All posts under ‘Style Panel’

How to wear a crop top: 11 Style Panel tips that make skin-baring a lot less scary

By | May 14th, 2013 | 12:30 pm

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How to wear a crop top

Ever have one of those intimidating statement pieces that makes you feel so self-conscious about your body that it makes you want to sprint to the gym immediately? This may as well be the tale of the crop top.

Showing your midriff once seemed like a scandalous look, only to be tested by celebrities —think Britney Spears circa “Baby One More Time”—this season, the crop top has emerged as feminine, even covering our current issue on Lana Del Rey!

Lead by designers like Peter Som with his Spring 2013 bralet and high-waisted flowing skirt, we’re beginning to see how ladylike this look can be. With different styles and fits including the bustier, the cropped T-shirt and the waist-tied blouse, the crop top can be altered to your preferred degree of mid-section baring.

Still questioning how to wear a crop top? Fear not, because 11 of our Style Panel members share tips on how to easily pull off this spring trend sans butterflies in your stomach.

Opting to show a little less skin, many of our girls decided to pair their flirty crop tops with cute midi skirts like BornLippy’s Melanie Morais and Dainty Girl’s Nicole Wilson who chose to wear tie-knot crop tops that tastefully bares a sliver of their midriff. Showing off a bit more skin, Leah Says’ Leah Gust was all smiles as she takes on two spring trends, the crop top and the graphic floral print, in today’s outfit. But what’s the best way to wear your crop top this season? Taking Style Worthwhile’s Jacquelyn Son’s advice, rock your crop top with confidence.

Question 50: Can you share tips on how to wear a crop top this season? Read the answers now! »

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How to wear sneakers: 10 Style Panel tips for tackling this athletic trend without looking like you’ve just hit the gym

By | April 30th, 2013 | 4:00 pm

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How to wear sneakers Style Panel

Ah, the sneaker trend. Once upon a time (and by that we mean junior high), runners felt like the only source for footwear, but while we resorted to them for efficiency, it certainly wasn’t for style. Nowadays, sneakers are the hottest shoes on the block, thanks to designers like Isabel Marant and her ultra lust-worthy sneaker heel hybrid. Who knew?

Whether colourful, embellished or super athletic, sneakers have definitely made their way in to the mainstream. Even high-end footwear designers like Christian Louboutin, Giuseppe Zanotti, and Jimmy Choo have included a pair or two into recent collections.

And while sneakers may be hotter than heels (for the time being, that is), wearing them without looking like you’ve just hit the gym proves a bit of a challenge. Naturally, we turned to our Style Panel to teach us how to tackle the trend without making it too literal.

Our two newest members, Leah Says’ Leah Gust and Velvet & Vino’s Becky Kung sure know how to start off with a bang by mixing a pair of bold colourful sneakers with bright coloured or printed pants. Getting into the summery swing, both Barbara Ann Solomon (who appears in twofold) and Inherited Jeans’ Stephanie Koch showed off in neon-accented or leopard-printed sneakers while jumping for their photos.

Question 49: How would you pull off the sneaker trend without making it too literal? Read the answers now! »

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Monochrome for spring: 19 Style Panel tips for wearing the same shade from head to toe

By | April 23rd, 2013 | 4:30 pm

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monochrome style panel

With spring in the air (fingers crossed), we can finally take out those pastel colours and floral prints that have been itching to come out of our closets to bask in the sun.

Trending since last fall, monochromatic tones were seen both on the runway like the cozy furry collection of Alexander Wang’s Fall 2013 Ready-to-Wear collection or on street style favourite, Miroslava Duma in her all white ensemble. Transitioning to spring, could we bring this monochrome trend into warmer season or are we already nostalgic for the colder days? Not just yet!

With some designers already showing off their take on the monochromatic look with primary colours in their Spring 2013 collections, we decided to turn to our Style Panel for a second opinion on what they have to say about the spring monochromatic look and how they plan to work this look this season.

Avoiding the black-on-black ensemble, many Style Panel members played with cooler colours for the spring season as their choice for their monochromatic look. While Mo Handahu from Lion Hunter and Melissa Knight from Miss Melissa chose cobalt blue for a brighter and bolder look, Gabrielle Lacasse from Dentelle + Fleurs experimented with different shades of mint for a fresh spring appearance. Utilizing different patterns, prints, and textures, these girls definitely know how to put together a chic monochromatic outfit for this spring season!

Question 48: What are the best ways to pull off the monochrome look? Read the answers now! »

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

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

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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! »

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The latest sunglasses trends: 10 Style Panel tips for balancing your favourite new pair with the rest of your outfit

By | April 9th, 2013 | 3:00 pm

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sunglasses trends style panel

When it comes to Spring 2013’s sunglasses trends, frames need not be boring. In fact, the louder the better because statement sunglasses are all the rage as the sun begins to come out from winter hibernation and shines bright. We’ve always loved sunglasses for their health benefits (going blind due to sun damage isn’t very cool) but recently we’ve been embracing bold frames in a big way. We DIYed our very own Prada floral pair and found 14 of the best and most affordable frames around and now we’ve asked our Style Panel to teach us a thing or two about styling the latest sunglasses trends without looking like a clown.

Karen Walker sunglasses proved to be a fan favourite with the likes of Stephanie Sterjovski and Krystin Lee of Suburban Faux-Pas with their super oversized and thick-rimmed tortoise frames. And if you’re not ready to embrace over the top shapes then perhaps a printed leopard pair will be more up your alley like Whitney Cosgrave, who kept it simple pairing leopard print with a basic black tee.

If there’s one take away from the Style Panel’s statement sunglasses tips, it’s to keep your look simple so your shades can truly shine.
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Denim’s latest trends: 13 Style Panel tips to wearing prints, wax, neon and more

By | April 2nd, 2013 | 1:00 pm

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Denim Trends Style Panel

If we haven’t made it clear, we love denim. Aside from its epic wearability, the material keeps revamping itself each season, fueling our obsession with new prints, washes and construction. On the Spring 2013 runways, we saw denim take on especially creative forms—from the pearl trimmed denim tube dress at Chanel to the denim jumpsuit worn open over a crop top at Rebecca Taylor. In stores we’ve spotted new patterns, waxing on jeans and the closet staple: denim cutoffs. No matter how you feel about jean, it’s about time to embrace the look. It’s a forever thing.

We’ve previously asked our Style Panel to show us how to dress up our jeans and how to refresh a tired piece that is hanging in our closet, but now they are back again to tell us how to make denim new again for Spring.
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Finding the best colours for your skin tone: Our Style Panel weighs in with 14 ways to dress for your shade

By | March 19th, 2013 | 11:30 am

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Best colours for skin tone Style Panel

For those who gravitate towards neutrals time and time again, embracing colours can be quite the challenge. Greys, blacks and whites are safe choices but for Spring 2013, clothing is coming up colourful and we’re ready to get risky with bright pieces.

Selecting the best colour for your skin tone can be a challenge and a variety shades must be tried and tested before finding the right palette that not only flatters your skin but is also on trend for the season. For Spring 2013, colours were bright and many designers opted to show primary tones like at Michael Kors and Stella McCartney.

Because we’re all about embracing the trends as they come, we asked our Style Panel contributors to help us out with how they found the best colour for their skin tones and their favourite ways to toss some bright pops into their outfits. Boy, can they do wearing colours justice.
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The new metallic: 8 Style Panel tips for wearing the trend this spring

By | March 12th, 2013 | 4:00 pm

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Metallic Trend Style Panel

If the Spring 2013 runways were any indication, we’ve got plenty reason to experiment with the metallic trend. Taking a cue from collections such as Dior, Burberry, Jonathan Saunders and Diane Furtesnberg, the now classic trend was given new life with colour strokes, stripes, floral prints appearing in rainbow shades on everything from full skirted gowns to bomber jackets.

And while the coloured metallic trend was at its hottest this season, it seems as if our Style Panel is more comfortable with keeping it old school. With the exception of panelist Zoe Smythe’s sky blue sequin shorts, the rest of the group showed off how to work tried and tested metals such as gold, silver and rosegold into otherwise matte outfits. So without further ado, let the metal games begin!

Question 42: What are your tips for updating the metallic trend this season Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: AMBER DESILETS, LONDON | BARBARA ANN SOLOMON, TORONTO | DEANNE MCRAE, MISSISSAUGA | KAYLA SHORT, HALIFAX | MELANIE MORAIS, EDSON | NICOLE WILSON, TORONTO | STEPHANIE KOCH, KELOWNA | ZOE SMYTHE, NEW YORK CITY
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