Last night found me at the Toronto Club Monaco flagship
store on Bloor Street, nervous out my mind, heart racing, palms sweating (though,
to be fair, it was quite warm in there!), anxiously waiting my turn to bow down
to the epic Garance Dore!
I’ve followed her for all of my blog-devouring days, I would
put the start of those days back at 2008 –when half the blogs I followed used
her photos with nary a credit (it was 2008, the blogosphere was basically the Wild
West). I’ve enjoyed every moment of her blog’s evolution, and I would argue it’s
at its most compelling state currently. Garance’s affable, self-deprecating
narrative style shines, but so does her colleagues’. Every topic from quality
of sleep, weekend escapes, and patent leather booties is covered swiftly and
comprehensively and I love the long editorials and interviews – though I do wish
the career story interviews were shared more frequently!
As you can imagine, years of reading Garance’s stories and
obsessing over her photography and style, has turned her into a huge icon for
me. I had no idea what to expect when I went to her Toronto book signing event.
By the time I reached her she would be two hours into her 107th book
signing event (I exaggerate, slightly) and was sure to be exhausted, possibly even
suffering from carpal tunnel. I decided it would be too rude to request a
selfie with her (be still, my heart!) and was mentally prepared for a quick
smile (with or without eye contact) and a signature to take home with me –
which still had me quaking in my boots.
Instead, I was bowled over by the efficiency and strategic
planning demonstrated by Garance’s team and Club Monaco: open bar with
Cointreau, sticky notes with your name written on it to ensure proper spelling
(gah! Can you imagine a worse fate??), a long but well organized line of
fashionable women snaking through the retailer’s collection of Garance endorsed
product. AND, to top it all off, a designated photo-taker who was snapping pics
of each signee with Garance, using the signee’s phone – GENIUS! Selfie conundrum
solved!
Two whole minutes with Garance is the equivalent of a year
in heaven (umm, haven’t you seen Interstellar?? You know how these things work….).
She was super smiley, kind, has this glow about her, and joked about the rainy
awful weather in Toronto that day, everything about her was CHIC! And of course
I don’t have to tell you she was the nicest person EVER!!
But I DO need to tell you about the other women in line. Suffering
the pelting rain, spending two hours standing in heels, de-layering in the
stuffy, humid heat can only be fun for so long. What made my night stellar was
chatting with and getting to know the women in line with me. After a friend
bailed, I had resigned myself to wasting time with candy crushing. Lucky for me
(in what would become the start of a series of surprises that evening – free drinks!
Photos with Garance!! Correctly spelled name!!!) I was given an opportunity to
meet some fabulous boss babes, including a digital designer and a marketer for
a fashion start up. After two hours of shared laugher (and anxiety-induced turmoil)
we had basically become besties for life (If you’re reading this, new
acquaintances who I barely know, I promise I’m not trying to scare you off!!!!).
All in all, a seriously successful night in my books.
Happy Wednesday!
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