Twenty York Street Loves The Black Label

What do you get when you combine different yet complementary elements of Fashion, Style, Photography, Writing and Singing? Why, you get a very popular and brilliantly-run blog like The Black Label, of course! As one of the few male bloggers that I personally know, Andres or Andy stands out not merely because of that fact but he separates himself from the rest because of his warmth, kind heart (I always eagerly await when he visits Twenty York Street as he leaves the most positive and inspiring message, siempre siempre!) and his genuine interest in music and fashion.

Always looking dapper and put together, his style is ever-evolving with a very cool combination of hip, preppy, haute couture and edgy street style. His passion for fashion, music and photography is very evident in his blog while his writing is inviting and intimate that even if its your first time ever visiting The Black Label, you feel instantly welcome and connected to Andy!

Though The Black Label is barely a year old, fashionistas have started paying attention and why shouldn't they be? Andy's a force to reckon with, a true patron of high fashion that he's been invited to the chicest of events at exclusive venues such as the Club Ibiza Panama and (I'm still super jealous about this!) he is also one of the esteemed guests at the much anticipated Panama Fashion Week!

Without further ado, it is my absolute pleasure to present to you my dear friend, Andy of the uber-cool fashion blog

The Black Label.

On Style and Fashion... 




What and who influences your style? 


Well that´s a tricky question because I like watching fashion shows and men street style but at the decisive point I actually do what my mind comes up with in that very moment, I could say my style is mostly organic it just flows from the depths of my brain (haha oh gosh I´m so dramatic). But perhaps the only person that influences my style is my Mother..still today she always looks classy even at work...and That´s something I think imprinted on my style, no matter what you wear make it classy!

What's your favourite outfit you've ever worn? 


If the previous was tricky this one is hard..oh let me remember, I think it was the outfit from my post “Academy Night” I wore a grey cardigan, a polo (which many people thought it was red it actually was a deep pink), khaki jeans and black shoes...I think its my favourite because I usually don´t dress according to a specific style but it was the first time I tried to do a preppy look...and it was also the first time I did color block which believe it or not is kinda hard for me haha


Any childhood or early fashion memory?

Well I remember it was around the time I was like 10 or 11 and being very picky about what I wore..and taking my time making ensembles...and spending hours at my closet just figuring out how to make new looks with what I already had.

Gotta ask this just for fun, fashion pet peeves?

Crocs!...I think that´s all I need to say!

A peak inside Andy's closet and fabulous shoe collection! Luve!

On Blogging…



Why and When did you started Blogging? 


I started blogging in September 19, 2010...I decided after I attended a Style seminar which turned out to be my very first fashion event because I liked fashion but never dive that much into it...but a friend told me about and I said why not? There I was introduced to the world of fashion blogs and I thought it was really interesting and after opening my blog I knew I´d love it...besides my friends don´t really like fashion so it was a great way of reaching others with that same interest and share opinions and most of all learn about so many things and talented people...still today I think opening the blog was one my best moves haha.



What makes you come back to visit a blog? Do you have blog(s)/blogger(s) inspiration? 


As you may know I like to write and one of my standards for it is that what you write must always reach people there should be a certain part of yourself there that in some way makes me feel I am kinda listening to a point of view from a friend...I really find attracting blogs that make me feel that (I rely a lot on how things make me feel) and of course awesome styles, that´s always a great thing to see!

I'm nosy, what do you really do for a living? Would you blog full-time?

Actually I am a Lawyer....it is a nice career but I would love to do something that triggers my creativity and gets me close to any type of art...so yeah I would blog full time if I had the chance!

Andy's Fashion Idol: Tom Ford.

On Lovin' Life…



What 3 things do you wish someone had told you when you were younger?


1. Fidelity might sometimes be just a one way street!


2. You would be lactose intolerant..If I had know this, the first time I realized it wouldn´t have been so embarassing!


3. Never try to take away food from a dog with you bare hands (even if the food might not be good for the dog) I learned this the hard way!


What's the most adventurous thing you've ever done?

I find it very comical that the most adventurous thing I did was completely by accident..I was on a car with some friends..and suddenly the one driving decided he wanted to be a car racer, it was late at night so the street was empty, and he speed it up so much that in the moment we hit a curve the car ended up going one side only in two wheels haha...I was terrified, surprised, a little bit thrilled and at the same time scared to death!..And I think I screamed a little..just a little...


Describe your perfect day/perfect vacation?


My perfect vacation would be going a road trip with my best friends..I´ve always wanted to do that...I think it would be a great adventure and at the same time a really life changing experience, you know..just you and the world...that would be awesome.

                                   3 Things I can't live without:                                     

1. Chapstick

2. Music (it feeds my soul)

3. Laughter (living in a world where no one laughs is like being dead to me)

Fill in the blanks…

Whenever I'm bored I usually: Look for tv show bloopers on youtube, works every time!


Don't tell my husband but I love: Well I don´t have a husband ha ha!

This year, I want: Loose all the weight!! I´ve been fighting that for too much time!

If I had superpowers, it would be: Electric Powers! Hell Yeah! Not for anything useful I just happen to like them ha ha, I wish!

Twenty York Street asked me about: I don´t know..anything you like..I can guarantee you I´ll always have an opinion.

 The Black Label

Lookbook

Fast Forward into the Future

I am looking through my window at my condo in New York City, on the 25th floor, a cup of coffee, Colombian, of course and I am thinking, it’s quiet, (it’s still early in the Big Apple), how different my life would have been if I was still in Colombia, good or bad, but very different…

I left my country so many years ago that I have forgotten the taste of a lot of things… or how slow life is over there. NYC has brought out something in me that I didn’t know I had… Tenacity and ambitions…

Now, I travel between Canada and USA and I wonder how did all this start? I used to meet my dear friend Marilou for a coffee. Now, I meet her for a video conference, we don’t talk often as we used to but instead we text each other every day. She is always in a fashion show or a show, either writing about it or being a guest. As for me, I travel in between my studios here in NYC and my 2 studios in Canada, Montreal and Ottawa, the city I call home, where I think I will always go back.

Smells like Fall, it is the year of 2018 and Central Park looks amazing with wonderful colours, a nice cold breeze coming into my place… Today, September 12^th is my birthday and I have decided to wake up ealier than usual and go for a run… I went to Central Park, I took the subway and I grabbed a coffee by the Starbucks by my house, all was so quiet, but the rush was about to start, the subways in NYC are always crazy… Fall has always made me feel melancholic. It brings this feeling of peace and silence for me. I love this time to have photo shoots. Designers always come up with great pieces at this time of the year… I have so many ideas in my head right now… here behind me, I have my table and the wall full of notes so I don’t forget what I have in mind… I don’t relay in my memory I might forget things.

The streets are getting busier by the second and I still don’t know what I am doing today. Hey, it’s my birthday! I will probably enjoy a quiet day and wait for my loved ones to call me… I will have my phone on me, but nothing else. I will call my mama to remind her that today, many years ago I was born, she will probably remember after I mention this, it will be funny… I miss her, I miss them but I will be there soon… in my little town where I was born… where all this began many years ago.

I can say who will call first today and I am sure that she knows I am awake, but as usual I don’t know in what time zone she is… Istanbul? Rome? Barcelona? Athens? London? I won’t be surprise if she calls me from somewhere in the Philippines, Negros Occidental, where she is from… or perhaps messaging people or publishing something from Manila International Airport ready to board a plane to go to Paris, she knows I would jealous, I love Paris. I know, this winter, we will be enjoying a coffee somewhere in the tropic but I still would like to go to Slovenia, it is up for discussion…

 

2018, has been a great year… I have just finished a campaign for GAP. I always dreamed about it, since my years as a public servant and my SONY camera, when I was photographing 20YS at lunch time or a coffee breaks, we used to take long ones, then all this was just a dream, now it’s a brand… wow!

How with time, things change…. Now GAP knows who I am, knows that my studio - YouGotSquared can do this… we started all these as a joke, now it is my life… it’s my baby, well, not a baby anymore, it’s my teenager and soon, it will mature even more… GAP is now, soon there will be other designers… I know it will come it a matter of time…

 

My GAP campaign for summer 2019:

It’s time for breakfast, there is still some coffee left, I will get some more…. I am hungry, what to eat… hmmm… Yes, today it’s my birthday, for a moment I forgot… well, today I will eat out… this is something I never enjoyed, my close friends know it… I will order some eggs, I want 3, I want brown toast, no butter but lots of peanut butter... I feel like eating bacon… and potatoes… meh, I will exercise more tomorrow. I want to read the paper…

 

Okay, here I am, reading the NY times… wow, front pages, not good news, and today is not about the bad news, today is about the good ones… I am going to read my horoscope… and it says, Life is treating you well, be patient it’s a matter of time… oh wow… it’s perfect!... I noticed that there are not so many copies of the paper, everything has gone electronic but I still buy it, I like the experience of reading like that.

Breakfast is here… hmmm it looks amazing, eggs sunny side up, perfect! I can smell the orange coming from the glass… toast, hmmnn, not so good, they put butter on them, I will eat them, good, I also ordered a croissant… I am taking my time to eat… this moment is priceless… my phone still has not rang… it’s early for most people, its 7am…

Photo credit: Davida Ocran Photography, 20YS and YouGotSquared.

Fashion 201: Wedges



Welcome to Twenty York Street's New Feature:

FASHION 201

Yes, exactly like taking Fashion 101 in University but now that you've learned the basics, through shopping, your regular magazine subscriptions or real-life experiences - you've earned your stripes and now ready to learn and explore more!

Fashion 201! Coz y'know, it's by Twenty York Street hence, let's do it one up, yes?!

Like any good blogger who does not want to claim responsibility over unintentional faux-pas (ha!) but would gladly like to take credit for a job well-done, I have to lay out the ubiquitous disclaimer in these posts. I am, in no traditional sense of the word, an expert nor I try to be. Though with a mountain of unopened credit card statements stuffed under the mattress, an impressive possé of friends from the retail industry on a first name basis, IRL close friends as insiders in the fashion industry and very close working (and personal) relationships with well-known and up and coming designers, I 'feel' like I have something of value or at least of interest to share with you.

I believe we all do, don't you?

So, for the first edition of FASHION 201, let's talk about WEDGES!

Not to be confused with platforms, wedges are a type of of shoes that have 'heels' that runs the entire foot, from the back all the way to the middle or the front. The heel, as you can imagine, has a sort of triangular, wedge shape and though they do raise the height of the shoes from above the ground, not all wedges are high heels.

QUICK HISTORY

The 1930 saw the birth of the very first wedge shoes by world-famous Italian Designer, Salvatore Ferragamo. Using cork and wood due to rubber and leather shortage, he created the orthopedic wedge in 1935 and the wedge heels in 1936. As wood is naturally heavier than cork, cork was preferred as it was also a sturdy and durable material.

The infamous Cynthia Vincent for Target Wedges

WORLD WAR II FASHION TREND

It was all about the height. (cue: 5-inch heels and top rate shoulder pads!) Well, and winning wars I suppose but this is mainly a fashion blog, ain't it? Since leather and rubber were much needed for the war effort, wood and cork became fashionable alternatives, which gave a rise to the popularity of wedges. As most of you would agree, wedges are easier to walk in the skinny cigarette heels, hence, the added bonus points to cork - a sustainable and environmentally friendly material.



Marvilis Wedges (Chestnut Suede), Steve Madden

The 70s, 90s and 2000s

In the 70s, wedges enjoyed a more avant-garde utilitarian purpose as it was worn by both men and women. As characteristic of the decade itself, the designs were bolder, colourful and some, downright outrageous. Remember the 90s? Alright, maybe some of you weren't even born yet but picture this: sneakers + heels = wedge sneakers!

Alright, remember the Spice Girls? What, you don't know who they are, either?

Neither do I!

via

Yup, that is indeed David's Missus - Victoria Beckham!

The new millennium brought about a fresh, island twist on the wedges by using heels made of cork and wrapped around with rope. In order to secure the wedges, variations of ankle strap, leg wrap, bows and buckles were also incorporated into the designs.

Alex Wedge Sandals, Stuart Weitzman



TODAY

All fashion houses and every reputable brand designers release a number of new wedge sandals in every summer collection, every year. And guess what's the new wedge trend for 2011? The 70s are alive and kickin' again with the return of 70s-inspired fashion: bow shirts, flower prints, wide leg pants, flatforms (what are those? That'll be for another post, I promise) and wedges!

Summer Lust: Mirra Wedge, Banana Republic 

So why choose wedges over heels and other hurt-inducing foot device? First of all, women wear heels in the hopes of achieving the following: make the body look thinner, improve posture and most of all, make the legs look longer. With more arch support, wedges reduce foot and ankle problems, provides more balance and it can help prevent falls that are associated with high heels.

Alice and Olivia Leopard Wedges

I DIE.



Credits to: Wikipedia for some historical information, Merci!

Grecian Goddess

Outfit details

One-shoulder summer dress - Ocean club, Gift from Pearl
Chandelier earrings - Road Trip, Gift from ME
Men's gold watch - Michael Kors, Gift from Sissy and Tita
Animal print wallet - Banana Republic
Classic tan wedges - Steve Madden

What and Where

Lately, I've been a bit obsessed about one-shoulder everything. I mean I've always liked it - for me, shoulders are inherently beautiful and with a one-shoulder outfit done right, it can be both demure and extremely sexy at the same time. I suppose the half-hidden half-exposed look certainly plays up to our psyché of mystery, of something kept a secret and perhaps, illicit and therefore, it becomes automatically, well for a lack of a better word, HOT! 

It's not a huge surprise that one-shoulder designer dresses are particularly a regular at all red carpet events and award shows. From a fitness point of view, shoulders are one of the easiest areas to develop muscle tone on as it shows weight training results right away. The shape of the bone structure itself, the smooth curves on both sides connect all the way to your arms that it naturally gives this elongated silhouette of your upper body. I know I've talked about choosing my legs as my favourite physical attribute, shoulders come as close second.

 

Really felt silly doing the caged-animal poses but questioning J may not be a good idea if I want to have any sorts of photos here at Twenty York Street!

What about you, what summer trend are you especially loving right now?

 

Westfest

The ever growing and trendy, Westboro, took last Friday to Sunday to throw a festival right in the heart of the village.  Westfest 2011 had local and guest artists, musicians and boutiques come out to show us what they got.  The diversity of talents was amazing, each corner of the festival had it's own flare and vibe.  From a garage band with an epic lightsaber battle, street performers, play castles, chest tournaments and everything in between. People of all ages were in attendance, with the occasional furry companion in tow, the festival had a very community vibe to it.   

Photographs above were kindly provided by Ming Wu, you can see more of her work and more of Westfest at: mingwuphotos.wordpress.com.

The ladies of Lilac Lingerie were out all weekend to model the beautiful pieces sold in the boutique, as well as hand out (lilac!) balloons to people who came to see these beauties.  Be sure to check out Twenty York Street's post: "Afternoon at Lilac Lingerie", where we talk to the owner, the lovely Emilia, about the boutique's unique take on lingerie.

Photographs below were taken from the talented OttawaArne's flikr account, if you want to check out more pictures from Westfest or of his work, go to: www.flickr.com/photos/ottawaarne. You can also follow him on twitter @OttawaArne.

The guys from Stunt Double Circus was one of the amazing side street shows.  These guys are strong, brave and a little crazy - the stunts that they pulled constantly made me gasp when anticipated for them to get their feet back on the ground. 

The main headliner of the festival was the one and only Bif Naked.  Fans of this rocker chic are used to a loud and energetic performances but this time she showed us a different side of her.  Opting to sit down instead of jumping around, she played mostly acoustic versions of her songs, the feel was intimate.  She invited people to come up and speak freely as she shared personal stories with the audience.  Even though Bif Naked showed a calmer side, her powerful presence was still ever present.  For more on Bif Naked's performance, check out the article "Bif Naked hangs out her shingle" in the Ottawa Citizen.

Lucky Fans joined Bif Naked for the song "Tango Shoes".

Closing song was my personal favourite of hers, "I Love Myself Today", 

an anthem for anyone whose survived heartbreak and has come out of it stronger.

Post written by Ashelle.

Photo credits: Ming Wu and Ottawa Arne.

Fashion Blogger - ISDATCHU?

You cannot be EVERYTHING to EVERYONE.

Sometimes we know that from the very start. Sometimes (and for most of us, myself humbly included) we learn the hard way. Though it would be superbly terrific if we are all skilled and talented in every way,  and there are those fortunate individuals that are - this merely defines a miniscule fraction of the population.  

While it is good to know a little about everything, I think it is better to know about some things but know it very, very well. Everytime I hear someone being referred to as a Jack of all trades, the connotation doesn't necessarily point towards praise and admiration. Whenever I see a fashion blog that posts just about anything under your Banana Boat sun - from the funny kitties singing acapella to the yummy brownies Aunt Matilda baked last weekend to a brief and thoughtless commentary of who wore the worst designer dress at the last Globe/MTV/Emmy/Oscar/God-knows-what Awards to the super cute yellow jumper bought at Forever 21 online - I conclude either of the following scenarios:

1- That this is the blogger's online diary of his/her life and interests, which by all means, is perfectly acceptable. Why not? It is afterall that blogger's blog, isn't it?

2- This blog in an evolution and is currently in the process of discovering its niche or focus and I think most blogs go through this process of transition at some point in time.

I'm certain that there is a significant apetite for blogs that publish a consortium of topics that can rival the gigantic inventory of the local retail giant Walmart, I personally am not a huge fan of point number 1. On the other hand, I am a loyal supporter of point number 2. Some blogs started out with the main goal of photographing street styles, some to showcase their daily OOTD (that's Out of the Day to you Mr. J!) and recent retail purchases, others provide online critique of store or designer's current collections and most, a combination of these different elements. 

Continued below, read on...

Outfit details

Paisley sundress - Flea market, Gift from my cousin Andreu ($3.00)
Gold men's watch - Michael Kors, Gift from Sister and Aunt E
Gold earrings - Gift from EM (Love 'em)
Summer copper sandals - Mendez, borrowed from Aunt E

What and where

York Street, Byward Market: Friday night wine and lounge at the rooftop patio.

Photos courtesy of J, You Got Squared Studio.

As the individual(s) behind the blog grows over time, with the valued feedback and continued support from its readers/followers, so does the blog - its thesis, content, design and sometimes even the name of the blog itself changes. I'd be the first one to tell you that Twenty York Street has grown by leaps and bounds (and so have their wardrobes and shoe collections).  While 20YS remained true to its original objective of featuring my personal take on fashion and presenting my own distinct flair to trends and classics,  we continue to shine the spotlight on deserving talents, designers, artists other bloggers and various fashion and lifestyle events in the city (and sometimes the world). We have, for awhile now, expanded into a full grown team that provides a range of services - from editorial fashion shoots, model porfolio photography, Public Relations Management, event coverage, marketing strategy , project management and many more.

We have been absolutely fortunate to be presented with so many opportunities by so many  that helped us grow into what we are now. Thank you from the bottom of our swarovksi-encrusted hearts.

Now my dear blogger sisters and brothers, what kind of a fashion blogger are you?