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

Toms-The Row Fall 2011

Shoe In: TOMS New Euro Shoes By The Row

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Last week TOMS introduced its new pricy classics by The Row. Does this mean a Three For One program will follow?

Toms-The Row Fall 2011SHOPPING AROUND | I’ve been wearing the same pair of classic TOMS shoes for three years now, and I love them. I don’t know whether the alpargata, the Argentinean farmer/polo player’s shoe (a variation on the Spanish espadrille) that is the basis for the TOMS design has any arch support, but TOMS shoes have some, which makes them particularly comfortable—and a foot-healthy alternative to that other ubiquitous casual shoe, the flip flop. Read more

Sarong

The Sarong Is An All Around Perfect Wrap

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Stylish and reasonably priced, the breezy sarong is the Swiss Army knife of summer fashion.

SarongCHIC & 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

Celebs In Burberry Trench Coats

The Coat, The Bag, The Shoes, The Blouse ***

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Made to last a lifetime, these high-fashion designer classics never go out of style. That’s why they make worthy investments—at any price.
Burberry’s London Trench Coat

Celebs In Burberry Trench CoatsI 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

Sonja Picard Jewellery

Sonja Picard’s Stunning New/Old Jewellery

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Designer Sonja Picard takes your unworn old jewellery and refashions it into stunning new pieces you’ll never take off.

Sonja Picard JewelleryMONEY WELL SPENT | Who among us does not have at least a few pieces of fine-quality old jewellery squirrelled away in the back of a cupboard. Maybe we purchased these items for ourselves way back when; maybe they were given to us by someone special to mark an important occasion; or maybe they were inherited. However we acquired these treasures, and sweet as they are steeped in both history and sentiment, we know in our hearts we’re never going to wear them for reasons as simple as looking unfashionable or as complex as reminding us of a time we’d sooner forget.

Rather than ignore this old jewellery—or sell it for a fraction of its original appraised value—why not combine it all together—gemstones, precious metals, everything—to create new, meaning-filled pieces imbued with the spirit, history and energy of the old ones, contemporary pieces you really will wear. Read more

James Perce Long Sleeve White Tee

No Sweat (Marks)! How To Remove Them

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It’s the bane of white tee shirt lovers everywhere—fabric discolouration due to perspiration. Frugalbits asked an international expert how to remove this pesky stain—and he told us what to do.

James Perce Long Sleeve White Tee

 

DO IT YOURSELF | Many general stain removal charts do not even include underarm perspiration as a category. Google “how to remove perspiration/ deodorant stains from clothing” and you’ll find a confusing number of disparate solutions. If there’s a rule of thumb for dealing with this universal problem, who could rightfully claim to know what it is: Martha Stewart; Linda Cobb, the self-proclaimed Queen of Clean; Heloise? Learned as these ladies are, they are home-keeping generalists, not laundry stain specialists. For the definitive answer, Frugalbits asked a leading light in the stain removal industry. Read more

Icebreaker Bliss Hood

Icebreaker TouchLab In Vancouver

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Made from nature’s perfect fibre, Icebreaker wool clothing is so versatile and long-wearing that you don’t need to buy a lot.

Icebreaker Bliss HoodGerman designer Dieter Rams, former head designer at Braun, is known not only for the stylish yet practical appliances he conceived but also for his 10 principles of good design (Good design is innovative, makes a product useful, is aesthetic, makes a product understandable, is unobtrusive, is honest, is long-lasting, is thorough down to the last detail, is environmentally friendly and is as little design as possible).

All of these apply toNew Zealand Icebreaker clothing, now available at the company’s first Vancouver TouchLab store, which opened last week. The garments are made of an ingenious merino wool fabric that is easy care, lightweight and quick drying like synthetics but also breathable, odour resistant and biodegradable. Unlike cotton, it does not hold moisture. Read more

Target GO International Designer Collective

34 Dresses, 17 Stellar Designers, 49 Days

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34 dresses, 17 superstar labels, everything priced under $50—what’s not to love about Target’s marathon fashion event that kicks off this coming Sunday?

Target GO International Designer CollectiveCHEAP + CHIC | What do Zac Posen, Luella Bartley, Tara Jarmon, Paul & Joe, Behnaz Sarafpour, Proenza Schouler, Libertine, Alice Temperley, Erin Fetherston, Jovovich-Hawk, Rogan, Richard Chai, Jonathan Saunders, Thakoon, Tracy Feith, Rodarte and Tucker have in common besides being some of the most buzzed-about fashion labels in the western hemisphere in recent years? Target, that’s what.

Since 2006, Target, through its GO International fashion program, has enlisted these and other haute couturiers to sprinkle their pixie dust over the ready-to-wear crowd. And this is precisely what they’ve done, with high-fashion low-end collections noted for their dramatic silhouettes, signature prints, details that surprise and price point, which they always rock because everything is (almost) cheaper than dirt.

Now, for 49 days in March and April, Target will re-release 34 of its most popular dresses from the labels listed above (view them with our link below). Read more

FRYE Boots

Zappos Versus The Mall Buying Boots Online

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Of course it’s best to buy local, but sometimes it makes sense to shop on the Internet.

FRYE BootsSHOPPING AROUND | A lot of people I know really do try to shop close to home because they believe in supporting local businesses. But sometimes the price difference between products sold here and elsewhere is too shockingly different to ignore—and you know that as much as you might prefer to, shopping local just doesn’t make sense. Read more

Roots Village Bag In Vintage Tribe Leather

The Village Is The Bag To Collect Right Now

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Forget the Baguette and the Birkin, this modestly priced casual bag by Roots is the one to collect right now.

Roots Village Bag In Vintage Tribe LeatherMONEY 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

Patagonia Down Sweater

The Coolest—Warmest—Sweaters Are Down

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The coolest—and warmest—sweater around is one filled with down.

Patagonia Down SweaterPRICE CHECK | I’m cold, and my husband knows it. That’s why he gave me a sweater vest for Christmas. No, not one of those dorky argyle knitted numbers with big grandpa buttons—like Old School Archie might have worn—but a “down sweater” vest. It’s pretty cool and from the Gap.

Climbers and serious hikers know a down sweater is an ultra lightweight jacket or vest that delivers minimal weight, superb compressibility and superior warmth. Slim, not puffy, a down sweater is most often used as a midlayer or outerwear piece for colder climates, though its versatility and stylish good looks have begun to earn it a place on the street. Lately I’ve noticed more women and men trading in our regional uniform, the light-sucking polar fleece, for a vibrant but no-less-at-home-here down sweater.

Down Sweaters We Love Read more