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Oh Joy: 3.1 Philip Lim At Target In Canada Right Now!

For the first time, Canadian fashionistas can indulge in Target’s fabulous designer diffusion collections right on their home turf—and oh joy: 3.1 Philip Lim is the introductory line.

3.1+PhillipLim forTarget

CHEAP & CHIC | Love the bags; love the scarves; love the lingerie, coats and dresses. I love almost everything about Philip Lim’s highly wearable diffusion collection for Target, which Racked.com so perfectly pointed out in pictures is pulled straight from the fashion designer’s award-winning 3.1 line. Most of all, though, I love the fact that I don’t need to drive over the border if I want first crack at the best of it. Read more

Tory Burch + FEED bag - Holt Renfrew

Grab These Tory Burch + FEED Bags At Holts

These totes amazing burlap bags designed by Tory Burch are priced to fly off the shelves.

Tory Burch + FEED bag - Holt Renfrew

 

LOOK GOOD/DO GOOD | As someone who considers herself (at least somewhat) socially conscious, fashion forward and value minded, I’m excited for Holt Renfrew’s April 30th launch of limited-edition totes by Tory Burch + FEED. Not only do these casual cross-body bags look good, but buying one of them will do some good too, for the Tory Burch Foundation, which supports the economic empowerment of women, and for FEED, American model Lauren Bush Lauren’s charity dedicated to eliminating world hunger—one child at a time. Read more

Jil Sander for Uniqlo autumn-winter 2011

How To Get Jil Sander For Uniqlo In Canada

+J, Jil Sander’s hot fashion for Japanese megabrand Uniqlo, is low-end couture at its finest. Pity these pieces aren’t easily available to Canadians—or are they?

Jil Sander For Uniqlo autumn-winter 2011CHIC + CHEAP | Fashion icon Jil Sander, referred to as the queen of minimalist fashion for her single-minded focus on understated elegance—picture the perfectly tailored pant, the precisely cut coat, the impeccably executed white blouse—will end her three year collaboration with Uniqlo, Japan’s inexpensive high-style-basics chain and Asia’s largest clothing retailer, with the launch of a final (fall/winter) collection on September 7. Read more

Missoni Ballet Flats

Target + 400 Missoni Products = Good Stuff

Premiering at Target in September, the Italian fashion house known for its knits puts its signature on everything from onesies to two wheelers.

Missoni Ballet FlatsSAVE ON CHIC | Not since Liberty London for Target launched in March 2010 has the big box emporium fallen so head over heals in a huge way for a luxury label—right now Target is madly in love with Missoni. Debuting September 13, Missoni for Target will include a mindboggling array of 400 products bearing the kaleidoscope of colours and unmistakable motifs—chevrons, zigzags, flame stitching and abstract florals—synonymous with the 58-year-old-Italian knitwear giant. Read more

Karl Lagerfeld’s Fashions For Macy’s

He’s gone high-end with Chanel and low-end with H&M, but can Karl Lagerfeld produce a fashion collection that appeals to middle Americans? We’ll find out August 31.

SAVE ON CHIC | It’s kind of funny to think that Karl Lagerfeld, one of the most influential fashion designers in modern history, the face of Chanel, a man defined by his elitism and snobbery, most likely invented diffusion fashion—clothing lines by top fashion designers for inexpensive off-the-rack shops. Lagerfeld’s groundbreaking 2004 collection for low-end fashion house H&M, every piece of which sold out worldwide in under 60 minutes, unleashed an army of copycat courtiers itching to collaborate with mass-market retailers on low-cost apparel lines, starting a trend that continues unabated. Read more

Toms-The Row Fall 2011

Shoe In: TOMS New Euro Shoes By The Row

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

Fashion On The Racks - Dreamstime

Fashionista’s Ball: Couture & Thrift Collide

The Fashionista’s Ball promises to be the best sale ever, with clothes for couture tastes on a thrift-store budget.

Fashion On The Racks - DreamstimeSALES WE LOVE | Mark your calendars, fashionistas, and don your ninja shopping suit (that’s tights and tees for quick changing) because Sunday, May 29, promises to be one of Vancouver’s biggest—if not THE biggest— charity/shopping events of 2011.

The Fashionista’s Ball, insanely well organized by Pixie Riddle and her pals to benefit United Way, is a one-day pop-up fashion extravaganza (think department store scale rather than boutique) that includes 3,000-plus garments, gently worn or never worn (some definitely couture); hundreds of pairs of gorgeous shoes; beautiful handbags, Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta models among them; and accessories including sunglasses, scarves and both costume and fine jewellery items.

And guess what? Prices for all this donated merchandise are shockingly low. Read more

Celebs In Burberry Trench Coats

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

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

Granted Clothing Retro Hockey Mittens

Retro-Vibe Gifts For The Fashion-Forward Tribe

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

Moon Overcoat by Alfred Sung - C. Phaisalakani

3 Star Pieces From The New Moon Fashion Line

A fashionista identifies 3 stars among Alfred Sung’s new Moon fashion basics.

Moon Overcoat by Alfred Sung - C. PhaisalakaniBACK TO BASICS “What have you got for Canadian labels?” my American cousin asked last weekend when she was up from Portland, Oregon. Hannah works at Nordstrom and has a closet full of very nice clothing including some statement pieces. “I’m thinking inexpensive basics,” she said.  “Gap, Banana: a lot of countries have well-priced basics lines; what’s the Canadian version of these?” Read more