Where to find the perfect fashion basics and well as the latest fashion trends.
CHIC & EASY | A sarong—the Malay word for covering—is a large rectangle of airy fabric common in warm climates as the cornerstone of a wardrobe to keep you cool yet covered up. These versatile pieces of cloth can be worn as skirts, dresses, tops and scarves. Read more
I keep fallin’ in and out of love—with the trench coat. That’s just what happens when an iconic piece of clothing rolls back into fashion every few years. Last year was huge for the once-and-still-utilitarian raincoat invented for British soldiers by Aquascutum during WWI. I’ve owned inexpensive versions over the years but been understandably reluctant to pony up $1,300 for a Burberry’s London line long, double-breasted cotton trench with epaulettes, gun flap, belt with metallic D-rings and leather buckle, and a Burberry check under the collar—the coat by which all other trench coats are weighed, measured and found wanting. The great thing about the London trench is that really can be worn over everything from a business suit to nothing but stilettos, if you’re Ellen Barkin seducing Al Pacino in the movie Sea of Love. Read more
MONEY WELL SPENT | If there were such a thing as an International Handbag Hall Of Fame, the highly coveted Baguette by Fendi, Birkin by Hermès, Speedy by Louis Vuitton and 2.55 by Chanel would be among the first bags inducted. It’s a tribute to their iconic good looks that these stratospherically priced luxury items are respun by their European manufacturers year after year and continue to maintain a “must-have” status.
Of course, it wasn’t hard to come up with this quartet of hypothetical inductees; the selection is so beyond question Anna Wintour will be rolling her eyes when she reads the list. But we do have one more, less-obvious submission some students of fashion insist belongs with this group. It’s a Canadian entry: the Village Bag by Roots. So why do they think this modestly priced everyday handbag deserves the same recognition as these pocketbook giants? Read more
CHEAP + 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
BUY 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
MONEY WELL SPENT | If you are hunting for a graduation gift for someone who loves to dress up (and sparkle), and you are prepared to spend some money but don’t want to go too, too crazy, consider picking up a little something from Tiffany & Co., Hermès or Holt Renfrew.
Each of these luxury goods retailers, who package their merchandise in gift boxes as recognizable as their names, sells small, and not exorbitantly expensive, jewellery items and accessories that are already ordained classics. These are pieces that get passed along to daughters and beyond, items destined to pop up in fashion magazines 50 years from now (online, of course, because paper mags will have vanished) on their hot vintage collectibles lists—things with the potential to hold or accrue value. Read more