FASHION Magazine

Valentine’s Day is not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s a holiday to celebrate love, but some may ask: why do we need a holiday to tell us? Let’s be realistic, sometimes we just need an organized day to remind us to show and share our love and thanks with those closest to us. Valentine’s Day is a carefree one, so why not dive in and have fun.

So, what to wear on Valentine’s Day? We usually think of a few options: feminine, flirty and plenty of red and pink. Paging Rihanna at the Grammys? Maybe. But for tips on how to break that down for a date or a night out with the girls, we asked our experts in residence, the Style Panel.

Miss Melissa’s Melissa Knight loves dressing girly, but hardened her short red dress with studded overcoat for an added unexpected touch. Stephanie Sterjovski went for the tricky pink and red look, which we daresay she pulled off with flying colours (no pun intended). Kassandra Camponi of Kastles went fairly literal, and chose to wear hearts from head-to-toe. So, without further ado, let’s help you find out what to wear on Valentine’s Day.

Question 38: What is your favourite way to dress for Valentine’s Day? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: BARBARA ANN SOLOMON, TORONTO | CARA MCLEAY, VANCOUVER | CHRISTINA CRAVERO, TORONTO | KASSANDRA CAMPONI, EDMONTON | KAYLA SHORT, HALIFAX | MELANIE MORAIS, EDSON | MELISSA KNIGHT, VANCOUVER | STEPHANIE KOCH, KELOWNA | STEPHANIE STERJOVSKI, TORONTO | VICKIE LALIOTIS, EDMONTON

Layering is an art in and of itself. On frigid days, it can be a necessity for survival. On warmer days, it’ll help you go from day to night sans effort. Learning how to do it well can be tricky because simply put, the challenge in these days of the Great Canadian Winter, it seems to be more like “how to layer without looking like the Michelin Man” than anything else.

Luckily for us, many recent fashion collections have dealt some great tips. In Elizabeth and James’ Pre-Fall 2014 lookbook, a check shirtdress did double duty when worn open as a duster coat in one look and then layered underneath a pencil skirt in another. Helmut Lang, the patron saint of layering, lives up to its name, layering as many as four pieces in some Pre-Fall 2014 looks. On the fall runways, the coat trend made for some extra-interesting pairings. The key? A mixture of fabrics and textures achieve a cohesive and interesting look with depth.

Question 88: How do you layer to keep warm while still staying stylish? Read the answers now! »

See the street style from Toronto Fashion Week »

The Spring 2014 show season has made its stop in Toronto, and while the spotlights are shining on our designers for World MasterCard Fashion Week, we’re doing a little spotlighting of our own outside the shows.

Local bloggers were out in full force on the first day of shows, with StyleBlog’s Nelia Belkova embracing the popular black and white trend in a snowy Chanel monogram jacket with black trim, race stripped leather pants and jeweled satin pumps. Kastor and Pollux’s Bianca Venerayan opted for another of this season’s It trends, grunge, with black combat boots, a pearl printed V-neck dress and grey speckled overcoat. Her look was softened with cherry hued lips, side swept hair and and oh so Canadian toque.

  If you haven’t yet embraced that pink is a big part of Fall 2013’s colour palette, we don’t blame you. Though pink has been there for us when we bid adieu to the winter’s cold and reclaimed our femininity from dark heavy coats it’s time to embrace it as a burst of girlishness to […]

The post How to wear pink: 11 Style Panel tips for co-opting spring’s typically girlish hue for fashionable Fall 2013 wear appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See The Outnet party pictures »

For those of us who sideline in online sale stalking, The Outnet is a mainstay. Launched in 2009 as the post-sale outlet for designer den Net-a-Porter, the site has morphed into a full fledged Mecca for designer discounts boasting insane slashes on over 200 brands including Valentino, Stella McCartney, Alexander Wang and its own in-house label, Iris & Ink, which serves as a head-to-toe top off collection for the all the rest of the site’s covetable wares.

All hail the logo T-shirt! From the 3.1 Phillip Lim “I Heart Nueva York” print to designer jerseys to cheeky logos that play off beloved fashion house names, logo T-shirts have gone from vintage favourite to coveted wardrobe staple.

It’s a favourite item amongst fashion bloggers, street style regulars and models like Cara Delevingne. Even celebrities are fond of letting their logo T-shirts say what’s really on their mind. But if “how do I wear a logo T-shirt?” is what’s on your mind, you’ve come to the right place. This week the Style Panel is serving up their best dressing tips on turning a simple logo tee into the statement piece of your outfit.

While A Fashion Love Affair’s Cara McLeay and Suburban Faux Pas’s Krystin Lee dressed up their designer shout-out t-shirts with statement necklaces and heels, Leah Says’ Leah Gust played with a rock n’ roll look with a vintage t-shirt and leather skirt for a little juxtaposition. Since the riot girl is a trend this season, and with fall drawing nearer, The Style Mogul’s Christina Cravero opted for a logo sweater instead to pair with her asymmetrical skort and studded heels to complete her edgy look for the day.

Question 64: How do you style your favourite logo t-shirt? Read the answers now! »

Once relegated to summer camps and dress up parties, neon has been making its may back into the forefront of fashion over the past few seasons. Especially with this season’s nineties crazy, even the brightest fluorescent hues have even become near basics.

Seen prominently on many of this summer’s music festival attendees, neon appeared on everything from bra tops to the ever-popular Cambridge satchel. Neon was popular with celebrities as well, spotted on Serena Williams’s nails to Gwyneth Paltrow’s heels.

On the Spring 2013 runways, neon appeared with creative pops in Peter Pilotto’s ruffled dresses and bright prints on Kenzo’s jungle print jumpsuits and Christopher Kane’s Frankenstein shirts. For Fall 2013, the unexpected cold weather hue makes its return with 3.1 Phillip Lim and Rag & Bone’s brightly hued motorcycle style jackets.

Since the trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, the girls from Style Panel are sharing key tips on how to wear neon this season and beyond.

Never having tried the trend, Dainty Girl’s Nicole Wilson works neon into her outfit with brightly coloured yellow heels. In the same vein, both Suburban Faux-Pas’s Krystin Lee and Born Lippy’s Melanie Morais suggests wearing neon in moderations, while pairing it with neutrals. If you’re still unsure on how to wear neon, Canadian Fashionista’s Amber Desilets advises to start with something simple like accessories. Nothing like a neon necklace or neon belt to really make your everyday outfits stand out and on trend.

Question 61: How do you wear neon? Read the answers now!

While we may have tackled the cozy-casual look last winter, taking on cottage style in the summer can be a task a tad more difficult. The cottage lifestyle is all about freedom and relaxation, so it’s no question our style should reflect the same characteristics. The last thing we want is to look prim and proper while lounging on the deck, right?

With the July long weekend fast approaching, we want to make sure your wardrobe is ready for the countryside. Whether you’re heading up to your family cottage or hanging out with friends at a campsite, we have tips on how to retain your everyday flair during your time away from the city. So before you throw on your favourite sweats or give in to the flip flops, read what our ladies from the Style Panel have to say on how to put together an effortless chic look at the cottage this season.

As the weather gets warmer and the hemlines get shorter, the wedding invitations start rolling in. That’s right: Summer wedding season is upon us once again. And while we love an excuse to go shopping, how to dress for a wedding is a question us bona fide wedding attendees are still having difficulty answering.

How does one find the perfect balance between demure and daring? A wedding, after all, is a multi-generational affair that demands a timeless, and semi-conservative look. No pressure. For the bride-to-be, the wedding day is her day to shine. So how do you, the guest, make a statement without stealing her spotlight?

So far, 2013 has been a mighty test of our patience. While spring may have officially begun a month ago, Mother Nature has kept us waiting with bated breath for any real show of it.

And when checking your weather app before leaving the house no longer ensures you’re prepared for what awaits outside, it’s time to get creative with layering by mixing winter essentials with summertime accessories. Because we, much like everyone else, struggle with perfecting the subtle nuances to transitional dressing, we asked our Style Panel for a little help.

Our two newest members of the panel, both showed us how to make an airy maxi skirt an essential for the transition from winter to spring. Lyndsey Forest of Over My Styled Body paired her skirt with a heavy army-inspired jacket and camo scarf. Her combination of an ultra-girly skirt with a menswear jacket offers some end of winter inspiration for all of us. Meanwhile, Jennifer Pistor of Prairie Girl in the City matched her black maxi skirt with a bright pop of neon and floral shoes, inspiring us to get ready for spring.

Panellist Deanne McRae went a little nineties with her transitional look, wearing thigh-high socks, a full-skirt and leather jacket to add some warmth. And where McRae showed a little thigh, panel members like Cee Fardoe and Cara McLeay went barelegged and braved the last few moments of winter exposed in style.

Read on for more tips on making your wardrobe work as we transition out of winter (fingers crossed!) and into spring!

Question 47: What are your tips for transitioning your wardrobe from winter to spring? Read the answers now! »

When it comes to Spring 2013’s sunglasses trends, frames need not be boring. In fact, the louder the better because statement sunglasses are all the rage as the sun begins to come out from winter hibernation and shines bright. We’ve always loved sunglasses for their health benefits (going blind due to sun damage isn’t very cool) but recently we’ve been embracing bold frames in a big way. We DIYed our very own Prada floral pair and found 14 of the best and most affordable frames around and now we’ve asked our Style Panel to teach us a thing or two about styling the latest sunglasses trends without looking like a clown.

Karen Walker sunglasses proved to be a fan favourite with the likes of Stephanie Sterjovski and Krystin Lee of Suburban Faux-Pas with their super oversized and thick-rimmed tortoise frames. And if you’re not ready to embrace over the top shapes then perhaps a printed leopard pair will be more up your alley like Whitney Cosgrave, who kept it simple pairing leopard print with a basic black tee.

If there’s one take away from the Style Panel’s statement sunglasses tips, it’s to keep your look simple so your shades can truly shine.

If we haven’t made it clear, we love denim. Aside from its epic wearability, the material keeps revamping itself each season, fueling our obsession with new prints, washes and construction. On the Spring 2013 runways, we saw denim take on especially creative forms—from the pearl trimmed denim tube dress at Chanel to the denim jumpsuit worn open over a crop top at Rebecca Taylor. In stores we’ve spotted new patterns, waxing on jeans and the closet staple: denim cutoffs. No matter how you feel about jean, it’s about time to embrace the look. It’s a forever thing.

We’ve previously asked our Style Panel to show us how to dress up our jeans and how to refresh a tired piece that is hanging in our closet, but now they are back again to tell us how to make denim new again for Spring.