FASHION Magazine

Since the explosion of street style back in ’09, there’s been much talk of the fashion industry’s climate change. Bloggers in front row, socialites in head-to-toe runway looks—it’s been a transformation to say the least. Lately there’s been another shift with bloggers and street style stars are throwing it back to the runway, harnessing their fame in full fledged collections and labels all their own.

Here are 9 of our favourite bloggers and street style stars turned designers, including a talented few who are on our Style Panel!

See the biggest Spring 2014 fashion trends »
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With the end of fashion week in Toronto marking the close of Spring 2014 show season, it’s time we looked back at all the trends that emerged. As much as the runway sets the pace for what’s to come for the top Spring 2014 trends, the streets play a major role as show-going trendsetters give us the relatable breakdown of how to wear what’s hot next season. Prints take two spots on our top Spring 2014 trends list through those with a painterly quality and those influenced by international cultures. At Hérmes, Rousseau-inspired water lily florals were printed on luxurious fabrics while at Diane Von Furstenberg, dresses and skirts depicting an African wilderness roared. As for fashionable time travel, prepare to keep reminiscing about the youthful 1990s, which haven’t ceased to get reincarnated season after season. Designers like Rodarte, Balmain and Jason Wu have reinvented the decade’s essentials yet again. To help with your daydreaming of long sunny spring days we’ve compiled the ultimate gallery of top Spring 2014 trends as dictated by the runways and our favourite street style stars in New York, London, Milan, Paris and Toronto! Feel free to let this be your guide to budgeting and creating closet space for next season’s must have pieces.

View by trend: 1. 1990s | 2. Art-Inspired | 3. Athletic | 4. Blue | 5. Crop Tops | 6. Embellishment | 7. Metallic | 8. Pleats | 9. Sheer | 10. Worldly

Dropped shoulders, hourglass figures and loose fits are just three of the characteristics of this season’s coat trend. Seeing as what’s worn on top of it all was one of the hottest trends on the international Fall 2013 runways—-from Carven’s larger than life bubble coats to Rag & Bone’s we asked our Style Panel for their essential tips to staying on-trend, while keeping warm.

New to Style Panel is Marla Brum of Trend Struck, who suggests wearing a colour rich burgundy cape coat to embrace the trend of oversized outerwear. Bonus: the extra rooms affords for more layering without looking bulky.

Vibrancy and colour is what Cara McLeay of A Fashion Love Affair opts for to combat those cold, dreary days. A jacket lit with some brightness is the perfect thing that will keep you warm and be something you won’t get bored of wearing. Meanwhile, Northern Style’s Kira Paran looks for ones that use quality material and have classic details. She’s smitten with her wool coat with toggles.

If you’re in need of an outerwear update or need advice on how to embrace the latest trend styles, look no further than these 14 tips!

Question 75: How are you embracing this season’s coat trends? Read the answers now! »

See street style from Toronto Fashion Week »

On day two of World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto, leopard prints, bubblegum pink and highlighter yellows found their way onto the stylish set outside the shows. As were furs, which if you were in the city yesterday, were quite the necessity.

Montreal-based blogger and Style Panel member, Elodie Parthenay channeled rockstar chic with a touch of girly via a vibrant 3.1 Phillip Lim pink overcoat, studded leather skirt, and scenic t-shirt. Fellow Style Panel member and current FASHION intern Mo Handahu, walked on the wild side in a roaring leopard printed sweater, soft golden skirt, and African printed jacket as her staples.

See the street style shots from Toronto »

On the second day of pre-fashion week aka The Shows, Toronto’s best were out in full force to support last night’s talented twosome, Steven Tai and Jeremy Laing. October’s pleasant temps seem to be allowing for pleasant outfit pairings (read: no bulky layers or cold weather grimaces), which we obviously dig. Style Panel’s Danielle Roche pre-empted Spring 2014’s shine trend in a boxy copper animal print, which was layered, overtop a pleated black leather mini and op art print turtleneck. Caillianne Beckerman, Samantha Beckerman and all star model Liisa Winkler were feeling the current plaid penchant, weaving the old standby within matching designer-clad outfits. Meanwhile team Holt Renfrew had the sophisticated clan colours downpat, with Blaire Borins, Jennifer Daubney, Kimberly Grabel and Moira Wright posing in co-ordinating neutrals. Until next time folks, which by our count is just over a week away.

See the last batch of street style from Toronto Fashion Week »

The finish line of World MasterCard Fashion Week Fall 2013 may officially be tonight but our street style photos stop here (sad face). To finish it off, our photographer Stefania Yarhi worked her magic (as per usual) to bring us some stellar shots of graphics, bold patterns and even a 90210 star!

Yesterday, florals were all the rage but today’s all about leopard print. The print was seen on oversized bags, logo-sweatshirts, added layers and the trend was rounded out with a literal tiger face on Andrea Beechey’s clutch. Me-ow.

Winter knits may be most tried and tested way to ward against dropping temperatures, but this year, they became a trend in and of themselves. On Marc Jacobs’ Fall/Winter 2012 runway, thick and crafty knits were given a Dickensian twist when layered alongside large-than-life fur hats. On the other end of the spectrum, knits were given a graphic treatment at 3.1 Phillip Lim, when shown in black and white under crisp leather jackets. Chloé, Anna Sui and Chanel also showed knits varying in thickness, texture, colour and style, proving that they were more popular than ever.

For this week’s Style Panel, we challenged the ladies to a little winter knit shake-up. To Vogue or Bust’s Alexandra Grant showcased winter knits in form of another of the season’s biggest trends: oversized. Curvy Geekery’s Mo Handahu infused her look with a little burst of sunshine, by wearing her cropped knits in one of the most beautifully saturated hues of turquoise.

New panellists, Inherited Jeans’ Stephanie Koch and One Chic Mom’s Iva Grbesic show off winter knits in both dressed up and dressed down ways. Grbesic brings a new perspective to the Style Panel, as she is our first panellist in her 30s places importance on dressing chicly while taking care of her children.

Question 34: What are some new and creative wears to wear knits this winter? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALEXANDRA GRANT, VANCOUVER | BARBARA ANN SOLOMON, TORONTO | CARA MCLEAY, VANCOUVER |CHRISTINA CRAVERO, TORONTO | DANIELLE ROCHE, TORONTO | IVA GRBESIC, TORONTO |JACQUELYN SON, VANCOUVER | KASSANDRA CAMPONI, EDMONTON |KAYLA SHORT, HALIFAX | KRISTIN MACDONALD, FREDRICTON | KRYSTIN LEE, TORONTO | MELANIE MORAIS, EDSON | MO HANDAHU, HALIFAX | SANDY JOE KARPETZ, EDMONTON | STEPHANIE STERJOVSKI, TORONTO | STEPHANIE KOCH, KELOWNA | WHITNEY COSGRAVE, LOS ANGELES

With the holidays upon us and only two weeks to go until New Year’s, our Style Panel this week wasn’t challenged, but rather given the opportunity to showcase what they’ll be wearing and doing come New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve outfits can usually mean glitz and glamour, but it is also a great way to capitalize on this season’s best trends and show off that special outfit. A runway like Gianfranco Ferre’s Fall 2012 collection had the sparkle and gold on full display, and is a great inspiration for your sartorial choices for New Year’s Eve.

Our Style Panel members this week showed us what they plan on wearing to ring in 2013, and the glitz and glam was on full display, whether in the form of Kayla Short’s black glittery dress or in Whitney Cosgrave’s casual but glitzy shirt. So take cue from our Style Panel this week, and ring in the New Year with glitz and glam.

Question 32: What do you plan on wearing for New Year’s Eve? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: BARBARA ANN SOLOMON, TORONTO | CARA MCLEAY, VANCOUVER | CHRISTINA CRAVERO, TORONTO | DANIELLE ROCHE, TORONTO | KAYLA SHORT, HALIFAX | KD FAUSTINO, CALGARY | KRISTIN MACDONALD, FREDERICTON | MELISSA KNIGHT, VANCOUVER | MO HANDAHU, HALIFAX | SANDY JOE KARPETZ, EDMONTON | STEPHANIE STERJOVSKI, TORONTO | WHITNEY COSGRAVE, LOS ANGELES

As snarky as What Not to Wear may be, hosts Stacy and Clinton seem to always get one thing right: many women have no idea how to dress for differing body types. Since we all know that no two bodies are exactly the same, 9 of our unique and uniquely beautiful Style Panelists took on the challenge and styled themselves in what shape suits them best. Whether it be with tight fitting clothing, loose pieces or even balancing out both, our stylish go-to girls were able to manage the trick of dressing for their bodies

Determining what shape of body you have is the most crucial step before you start playing around with looks. Although many ladies this week, including new member Melissa Knight, agree that they prefer wearing loose-fitting over tight clothing due to comfort, most say that confidence is the real key to pulling off a look that flatters anybody’s curves (take a cue from our next new member, Barbara Solomon, if you don’t believe us!)

So no matter what your shape or size, hopefully our Style Panel will inspire you to dress for your body, and just werk it.

Question 25: What’s your foolproof way to dress for your body type, no matter the trend Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: BARBARA ANN SOLOMON, TORONTO | CARA MCLEAY, VANCOUVER | DANIELLE ROCHE, TORONTO | GRACIE CARROLL, TORONTO | KAYLA SHORT, HALIFAX | MARTA TRYSHAK, TORONTO | MO HANDAHU, HALIFAX | MELISSA KNIGHT, VANCOUVER | VICKIE LALIOTIS, EDMONTON

Let’s be honest, mixing prints can be a scary and daunting concept for most girls out there. Sticking to a norm of block colours or one simple print in our sartorial choices is a safety net for many of us because we fear that mixing prints will result in a messy eyesore.

Many designers jumped on the bold print bandwagon for Fall 2012, from the delicate floral seen at Dolce & Gabbana to the fun geometric prints at Prada, but it’s a matter of mixing the two together that leaves most of us in a fashion pickle.

This week’s Style Panel has risen to the mixed-print challenge, and our members have come up with many new and comfortable interpretations to try out. An easy go-to print for some of the girls was stripes, as seen on The Style Mogul’s Christina Cravero’s floral and stripe combo and A Fashion Love Affair’s Cara McLeay who accented hers with gingham of the same colour. Also, please give a warm welcome to our newest Style Panel member, I’m a Little’s Alex Nikolajev, who kept her mixed prints classy and subdued by using colourful accessories from the same colour palette on her printed skirt. Leave it the Style Panel to take care of all of our fashion fears.

Question 22: How do you combine two or more prints in one outfit without looking like a mess? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALEX GRANT, VANCOUVER | ALEXANDRA NIKOLAJEV, TORONTO | ALICIA QUAN, VANCOUVER | CARA MCLEAY, VANCOUVER | CHRISTINA CRAVERO, TORONTO | DANIELLE ROCHE, TORONTO | JEN TAM, VANCOUVER | KRISTIN MACDONALD, FREDRICTON | MARTA TRYSHAK, TORONTO

As documented in our latest trends guide, Fall 2012 is all about pants, and many kinds of pants at that. From the head-to-toe pantsuits at Miu Miu and Prada to the Hammer-style wideleg pants at Viktor & Rolf, there’s more than enough extreme variety to share. We turned to four of our Style Panelists to […]

The post Style Panel: 4 ways to wear 4 of fall’s best pant trends appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

If there were ever an example of dress code done well, it’d be last Thursday’s launch event for Marc Jacobs’ latest fragrance, Dot. The light and fruity fragrance came to life with its ladybug covered petal flacon inspiring a roomful of dot-wearing partygoers, dotted champagne cocktails (read: blueberries) and a dot manicure station from the team at Tips Nail Bar. With so many dotty ensembles in the mix, it was nearly impossible to pick a favourite. Nearly. In a green polka dot blouse, black polka dot shorts, and oversized bib costume necklace, Style Panel’s Danielle Roche, who sat tweeting the night away alongside her Kastor & Pollux co-conspirator Bianca Venerayan, got our vote.

See the photos »