturday the 29th and was blown away.

Here's a collection of photos from my day.

Some Mayflower dancers entertaining between L.A.R.P matches

The sickest Ghostbuster outfit I've ever seen. It had blinky lights!

Male and female counterparts with special guest Master Chief

My friend Dave with his hero

Art by the bowlful

Iron Man with Iron Baby in the stroller

He could actually transform and had working lights. Fun, if you're down to lie face down on the floor.

Master Chief vs. Master Chief



Dad and Baby Master Chief

The shield business is lucrative

Me and Finn from Adventure Time

Minecraft Guy

Assassin assassinating an assassin.

All in all it was a super dooper fun time, I totally nerded out but it was great and inspiring. I recommend anyone going next year if not only for the visual feast.

We are Big Brother.

Who remembers this Apple ad? It's a great ad. Who wouldn't want to be that lady with the hammer, smashing that horrible image on the screen? She saved all the sheep from conformity with the power of the Macintosh computer. What a pioneer!

This ad was released in January of 1984, and bears a striking resemblance to George Orwell's dystopian world that was created in the book "1984". Looking at this ad through a modern lens, I think it's probably the most ironic thing to happen since hipsters.

BUT WHY, YOU ASK!? Because the immense proliferation of smartphones (largely provided thanks to Apple) we are living in a society that's constantly under surveillance.

I recently re-read the book 1984 again, because it is my favorite book of all. Read it now! Don't have a library card? Get one! Or read it here. After finishing the last great sentence and exiting the display window, I had come to the conclusion that WE ARE BIG BROTHER, BIG BROTHER IS US.

Subtlety was not his strong suit.

In Orwell’s dystopian future/present, the world is full of “telescreens” that are constantly watching what the citizens are up to. There is no way of turning them off. The info that the telescreens collect is used to“vaporize” citizens if they transgress any of the Party's doctrines. Essentially, they are wiped out and never to be spoken of again.

In a totally diluted way, a "telescreen" kind of mirrors how I feel about the new Iphone upgrade. My smartphone now has a new feature for text messaging that enables the sender to see exactly what time the reader saw their text. Though it can be disabled, I think this is taking things way too far.

(Also it will obviously spur a hundred million teenage bfsgf fights, probably containing a text like: “OMG U DIDN’T WRITE LOL BACK! U SAW MY TXT!)

WTF!

Then I got to thinking – in our society we have an unrelenting need to catalogue what we’re doing, exactly when we’re doing it. I had an experience a while back where someone on my Facebook feed “checked me in” to a place I was at when I was there. It made me super uneasy that this power was out of my hands and in the hands of someone else.

But also that this kind of thing is considered normalized. What would our dear old Marshall MMcLuhan think of this madness. Where is this information going? Who (or what) cares where I am? And why?

I can’t help but think of Big Bro. He's all-knowing, so he’s like the internet. He's also omnipresent, just like our pockets full of smartphones. We can add things to the internet as they’re happening, and therefore Big Bro/Internet has a constant stream of what’s going on in every connected person’s life.

I can’t help but wonder through all of this who exactly is benefitting from knowing where I am at all times? Is it strictly used by advertisers and marketers? There is probably wayyy too much information available for any advertising firm to handle. Could the FBI or CSIS be using it too? Or is that venturing into the realm of conspiracy theory?

iPhones are not hiding from us the fact that they are constantly tracking where you go. The “Use My Location” feature (which can also be disabled) pops up even when you do anything including playing a cheap game. A new app that was promped with my upgrade called “Find My Friends” enables the user to do just that – find their friends' phones through a GPS tracking system. WTF APPLE!?!!

Computers are just a pieces of technology, but there is no doubt about the huge impact they've had on our society. Blogs are the new journals, Facebook is the new resume, and when was the last time you got a picture developed?

Anyone can take a picture or video of you when you go out in public and post it on the net. There are countless examples in which this has led to arrests (like in the Vancouver Riots) divorces (link) and who knows what else.

All that being said,

I’ll be sure to link this article on my FB page and my Twitter feed.

Hallowhen Will it Be Halloween?!

 

 

 

 Anna Hurley - Childcare Worker

Shoes - Vintage Glory

Skirt - Paramix

Shirt - Wild Planet

Ring - Folklorama (India Pavillion)

Bracelet - Club Monaco 

 

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OMGOMGOMG

SO..

Halloween is next weekend! (yay!)

You checklist for this weekend should include:

• Carving a pumpkin and eating the seeds
•  Putting the finishing touches on your costume
•  Buying tons of alcohol

That is all.

---

I'm going to a Halloween social this weekend. This year I'm going as my favorite horror flick of 2009: The Human Centipede (First Sequence)

 I'm going to try my best to drunkenly remember to take pictures of all the costumes for a super dooper photo-heavy post next week. To me, there is no greater joy in life then looking at people in costumes. Also, the winner for best costume at the social is going to get an $100 gift card for the LC, so there's a lot on the line here.

Me in the Future.

 So stay tuned, reader!

Halfway Till Halloween - Girl Costumes Edition

Hello Boils and Ghouls,

It's that time of the year again... The best holiday of all time, forever:

 HALLOWEEN!

T'is the wonderful time when you can dress up like anyone, or anything, you like. 

Do you have a penchant for farming? Go as a farm! 

  

You got a thing for douching? Easy!

  Hate your dog? Shove it in a costume!

The life of the party.

 But, fellow readers, do you notice a pattern here?

All of the costumes pictured before you are worn by dudes. (Not sure if the dog is a dude but just go with it)

When it comes to lady costumes, for SOME UNKNOWN REASON we are shafted to wearing the stupidest, sluttiest, cheapest excuses of poorly made plastic crap. I feel bad for the slaves in  whichever country these articles are mass-produced, but also for the ladies out there who buy 'em. And I know you're out there, because every year every store is chock-full of these plastic abominations. You've seen 'em, they look like this:

I guarantee, no matter where you go, you'll see a sexy referee.

 The worst part is that these costumes are selling like hotcakes at Party Stuff for $60+

It chills me to the core.

For $60, you can go insane at Dollarama and come up with the greatest costume the world has ever seen. H-Ween in the one time a year where you can dress up like a metaphor and only get guffaws in return, and yet time and time again the clubs are bursting at the seams with 

"sexy Big Bird" 

I wish I was making this up. 

Or even "sexy baby"

Leave my infancy alone, sluts!

 So ladies, this year I beg you. Ignore the "Slut Rule" that exists only on Halloween, whereby a lady can venture out and about in the chilly October winds wearing only lingerie and bunny ears, but it flies because t'is the season.

SO if you are gonna go the whorey route, do it with style and pizzaz! 

Go as a hilarious pregnant nun

It shows everyone how funny and daring you are,

OR you can go the slutty/nerdy route. If you combine a whorey costume with a nerdy theme, the whoreyness is instantly reduced tenfold! 

 

 Just think about it.

You've still got time ladies.

Happy Halloweenin!