If you live in either Toronto or New York, you will want to be part of the newest exclusive society. Brought to you by Stella Artois, La Societe is currently a  members only group rewarding you for living your life. Rack up points by engaging on your social media networks and hanging out at the coolest venues, and redeem for tickets to sports games, exclusive sports games, and amazing travel experiences. So how do you get in on this, you ask?

We have 25 invitations to give away – all you have to do is retweet this post and make sure to include @fsfashionblog in your message so we know to credit you. The first 25 that do so will receive a secret code that will allow you to join. So get on it!

Downtown Toronto is rich in street-wear boutiques, but with so many, how do you pick the best ones?

In my small school located miles away from the city, people dressed the exact same way. My fellow school mates would buy clothes for the same brand names, expecting themselves to be unique even though everyone else had the same clothes on. Hollister, Aeropostale, Abercombie and H&M. The four apocalyptic disasters that were sent down to this earth to prevent people from having a unique and personal style. I always thought the people with the most up-to-date styles and the newest clothes were always the coolest people.  I wanted to be apart of that group, one of the cool kids who were known for their sense of style and trend-setting abilities. The one trip to downtown Toronto’s fashion district changed my life, every store there was so unique, so fresh and so hip. If I could name all of the stores I would, but out of all of them, five stores stick out:

Over The Rainbow:

Opened in 1975 as a premium denim retailer, Over the Rainbow sold jeans and apparel  from many different countries. As time passed,  Over The Rainbow increased it’s reputation and by 2007, the store was known as one of the go-to denim stores of the Country.

Over The Rainbow now sells over 250 styles of denim (largest selection in Canada) and carries over 100 different brands like 1921 and PRPS.

http://rainbowjeans.com/home.htm

Due West/Next Door:

Roughed up and edgy are the thoughts that come to my mind when I think of the ambiance of the store. Established in 1973, Due West is a mid-end retailer that has a very relaxed and chilled out vibe. When I first entered this store, I saw brands like Dom Rebel and G-Star, (which I personally don’t wear) and a lot of more street-ish and more urban styles of clothing. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is into the more graphic aspect of design.

www.duewestclothing.com

Next Door:

Next Door is probably my favourite stores out of the five. Located right beside Due West, Next Door sells higher end brands such as D&G, McQ by Alexander McQueen, DSquared and J.Lindeberg. You definitely get a more up-scale feel when entering this retail store, along with the simple and straight forward design of the interior. There is also a great contrast between the exposed plywood walls and the simple yet noticeable clothing showcase.

http://nextdoorclothing.posterous.com/

Show Room:

The first time I went into Show Room was during the 2009 boxing day sale. At first I thought it was going to be impossible to find something that I would actually like but I was surprised to see such a wide variety of clothes to choose from. After 20 minutes in the store, I had over $350 worth of clothes in my arms and I was walking towards the cash register. This two-floor store is filled with higher priced garments on the second floor and plenty of hip and up and coming brands on the first floor. From brands and labels that would get anyone spending every penny they have, including: Diesel, Cheap Monday, Miss Sixty,  Naked and Famous, Levis, True Religion and Lucky 7.

http://www.theshow-room.com/

Got Style Menswear:

Voted as the top menswear store by in Toronto by Now Magazine, Got Style is the leading menswear store when it comes to casual or business attire. The aesthetics of the store is what every man would want to see while shopping; flat-screen TVs, comfortable furnishings and a sleek interior. Got Style also has it’s very own male only spa which provides haircuts and hot-towel shaves.

http://www.gsmen.com/

When Monica Mei graduated in 2007 from Ryerson University, she won the coveted Standard Broadcasting Corporation’s $25 000 Business Plan Competition to start her own designer label. As an extension of her personality, she coined the name Aime as a means of conveying her philosophy of “Love Yourself. Love Others. Love Luxury.”

With pieces that are versatile, comfortable, and stylish, one cannot help but wonder from where Monica draws her inspiration. To fulfill the needs and wants of the modern woman, Monica draws upon nature and her travels. Having traveled plenty in her youth with her parents, Monica continues to see more of the world. In what she calls her “digital detox,” the inspiration for the Spring/Summer 2010 line was found in the dolce vita lifestyle of the west Mediterranean where laughter and yachts lined the coastline.

Wanting to do her part to promote a more sustainable environment, Monica strives to use all-natural or more sustainable fabrics, such as Tencel, silk, bamboo, organic-cotton, and mother-of-pearl. In addition, production is overseen by the young designer herself as the line is produced Canada.

In addition to a welcomed presence at this past LG Fashion Week, Aime has received acclaim from many notable media outlets, including Fashion Television, FLARE, Slice.ca, and National Post.

Aime can be found in retailers across Canada and the US:

New York City – Martier
Chicago – Perchance Boutique
Miami – At Ease on Sunset, Kristine Michael
West Palm Beach – Rhythm Clothiers
Boca Raton – Martier
Winter Park, FL – Tuni
Toronto – French Accents, TNT Hazelton Lanes, TNT Eglinton
Vancouver – Eugene Choo, The Velvet Room, Body Politic
Montreal – TNT

For more information, please visit http://www.aimeluxury.com

London’s next project will be sure to put her on the map and showcase her acting abilities. The title character, Jane Doe, played by Veronika London (Showtime’s “Body Language,” HBO series “Lingerie” and our lovely product model!) is a young prostitute and heroin addict found by paramedics laying on the street in a pool of blood. She is the victim of a violent altercation which leaves her with a severe head injury. Stricken by amnesia and struggling with her heroin addiction, she is on a quest to discover her identity, but most importantly who did this to her and why. Along her quest she comes along several characters from her past and the clues to the answers she seeks slowly come to light, revealing many horrible truths. With this information, feelings of curiosity quickly turn to a thirst for retribution.”Jane Doe” goes into production in January 2010 with principal photography lasting 30 days. The majority of the film will be shot in Toronto, Canada with additional scenes to be shot in Los Angeles.

For more information on Veronika’s new movie, check out www.janedoemovie.com.

And while you are waiting for this movie to be finished and released, be sure to check out the JUZD Shop as we will soon be selling our fall/winter collection, for which Veronika modeled.

Several months ago we brought to you the CTV News Toronto segment in which NBA star Chris Bosh filled in for retired weatherman Dave Devall. But now we have for you the behind-the-scenes shots of Chris on the CTV News set in Toronto!

Chris and CTV anchorwoman Christine Bentley

Chris getting ready to fill in for Dave Devall

Telling the city of Toronto the weather, NBA style

Online community, BeforeLastCall, connects many with the night scene, hot events, and other trendy finds of major cities all over North America. So it comes as no surprise that BeforeLastCall Toronto spotlighted JUZD in its “In Touch” section where you can find the newest and juiciest fashion news and lines!

In this article, you can find info on the line, as well as pictures from the Spring Summer 09 line and YouTube videos of advertisements featuring our product and segments of local celebrities wearing our shirts!

Check it out here: http://toronto.beforelastcall.com/intouch/151/juzd_the_planets_first_bamboo_designer_label.html

The day couldn’t have gone any better with a Raptor win over the LA Clippers, undoubtedly an early birthday present for Chris and his teammates. The adrenaline level was sky high and the team made a special effort to look and smell good for the highly anticipated festivities that the night would bring.

Liberty Street had never felt so alive on a Sunday night; the street was filled with high energy and people, who braved the frigid cold, on a day where usually the street is calm and quiet. The storm was just about to come. Chris’s friends and family were riled up to celebrate Chris Bosh‘s 25th exclusive birthday gala at Maro nightclub on Sunday March 22, 2009.

The red carpet was rolled out with style and the crowd was decked out to the nines. People were definitely ready to get JUZD. Lots of people ran out to buy the exclusive, hand made, one-of-a-kind BIG 25 JUZD, hand crafted by Jing Liu. The shirts were sold before the event and those who purchased beforehand, took advantage of the VIP treatment in the club. The BIG 25 shirts were also selling at Maro as a souvenir commemorating a new milestone in Chris’ life.

Hundreds of Bosh’s closest friends including Jay Triano, teammates: Shawn Marion, Anthony Parker, Jose Calderon, Jason Kapono, Andrea Bargnani, Kris Humphries, Roko Ukic and Joey Graham were among some of the Raptors in attendance. Hallie Dixon, Trex and Devo Brown were also anticipating Chris’ arrival. The paparazzi were ready with their extra large SD cards and as soon as Chris rolled up to the club, the flashing lights from hundreds of cameras started. 4Korners welcomed him with 50 cent’s “In Da Club” and the crowd sang “Go Shawty, it’s your birthday.” Shawty was quite the irony standing tall at 6’10!

It only took minutes for the friends and family in the VIP section to start popping bottles to help celebrate Chris’s 25th.

The party went on until the wee hours but who would turn down celebrating in style with Chris for his quarter century milestone? Here’s to brilliant year Chris, all the best from your closest family and friends in Toronto!

JUZD’s Jing Liu Poses with FLOW 93.5 Host Devo Brown

Toronto Raptors Star, Anthony Parker

Toronto Raptors’ Anthony Parker and Jose Calderon with friends

Enjoying the Evening

DJ 4Korners

Jason Laquian (Buyer for TNT Blu) and Jing Liu poses for the Camera in Style

Clubbers Posing for the Camera

Clubbers

JUZD Team Tiffany, Rebecca Lam, Benny Yeung, Jason Wong (JUZD Photographer)

Hallie Dixon

Chris Bosh

Chris Bosh Celebrating his Birthday in Style

Clubber

JUZD model Neila Smai with Toronto Raptors Teammate, Shawn Marion

Even at the Bar, the Bartenders got JUZD!

Stephanie with Toronto Raptors’ Roko Ukic and Jason Kapono

Friend Josh, Daniel Carmen (Buyer for Over the Rainbow), A Cool Partyguest, and Jing posing for the Camera

Andrea Kertesz (Makeup Artist) and Jing Liu engaged in conversation

JUZD Poses with Cool Partygoers