This is a moment the party people of Toronto know well.
You’re at a cocktail something or a fundraiser or the opening of an envelope and there’s a photographer circling. It may be king party paparazzi George Pimentel or Aline Sandler with her blonde, mermaid length hair or any number of fashion photo bloggers.
They approach you as you’re inhaling a Chinese food container full of sweet potato frites and pose the golden question: “Can I have a picture?”
“Oh, um, I don’t know,” you say as you look around your conversation cluster feigning embarrassment before realizing the photographer’s eye is already straying to another subject. “OKAY!”
Quarter turn towards the camera. Snap. C’mon smile!. Snap. One more shot just in case. Snap. Turn down the offer to see the photos (“I don’t like to look at pictures of myself”). Spell your name and say who you’re wearing into the camera’s digital voice recorder. Maybe just one more picture. Snap.
I’m betting that’s how Butterfly Ball attendee Deena Pantalone found herself on Toronto Life’s Style page last week.
Pantalone should have known she was in for some catty comments by posing for associate editor Courtney Shea’s weekly Best Dressed column. The five women who have preceded her in that spot (from prim Pink Tartan designer Kimberly Newport Mimran to fashion original, stylist Roslyn Griffith Hall) have been called everything from “frumpy” to “denim space-woman” by the site’s poisoned keyboard-wielding readers.
Pantalone’s pic earned the most replies yet but not because of bra-less cleavage or her spoiled surroundings.
The developer claimed a dress from Queen West frock spot Champagne & Cupcakes was a vintage find she had tailored for the event and her tall tale was quickly called out by fans of the line. C&C designer Caroline Lim caught wind of Pantalone’s fib that she had “sort of” designed the red dress herself and offered supportive commenters a $5 discount on their next purchase. The “Miss Discredit Discount Sale” sale ends today.
To add fuel to her faux pas, Pantalone appeared in a Toronto Star spread on the gala the next day and her dress was miscredited this time as Dior.
Reader debate volleyed between “give credit where credit is due” and “people lie about who they’re wearing all the time” with the shame-shame-double-shame camp outnumbering Pantalone’s defenders.
On Friday, it seemed like Lim was cursed to never be properly credited when a follow up piece in the Star about Panatalone visiting Champagne and Cupcakes to apologize ran with a photo of Carol Lim, co-owner of Opening Ceremony in New York City.
On SheDoesTheCity, the real Caroline Lim earnestly said, “I hope both Ms. Deena & myself move on soon from this drama, both learning from the experience.”
Toronto Life closed the comments section on the story at 4:29 that afternoon and with no shout out from Shinan Govani in Saturday’s Post (a tweet that read “The thing about “socialite” Deena Pantalone and her Page 1-making fashion fracas is this: I’ve never heard of her” was all he had to say on the subject), the hoopla fizzled.
Until today.
Toronto Life’s new best dressed piece debuted this morning. “Former Vogue editor and Toronto native” Jessica de Ruiter was snapped in front of the Gardiner Museum on her wedding day wearing an Oscar de la Renta gown she picked up at White in Yorkville.
Her story seems to check out but I’m sure someone will find something in the Q&A to nitpick. Just remember that it’s her wedding photo. Be gentle.
[rssbreak]
