#dnsbikegang

Monday, November 30, 2009

BIKE IT AND LIKE IT PHOTOBOOTH

















So much thanks to all those fabulous people who came out to our party on Friday.

Some Models who came:

Sunday, November 29, 2009

BIKE IT & LIKE IT!


Thanks SO much to everyone who made it out to the amazing Method Lab on friday! It was an awesome night of bikes, fashion & superhero costumes. And like every good event, quickly degenerated into a family wedding-esque danceparty.... because friends are like family sometimes, no?


Thanks to Tony Ochre for our fabulous poster & Julien T for photos..... go look at the rest here!

Monday, November 23, 2009

GOODWILL

This weekend was spent on the road to amazingness! I've planned for months and finally it came and went! The Thrift Treasure Hunt. And it just so happened that friday was 50% off at ALL Goodwills!

Here are some amazing finds...

Tailored vest... $2.49, Cheetah pants... $2.49, Crocker Fur Hat... $7.50, Leather fringe Jacket... $30.00!!!Plaid men's shirt with elbow patches... $2.49, Crochet cape... $4.00, Pleated high-waisted pants... $3.00!!!


DUCK CHEESY SWEATER... $2.75!!



$19.99! Unfortunatly it was too big...
$10.00!!! Unfortunatly too small...
ahh, the hunt for the perfect onsie still on!


Then i puked a rainbow into Niagra Falls!

Done and done. On the top of the best weekends EVER!!

Your Christmas presents this year are going to kick ass!


Tuesday, November 17, 2009

What a Great Read!

This guy makes a great point... chicks on bikes are babes! (when done right!)

Check out Ryan Bigge's article that is also freatured in the Spacing Magazine! DNS are of course mentioned, so I'm off to pick up my copy today! Or maybe tomorrow ;)

Ta-ta for now!


journal-ism from Toronto freelance guy Ryan Bigge

Monday, November 16, 2009

My Spacing Article About the Sex Appeal of Women on Bikes



This article appeared in the Summer-Fall 2009 issue of Spacing. The photos did not.

The Bi(ke) Curious
Two-wheeled sex machine

Ryan Bigge

In the summer, if you are both observant and fortunate, you will spot a woman on a bicycle wearing heels. The point of her shoe will suspend in mid-air as her legs trace precise circles. If she is wearing a sundress, even better.

A woman pedaling a bike is alluring – wind in her hair, smooth, carefree grace, firm calf muscles. But is this because attractive women ride bicycles? Or does the very act of bicycling bestow a seductive aura upon a woman? This might seem a trivial question, but trying to locate the erotic frisson of bicycling is not straightforward.

Take the recent World Naked Bike Ride, held in early June, which offers plenty of evidence that pedaling can be utterly unerotic. Hollywood, meanwhile, treats a man on a bicycle as a punchline, at least in films like The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Ditto the TV show Arrested Development.

And yet a “not” can be turned into a “hot” through proximity to cranks and gears. In an October 2008 Toronto Life article, Richard Poplack discovered that infamous bike hoarder Igor Kenk “had a string of lovers over the years, most of whom lived nearby and were seduced by his combustive mixture of charm and profanity, his masculine unpredictability and un-Toronto-ness. One neighbour told me, ‘There were always beautiful girls talking to Igor, getting their bikes fixed for hours.’”

Three years ago, some Portland, Oregon perverts decided to push the erotic logic of cycling to its ultimate conclusion and create a Bike Porn film festival (link). The festival showcases user-submitted sex-positive short films that make the cycling fetish explicit (as does the Peaches video “Lovertits,” featuring Feist and another girl making out with and on their bikes).

Meanwhile, photoshoots with bicycles are becoming more frequent on alt pin-up websites like SuicideGirls and DeviantNation. There is also a Toronto girl bike gang called The Deadly Nightshades (link) who, unlike the suicides and the deviants, produce photographs that are captivating and safe for workplace viewing.

Whether bike porn and cheesecake pin-ups are empowering or the same old objectification is not an easy question to answer. More importantly, it might be the wrong question to ask. In his May 31 New York Times Book Review of Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities, musician and artist David Byrne (himself an avid urban cyclist since the late 1970s) argues that more high heels on pedals could help reduce our carbon footprint.

“I can ride till my legs are sore and it won’t make riding any cooler,” he notes. “But when attractive women are seen sitting upright going about their city business on bikes day and night, the crowds will surely follow.”

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

It's Calendar Time!

What are you doing on the 13th? Want to have fun, contribute to society (after you've taken so much...) and organize your life for 2010? Well, I have two events for you. AND, I'm doing it bi-coastal styles.


If you are in the beautiful city of Toronto, you need to stop by the Circa show room (174 Spadina Ave, 1st Floor, Ste #103) for YARDFOLK calendar release party. Spearheaded by the rad designers at Squab, who brought together thirteen artists to create original portraits of our feathered, furry (and sometimes slimy) neighbours for charity. Proceeds from the calendar will go towards the emerging artists and Earthroots, a registered charity that assists in many environmental initiatives in Ontario. So you can "FEEL GOOD DOING THE CHARITY DANCE".
Facebook linky thingy here.

Squab is close to my seafoam coloured heart. Tammy Yui, one of the talented minds behind Squab, was the graphic designer for the Toronto Wildlife Show, where I met my fellow 'shades. We then did LEAP! A Design Challenge, a sustainable design competition we got to showcase at L'Oreal Fashion Week. Then we worked together again for Flourish at the first Green Living Show. It was a sustainably fashionable experience that had Fierce Bambi and Canibal Vixen showcasing their fantastic works on the same stage that David Susuki and Al Gore were on. Tammy is one of the most talented and hard working GD's I have, or will ever meet.

If you are in the beautiful city of Vancouver, then you have the The Prohab Helmet Society and DAMAGED GOODS presenting the 2010 Prohab Ladies Bike Calendar Release Celebration!!! This calendar collaboration of local artists and photographers, featuring active, cyclist women in Vancouver riding and posing with their bikes. Facebook linky thingy here.

Who are these prohab people you may ask? Well, "The Prohab Helmet Society is a non profit incorporation dedicated to promoting and providing helmets to cyclists who are not wearing them. We encourage safety and strive to break down image barriers associated with the use of bike helmets and protective gear We love fun, and being safe while having it."

So they enforce awesome, and make me want to wear a helmet. I like. Next year I hope they ask a few of us 'Shades to model, as it falls in alignment with our policy that there can never be enough photos taken of us.
I'm buying both- you need a personal calendar and a house one for organization in all aspects of life. True story.

LOVELOVELOVE

Monday, November 9, 2009

ethical laundry... and art?


Who wouldn't want a solar powered laundromat & art gallery combined in the heart of Toronto? I sure do. The space will also serve as an organic cafe with rooftop garden, event & workshop space.

So go vote here to learn more and help our awesome friends at the About Face Collective win some grant money to achieve this goal. You can vote once a day until November 15th. So get on it kids!

SPOTTED!

The Beckerman sisters post a lovely blog with amazing personal stlye pics on a regular. So when I was told I was featured in thier Toronto Street Style section along with some other fashionable peeps, I jumped and fist-pumped!


Just so happens these hipster sisters are also featured on the TEEN VOGUE website!


Double SHOT SPOT!

On another note... what does it mean when you have people dress as you for Halloween?

Are the DNS accuratly portrayed? tights, bling, bike hats with 'player', make-up, animal shirts, stripes, drunken shinnanigans?

I will leave this up to you... the public to comment.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Bikes Are Cool



Dear Cool Kids,

I like your video. Next time, get our Jesi the Elder to do a video.

Sincerely,

~MegO!