FASHION Diaries
Talk Is Chic
Sarah Casselman
Sarah Casselman shops and trendspots in style.
Whether she’s attending events or checking out the latest finds around the city, our fashion market editor, Sarah Casselman, is always scoping out the fashion scene. Get the inside scoop on what's on this FASHION editor's must-haves list.
Posts with category "Girl About Town"
Ready, set, show
Posted on October 17, 2008
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Right on the haute heels of the international Spring 2009 ready-to-wear collections comes Toronto’s L’Oréal Fashion Week (October 20 to 25). A trendy time of year when editors, fashionistas and tastemakers alike come together at Nathan Phillips Square for a week of fresh fashion and fabulous parties.
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Passport to summer style
Posted on July 4, 2008
The countdown is officially on. I am leaving for Nantucket in less than four weeks and my packing panic has already set in. On top of my basics—Ralph Lauren swimsuit, J.Crew T-shirts, Milly sundress and Michael Kors woven tote bag—I know that my bags will also be stuffed to the gills with every lotion and label in my closet.
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How Carrie are you?
Posted on June 3, 2008
What's your Sex and the City fashion personality?
These days, when it comes to a girl’s closet, it is de rigueur to have multiple fashion personalities. We change up our looks like stylish chameleons. In my case, er, closet rather, a week doesn’t go by without the Three Faces of Sarah making an appearance: The Prepster (think seersucker, stripes and sailboat-loads of navy), The Seductress (LBDs, killer heels and notice-me-now jewellery) and The Minimalist (monochromatic dressing with statement extras).
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The Mother of all moments
Posted on May 7, 2008
Meryl Streep once said “motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials”.
Checkout FASHION's top Mother's Day picks
Every fabulous feline can recall a Mother moment – a scene frozen in time that makes us smile, laugh or sometimes even cry, when we think back to it.
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Ready, Jet Set, Shop
Posted on April 28, 2008
There is nothing a FASHION editor likes more than a touch of luxe after a long day at the office. And when it comes to luxe, two bon mots come to mind: Michael Kors. Some may know him from Project Runway, but he is best known as one of America’s pre-eminent designers of luxury sportswear. His ad campaigns (think aviator-wearing, python bag–toting, sun-kissed, glowing glamour girls) perfectly capture the essence of the luxe lifestyle, PJs (that’s private jets, love) and all. So, when MK opened his third lifestyle store in Canada at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, the Tinsley Mortimer set from north of the border came out in droves.
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An affair to remember
Posted on January 15, 2008
Glowing skin, twinkling eyes and a voice that purrs–there is nothing as addictive as the rush of a new crush. After all, whether you are a sparkler-wearing Mrs. or a single seeking kisses, every lovely needs a little something sensuous (man or latest must-have) to make her heart go all a flutter. But the question du jour remains: Should a modern-day minx wear her heart on her stylish sleeves?
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Happy hue year
Posted on January 4, 2008
Despite that expected blah feeling après the holiday season–back to reality, to work and to calorie counting (sigh)–there is nothing more energizing and uplifting than a cold, sunny January day with a clear, blue sky. Vincent Van Gogh was right when he said, “I never get tired of the blue sky.” And judging from the countless shades of blue that washed up on the Spring 2008 ready-to-wear runways, designers agree too.
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Fresh fashion, and one fabulous facelift
Posted on October 18, 2007
Despite the parade of bomber jackets, ribbed tights and ankle boots, spring is in the air. Held at their brand new digs at Exhibition Place, the Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI) held their annual press and buyer’s breakfast to showcase 18 up-and-coming designers on the Canadian scene. The fashion pack was looking for two things that morning: caffeine and the coolest new collections. FASHION spotted a lot of fab new things, but there were a few standouts in this vast sea of style.
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Mani/pedi Mania
Posted on August 13, 2007
When the sidewalk begins to sizzle in the summer heat, lovelies dutifully don their open-toed sandals and officially “out” their fashionable feet. These 10 luscious lollipops run up stairs, leap over puddles and tap impatiently while standing in line for a latte. The latest slick lacquers range from pretty in pink to beach babe coral to dark and dramatic.
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Luxe Be A Lady
Posted on July 29, 2007
In the fast-paced world of fashion and style, a good party is très necessaire. After all, with do-or-die deadlines, hectic travel schedules and countless photo shoots, the FASHION felines rarely get a chance to kick up our five-inch heels. So when the invitation arrived to celebrate Escada’s redesigned flagship store in Toronto, I threw on something fresh and fizzy (think: a bright tank and tulip skirt), and made my way down the red carpet rollout at 110 Bloor St. W. for a glass of bubbly and a glance at the pre-fall buys.
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Diving into poolside glam
Posted on July 12, 2007
Into each and every fashionably frenzied life, there comes a time to recharge the Energizer Bunny batteries. A time to find inner Zen, not the closest H&M. A time to acquire more chi than Gucci.
Recently, between drowning in work deadlines and tossing out a life preserver to save my sinking Visa (the summer sales had turned me into a trend-driven Tasmanian devil), I decided it was time to breathe and reboot on a stylish summer vacation. Unfortunately, the closest thing I had to the smell of sea air was the Michael Kors Island fragrance wafting over from our beauty department. But with my mind wandering from Mainbocher to Maine, and with no immediate getaway appearing in my crystal ball, the question was raised: In the summer, what is a city girl to do? The answer: Find a higher power, or rather tower. Destination: The Four Seasons Hotel’s rooftop pool for a little stylish summer sizzlin’.
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Do the Charleston for charity
Posted on April 16, 2007
Like any true fashionista, I am obsessed with all super chic treats in the world of wardrobe and other wowable finds.
My amour du jour is the recently rehabbed darling of the New York fashion scene, Marc Jacobs, and his Spring 2007 ready-to-wear collection. With its bejewelled headbands, dainty drop waists and megawatt metallics, it is official that the ’20s are trendy again. But where can a dame don a cloche hat and a flapper-inspired frock without looking like a Louise Brooks blunder? The answer arrived on my desk last week, and this dame thinks it is going to be the cat’s pyjamas.
You are cordially invited to…
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With the band
Posted on February 26, 2007
Every morning on my way to work, I stop off at the local coffee shop. Truth be told, I need a serious shot of caffeine before I can think couture. Standing in line, listening to the bountiful beverage preferences, I begin to think about making choices. As we do at Starbucks, over time we tend to develop favourites: clothing, trendy or timeless; men, creative or corporate; lipstick, natural and nude or pucker-up pink. So when designers crowned the newest member of spring’s It list, I made the choice to get with the band…the headband, that is. After all, with the easy, natural hair on the runways this spring, a head-turning band is just the “hairapy” the doctor ordered.
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Hitting cruise control
Posted on January 18, 2007
My name is Sarah, and I am a window shopaholic. Like a fashionable fish, I swim toward the many shiny lures—a chain-handled bag, a platform shoe, or a to-die-for dress. So, last week as I stared at my pale reflection in the travel agency glass, I knew instantly what I needed (besides a serious sweep of blush): a sigh-inducing island getaway. It was time to hit cruise control. What could be better than sun, sand and a suitcase full of the latest resort collections?
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New year, new you
Posted on December 25, 2006
Fashion felines everywhere know that change is inevitable, be it their address or their dress. But come New Year’s Eve, when the holiday revelry mixes with a little regret (beaucoup de chocolat et champers), some things do remain the same. After the clock strikes midnight—the kisses have come and gone, and the Veuve has vanished—we heave a sigh of relief that the holidays are over, crawl under the duvet and pen a list of our shiny new annual aspirations. For most lovely creatures, this means transforming into a modern minimalist gal. A time to partake in the “less is more” school of thought.
It is at this time of year that I always delight in rereading Diana Vreeland: Bazaar Years, a collection of the former Harper’s Bazaar fashion editor’s “Why Don’t You?” columns, which she later called “absurdities.” Au contraire, her witty and whimsical ideas are the perfect catalyst to start thinking out of the closet. For example: Why not “wear loose velvet gloves in wonderful colors—the right hand in violet velvet, the left in burgundy? These gloves at the theatre emerging from a beautiful fur cape would be very effective.”
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Haute for the holidays
Posted on December 19, 2006
When it comes to making an entrance (or an exit) at any posh holiday party, chicettes everywhere turn to the Fab Five:
- The LBD (little black dress)
- The bold cocktail ring
- The hot shoe
- The statement bag
- The mini “glam” slam (polish, primp, perfume)
Don’t be the strife of the party–plan your outfit in advance to avoid becoming a part of this fashionista folk tale…
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Bringing sexy back, Italian-style
Posted on December 7, 2006
When Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” he must have been referring to the weeks leading up to the holiday season. A frazzled yet fabulous time filled with eggnog, Amex bills and excess.
So naturally, what happened while riding the subway last week (while visions of Holt Renfrew danced in my head) came as a great surprise—a divine intervention. Pasted above an ad for a shopping mall, I noticed a sticker that read, “Consumption does not fill the void.” And suddenly, standing there with my parcels (a haute hostess prezzie and a fab new pair of bejewelled strappies to deck the halls in), I wondered: When did consumption begin to consume us?
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Casting my blues ballot
Posted on November 15, 2006
In light of Toronto’s recent mayoral election—for which I dutifully cast my vote while doing a modern-day spin of Jackie O: a pink cropped wool jacket with 3/4-length sleeves, oversized sunglasses, pearls and a pair of skinny jeans—I have been thinking a great deal about polls, platform statements and promises.
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The queen scene
Posted on November 3, 2006
The signs were everywhere: my preference for pastels, my delight in delicious little cakes and my royal flush, courtesy of my new blush, “Penny Lane” by Nars. But it wasn’t until I sat in the chair at the hair salon and cried out, “More volume, more, more!” that it occurred to me. My beaucoup de frou-frou could only mean one thing–I was in the midst of a Marie Antoinette moment. And despite being guillotined by my own credit card during this mania, I still yearned for more glossy, glistening goodies.
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Objects of desire
Posted on October 13, 2006
A recent Saturday morning stroll après the perfect blowout turned into a stride when raindrops began to fall. Ducking into a used bookstore (entre nous: I actually prefer the word vintage—it sounds less “dusty”) for a much-needed coiffure cover, I discovered the book Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda: The Love Letters of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (available at amazon.ca). Reading countless pages of “dearest darling” and “my truest love” made me think: In our march for equality, have we managed to stamp out chivalry altogether?
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To my holiday honeys
Posted on October 3, 2006
Even before I could bid adieu to my summer tote, my first holiday invitation arrived: a preview of the Gap Holiday 2006 collection in New York City. Ah, those three little words–New York City. They make a girl want to kick up her Choos and celebrate. I suddenly felt fabulously festive and RSVPed "yes." I would be there with bells on.
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Princesses-in-training
Posted on September 26, 2006
In a recent fit of feng shui, I rearranged my bookcases in an attempt to declutter my home and my mind. I came across one of my favourite books, called Wear More Cashmere: 151 Luxurious Ways to Pamper Your Inner Princess by Jennifer "Gin" Sander (available at amazon.ca). It made me think that as 21st-century Wonder Women, we want it all. We want to bring home the bacon, the baby and the Balenciaga bags. Girls may just wanna have fun, but on our fashionable Ferris wheels of life, when do we get to stop and pamper our inner princesses?
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To my bejewelled beauties
Posted on September 19, 2006
Welcome to Talk Is Chic, your weekly fashion fix of all things fabulous!
With the close of another star-studded Toronto film fest, I needed a hit of glamour to keep my celebrity fixation running on high. Like any good jewellery junkie, I went for a double dose of Liz Taylor and curled up with Butterfield 8 and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
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