Olivia Stren

Articles on torontolife.com written by Olivia Stren.

Buy, Buy BabiesBuy, Buy Babies

From Fifth Avenue to Bloor Street, vendors of $1,200 bags and $400 cellphones turn to the store design firm Burdifilek. The art of retail seduction
Published: October 2008

Cashmere MafiaCashmere Mafia

Why designer Paul Sinclaire’s Tevrow & Chase has become high society’s uniform du jour
Published: April 2008

Leave It to BeaverLeave It to Beaver

Two west-end scenesters have turned a rough-hewn hoser aesthetic into the toast of the design world
Published: July 2008

Shop GirlShop Girl

Bonnie Brooks has a black belt in retail make-overs, but can she bring shoppers back to The Bay?
Published: December 2008

The Rise of Jay GodfreyThe Rise of Jay Godfrey

How did a guy from the Bridle Path end up outfitting Eva Mendes, Lauren Conrad and Audrina Patridge? Toronto’s Jay Godfrey designs party dresses that are saucy, sexy and paparazzi-friendly
Published: March 2008

Avenue Road and LawrenceAvenue Road and Lawrence

There’s more to the pristine north Toronto neighbourhood than designer produce (Pusateri’s) and high-end footwear (Zola). Six reasons to give your bank account an uptown workout
Published: July 2007

CollingwoodCollingwood

Despite the slow start to the ski season, Collingwood’s shops, cafés and stellar new spa provide plenty of off-piste amusement. Seven standout reasons to head north this weekend
Published: March 2007

Dream GirlDream Girl

How to become a certified pop diva without losing your indie boyfriend. The unstoppable ambition of Feist
Published: July 2007

Liberty VillageLiberty Village

With sexy new storefronts, high-gloss condos and plans to build a canopied walkway modelled after a Milanese arcade, the former factory blocks are poised to become the next Chelsea Market
Published: January 2007

OssingtonOssington

Once a sad-sack strip littered with booze cans and long-dead storefronts, Ossington is quickly becoming a stylish destination. Sketch of a neighbourhood on the verge
Published: May 2007

ParkdaleParkdale

Parkdale—now trimmed with sweet cafés, bars and vintage boutiques—cleans up good. Your guide to a thriving bohemia
Published: August 2007

PictonPicton

Prince Edward County, with its farms, vineyards and postcard lake views, is blooming into a winning caloric capital, and graceful, historic Picton is its civic centre­piece. Seven reasons to weekend in the country
Published: June 2007

Radio ActiveRadio Active

When not discovering the new Björk or performing in Whitehorse, he’ll be hosting his own show. A portrait of Jian Ghomeshi, modern-day renaissance man
Published: April 2007

Rebel RebelRebel Rebel

George Stroumboulopoulos is a loner who loves attention, an anti-authoritarian mama’s boy and a motorcycle-riding hedonist who doesn’t drink, smoke or sleep. His job? Save the CBC
Published: January 2007

St. Clair WestSt. Clair West

Sweet boutiques and boulangeries are bringing exuberance to a strip better known for its thrift shops and jerk chicken joints. Here are eight reasons to brave the endless construction and behold the rebirth of an avenue
Published: February 2007

Stunt WomanStunt Woman

Ex-Breakfast Television host Liza Fromer's new show has her walking on hot coals and flying in a biplane. It should be easy compared to 4 a.m. wake-up calls
Published: September 2007

The HedonistsThe Hedonists

How two Toronto interior designers reinvented decadence
Published: November 2007

YorkvilleYorkville

The city’s reigning pocket of posh is, like many of its denizens, in the midst of a serious facelift. Seven fashionable roads to financial ruin in Yorkville
Published: April 2007

AugustaAugusta

Kensington’s main avenue trades in more than pupusas, produce-filled pushcarts and frayed Levi’s. A parade of new restos and boutiques is turning the strip into the city’s premiere bohemian boulevard. Eight reasons to go to market
Published: June 2006

Church and WellingtonChurch and Wellington

Heritage buildings, like the iconic ruddy-hued Flatiron, make this city wedge downtown’s most photogenic. Frilled with charming storefronts and stylish restos, the area abounds in that Toronto rarity: postcard-worthy beauty
Published: August 2006

CreemoreCreemore

Set in a valley by the Mad River and hemmed in by the Purple Hills of Mulmur, this hamlet has a sleepy, lost-in-time feel. Free of subdivisions and big-box stores, it has retained what Gap-ifying towns like Collingwood have lost. Eight ways to enjoy a little town and country
Published: October 2006

Eglinton WestEglinton West

This vogued-out strip is well travelled by cell-toting teens and families (accessorized with Starbucks, Buga boos and schnoodles) seeking to enhance their closets. Where uptowners come to swipe plastic
Published: November 2006

Forest Hill VillageForest Hill Village

Full of gossiping teens, the village is as twee as it was 20 years ago. But the charm of this oh-so-posh ’hood lies in its changelessness
Published: April 2006

Laugh TrackLaugh Track

Martin Short makes merry in his new play
Published: June 2006

Port HopePort Hope

The small town is a postcard of quaintness. With the prettiest (and best preserved) main street in Ontario and a slew of chic new boutiques, it's on the verge of a mini-renaissance. Eight reasons to weekend in the country
Published: May 2006

The OutsiderThe Outsider

In a departure from her usual homicidal subjects, director Mary Harron’s latest film examines the sinister side of beauty
Published: April 2006

Trinity BellwoodsTrinity Bellwoods

Once a dissolute drag flanked by flophouses and seedy bars, this newly gentrified strip of Queen West is now filled with stores geatred to a G audience. The truly hip come squiring a stroller
Published: July 2006

Q & A with Morwyn BrebnerQ & A with Morwyn Brebner


Published: October 2005