Pariya | The Conveyor Belt - A Fashion and Lifestyle Journal

Best Banana in Vancouver!

This place gets 110% Persian approval AND they have a fabulous name. Banana Tans is the most remarkable tanning spot I’ve visited in the city. They pay extra attention to their customers, and believe me, I’ve shopped around.

I called roughly five various tanning salons before I settled down with Banana Tans. Their drop-in fee of only $5.00 before noon is ridiculously worth it.

The cherry on top? They provide you with protective eye wear, AND a mint. If you need to touch up your hair, hair products are available, as well as spray on deodorant– just in case you forget your own!

Conveniently located at 148 East Broadway (Broadway & Main), of the five spots I dialed in survey of the best tanning salon, Banana Tans upheld a high standard of customer service and etiquette.

Note to the cautious: the hi-tan bed is as strong as they advertise, so stick on the safe side. I overestimated my Persian skin tone and ended up with a deadly burn - something that has never happened to me before at a Tanning Salon! Especially since I’ve taken the same time limit at other salons in similar beds.

Their website is extremely helpful and informative, so I recommend you check it out.

*Note: this post is not to promote fake tanning or Banana Tan specifically, but to simply inform those who are interested.

Published by Pariya on August 18, 2008 in Beauty and Lifestyle. 2 Comments

Terri is a Tampon Trader

As you may know, the girl (woman, questionably) who founded this site is Terri Potratz and she is apparently a tampon trader.

Earlier, I posted two posts on the OB trails for Matchstick Marketing. Terri’s move to a new studio unearthed a box full of toiletries, where we found this evidence:

Her defense: she WOULD buy OB, if only they were sold at Costco.

My response to her defense: WHY would you trade such convenient little packaging for a hefty plastic applicator with a wide-load “pon*”?

Any words from our editor?

*Term coined by Terri Potratz

Published by Pariya on August 18, 2008 in News. 1 Comment

You Don’t Look Pretty, You Look Fat.

Do fashion trends influence societal weight gain?

The other day while having dinner on a patio in Yaletown, one of my finest friends asked a question I have had to ask myself certainly more than once this summer: “Is that girl pregnant, or is she just fat?”

The “flowy” fashion fad has ballooned across the nation, which may indicate a Hollywood-led baby boom…or it may be that we just want to stop sucking in all of the time. Whatever it is, I think people are underestimating how tough this look is to pull off.

The golden rule of maternity shirts is this: if you’ve got a belly, don’t wear them, or else someone may be staring at you trying to determine weather you’re pregnant or just trying to pull off the trend.

What I have noticed is that when this style was first made popular, I didn’t notice this problem. It’s only as of recently that I’m really starting to wonder if it’s the maternity shirt that gives us that extra little room to cheat, allows us to take that extra bite - and perhaps even discreetly unbutton the tops of our pants while in restaurants?

I know I’ve gone out for dinner on more than one occasion and stuffed myself silly with the comfort of the extra material building a curtain around my swelling belly - so the question is, have flowy and oversized shirts enabled us to get fatter and fatter?

Ed: This reminds me of the chicken vs. egg riddle. Which came first, the fat or the flow?

Above: Lover shirt; Insight dress, some fine examples of very pretty pudge hiders.

Published by Pariya on August 15, 2008 in Fashion. 9 Comments

Tampon Update

On being the Tampon fairy:

Lucy: Okay Parka (my childhood nickname due to an unfortunate fifth grade social studies presentation), we’re probably going to start the bbq at around 6pm so you if you and Dan can make it for roughly 6:30 it would be perfect!

Me: Lovely! Should I bring anything?

Lucy: Just your pretty little selves! (Because it’s true, I’m really pretty) (Dan is too, but not as much).

Me: OH!! I’LL BRING TAMPONS FOR ALL OF THE GIRLS!!

Lucy: Well, you’ll be really popular!

And I was.

–

Tracy: Girl, it’s an emergency, I’m at work and you need to bring a box of those OB’s to me, stat. For serious. Like, right now.

Me: I’ll be there in 5.

Tracy: Meet me in the bathroom.

It’s like drug deals, with tampons. Discreet passing of the ‘pon is so much easier when there’s no applicator to palm.

Published by Pariya on August 10, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

Tampons? Yes.

Okay, it’s no big secret that bloggers are often handed little goodies to blog about. It’s really a three-way beneficiary situation. You, the reader, get the dl on the goods/services we’ve had to painstakingly examine; we get something to write about (which is hard, especially daily) with the freedom to give an honest opinion; and companies get their product mentioned on the internet, for better or for worse.

In a recent case, it went a little bit like this:

Product Marketer: As you may have heard, OB Tampons is the only tampon made by women, for women…

Me: Okay, stop right there. I’m a trusty OB faithful. I totally get it. BUT– my roommate, NC, recently got like, twenty boxes of Playtex Sport Tampons, and she’s been raving. So I’ve decided to give those a whirl. If she says they’re magnificent, they must be.

PM: Well, I can send you a package of free OB tampons anyway, and can do what you wish with them - use them or hand them out to friends.

Me: I couldn’t possibly turn down being the Tampon Fairy. Send them to my boyfriend’s office!

Now, my period had not yet started at this point. I hadn’t had a chance to discover the terror that was to come from this new Playtex tampon I had been referred to. Also, I was unaware that my roommate would have the same experiences.

At first it was a welcomed change. I enjoyed the convenience of the Playtex applicator, however throwing out a small tupperware container worth of plastic seemed quite wasteful. I spent the majority of my light period wearing a slender, super-sized tampon. A little larger than the OB variety, slightly different, but nonetheless a pleasant experience.

Two or three days post-switch, I realized that regardless of how often I would take a bathroom break to check up, I was always leaking. Serious leaks. Sometimes major leaks. On a light period. So I highly suspect that this new brand had intensified my flow.

In a rush I ran to the laundry-closet in my boyfriend’s townhouse. I headed for the cute little reusable bag the agency had sent me and I grabbed an OB tampon. Insert, remove. Insert, remove. It was all back to normal. I was no longer in complete paranoia.

I was back on my OB. I appreciated the lessoning of guilt in the plastic applicator department. Always may be the ones to have bought this slogan, but with OB I’m having a “happy period.” Paying less for my tampons also makes for a happy period. That’s necessary money I could be spending to keep myself well caffeinated. (Not a joke) (Well, kind of)

Published by Pariya on August 9, 2008 in Lifestyle. 2 Comments

The Little Persian Girl and the Starbucks Solution

I will admit it, I am a coffee snob and a coffee addict. Coffee to me is like cocaine to the average teen celebrity. I recognize and appreciate a quality coffee from a classy establishment.

So, I shouldn’t really need to explain why I indulge in the anti-Starbucks movement, but I will anyway: their exploitation of music, horrible coffee, cookie-cutter corporate culture, and pamphlets on “fair trade” practices are often infuriating.

In my neighborhood, I have several different options for obtaining my caffeine fix. Trees Coffee on Granville (superb), Finch’s Coffee on Homer and Pender (delightful), the little no-name coffee shop owned by the old Armenian man on Richards and Pender (charmingly Armenian). Lately, however, I have basically been living at my boyfriend’s…so, enter Benny’s Bagels.

Continue reading ‘The Little Persian Girl and the Starbucks Solution’

Published by Pariya on July 13, 2008 in Lifestyle. 12 Comments

Internet 101: Part 1

Local clothing designer Kdon uses a blog format and regularly updates her site with photos of new goodies, which you can buy online.

These days, an online presence is vital to the existence and direction of your clothing brand. I used to boycott the internet, and play it off like I was too cool to ever touch a keyboard - but secretly, I was terrified. What if my site stats weren’t up to par? What are SEO’s? How can I take what I see of myself and turn it into 1’s and 0’s for the sheer enjoyment, pleasure and criticism of other people?

It was a nightmare, it was doom, it was horror! I didn’t know what to do about this online problem and my fears. Then I started working for a web 2.0 company that handled social networking within the film industry. I seriously thought I would die, every single day of my life I asked myself how I’d ended up there and how my boss could possibly think that my geek-talk was genuine.

Something magical happened, though. I began to fall in love with it all. Technical things started to make sense and networking events seemed to have ample drinking opportunities. Free booze and a few numbers never hurt anybody! Besides, my toned-down, absolutely undressy-dresses seemed like elegant ball gowns in a crowd full of programmers.

In all of this prancing around networking events and going to film festivals, I did learn a few things. The first thing, which deserves it’s very own post because it is so important, is this:

If you can’t afford a personal website, BLOG!

From this website alone, I have been contacted SEVERAL times regarding random PR related things, I’ve had feedback, I’ve been scouted to host a Fashion Televsion show with a $3.6 million contract, and have gone to many, many fashion shows.

Okay, so I lied about the Fashion Television contract, they’re just giving me the money because they think I’m lovely.

My point is: blogs are a brilliant way to get yourself out there. There’s no shame in utilizing a free blog service, and the bonus is that the publishing software is built in so it’s a dummy-proof way to get yourself on the net. Clothing designers can use the chronological posting format to showcase their most recent designs, and update on news and show events quickly and easily.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my insightful musings on the importance of the internet and how to speak geek.

Published by Pariya on June 5, 2008 in Lifestyle. 0 Comments

Vancouver Fashion Week: Review of Emerging Designers PT. 1

Photo by Kris Krug.

The first batch of Vancouver Fashion Week emerging designers showed on opening night at Chapel Arts on April 17.

Twitch Designs opened with four pieces. The use of corduroy and bright colours was evident, however something was missing. My initial question to Terri, seated comfortably beside me was, “we are watching Fall 08, right?” It was completely bizarre, each piece looked designed for Spring. Now, this could have been the case, however, there were no press materials present. There was no way that I could judge which collections they were showing on this evening, and there was no branding on the screen behind the models.

Shine Clothing managed to keep with the “Fall 2008″ theme (I can’t believe I had to judge whether or not that was being maintained) and really worked hard to put their sewing skills and creativity together. I loved the sexy red dress with a ruffled paper effect all over, I saw it as being the “piece de resistance” of the collection.

Hip Line by Eve Kinizo was a disappointment. I won’t lie. I want to be nice and give a designer some credit, but when you’re doing Vancouver Fashion Week with safety pins holding your dress together and cheap fabrics flooding the runway, then you really have to re-think your business plan. I was very shocked. They say tragedy plus time equals comedy, but for some reason I’m still not laughing. Hopefully with time there will be some improvements and this will be a great learning opportunity and we can all laugh about this in the (hopefully near) future.

Zena Fares was by-far my favorite Vancouver designer of the night. I wanted to take home almost every piece. Working as a young professional I like to keep my feminine appeal and stay away from outfits that scream “Hilary Clinton.” I feel that this line cinched Audrey Hepburn with Lily Allen. Cute yet classic.

See more images of Emerging Designers at VFW by Kris Krug here.

Published by Pariya on April 19, 2008 in Fashion. 2 Comments

PR Advice for Fashion Designers

Dear Vancouver Fashion Designers:

Please know that you are doing a fantastic job. I understand art and artists, and that what you do takes love and a great deal of caring. I understand that demonstrating your work can be highly nerve-racking, and producing a fashion show to present your designs is no easy feat.

I would like nothing but the best to come for Vancouver designers - I want our city to be on the map as much as the next gal - HOWEVER: you need to get organized. Every fashion show, every single time you represent yourself as a designer, you MUST provide context. People need to know exactly what you do and how you’ve come to do it. Every single time you meet someone and represent yourself as a professional, they expect to see you act professionally. If you would like to make your living as a serious fashion designer, then you need to look at successful models both locally and around the world for inspiration and knowledge. It is your duty as an artistic entrepreneur to show the world your skills and be taken seriously, and that begins with taking yourself seriously.

Here are some essential elements that can help you build a fashionable empire:

Develop a press kit. If you do not know what a press kit consists of, email me: pariya[at]theconveyorbelt[dot]com

Build media awareness, and document any articles and press you receive. Use this press to leverage yourself and your image; it might get you that next interview with an even bigger publication.

Make it easy for the journalist. This means organizing your press kit materials and providing media with TOO MUCH information. This way, they have more opportunities and angles to develop their story. Remember: writers are artists too, and artists should try to stick together. If a journalist gave you fabrics and a bobbin with no thread, you wouldn’t be able to sew your outfit together. Why would you expect the media to sew together a story about you without the threads they need?

There is no need to do a fashion show if you cannot afford to gather press materials. Seriously. Go big, or go home. There is a reason why people produce fashion shows, and it is not because they feel like participating in a fashion week for the joy of it. Fashion shows are meant to harness media and buyer attention, so you have to hone your corporate edge and give these anonymous viewers what they came for. Always be over-prepared because in the business world, anything could happen.

Look the part. There’s a fine line between effortlessly-chic and unfashionably-casual; you don’t want to be looking the latter when attempting to sell customers, media and buyers on your designs.

I will be posting tips as I observe more of what’s going on, little bits and pieces to (hopefully) come of some help to you on your way. If you have any questions in the meantime, don’t hesitate to email me! Ask us questions; that’s what we’re here for.

Love, Pariya

*Ed. note - One more point to add, which is so important: you need a website if you want your business to grow! Develop an online presence because if media can’t find information about you on the web, it makes our job very difficult. Especially if we want to write that big story and can’t find your phone number or email address…

Published by Pariya on April 18, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

Vancouver Designer Interview: Christie Clayton of Carny Love

I will admit, I fell in love with Christie Clayton at the BC Fashion Week press conference. She was friendly, approachable and she looked crazy with her neon pink hair. I appreciated her energy. We covered her Fall 2008 showing at BCFW’s Generation Next, and I loved her line, Carny Love. At the time, I spoke with designers and media and heard the whole gamut: it was a love/hate relationship. One designer marked the Carny Love line as “lacking creativity” and having a “generic style.” Another journalist mentioned she “didn’t mind the line, but [I] expected more from someone who has such crazy style in her own day-to-day look.”

Then yesterday, Christie Clayton and I shared a chance reunion at the Vancouver Public Library…we were meant to meet again! I sat down with the designer of Carny Love for an impromptu interview and learned some valuable insights:

Continue reading ‘Vancouver Designer Interview: Christie Clayton of Carny Love’

Published by Pariya on April 15, 2008 in Fashion. 0 Comments