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Get ready for spring! 18 Style Panel tips for transitioning your winter wardrobe for warmer weather

By FASHION Staff | April 16th, 2013 | 12:00 pm

Get Ready for Spring

So far, 2013 has been a mighty test of our patience. While spring may have officially begun a month ago, Mother Nature has kept us waiting with bated breath for any real show of it.

And when checking your weather app before leaving the house no longer ensures you’re prepared for what awaits outside, it’s time to get creative with layering by mixing winter essentials with summertime accessories. Because we, much like everyone else, struggle with perfecting the subtle nuances to transitional dressing, we asked our Style Panel for a little help.

Our two newest members of the panel, both showed us how to make an airy maxi skirt an essential for the transition from winter to spring. Lyndsey Forest of Over My Styled Body paired her skirt with a heavy army-inspired jacket and camo scarf. Her combination of an ultra-girly skirt with a menswear jacket offers some end of winter inspiration for all of us. Meanwhile, Jennifer Pistor of Prairie Girl in the City matched her black maxi skirt with a bright pop of neon and floral shoes, inspiring us to get ready for spring.

Panellist Deanne McRae went a little nineties with her transitional look, wearing thigh-high socks, a full-skirt and leather jacket to add some warmth. And where McRae showed a little thigh, panel members like Cee Fardoe and Cara McLeay went barelegged and braved the last few moments of winter exposed in style.

Read on for more tips on making your wardrobe work as we transition out of winter (fingers crossed!) and into spring!

Question 47: What are your tips for transitioning your wardrobe from winter to spring? Read the answers now! »

Reclaiming 1990s fashion: 13 Style Panel tips for adapting the It decade’s styles for today

By FASHION Staff | February 26th, 2013 | 3:00 pm

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1990s Fashion Style Panel

For style-minded Gen X and Yers, the resurgence of 1990s fashion on the Spring 2013 runways is cause for celebration. Our minds are full of fond memories—Blossom hats, grunge plaids and 90210-branded T-shirts are just a few that come to mind—what could be better than so many modern re-iterations from the likes of Dries Van Noten, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Rochas to sartorially relive with? And while this season’s fresh crop of wears offers many takes on classic 1990s style (ahem, DKNY and Opening Ceremony have an especially awesome offering), adapting 1990s fashion for today can be challenging if you don’t want to look like you’ve just stepped out of the thrift bin.

We set our Style Panel members on this mission, asking them to share tips for wearing 1990s fashion today. Some ripped references right out of their TV memories (Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Saved by the Bell were popular touch points), whereas others riffed on ‘90s icons like Kurt Cobain, Shannon Doherty and Courtney Love.

The Style Mogul’s Christina Cravero kept her look modern but added ‘90s elements-mirrored sunglasses and a graphic T-shirt. A Fashion Love Affair’s Cara McLeay re-purposed her envy-inducing vintage DKNY varsity jacket into a dressy look, pairing the jacket with heels and a chic party dress. 1990s fashion inspiration works with just a few elements, or going head-to-toe, as Barbara Ann Solomon did, with her crop top, gingham shirt/skirt, chunky gold jewellery and buckled sandals. New panellist, Canadian Fashionista’s Amber Desilets added a toughness with her studded lace up boots and chunky gold jewellery.

Question 40: What are your favourite ways to wear and update 1990s fashion? Read the answers now! »

How to wear fur: Our Style Panel shows you 15 ways to try the trend, whether faux, vintage or real

By FASHION Staff | January 22nd, 2013 | 4:30 pm

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How to wear fur

Fur. You can’t mention the word without stirring controversy. Is a fur coat more important than a living animal? For many, wearing fur is a question of ethics. For others, it’s a question of aesthetics. And while valid points exist at both ends of the spectrum, fur has once again become trendy. Following Prada’s bright and quirky statement of candy coloured rabbit tail accessories for Spring 2011, colourful dyed fur re-appeared at Oscar de la Renta, Peter Som and L’Wren Scott for Fall/Winter 2012, not to mention again at both Prada and Miu Miu for Spring 2013.

And while it might be an out-of-bounds option both morally and monetarily for many, we challenged our Style Panel to teach you how to wear fur—real, fake, vintage or otherwise—to make one heck of a statement this season.

Just as we expected, out Style Panelists’ opinions were as varied—from Sandy Joe Karpetz’s “insatiable passion” for vintage fur to Alyssa Lau’s choice to never wear the real thing—as the tips for how to wear fur—from Kayla Short’s simple fur parka trim to Jacquelyn Son’s navy faux-fur cropped jacket from Zara.

Question 35: Whether faux, vintage or real, show us how to wear fur. Read the answers now! »

Winter Pastels: 14 Style Panel tips to wearing the season’s brightest fashion trend

By FASHION Staff | January 8th, 2013 | 3:00 pm

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Winter Pastel Trend

Pastels have been making waves this year, and while they may have once been strictly associated with spring’s blooming flowers, they are one of this winter’s biggest statement makers.

Seen at runways including Jil Sander, Valentino, Oscar de la Renta and Acne, pastels running the gamut from mint green to pastel pink (the hue highlighted by this photo shoot in our Winter 2012/13 issue). H&M took the trend mainstream, by styling much of their fall and winter collections,—modelled here by Lana Del Rey and Frida Gustavsson—in the candy colours.

This week, we challenged our Style Panel members to appropriate the look for real life. The result? 14 stunning takes on the light and lovely shades photo’d everywhere form the skating rink to Central Park in New York. Our latest panelist, Melanie Morais of Born Lippy, paired two pop pastels with a contrasting black.

Question 33: What is your favourite way to wear pastels this winter? Read the answers now! »

Hate wearing a winter hat? 11 Style Panel tips to making your beanie, toque, fedora and headband work (minus the hat head)

By FASHION Staff | November 20th, 2012 | 12:30 pm

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Winter Hat

It’s hat season, though many would like to avoid it. For some of us, the idea of wearing a hat may induce horrific memories of flat, static lifeless hair, and unfortunate style choices we may have made when we were young (we’re looking at you, Doctor Seuss hat). Let’s face it though, winter hats are hard to avoid, and actually quite essential to staying warm all season long.

Beanies and toques were the style of choice for many of our Style Panel members, and there is no question why. Beanies provide ultimate ear warmth while remaining the simplest style to wear on a particularly bad hair day. But if getting hat head is a concern, earmuffs and headbands do just the same trick while leaving your hair relatively untouched. For a more fashion-forward take on the look, trying a Russian-style faux fur headband like Barbara Solomon’s adds an extra touch of luxe.

Question 28: What is your go to hat or head covering for winter and why is it your favourite? Read the answers now! »

Wearing your winter coat: 9 Style Panel tips on how to complete your look, even with the bulk

By FASHION Staff | November 13th, 2012 | 3:00 pm

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The ladies of our Style Panel have started to help you ease into your winter wardrobe by showing you how to layer for the season, and ease into more weather-friendly boots. This week, they have taken on the daunting challenge how to pair a winter jacket with the rest of your outfit, while still maintaining some style.

Whatever your personal taste or style, the coat options this season are truly endless. Labels including Acne and Haider Ackermann took some cues from menswear and sent oversized coats down respective Fall 2012 runways. If bigger is not better for you, there are many more choices including coats that incorporate trends such as quilted leather and leopard print, as seen on Alexandra Nikolajev.
And what would a post about coats be without mentioning the cape, which Gucci did a stylish version of for its Fall 2012 collection. The cape keeps you warm and doesn’t constrict your arms, but if you’re wary about trying one for yourself, take a cue from Style Panel member Christina Cravero, who wears an Adrienne Vittidani cape in this week’s post. She ensures that a cape is not bulky and can be layered over top of other items, ensuring maximum warmness on a chilly day. So if you’re daring, maybe try a cape this season. If not, you can still take advice from our Style Panel members and see how they plan on styling their coats this winter.

Question 27: How do you wear you winter coat while still maintaining a stylish look? Read the answers now! »

Style Panel: How to wear patterned tights

By FASHION Staff | November 6th, 2012 | 1:30 pm

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Style Panel How To Wear Patterned Tights

Let’s face it: it’s November, the temperatures are dropping here in Canada and unless we want to get sick, we can’t continue to bare our legs to the world everyday like we did back in the summer. Thus, our legs need a warm friend to keep them company on these chilly days. Whether you call them nylons, pantyhose, stockings or tights, chances are we’ve all got a big drawer full of plain black ones to wear when the seasons start to get cold. This week, our Style Panel threw out the idea of only wearing boring plain tights and spruced things up by showing us how they wear patterned versions.

If you’re wary of pattern mixing, then let this be your chance to go bold. Even if there is no pattern in the rest of your outfit, the girls of our Style Panel show how easy it is to incorporate fall’s trends into your wardrobe even if it’s just on your gams. Polka dots seemed to be the go-to style for many members like Kassandra Camponi and Christina Cravero, while Vickie Laliotis showed off her legs that were covered in the ever-classic houndstooth pattern. So even if you’re not sure if you can pull off patterns elsewhere on your body, then just let those legs do the work for you.

Question 26: How have you mastered the patterned tights look? Read the answers now! »

Style Panel: 13 smart and stylish ways to layer for confusing weather changes

By FASHION Staff | October 16th, 2012 | 3:00 pm

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It’s the middle of October and although the sun may still be shining in some parts of Canada, that doesn’t necessarily mean that temperatures are staying warm. With cooler temperatures upon us, it is time for us to start easing in to our fall wardrobes.

We already covered the options for fall boots a few weeks ago, and this week our Style Panel takes on one of the most desirable, but tricky ways to dress for fall; layering. Layering, as warm and cozy as the end result is, can be difficult for many of us because it can sometimes leave us feeling a little messy or bulky. But leave it to stores like J.Crew to show us how to work this trend properly. It’s Fall 2012 collection was an array of long sleeved shirts under thin sweaters which were then layered with blazers and coats, all the while staying tailored and not looking a touch bulky. There were many mixed prints in the collection as well, but our Style Panel already knows a thing or two about those.

Although the members of our Style Panel may experience completely different climates in the fall, they all understand the importance of layering for this season. And this couldn’t be more apparent with our two newest members. Los Angeles-based See Shop Eat Do blogger Whitney Cosgrave may not have to deal with freezing temperatures and snow, but she still layers with a trench coat for those chilly nights. Kayla Short on the other hand is prepared to take on the below zero weather in Halifax but she notes that the feared bulkiness can be avoided by balance. So have no fear and get layering!

Question 23: What’s the smartest and most stylish way to layer for ever-changing fall weather? Read the answers now! »

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Fashion

Get ready for spring! 18 Style Panel tips for transitioning your winter wardrobe for warmer weather

Reclaiming 1990s fashion: 13 Style Panel tips for adapting the It decade’s styles for today

How to wear fur: Our Style Panel shows you 15 ways to try the trend, whether faux, vintage or real

Winter Pastels: 14 Style Panel tips to wearing the season’s brightest fashion trend

Hate wearing a winter hat? 11 Style Panel tips to making your beanie, toque, fedora and headband work (minus the hat head)

Wearing your winter coat: 9 Style Panel tips on how to complete your look, even with the bulk

Style Panel: How to wear patterned tights

Style Panel: 13 smart and stylish ways to layer for confusing weather changes

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