Make love, not war!

Love will always win the day in Montreal, especially as the year progresses and the climate gets hotter, steamier and… well, plain sexier! And so although spring is protest season in Quebec’s true capital, the city’s best barista, Sars Lawls née Lawlor , has been putting her people skills to work to help relieve some tension in the streets. To put it another way, she’s helping people find love - and consequently sex - at the demonstrations.

Her new blog, Parc Laff, sets out what to wear in order to set yourself apart within a heaving human sea of uniformity. Parc Laff takes its name for Parc Lafontaine, which is in  normal times a wonderful haven of respite from the shrill beat of urban and life, but like the proverbial Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide, can rapidly become the epicentre of conflict when things go rotten in Quebec society. Probably the most infamous conflict to happen there was Lundi de la matraque (Baton Monday) which took place on June 24, 1968, the day before a federal election. 290 people were arrested and 128 people were injured on Saint-Jean Baptiste Day, the national holiday for French-speaking Canadians. Demonstrations against the federal government turned violent, and but the Prime Minister, Pierre-Elliot Trudeau, famously stood his ground on the stage. “Je déteste la violence. Démocrate, je n’admets pas qu’une infime minorité d’agitateurs tente de chasser à coups de pierres les invités de la majorité,” he later wrote in his memoires (I hate violence. As a democrat, I cannot accept that a tiny minority of agitators armed with stones would try to chase away those who had been invited by the majority.) 

And so it is in this spirit that Ms. Lawls writes “If you’re like me and love to go to a nice night demonstration is the beautiful streets of Montreal, this will give you a good fashion base for the summer of red and black. For the terribly trendy Manif Date night try a nice tailored jacket.”

She also offers a number of hints for being sexy - and political - in environments that may not normally permit such a provocative combination, like the office. Madame Lawlor is already deftly attracting the attention of the crowd: @manifdating has already given the thumbs-up to her testosterone-tempting textile teases.  So, Tumblr today, Flare by Friday (or perhaps more likely Vice on Vendredi)? Time will tell! 

Top image: June 24, 1968, across the street from Parc Lafontaine. Source: Alain Cognard.  Bottom image: Watermelon Blazer, £65.00 from TopShop, sourced from Parc Laff.

Unfortunate hipster fail

I noticed these last week, and although they are cool, it’s unfortunately a dangerous practice. Also, I think one would be enough. Doing all of them just seems a bit blah. So who ever you are, please stop.

Open File has the story: Somebody has been going around the Plateau and Mile End spray painting fire hydrants gold and the fire department is not too happy about it. The colours of hydrants signify different water pressures. “(The paint) allows you to quickly distinguish the type of water supply and conduct, whether it’s a primary or secondary source,” said Louise Desrosiers, head of prevention for Montreal’s fire department. “This is a problem.” Read on…