Charm Torres describes her style as "lazy glam", but it's hard to reconcile the word lazy with this woman! She has two careers she is passionate about, one in LGBT health care and a second as a make up artist (freelance and with MAC). She takes her inspiration from queer femme culture, POC street style....and of course Solange and Rhianna. 
We talked about queerness, race, #selfies and how rape culture influences women's fashion choices. 
Please check out Charm on instagram where she is charmacita, and if you want her to consult with you about makeup or to do your makeup, email her at
charmztorres[at]gmail.com
Thanks and enjoy the show :)

Alia is the vocalist, flautist and organist for Blood Ceremony--a hard/occult/horror rock band based in Toronto. They've also aptly been called 'witch rock'. 
She describes her style as 'what you might have worn to a Black Sabbath show in 1972', and talked about dressing for the stage and for the real world; including putting on a persona for performance. 
She's a bell bottom, platform shoe enthusiast who looks to Tina Turner circa the late 60s; and Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum for her stage inspiration. 
We talked about 1970s horror, Marianne Faithful, Jethro Tull and sufism! 
Super fun, please listen and check out the show notes and pictures at 
www.dresscodecracker.com
Blood Ceremony's most recent album is The Eldritch Dark. 
please look for Blood Ceremony on their facebook page! 

I interviewed Matthew for a crazy long time earlier in the fall (edited down dear listener)--mainly because, not only does he have a terrific 'telephone voice', but he also has funny and refreshingly uncensored opinions on things. This is a guy who thinks about fashion, and clothes, about construction and about what makes people get dressed they way they do. He may look like your neighbourhood drug dealer, but don't be fooled.

AHHHH!!! I'm still blown away that I got to interview the amazing Dame Darcy. I've been obsessed with her work since the mid 1990s--she's not only an amazing artist/cartoonist/painter she's also a storyteller, musician (her project is called Death by Doll), film maker, fashion icon (she makes her own couture...Anna Sui and Courtney Love are fans too!), and outspoken feminist and environmentalist. 
She describes her style as Hillbilly Roccocco and I was completely tickled by all her references to a myriad of influences: King Ludwig II of Bavaria's Neuschwanstein Castle, Liberace, her 1920s boudoir doll named Isabelle, Ziggy Stardust, Grace Jones, Diana Ross (specifically the huge hair/shimmery huge eyed alien Diana of the 1970s), Laura Ingalls and Nellie Olsen (gingham! bonnets! the 19th century!)...and Adam Ant circa Stand and Deliver, the watching of which Dame Darcy says "broke her" in terms of setting in stone her idea of the dandy highwayman in the place of idealized masculinity. 
Please check out her website at damedarcy.com for info about her books, fine art, dolls, film, music and upcoming projects including "Meat Cake presents Voyage of Temptress"--a mutli-media video and story project.
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Cyndi is a heavy metal guitarist based in Toronto. I loved that in talking about her style evolution, she said “I don’t always have to be looking at my vinyl album covers and trying to look like these guys from the eighties”--without any irony. 
We discussed dressing for the stage and dressing with LOTS of full colour tattoos, and her belief in showing a little 'cleave'. 
Her interests are music, record collecting and pro wrestling, and she likes to take inspiration from 'strange places', sometimes disappearing down the etsy hole looking for the perfect see through robe. 
Please check out her band Call of the Wild including their FB page. 

Caroline Shadood was a pleasure to talk to about her 'practical over flattering' style--and her rejection of the entire concept of 'flattering'. Her blog Broadist has gotten a lot of attention for it's refreshing take on style/politics/'lady troubles' and body positivity. 
She doesn't buy new clothes, prefers to swap/thrift and never pays full price for anything; refers to growing out her hair to acihieve the Kathleen Hanna trademark -- the  'bitchy high ponytail'; and talked about armpit exposure as a measure of a fancy vs casual event. In short she was an utter delight! 
\thanks for listening! 

This weeks guest--Lorraine Hewitt-- has been on the periphery of my 'Toronto personalities' awareness for a long time--from her burlesque performances with Skin Tight Outta Sight Rebel Burlesque troupe, to her role as co-creator of the ground breaking Feminist Porn Awards, to seeing her in my friendly local neighbourhood feminist sex toy shop.
Her style is sort of a punk/pin up hybrid. We talked about how your style (and attitude) changes with age, and she said some quotables about 'dress codes'
"In the end I think having dress codes is useful: we need them. We need to be able to identify who shares our interests, and who feels authentic" --I love it!

​I first encountered Sheryl Yvette via her blog where she sometimes goes by "Bitch Cakes". She makes a retro glamour look seem effortless, running marathons; cycling New York/Brooklyn/Queens without a hair out of place, and posting body positive bikini shots on her instagram and tumblr. I was surprised to learn her main interest is....photography! Did I mention she's vegan and was featured for her makeup skills in Allure magaziine? She personifies Retro Barbie, hates to shop, and judging from her online presence maintains the life of a bon vivant gal-about-town.

Samra is a Toronto based photographer, fashion editor and writer. 
She describes her style by referencing aging female rockstars, androgyny, messy hair and lesbian butch fashion. 
Her newest project is a photography exhibit opening next week at Toronto World Pride called "Just me and Allah: Photographs of Queer Muslims" which will debut at  Parliament Street Library, the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, and Videofag Gallery.  
Please visit http://queermuslimproject.tumblr.com/ for more information; or look for 'Just me and Allah" on facebook for more events. ​

Abby Ehmann, aka EditrixAbby, has been a pornographer and event producer, emcee and editor, copy writer and computer artist. But through it all she's been a devout costumer and theme party enthusiast. These days she crafts crowns and tiaras and recently took a millinery class at FIT. Three months out of the year she works in the Nevada desert for Burning Man and the other nine she blogs about braving the online dating scene as a woman over 50.
 Her blog: www.editrixabby.wordpress.com
Her Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/abbyschapeaux
Her Facebook biz page: www.facebook.com/PartywearByPinkitrix
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