FASHION Magazine

As we’ve already proven on the site, there are many ways to get into the Olympic swing. And since our main expertise involves how one might wear it, we’ve melded the two in this week’s Style Panel feature! From sea to shining sea, we asked our panellists to show us their best patriotic outfit, by styling pieces from the Bay’s Team Canada collection. The results, as usual, are as awesome and unique as each panelist. Want to score a piece of your own? Head on over to thebay.com for a peek at what the brand is offering.

Question 12: What’s your favourite way to sartorially support Team Canada? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALEX GRANT, TORONTO | ALICIA QUAN, VANCOUVER | ALYSSA LAU, EDMONTON | ÉLODIE PARTHENAY, MONTREAL | JEN TAM, VANCOUVER | KASSANDRA CAMPONI, EDMONTON | KRISTIN MACDONALD, FREDRICTON | LOLITTA DANDOY, MONTREAL | MO HANDAHU, HALIFAX | NIKI BLASINA, NYC VIA VANCOUVER

From Isabel Marant’s head-to-toe tie-dyed jean looks for spring to the many (many) new metallic/reptilian/digi-printed/frayed/studded finishes hitting the racks at a record-breaking pace, it seems that denim 2.0 is having a moment (Check out guide here). And since there are so many ways to skin this trend, we reached out to our ever-savvy ladies of Style Panel for some tips on how they like to style and punch up their own denim wears.

Question 10: What is your favourite way to embrace denim’s latest style iterations? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALEX GRANT, TORONTO | ALYSSA LAU, EDMONTON | AMY NELSON, CALGARY | CHLOE WISE, TORONTO | NIKI BLASINA, VANCOUVER | VICKIE LALIOTIS, EDMONTON

Despite desperate “Wear a hat!” demands from moms and skin doctors alike, most of us shy away from one of our most powerful weapons against summer skin damage. Why? Aside from being cumbersome and sweat-inducing, hats never seem to work well with an easy summer outfit. Enter the Style Panel, here to teach you how to make wearing a hat all summer long a pleasure rather than a pain in the butt.

Question 8: What’s the best way to keep your head covered all summer? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALEX GRANT, TORONTO | AMY NELSON, CALGARY | ALYSSA LAU EDMONTON | KRISTIN MACDONALD, FREDERICTON | LOLITTA DANDOY, MONTREAL | MO HANDAHU, HALIFAX | VICKIE LALIOTIS, EDMONTON

Ah, the summer wedding. It’s one of the most special events of the year, and yet it poses one of the biggest fashion challenges. Can I wear white? Is floor length too much? How much skin is appropriate? Do I look like a doily? To answer your these dilemmas and others like it, we’ve turned to our Style Panel for some much needed help.

Question 7: What is your favourite way to dress up for a summer wedding while avoiding the many faux pas? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALEX GRANT, TORONTO | ALICIA QUAN, VANCOUVER | ALYSSA LAU EDMONTON | CHLOE WISE, TORONTO | KASSANDRA CAMPONI, EDMONTON | KRISTIN MACDONALD, FREDERICTON | LOLITTA DANDOY, MONTREAL

In the age of the arm party, layering jewellery can start to look a bit of a mess when it’s not piled on with artful ease. To help with the layer conundrum, we asked the ladies of Style Panel to help!

Question 6: How can you artfully layer jewellery without looking overdone? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALEX GRANT, TORONTO | ALYSSA LAU EDMONTON | KASSANDRA CAMPONI, EDMONTON | LOLITTA DANDOY, MONTREAL | NIKI BLASINA, VANCOUVER | VICKIE LALIOTIS, EDMONTON

Despite how widely worn and loved vintage clothes are, some of us still get that familiar icky feeling when entering a second hand shop. The racks seem endless (and not in a good way), the air seems stuffy and the amazing finds are not a sure thing. Nonetheless, vintage shopping is still one of the cheapest, most eco-friendly and fun ways to get in on the trends you love. Moreover, it will ensure that you wont see your outfit doppelganger around every corner. To ease you into the treasure hunt, we asked our Style Panel, now including Vancouver’s Alicia Quan of Alicia Fashionista how to wear vintage.

Question 5: How can you break into vintage if it’s not your thing? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALEX GRANT, TORONTO | ALICIA QUAN, VANCOUVER | ALYSSA LAU EDMONTON | AMY NELSON, CALGARY | GRACIE CARROLL, TORONTO | KASSANDRA CAMPONI, EDMONTON | KRISTIN MACDONALD, FREDERICTON | LOLITTA DANDOY, MONTREAL | MO HANDAHU, HALIFAX | VICKIE LALIOTIS, EDMONTON

Next up in Style Panel, we’ve challenged our experts to one of the most existential questions in fashionland: to wear flats, or not to wear flats? And more importantly, if you’re going to wear flats, is it possible to dress them up? To answer, we’ve welcomed three new style allstars into the group: To Vogue or Bust’s (and our intern for the summer!) Alex Grant, Curvy Geekery’s Mo Handahu and Dentelle et Fleurs’ Gabrielle Lacasse!

Question 3: The question: How do you wear flats without completely dressing down an outfit. Can you still look dressed up? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALEX GRANT, TORONTO | ALYSSA LAU, EDMONTON | GABRIELLE LACASSE, MONTREAL | GRACIE CARROLL, TORONTO | LOLITTA DANDOY, MONTREAL | MO HANDAHU, HALIFAX | VICKIE LALIOTIS

Got a question for the gals? Send ‘em through to stylepanel@fashionmagazine.com and watch as your most irritating styling problems are solved.

FASHION’s got a brand new bag! Well, eight of them to be exact. Introducing Style Panel, our carefully selected group of Canada’s best dressed It girls who know a thing or two about how to put a knockout outfit together. (Want proof? Their blogs, Instagram and Twitter accounts provide plenty of evidence!)

The Style Panel will share their unique style know-how each week through photographs and answer your toughest how-to-wear queries. Got a question for the gals? Send ‘em through to stylepanel@fashionmagazine.com and watch as your most irritating styling problems are solved.

Check out full profiles on our correspondents at fashionmagazine.com/stylepanel and read up on their first challenge here:

Question 1: How can you wear a summer outfit before the weather is ready for it? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALYSSA LAU, EDMONTON | AMY NELSON, CALGARY | GRACIE CARROLL, TORONTO | LOLITTA DANDOY, MONTREAL | NIKI BLASINA, VANCOUVER | VANESSA HONG, BEIJING VIA VANCOUVER | VICKIE LALIOTIS

View the photo gallery »

Western Canada Fashion Week kicked off its seventh year and 14^th season last Friday night at Phabrik art + design, a warehouse-style studio space in south central Edmonton run by WCFW’s executive and creative director, Sandra Sing Fernandes. The venue was the original hosting grounds for Edmonton Fashion Week way back when in 2005.

By now, most of us can recognize the many hours it takes to curate a decent fashion blog, and we’ve spent enough time perusing said blogs to know the value in finding a unique voice amongst the noise. Case in point: despite an overzealous cowboy rep (I’m talking the Calgary Stampede, of course, though there’s nothing wrong with rocking a good pair of cowboy boots), and a smothering from what was, at one point, the biggest shopping mall on the planet (I’m talking West Edmonton Mall, of course, though there’s nothing wrong with being a front-runner for immigrating brands like J.Crew), the prairies churn out some die-hard fashion addicts who are both independent thinkers, and far from frump and farmer. We’ve rounded up the top 10 personal style bloggers from Alberta who aren’t afraid to wear floral print pants, mix and match patterns from head-to-toe or seize outdoor photo-ops in subzero temperatures—bare-legged if they must—just for the frill of it.

View our top 10 »