Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes? Follow our senior web editor Jen O'Brien as she attends events and keeps you up to date on the latest Chatelaine happenings. This is your chance to get up close and personal with the magazine and website you've known for so long.
One amazing part of this job is that we get to attend all sorts of press events. My favourites are the fashion previews, where we get a sneak peek at collections that will be in stores the following season. It’s sort of like window shopping with hors d’oeuvres.
Right now many retailers are unveiling their fall/winter 2009 lines. Some of the trends we’re seeing for fall are chunky knits, strong shoulders and rocker-inspired pieces.
Yesterday I hit the Quicksilver Women preview, which was held at an adorable gallery space in downtown Toronto. There are some amazing pieces in their fall 2009 collection including several universally flattering boho tops and a great Edie Sedgwick-inspired oversized striped sweater.
Shawna Olsten and Seema Dhillon show off some items from the Quicksilver Women fall collection
Quicksilver Women's Edie button-back sweater
Peruse the whole collection at womens.quicksilver.com.
–Jen O’Brien
If you haven’t seen Kevin Chong’s riveting article “Mean Streets” in our August issue about the prostitutes working Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside yet, you can read it here now. Even though serial killer Robert Pickton’s trial exposed the dire situation of Vancouver’s sex workers, Chong’s piece reveals that little has changed since Pickton’s conviction. Many of the women working the Downtown Eastside are still homeless, impoverished, traumatized and discriminated against.
We felt it was important for you to hear from the women themselves, so we asked Vancouver-based photojournalists Simon Hayter and Nicole Wheelhouse (who also shot the magazine photographs) to head back out onto the streets and give us some more insight into what these women’s lives are like. Their comments will break your heart.
– Jen O’Brien
Cameron Diaz on her new role as a mom
Cameron and the cast of My Sister’s Keeper discuss their new film
Producer: Jen O’Brien
Editor: Mark McKay
My Sister’s Keeper footage courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures
Photo: George Pimentel
Here are some more shots I snapped in the press room at last night’s event.
Audrina Patridge from The Hills
The Black Eyed Peas
Rachelle Lefevre from Twilight
The Jonas Brothers
So as you know I was in L.A. last week to attend the press screening of My Sister’s Keeper and to interview Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin and Sofia Vassilieva.
I checked into gorgeous Casa Del Mar on the beach in Santa Monica (where the junket was being held) and headed to the screening. Most of the other attendees were television reporters from the States who attend these sorts of things together almost every weekend.
Before the movie we all grabbed popcorn and most of the ladies flocked around the napkin dispenser to stock up for what we had all heard was going to be a major tearjerker. I rarely break down in the movie theatre so I decided to forgo the napkin-stashing…that was a mistake.
This was definitely a weeper…but it’s not your typical Hollywood sob story. There’s a gritty honesty in this film – especially where Sofia Vassilieva’s character Kate’s illness is concerned. The disease is definitely not romanticized. I think that’s what I liked about this movie, but it’s also what made it hard to watch at times especially as a survivor of childhood leukemia.
I told the girls as much when I met with them the next morning. Cameron’s response was “We’re glad you’re still here.” Yeah, me too.
After we talked about the film (watch for my video interview later this week) I tried to get some beauty tips out of Cameron. When I got back from L.A. the first things my girlfriends wanted to know were (A) What was she wearing? And (B) What does she look like in person? To answer the first question I’ve attached a photo below. And I’ve got to say, Cammie D looks amazing in person. However, her beauty tips leave something to be desired. When I asked for tips she said “Love life and gratitude, those are beauty tips. Just have gratitude.” Interesting…
Anyways, here’s my tip: Get the girls together, grab a box of Kleenex and go see this movie on June 26th. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it. Within My Sister’s Keeper there’s humour, romance and pain. But I think the one thing that will resonate is its truthfulness. It shows us that no matter how hard life gets, fate will ultimately run its course and we just have to find a way to cope.
– Jen O’Brien
