Inside Canfar’s Bloor Street Entertains: The socialite sartorial statements, the Gatsby-themed vibe and more

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On a frigid late fall evening in Toronto, Bloor Street came alive with black ties and ball gowns for Canfar‘s AIDS-fundraising fête, Bloor Street Entertains. The annual event has a way of tempting the shimmery, well-heeled patrons onto the streets and into the street’s various shops which each serve an intimate dinner made by the city’s top chefs.

Before guests shuffled away to Mulberry, Holt Renfrew, Nespresso Café Bar or any of the various chic boutiques participating, they took to the Royal Ontario Museum for a pre-twilight party to get things started. The Gatsby-themed event kicked-off with a can-can dancing drag queen who wasn’t successful in getting the ladies to join in on the high leg-flying number. And with good reason: the dance is quite difficult long dresses. Design Exchange president Shauna Levy wore a slick, floor-length Greta Constantine, while grande dame Catherine Nugent was dressed in a vintage Bob Mackie deco style number.

The freezing temps did wreak havoc on some original wardrobe choices. With her shoulders covered, philanthropist Sylvia Mantella said, “I was going to go strapless, but it’s so cold.” Also overheard from a patron in sparkly Roksanda Ilincic: “I was going to go for Balenciaga---it’s Canfar!---But I went for something more conservative because of the weather.”