This story category covers fashion trends, clothing and accessories—plus shopping and shops.

Holt Renfrew Shopping Bags

Shopping The Holt Renfrew Winter Sale

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In hot pursuit of luxury labels at Holt Renfrew’s Winter Sale.

Holt Renfrew Shopping BagsBest For Less | As annual sales go, the January clearance at Holt Renfrew is one of Vancouver’s big ones and absolutely worth checking out if you are looking for luxury brands at up to 70 percent off regular retail price.

Yesterday we cruised Holt’s racks with an insider who helped us home in on some incredible deals, listed below. And while our guide happened to be a personal friend, you could have your own guide too, if you want. Holt Renfrew offers complimentary personalized shopping assistance to customers. On-staff personal shoppers work by appointment, which can be made over the phone or by dropping by the store. Their intimate knowledge of the merchandise and where to find everything quickly has got to be nothing short of awesome for time- and/or budget-crunched shoppers.

What We Found At Holt Renfrew’s Winter Sale Read more
SeaFolly Swimsuit

It’s Time To Swim Down To Bikini Avenue

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Laurel Zapke stalks a wild bikini along West 4th Avenue, Vancouver’s one-stop-shopping swimsuit street.

SeaFolly SwimsuitSAVE TIME | I’m just in from Cancun. I went there on “spring break” in December like so many of us timesharing fools do before our week expires. Get ready for your own upcoming tropical adventure with our one-stop-shopping swimwear primer: Kitsilano’s West 4th Avenue is swimsuit alley, featuring swimwear shops from Burrard to Blenheim. Read more

Granted Clothing Retro Hockey Mittens

Retro-Vibe Gifts For The Fashion-Forward Tribe

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Retro chic items from Vancouver’s Granted Clothing and Native Shoes make fashionable and affordable Christmas gifts.

Granted Clothing Retro Hockey MittensCHEAP + CHIC | Neo-retro fashion is a “time travelling aesthetic”— contemp- orary, eye-catching clothing and accessories with silhouettes and motifs that are vaguely familiar, mostly warm and fuzzy references to true vintage fashions you’ve seen in shops or items you wore when you were younger.

Granted Clothing and Native Shoes are two successful Vancouver companies that design and manufacture outerwear and shoes (respectively) with a neo-retro vibe. Granted makes premium, chunky hand-knit fashions, while Native makes some of the coolest plastic shoes on the planet. Both have a cult following internationally, particularly in Japan where being unfashionable is quite possibly a crime; both have received miles of prestigious fashion ink. Read more

Sorel Boots

Bold, Beautiful Boots For Bargain-Hunter Babes

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Fashion writer Laurel Zapke tracks down bold, beautiful and bargain-priced boots for every season and reason imaginable.

Sorel BootsSHOPPING AROUND | In Vancouver, it’s boot season all year long. The Kitsilano Chic girls wear fuzzy boots with bare legs and shorts in the summer evenings, while the uptown crowd wears thigh-highs with five-inch heels in any season. My favourites are soft black leather with a short chunky heel and zipped up comfortably to mid-calf. The only thing I love more than the way they feel is the price tag: less than $100. To help you track down your own favourites, we’ve done the footwork to find the most current styles with price tags under $200. Read more

Leather Hoodie from the Archetype - C. Phaisalakani

We’ve found The Best Leather Bomber In Town

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The jacket of the moment is the leather bomber—and the best-priced ones are in Vancouver.

Leather Hoodie from the Archetype - C. PhaisalakaniCHEAP + CHIC | Whoever made up the Fashion Must-Have lists that appeared in Canadian magazines and newspapers this past fall overlooked a must-have that is everywhere on the streets in Europe right now: the leather bomber or members only/British moto jacket cross. Just back from Italy, my friend Amelia says stylish women of all ages were wearing this sort of outerwear in Rome and beyond; ditto, says fashion friend Kristy, who spotted leather bombers around Scandinavia two months ago.

No slouch when it comes to trends, Joe Fresh picked up on the bomber/moto craze, including a $49 polyurethane take on the style in its current collection. And cute though it is, we’re taking a pass because we’ve found a Vancouver jacket we like better made of genuine leather for a killer price. Read more

Lanvin for H&M

Lanvin For H&M: See The New Collection Right Now

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The fashion world is aflutter—Alber Elbaz of the House of Lanvin has introduced his exclusive collection for the House of H&M.

Lanvin for H&MCHEAP + CHIC | The most frequent criticism you hear about low-end couture, my term for the guest collaborations between haute couturiers and budget emporiums such as Target and H&M—is that it is never as creative as the designers’ “real” collections. Honestly, I don’t know why anyone would expect it to be. At the very least these retail lines—Alexander McQueen for Target, Sonia Rykiel for H&M, Jil Sander for Uniqlo—are more interesting and imaginative than a lot of ready to wear and almost always decently made. After that, any extra bit of originality is a bonus. Read more

Joe Fresh Style Store

Move Over H&M: Joe Fresh Style is In Town

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Joe Fresh Style, Joe Mimran’s bright, fun, fashion destination for the cheap-chic crowd, opens today—with great deals for inaugural shoppers.

Joe Fresh Style StoreCheap + Chic | If the French cult clothing labels A.P.C. and agnes b. hooked up and produced a cheap-chic North American love child, the clothing resulting from this sweet fashion union might look like pieces from Canada’s very own Joe Fresh Style line. Read more

Brooks Brothers White Shirt

The Perfect White Shirt? We’ve Found It!

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Both on trend and timeless, a classic top-quality white shirt belongs in every woman’s wardrobe. Here’s the best one we’ve found.

Brooks Brothers White ShirtBUY RIGHT | The fashion media everywhere is reporting that “a great white shirt” is a must-have item this fall. This fall? A great white shirt is a fashion basic that always belongs in every woman’s wardrobe. It’s a constant (like a perfect pair of black pumps), a fashion equalizer that does not reflect a particular age or generation. And while it may be “in fashion” right now, it’s definitely not a trend item but a staple.

Which explains why beautiful menswear-inspired white shirts are a perennial with Ralph Lauren, a designer who does not follow trends. In his current collection, Lauren’s elegant black label white shirt Antonia is priced at around $400 (U.S.); his Curt boyfriend shirt, part of the Lauren line, is around $70 (U.S.).

“I have a Ralph Lauren black label white shirt in my closet,” says my fashionable friend Amelia, “but I won’t buy another one. These shirts are fabulous, but they’re an unnecessary extravagance when you can have a of shirt of black label quality—at least I think so—for a quarter of the price.” Read more

Obakki Retail Store In Gastown

Save Big At Obakki’s Killer Warehouse Sale

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When one of Vancouver’s luxury fashion brands has a deep discount warehouse sale, you can bet we’re ready to stand in line.

Obakki Retail Store In GastownSALES WE LOVE | Frugalbits loves fashion at every price point when the clothing offers great value for money spent, but unless an upmarket item grabs us by the carotid, we are likely to wait for higher-end apparel to drop in price. This is why a great luxury brand warehouse sale will always get us pumped: make us rise early, even stand in line for a chance at the pick of the discounted stock. By the time you read this today, we’ll be down at Suite 201, 141 West 7th Avenue in Vancouver, where Obakki’s always-anticipated annual blowout begins at 11 a.m. We’ll be hoping to pick up a few fine pieces from the stylish collection for a fraction of the original price. Read more

Leather Boots - C. Phaisalakani

How To Save Your Damaged Soles

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Here’s a great place in Vancouver to resurrect your downtrodden footwear.

Leanter BootsDARE TO REPAIR | Wellies are the footwear of choice in Vancouver, but I also like luscious leather boots—fashion forward over a pair of skinny jeans or under a sexy skirt. I thought I was safe taking mine on a trip to NYC, but after a sudden downpour found myself wading through giant lakes that formed at the clogged storm drains at every intersection.

Undone and unglued, my beautiful leather boots were unwearable. A curmudgeonly cobbler on the West Side (who shall remain nameless) chided me for splashing around in puddles in my “cheap boots” and advised me to throw them in the bin. Undeterred, I hobbled over to Both Feet on Main Street. The hip young man there took them in hand, and, $15 and one week later, they were good as new. Read more