Shadowtime Toronto

My Thanksgiving weekend of film, fashion, and fraternization in Toronto included a visit to the set of M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming film Devil, to Queen St. boutiques, and to the Bovine Sex Club.

I can't say much about this upcoming thriller slated for release in 2011, although Devil is directed by The Brothers Dowdle, (who brought us Quarantine and The Poughkeepsie Tapes), so expect it have their usual frightening intensity.

As for the shopping, from the 800 block all the way down to the 200's, Queen St. has a surprising variety of great fashion boutiques and record stores - the darkest and most glamorous is surely Carte Blanche. They sell pieces by designers like Gareth Pugh, Cheap Monday, Camilla Skovgaard, and NYC's own Pleasure Principle. From shredded chic to asymmetrical minimalism, the selection is pure eye candy, rivaling anything you can find in the L.E.S., Soho or WBurg.

My best night out was spent at the Bovine Sex Club, which is the trashiest dive bar with one of the best names I've ever heard. It's a $5 cover for the bands that happen to be playing, and definitely worth it for decor that includes an undead Cabbage Patch Kid rattling inside a neon light-up cage, and rusty found metal sculpture clusters.

No snarky Canada jokes necessary: Toronto is just a great city.