Ones to watch: We’re charmed by Betina Lou’s ’60s-style craftsmanship

Betina Lou’s cute clothes are secretary-chic, and we can’t get enough. Created by Montreal designer Marie-Eve Emond, the collection is full of high waists, decorative buttons, fur collars, and subtle details, resulting in classic, almost vintage-looking pieces that are simple enough to wear every day. It’s easy to imagine girls scooping up these threads and pretending to live their lives in a François Truffaut film.

Her simple plaid pieces, neutral-coloured shirt dresses, round-collared shirts, and woven leather, waist-cinching belts all fit in with the styles we saw so often on the Spring 2012 runways. One look at the collection and any fashion-lover can spot that Emond is influenced by days past. And, indeed, she cites “Golden Age movies, Mad Men, bazaars, elders with a classic style, vintage fashion magazines, especially ’60s Elle and ’70s Eaton catalogs” as inspiration for the collection. But something that you can’t tell just by drooling over pictures of the pieces is the quality of the garments she produces—and that’s what makes Emond most proud.

You can check out the quality for yourself at any of the several shops that carry her designs from North Bay, Ontario, to St John’s, Newfoundland. This Canadian-based designer certainly proves that French Canadians can do Parisian-chic just as well as their counterparts across the pond.

Browse Betina Lou’s current collection now »

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