FASHION Magazine

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Somehow, shopping for the leading ladies in our lives often proves to be the hardest. The challenge for Christmas gift ideas is to be creative, on trend, and meaningful—not the easiest task, but a necessary one. If you’re shopping for your girlfriend, wife, sister or mother, it’s essential to make the gift matter and worth every penny spent.

For Christmas 2012, we’ve dreamt of all things lavish and luxe that can double as a satisfaction to a women’s fashion craving as well as functional piece in her every day life and they are anything but traditional. We know that diamonds have been declared a girl’s best friend, but this year we’re thinking outside of the little blue box and selecting gifts that show creativity. We’ve opted for lush fur pieces that will keep her warm all winter, geometric shaped cuffs that will reinvent the arm party, and even a onsesie that just begs to be taken to a ski resort. These are the pieces that will win a woman’s heart.

Well, we’ve officially reached the end of our editor rope. Since launching What’s in your bag? last summer, we’ve gone through the personal belongings of each and every (willing) FASHION editor. And since we love this feature so, rather than call it quits, we’ve decided to shift the focus to some of our favourite industry friends. In the coming months, we’ll be raiding the bags belonging to stylish designers, photographers, models, writers, and so on. Dying to go inside the bag of a certain fashionite? Tweet or Facebook us your suggestion!

But in the meantime, let’s get back to business. For the first in our “non FASHION eds” feature, who better to turn it over to than to our regular contributor, Sarah Nicole Prickett. As known for her quips (both long and short form) as she is for her mess of a blond bob, she’s surely one of our favourites. She also has excellent taste. And she asked.

Let’s explore! »

If neons are too bold for you, try this O’ Clock watch and wear them on your wrist. ($50, a2zane.com)

The post Daily steal: Bright watch, $50 appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

We have a bit of a crush on Zane Aburaneh, otherwise known as the Zane in A2zane (a2zane.com), the online store he started back in April. It’s also the name of a Queen Street pop-up shop (1040 Queen St. W., 416-803-7754) that opened its doors last month and that will run until March 2011. The affable and charming Aburaneh stocks a selection of chic handbags from hard-to-find French and UK, as well as Canadian, labels, along with a selection of wallets, watches and scarves. It’s no surprise that the styles he gravitates to are those that seem to be missing from other stores each season: Aburaneh spent a good portion of his decade in the fashion industry as a handbag specialist at Holt Renfrew, hearing just what customers were always looking for.

We asked Aburaneh a few questions about his shop, sourcing international finds and supporting Canadian talent.

We absolutely love these colourful watches from O’Clock (a2zane.com). The simple, minimalist design is the perfect balance for the bright pop art colours, which will be perfectly-matched to the colour-blocking trend come spring. Plus, at only $40 each, you don’t have to choose just one.

The post The daily steal: Colourful watch, $40 appeared first on FASHION Magazine.