Bijou

You know how some women just own their looks? I'm honoured to be best friends with that type of gal. My friend Caitlin can pull together like none other. No matter what she's going for, she looks good. When I first met her, she was an 18-year-old, more-beautiful-than-thou ballet dancer. Dancing up a storm, whipping all the boys into a frenzy with her blonde hair, glowing skin and knee-high boots. But she quickly progressed into a chic young lady who lunched. With me! She shed her mini skirts for a more demure, refined look. And it worked even better than before. It's not that she changed, she just evolved. And she hasn't stopped since.

A day in the life of Caitlin is chock full of activities we all wished we did, but don't have the energy to do. I'd often spot her along Queen Street East walking her dog, Jasper with a coffee in hand, or jogging in Lulu Lemon, or driving her silver Vespa. She works out almost everyday, but also loves to eat copious amounts of Rice Krispy treats that we make together. She would often invite me to do her makeup for a night out on the town. We'd scour Kevin Aucoin's book Making Faces and choose her look. Then, makeup completed, she'd don a fabulous dress a killer pair of heels and depart for a night out on the town.



But what makes Caitlin so chic is her personality -- it's totally unexpected from such a physically beautiful person. She's actually quite brilliant; however, I don't think I can fully describe her genius. In top form, Caitlin is a better wordsmith than Dario Fo, a better social commentator than Perez Hilton and smarter than a Harvard grad.

A couple of years ago Caitlin went through her biggest transformation. She shaved her head. Bald. Every lock of hair that dropped to the ground was like every notion of femininity and gender that had been pressed upon her. What emerged was a woman who was confident with whom she was inside, ready for life as a social worker, activist, bombshell and friend.


Caitlin, Jon and me

Since then, she has grown back her hair, this time to a style with bangs. She still looks great and she still lives the life we all wish we could live, but now she lives on the other side of Canada from me -- Victoria. It's hard when such a good friend moves away. When I was younger I accepted transience much more. It was expected that everyone would move away, it was a part of growing up. But for the past couple of years I have made a concentrated effort to lay down roots and stay put for a while. I didn't expect my best friend to move on! But it was the right thing for her to do, and I wouldn't expect Caitlin to stagnate in any way. She keeps on moving, looking good and being my best friend. Bijou.