Black Friday Bra Extravaganza at LaSenza

November 23rd
What an eventful morning this has been!
Today was Black Friday, possibly the most deadliest day of the year in America and who's bad consumer habits are slowly trickling up here into Canada. 3 years ago there never would have been a Black Friday sale in Canada, well maybe in Ontario but not in B.C. But as I was walking through the mall the other day I walked by La Senza...
I couldn't remember the last time I had bought a bra! And the wire in one my favorite bras had just broke the other day! So I walked into the store and it is so beautiful in there. The women that work there are like Barbies(Tall, perfect hair, permanent smile painted on their faces) certainly the type of woman every girl should aspire to be!

So this girl is talking to me about bras and the right one for my body and she tells me that I shouldn't buy anything today. I should really come back for the Black Friday sale, doors open at 8 and mad sales! Well OF COURSE I'm going to go!
So this morning I work up at 7 and bussed myself down to the Bay Center. And along with about 10 other middle aged ladies and a few of my friends we raided the store!
You can never have enough underwear and don't let anyone tell you different.
But here's some fun facts:
Did you know the La Senza is a Canadian Company?
Did you know they're based out of Quebec?
I didn't. But I think that's understandable, it could be French but the name sounds very much Italian.
But think of something else now. Where do you buy your bras? If your my mother the Bay, Sears or Zellers. But if you wanted to buy a sexy bra! Lingerie! Lace! Too make it just that more special where are you going to go? Well it probably depends on your age range but you might go to La Senza, or you might go to La Vie en Rose...which is basically the La Senza equivalent focused towards more mature women also based out of Montreal....

Do you see a pattern here?
Both have french names, both are based out of Montreal...There is a French monopoly on our undergarments here in Canada.
Am I complaining? No, they're certainly doing it right but what does that say about us as people. No one wants to be caught buying bras in the Bay, it's embarrassing, the Bay is not a sexy place. What is it about French exoticism that hooks us into their lingerie marketing world?
Does every girl have a secret dream of living out a harlequin romance novel with a well muscled man named Francois or Jacques or Antoine and the only way to attract one will be to wear stylish bras? Maybe like Rose in the Titanic we want to be painted like one of Jack's french girls who show no shame at being painted in the nude? I honestly don't know but the people in Quebec clearly do because they're doing it right and making a profit.
And I'm not even sorry for buying into it!

Marry Me Cotillard

September 24th
Well hello again readers,
Some of you may know, if you know me, that I am a theater major at the University of Victoria in Canada. This means that I watch a lot of theater, I read many plays and on the rare day I listen to songs from musicals.
It would seem only fitting then that as I was watching a musical with my friends one of the greatest actresses of the 21st century, in my opinion, showed up on the screen.
MARION COTILLARD!

We were watching Nine which is essentially a series of songs strung together with poorly written plot about an Italian film director who has some serious mommy issues and how this effects his relationship with all the women in his life.
It's really not a very good movie and for some reason Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas was in it playing a prostitute who lives on a beach and Judy Dench pretending to be french with a terrible french accident singing Folies Bergeres (link) which is actually a plays a pretty important part in the history of french entertainment.
Originally it was just a music hall that opened in the 1860's that featured female entertainers. This would morph into a form of burlesque entertainment which is just a fancy word for classy stripping. Though they may not strip all the way down, their performances generally focused on their exotic background but it launched the careers of many female french entertainers.
Anyways, Nine would have been a complete waste if Marion Cotillard hadn't been in it. She plays the wife of this troubled director who has put up with all his cheating and his lies until finally she breaks and leaves him. Oh but not before singing Take it All. The best performance in the movie! (link)
Cotillard was originally from Paris but she has found her way into the American film world. Ever since she starred in Public Enemies with Johnny Depp she is found in at least 1 major film a year. Inception, Midnight in Paris, and this year she appeared in The Dark Knight Rises.
Personally I can find no fault with this woman, her acting is flawless and believable. She can sing. She can dance. She can play the victim and the villain. And I am so excited to see her in Nightingale next year!!
A woman who can do no wrong and is after my heart.
French Actress
Marion Cotillard.