FASHION Magazine

It’s not a bad gig to spend the afternoon getting a behind the scenes tour of one of Toronto’s top denim destinations, Over The Rainbow (101 Yorkville Ave., rainbowjeans.com) lead by the owner himself, Joel Carman. Carman’s jean shop celebrates its 35th anniversary this weekend and is throwing a big party tomorrow and Saturday with a DJ, photo booth, pizza and BBQ, samples from DaLish cosmetics and Dermalogica’s Clean Start, and denim giveaways, naturally.

Here’s a by-the-numbers peak at jeans institution:

1975 The year Joel Carman was driving a cab and met his future Over the Rainbow business partner, one of his passengers. (The two parted ways after the first year.)

$300 The monthly rent for Over The Rainbow’s first location on Bloor Street. If the shop didn’t work out, recalls Carman, “I’ll put a bed in there and I’ll have an apartment on Bloor Street.”

By Kristi Carignan Just launched for men and women, Vancouver jeans institution Dutil’s (303 West Cordova St., 604-688-8892, dutildenim.com) premium denim collection provides a back-to-basics, “go-to” jean. With an emphasis on fit, the first style, introduced this summer, is the Quintessential Skinny. Dubbed “the perfect jean” by creative director Eric Dickstein, all manufacturing and all […]

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Compare denim to a fabric like spandex or lace–you can squeeze a few looks out of those, but with denim, the ways to wear it go on and on. To prove our point, we’ve compiled some pics of our favourite celebs–from Chloë Sevigny to Alexa Chung to Kate Moss–looking effortlessly cool in their best denim. […]

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Sometimes whimsical summer dresses are so sugary cute, they can put onlookers straight into diabetic shock. Consider this vest ($35, Dynamite) the sartorial equivalent of insulin, ready and available when you need a certain amount of edge. For more denim ideas, check out our Denim Guide.

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Fashion market editor Sarah Casselman goes shopping at Toronto’s Show Room (278B Queen St. W., 416-977-3888) for fall’s top denim trends–new washes, fits, embellishments and more. For more of our favourite jeans, check out our Denim Guide.

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The blues are still blue (or black, or acid washed, or distressed) for fall. In our all-new Denim Guide, we break down fall’s must-have jeans, scope star style and find the runway’s coolest denim looks.

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Seeking a deeper appreciation of the world of dead stock, salt washing and denimheads, we went straight to our neighbourhood jeans expert. Matt Robinson, owner and designer of Toronto’s Klaxon Howl (694R Queen St. W., 647 436 6628, klaxonhowl.com), sat down with us to talk about raw denim, selvage and shrinkage.

What is raw denim?

Raw denim is basically unwashed denim: Dead stock, rigid, raw, dry denim.

What does the washing process do to a pair of jeans?

Washing changes the handle, the feel of the cloth. When it’s raw, denim has a stiffer, scratchier feel—and it’s un-shrunk. Even with samforized denim there’s usually shrinkage. Early Levi’s stuff was shrink-to-fit, so you had to buy according to how you would launder them. Depending on the fabric, you would get one to two inches of shrinkage in the waist and length, and had to know to size up.

The thing about fashion is that the rules are always changing. As Heidi Klum says on Project Runway, “one day you’re in, the next, you’re out.” So I should hardly be surprised when a one-time faux pas is suddenly on point. I’m talking denim on denim. Call me old fashioned, but I just can’t seem […]

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Sarah Casselman, joined by H&M’s show room manager and all-round stylish person, Karen Richter, show you how to tackle some of spring’s trickiest trends–sheer, mixed patterns, double denim and more! Model: Asha at Ford Models, fordmodels.com

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To celebrate their 35 years in fashion, Canadian denim label Parasuco (parasuco.com) has produced a 200-page limited edition coffee table book featuring their Spring 2010 collection. Shot in lush Vietnam by Canadian photographer Raphael Mazzucco, it is available at Parasuco stores for, coincidently, $35.

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The fashion world has a newfound lightness this spring with cascading ruffles, pretty pastels and sparkling embellishment. Underneath all this frothiness is an edge of military-inspired looks and sport chic. See the season’s balancing act in our Spring 2010 Trends Guide.

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Cult label Phi is another victim of These Times. The label, founded in 2003, is closing and the pre-spring delivery will be its last. [WWD]

U.S. department store Macy’s flagship Herald Square location was evacuated yesterday after an escalator caught fire. The blaze was minor and there were no injuries–except to Macy’s sales figures. [Racked]