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

The most romantic day of the year is fast approaching and we can’t resist dressing up for the occasion, date or no date. The wardrobe options are endless with so much inspo out there on the interwebs. And it being Valentine’s Day and all, working the holiday colours into our look is a no-brainer. To […]

The post How to Wear Red and Pink this Valentine’s Day Without Looking Cheesy appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Knowing what to wear on your first date is no easy feat, especially with butterflies in your stomach. We all want to put our best foot forward (in a pair of sky-high heels!) when making that first impression, but let’s face it. The last thing you want is to sit in an uncomfortable dress at the movies or hobble around in new (painful) heels when your date decides to take a romantic walk at the end of the night. So how do you dress to impress and feel confident all at the same time? This week our Style Panel shares some of their best tips to score that perfect outfit for that perfect first date or 100th date.

If there is one thing the members of Style Panel can agree on, it’s to dress according to your date location and wear something you would feel confident and comfortable in. Both Kassandra Camponi of Kastles and Kira Paran of Northern Style Exposure are big believers in wearing your favourite pieces is the key to bringing confidence to the date. While Camponi loves to team her favourite dress with a pop of colour in the accessories department, Paran was all about dressing comfortably in her favourite pair of jeans. The Pretty Secrets’ Sandy Joe Karpetz shows us how to prep us if the date takes you from a warm afternoon to a cool evening in the seamless transitional outfit. Still can’t decide on what to wear on a date? Jill Lansky of The August Diaries shares what not to wear just in case if you were thinking of taking out those harem pants out for the first time.

Question 105: What to wear on a date? Read the answers now! »

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been plagued with Halloween costume panic for the last few months. You’ve made countless lists of the year’s biggest newsmakers (read: Miley) and searched high and low for costume-affirming props. If you’re an enthusiast of the howliday, you’re likely already ready. But for those who are relieved to have […]

The post Halloween costume ideas: 5 head-to-toe options from our Style Panel appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Ah street style, the once treat and now staple of fashion week. It’s become a full time job for those on both sides of the camera and whether or not that’s a silly fact, it’s a fact indeed. After a month full of street style creeping outside the Spring 2014 shows, all eyes will be on Toronto Fashion Week and we’re not about to let those international experts out play us.

While being in the spotlight isn’t always easy, we asked our trusty Style Panelists give us the scoop on how they get snapped without sacrificing their own personal style.

First up to offer her style advice is new Style Panel member, Ruta Rudminaite. The 22-year-old Toronto blogger feels that with street style, nowadays, anything is fair game and that the most important consideration to make is to wear whatever you’re rocking with confidence. The way you hold yourself when you walk down the street in your outfit du jour is what gets photographers to notice you.

We also welcome Northern Style’s Kira Paran to our Style Panel, whose answer to this week’s challenge question is to stick with classic pieces and tailored clothing. When your outfit is sculpted to flatter your body type, it will give you a confidence boost and get noticed.

After a month full of street style watching from New York to Paris and beyond, here’s 11 tips to get noticed right here at home:

Question 73: Street style is a tricky business. What are your tips for dressing to get snapped (without compromising your personal style)? Read the answers now! »

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Last month, Alberta kicked off a month of fashion weeks and events around the world with its own fashion gathering, unlike any fashion gathering the province had seen before. Hosted at Latitude 53’s new downtown Edmonton location, Calgary’s PARK  (Promoting Artists, Redefining Kulture) debuted into new, northern territory.

For anyone who knows the history of the two cities, (hockey) rivalry is core to their relationship, but with FASHION as its official magazine sponsor, Edmonton’s fashion industry professionals—from designers, boutique owners, hair stylists and make-up artists, to photographers, bloggers, writers and media personalities—came together to mix and mingle with their local community and connect with their southern counterpart.

Calgary’s Jessie Li and Kara Chomistek, co-founders and producers of PARK, are looking to expand the organization’s reach and connect the fashion industry’s movers-and-shakers by hosting events throughout the province (and one day, they say, Canada). “The Edmonton fashion community has been incredibly supportive of what we’ve done in Calgary and we want to continue to build and develop the relationships between our two cities,” says Li. The two young producers, a chartered accountant and an engineer, respectively, co-founded PARK in 2008 as an effort to provide emerging artists and designers with greater opportunities to show and sell their works.

While youthful rebellion may be something we all experienced in our earlier years, this season’s punk trend is feeling oh so modern. Riding the high of the Met’s Costume Institute summer exhibit, Punk: Chaos to Couture, the Fall 2013 runway shows continued our re-introduction to punk under the guise of rips and studs on luxurious […]

The post How to wear the punk trend: 8 Style Panel tips for revamping the notoriously rebellious look this fall appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Much like the classic LBD and the plain white T, denim shorts rank high on the list of timeless trends. Feared by some, loved by many, the versatility of this wardrobe staple makes this classic style a must-have for summer. On the streets, we’ve seen trendsetters brace the warmer temperatures in denim shorts of all […]

The post How to wear denim shorts: 15 Style Panel tips for braving this often-feared basic appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

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.

For as long as we can remember, stripes have been in. Whether associated with a jailbird’s uniform or Coco Chanel, those good ole lines have proved themselves versatile. And while stripes are many things, we wouldn’t have thought modern—until Spring 2013.

Breathing yet another life into the everlasting trend, designers including Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs and Dolce & Gabbana sent stripes down the runways in their own varied brands of sporty, sixties-inspired and painterly. On the dressed-up end of the spectrum, Oscar de la Renta and Raf Simons at Christian Dior splashed stripes across floor-length gowns and metallic party dresses.

For today’s Style Panel feature, we asked our gals how to wear stripes now. Is it possible to think out of the box where fashion’s oldest trend is concerned? As ever, the answer was a resounding yes. A Fashion Love Affair’s Cara McLeay went the Dior route, dressing up stripes in with a dress and tweed blazer combo. Miss Melissa’s Melissa Knight paired her bold and graphic skirt with her feminine floral blouse. Even though her skirt is bold and striped it is black and white so she smartly used the skirt as a neutral to allow the pairing to work. Curvy Geekery’s Mo Handahu went all out wearing three pieces with stripes in one outfit. Her pale tone-on-tone pants ground the look allowing her striped blouse and sweater to play off each other.

Question 39: What are your favourite tips for how to wear stripes now? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: ALYSSA LAU, EDMONTON | BARBARA ANN SOLOMON, TORONTO| CARA MCLEAY, VANCOUVER | CHRISTINA CRAVERO, TORONTO | IVA GRBESIC, TORONTO | KASSANDRA CAMPONI, EDMONTON | KAYLA SHORT, HALIFAX | KRYSTIN LEE, TORONTO |MELANIE MORAIS, EDSON |MELISSA KNIGHT, VANCOUVER | MO HANDAHU, HALIFAX | STEPHANIE KOCH, KELOWNA | WHITNEY COSGRAVE, LOS ANGELES

While it would have made you a downright prepster back in the ‘80s, a high collared button up or sweater has become de rigueur for fashion statement making nowadays. Championed by street style stars like Man Repeller Leandra Medine and Taylor Tomasi Hill alike, a high collared shirt is even more statement making with the addition of a blinged out necklace worn overtop. And while it sure looks great when captured outside the tents at fashion week, we’re bringing it down to earth for you, with 6 great tips on how to wear a collar necklace, delivered by our very own Style Panel.

As always, our panellists’ tips are varied as their looks. KD Faustino suggests making the look pop by wearing a collar necklace in a contrasting colour to your button up shirt or sweater. At the other end of the spectrum, Stephanie Koch chose to stay within the same cobalt blue colour palette when pairing her collar necklace with a varsity style sweater. Meanwhile, One Chic Mom’s Iva Grbesic put a preppy twist on her own outfit, but recommends trying collar necklaces in a bunch of different ways to see what works best for you.

Question 36: Can you share some tips on how to wear a collar necklace? Read the answers now! »

Or jump to: BARBARA ANN SOLOMON, TORONTO | KASSANDRA CAMPONI, EDMONTON | KAYLA SHORT, HALIFAX | KD FAUSTINO, CALGARY | KRYSTIN LEE, TORONTO | IVA GRBESIC, TORONTO | STEPHANIE KOCH, KELOWNA

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