FASHION Magazine

Granny-chic is quite a feat and we adore the girlish reflective flower motifs, flower-appliquéd organza and shimmery pastels of Christopher Kane’s spring collection. And here’s the secret added bonus: they’re comfortable too. To emulate the style, we picked a pair of sport sandals over at Sport Chek and transformed them in four simple steps.

Let’s DIY! »

Marni’s Spring 2012 collection was suspended between girlish youth and confident womanhood. Although the ‘60s chic looks were structured and clean, little hints of whimsy appeared throughout. It was the collection’s playful accessories—two-toned oxfords and clutches—that inspired makeup artist Tom Pecheux to create the orange and white beauty look. By using shadows instead of liners, and by perking up the cheeks and lips with sheer products, you can make this work for real life. The bright, light colours are what make this look youthful and fun, so don’t be shy about using these creamsicle hues.

Try your hand at colour blocking! »

From lips to nails, shades of burgundy were all over the Fall 2012 runways—and, because stars are always the first to embrace a trend, the deep red lip has now dominated red carpets. Camilla Belle and Lana Del Rey both wore the colour at the Met Gala, Katy Perry can’t stop matching her just-dyed indigo hair with her lipstick, and even Jennifer Lopez is a fan of the vampy look. Of course, Nail Corner wanted to take the trend a step further: why just paint your lips and nails a shade of burgundy when you can actually paint tiny lips on your nails?

See the burgundy lip manicure! »

In honour of Miuccia Prada‘s birthday (it’s today!) and her retrospective at the Met, we’re getting into our second Prada DIY of the season (check out our flower earring DIY). This time around, we’re fashioning our own fiery accessory inspired by the stylized fifties flames that were shown throughout her Spring 2012 collection.

Let’s DIY! »

Considering how long it’s been popular, can black nail polish now be considered classic? Lauren Conrad brought it to the masses on many an episode of The Hills, it’s a common colour for starlets to wear on the red carpet, and almost every polish brand has one—or more!—black shades. While a dark manicure still stands out, a graphic design can give it even more power. This week, inspiration came from Chloé‘s Spring 2012 collection. I mixed stripes of black and white polish to create a slim design and left a sliver bare in the middle—just like the deep V-neck of the Chloé button-down.

Check out the black and white manicure! »

Just about every designer seemed to have the London Olympics in mind, as athletic-gone-couture was a reoccurring trend in many spring collections. From Kenzo’s colour-block anoraks to Vera Wang’s pristine sporty dresses, athletic chic certainly made the finals for one of the must-have looks of the season. Alexander Wang, perhaps the star player of the trend, showed perforated materials and mesh galore in the form of jackets and dresses. But the collection’s statement-worthy oversized mesh pockets had us inspiration-struck. We add a bit of florescent flash to the look in 7 simple steps.

Let’s DIY! »

Our spring trend guide continues to be a source of inspiration for Nail Corner, and this week Burberry Prorsum’s tribal prints have been transformed into a manicure. For this design, mushroom-grey and deep-blue stripes are brought to life with alternating rows of neon orange, creating a zigzag pattern that almost pulses off the nail. And just like Burberry’s pattern, this manicure is asymmetrical—which adds even more movement and fun to the design.

Grab some nail art brushes and find out how to do this mani! »

The single-nail style of gradient manicure has been making the rounds on nail blogs recently—thanks in part to its simple application method (I swear!) and its endless colour possibilities. It’s also a favourite of L.A.-based nail artist Madeline Poole, whose cheery sunset-ish designs will convince anyone to make this her next manicure. And when it comes to translating spring’s underwater trend into nail art, what could be better than a deep blue to foamy white gradient? Peter Pilotto’s aquatic print—as well as the illustration that accompanied it in our March issue—served as the perfect Nail Corner inspiration. Time to break out a makeup sponge and find out how to do this manicure!

Go under the sea with this gradient mani! »

The statement collar has become, for spring, what the necklace has been for years before. No longer just the functional counterpart to the button-down shirt, the collar (attached or removable) has taken centre stage this season—studded at Balmain, detached and printed at Carven and lacy at Preen. We love them, and the ultra-feminine look of Louis Vuitton’s lace numbers had us thinking DIY at first sight. Follow our simple steps to create your own version of the dream-like bib; all you need is a few inexpensive items and a bit of creativity!

Let’s DIY! »

Cotton candy colours and oversized lace flowers were all over Louis Vuitton’s Spring 2012 collection, as well as many a trend report. But unlike other delicate prints, Louis Vuitton’s take on femininity seems almost animated: pale shades of saccharine colours get a bit of bounce with large lace eyelets. As inspiration for Nail Corner, the pastels were right in line with many new nail polish shades—it was definitely hard to choose just five colours to use!

See the pastel Louis Vuitton lace manicure! »

It’s all about the waist this spring with croptops, drop-waists and our favourite look of the moment, the peplum. One particular Cushnie et Ochs look, complete with a slick patent peplum, caught our eye. So we decided to make it, natch (and for a meager $17, too).

Let’s DIY! »

Find out how to get this look! »

When Preen‘s Spring 2012 collection was still in its nascent stage, designers Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi were reading a lot of Virginia Woolf, and Victorian era visions of English gardens danced in their heads. The collection featured prints in lush, pastel colours based on blown-up, pixelated peonies. Fittingly, the models faces were flower-petal fresh, their cheeks as rosy as ripe peaches.