Name: Alexandra Cioppa
School: George Brown College
Program, Year: Fashion Business Industry, 2nd year
What was the deciding factor that made you choose this school? The unique program- George Brown is probably one of the only colleges in Canada to have a Fashion course concentrated on the entrepreneurial and business side.
What do you love most about your school? The professors are amazing- they are engaging and they have a ton of experience in what they are teaching. I also love that I got to meet a whole bunch of people that are interested in exactly what I am interested in. And while this sounds very nerdy- I actually love doing my schoolwork- they come up with great course work!
Are you involved in any extracurricular activities? George Brown doesn’t have a lot of extracurricular activities like clubs or organizations but there are opportunities for paid jobs at school. When I attended the University of Toronto before I started at George Brown I was involved with the Womens’ and Trans centre which was a different, unique experience for me.
What’s your best advice on how to meet new friends? Don’t underestimate the basic- hi, how are you? to a neighbour. People are generally friendly and everyone wants to make new friends, next time you sit next to someone, say hi. Make sure to go to your frosh week, too, and join any club or organization you have an interest in, you are bound to meet people with similar interests that way.
Where’s your favourite place for:
A cheap dinner: Lahore Tikka House on Gerrard Street East in Little India or Korean Grill on Queen street- both these places are great because you can go with a group of friends and share a meal. You get a massive amount of food at each of these places too. Lahore Tikka House has a great atmosphere, you eat off of picnic tables and your food comes in pans and you scoop it with naan and the Korean Grill is awesome because you grill your own meats or fish or veggies.
Brunch: More breakfasty than brunchy- I recommend Boom Breakfast co.- there are a few locations around Toronto, it is just a cute, sunny, cheerful breakfast place,
Lunch: I Love Sushi on Queen West. I Love Sushi has cheap lunch specials, I love to get the teriyaki chicken bento box, just thinking about it makes my mouth water…..
Coffee: Red Rocket Coffee- on Queen East and on Wellesley East too, the coffee is good and the prices are decent. Cool enough to be deemed hipster but not so hipster that you feel complete alienation when entering. The owners and baristas are friendly and totally unpretentious unlike some other coffee places.
What bars do you frequent the most? I like Sneaky Dees- I have run into some crazy people there. I was there with friends once and one guy asked my friend for a painting of her face to remember her, when she told him she didn’t have one, he asked to run away with her.
Where do you go if you wanna dance? George’s Play on Church street is a fun place to let loose, it is a gay bar that also features some very hot drag queen shows. Once the strap on my dress broke and my top basically fell off, and I danced around for a good 15 minutes before I realized, I mean, no one grabbed my boob- it was so freeing! The Hideout is a cool club too, a bit of an older crowd but they have good live bands and it is just fun to dance around, in the back there is a pool table too!
Any party nights we should know about?Shirley’s Dirty Bingo night!!! I discovered this gem courtesy of a friend and I am so glad she introduced me to it. Shirley’s Dirty Bingo night happens all around different Toronto bars, Shirley is a drag queen who berates the crowd all night. When you win bingo, you get a very adult prize ranging from the tame handcuffs to the more explicit double ended dildo.
Do you have a favourite clothing store? First of all- NEVER disregard the down and dirty thrift shop, sure, they aren’t as cool looking as the stores in Kensington but you can find incredible stuff at very cheap prices. I live in the St. Clair West area where there is a Goodwill and a Salvation Army, every week the Goodwill has a 50% off sale and I find so many treasures, I love to dig through the clothing. One of my new favourites is Double Take on Gerrard St East where I found this incredible pleather jumper and a cream leather vest. Black Market on Queen Street is super cheap sometimes so it is worth a look. Any store in Kensington Market is always a safe bet for great vintage, I like Courage My Love and Flashback. There is a small and adorable store called Lavishy, there are a few locations around Toronto, they sell very cute jewelery. Otherwise, H&M, Zara, Mango, Forever 21, Aldo and Joe Fresh Styles are among my favourites. Also- a shameless George Brown plug here- George Brown has two small stores at the Casa Loma campus run by the Fashion Management program with merchandise picked out by the students.
Where’s your favourite place to study? Coffee shops- studying is so much better when there is a caramel macchiato involved. I also love the Toronto Reference Library and recommend studying at university libraries, even if you don’t go to that university, there is always some good boy stalking material there.
Do you have a hairdresser / salon you’d recommend? The Fiorio salon school- they do really good work at a really good price, they are very welcoming and friendly too!
What has been your favourite class thus far? Costume history, once you know the history of your clothes, you really start to appreciate fashion and how it has evolved, it really becomes something more than a designer name or label.
What class are you looking forward to most this year? I am looking forward to my Business planning course and also my elective courses this year- I am taking Public Speaking and Sexual Diversity. I am interested in starting my own business one day so I really want to learn more about coming up with a business plan and I am also looking forward to my electives because they are both very interesting subjects that I know absolutely nothing about so it will be a new challenge.
What’s your best piece of first-year advice? Have fun- plain and simple.
What did you learn the hard way? Have the courage to do what you love. After high school, I took a year off and travelled a bit, learned a lot and had a once in a lifetime experience, but afterwards, I was at a loss. I had no clue what to do with myself. So, I enrolled at University of Toronto, doing a general arts and humanities B.A., and I hated every minute of it. It took me two years to take a chance, believe in myself and pluck up the courage to enroll into fashion school. If you are really hating your program, your school, your environment… then change it! Often times, the answer to the question- what should I do? is completely obvious. Be honest with yourself, be brave and it will come to you.
Any misconceptions you want to clear up about your school? a. Community college is nothing like that show on T.V. b. Community College is actually hard- it is more challenging for me than university was. Don’t think that college is an easy way out- the work is different but not easy- you try sewing for four hours straight!
Before you graduate, you are going to make sure you: make out with a gay guy- for real- going to school everyday with gorgeous unavailable gay men is torture! But in all seriousness, I graduate this year and I am going to make sure to have a game plan, some sort of idea at the very least of what I want to do with my life, after college.
What do you love most about your university town/city? I have visited a lot of different cities in Canada and whenever I leave I always get homesick for Toronto. I love that Toronto is so diverse and there are a lot more professional opportunities here. I love that whatever I want I can get here, if I am in the mood for Chinese late at night, it is available! And we have the best shopping and fashion sense in Toronto. There is always something going on in Toronto, especially right now, during the summer, I love all the festivals and the life in the city.
Best memory so far? I just finished the Explore program for students. It is a government sponsored program that allows students to study French at different schools all across Canada- and on a bursary! I studied French in Quebec city and it was probably one of the best months of my life! I recommend this program to everyone, whether they take this opportunity as a vacation (like I did) or as a serious step towards gaining credit in school.
Got any weird /specific tip that would only apply to your school? Be forewarned- the George Brown cafeteria is horrible. I actually even shouldn’t call it a cafeteria because what we have doesn’t constitute one. However- if you have an early morning class, the cafeteria ladies do make a nice cheap breakfast that is pretty decent.
Anything else you want to share with first year students? Whatever you are doing, wherever you are going, the saying you get out what you put in stands true. Make the most of your time at university or college and try everything because before you know it, it is over!