This story category covers clothing, accessories, treatments, procedures, products and supplies.
SHOPPING AROUND | Maybe it has something to do with the ongoing popularity of UGGS, but for whatever reason, classic suede moccasins have been enjoying a moment for some time now—they’re so fashionable, in fact, I’m surprised there isn’t a pair in the current Joe Fresh collection. Read more
PROBLEM SOLVED | At Frugalbits we’re suckers for expert advice so last spring, when we wanted to know how to remove perspiration stains from white tee shirts, we contacted Madame Paulette in New York City, an international expert in fabric care. The company president graciously shared Madame Paulette’s DIY stain removal formula with our readers (CLICK HERE for the story), and although it is good and useful, we’ve recently been introduced to an even simpler solution that’s equally effective and no work at all. Read more
CREATIVE SOLUTION | The trouble with gloves is that they get lost, loaned, separated from their mates, mangled by pets—or can’t be found where you put them last. Read more
CHEAP & CHIC | If you leafed through the shiny part of the Globe and Mail last Saturday (a.k.a. the style section), you would have noticed an arresting full-page ad for The Room at The Bay. It featured a long-limbed model wearing spray-on metallic leather trousers by the Parisian luxury fashion house Balmain. What stopped me dead—besides the exquisiteness of the pants—was the thought that just last month I’d purchased a pair of metallic skinny jeans that I love and wear a lot, only mine (pictured here) are from the house of Joe Fresh. Read more
SHOPPING AROUND | Fashion-savvy Canadians have long known about flash sales sites like Gilt, Ideeli and Fab, but the hassle of getting their wares home (many do not ship to Canada) has crimped many a deal-hunter’s style. Lucky for us, flash shopping has finally arrived in Canada. Read more
DARE TO REPAIR | Borrowing stuff from the guys— boyfriend shirts, boyfriend jeans and boyfriend blazers—is a fashion trend that’s been popular for some time now. It’s a girlish affection for all things androgynous and oversized that also extends to accessories. Made for a woman, the boyfriend watch is a masculine looking timepiece that has a big, bold face and the kind of chunky ruggedness that makes a woman’s wrist look particularly delicate. But our question is this: why would you ever send a boy do man’s job? Wouldn’t an actual man’s watch be the more authentic choice? Read more
CHEAP & CHIC | Say it ain’t so, Joe Mimran? Tell me you’re going to produce more than a limited number of what had to be the coolest coat on the Joe Fresh runway at LG Fashion Week in Toronto last spring. You know the manteau I’m talking about: the oversize neoprene topcoat that comes in colours so intense and on trend that most Canadian fashion journalists who saw it at the show proclaimed it an instant hit—then promptly stuck it on their need-to-get-one list. Read more
BUY RIGHT | Hairspray is often associated with our yucky prom ‘do or wedding hair. But every chic girl should have some on hand, and you won’t find a stylist willing to work without it because after you’ve laboured to create a great look, often the most difficult part is to keep it in place. Men can also use hairspray to hold their styles in a natural, relaxed way—especially good for photos or film.
Nowadays hairspray is not so much for stiffening your coif as it is for perfecting your locks, to rapidly remedy a bad hair day or to tame unruly bangs. Ever had lots of static in your hair and a halo of frizz floating above your head? Or have trouble recreating those perfectly relaxed flatiron curls your stylist showed you or that ultrasmooth blowout? Hairspray is the key. Read more
STYLE GUIDE | Back in 1991 when Hermès introduced the first double-turn strap on a watchband with it’s now iconic Cape Cod watch, little did the fashion world know the revolution it would cause. Now everyone from Marc Jacobs to Fossil has a multi-turn strap for the timepieces in their line. And what Hermès has done for watch straps it has also done for bracelets. Read more
STYLE GUIDE | Who’s the chicest woman in France? Not Bruni, Gainsbourg or Deneuve. It’s Inès de la Fressange by a landslide, if French newspaper polls are the gauge. Fressange, a French blueblood and former model, returned to the runway this past spring at age 53 to walk the Chanel 2011 show in Paris. Now she’s fashion muse to the masses in North America with the recent English translation of her popular style guide Parisian Chic, a handbook filled with her own whimsical illustrations, lovely how-to-dress-French photos of her daughter, Nine, and amusing single-paragraph fashion pronouncements.
Nonchalant Fressange, a high-low shopper if ever there was one, has great advice on how to think and dress like a style-savvy Parisian without selling the farm (plus insider tips about where to shop in Paree, should you go). Here are five of her myriad useful ideas on how to get “The Look.” Read more