FASHION Magazine

12 suggestions for what to wear to Power Ball 2014 »

Toronto’s annual arty blowout is happening this Thursday, which means that the city’s partygoers are in serious prep mode. Even for those who don’t circulate often, Power Ball is a big deal. Every year, the Power Plant comes alive with installations, open bars and flashbulbs. As such, you can imagine the importance placed on wardrobing. If you’re going to this year’s event and still don’t know what to wear, here are 12 tips from some of Toronto’s hippest partygoers and some of those involved with this year’s festivities.

Tickets are still available at thepowerplant.org but by this time tomorrow they’re likely to disappear. Get ‘em while they’re hot!

See the J.Crew Collection store party pics »

Toronto Fashion Week may be more than a month away, but street style trends were top of mind for the city’s fashion lovers last week. And with good reason: J. Crew held a sleek party to celebrate the opening of its first Collection store on Bloor Street, making it the brand’s fifth Toronto location and first standalone store. Unlike other locations, the J.Crew Collection store features a curated selection of limited edition women’s and menswear pieces, including accessories (hello, statement jewellery!) cashmere and more.

Despite its 6,000+ square foot size, the store was tightly packed with eager party guests, many of whom were likely hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman who makes print mixing look as natural as wearing neutrals. Alas, it was not to be: a blizzard in New York meant Jenna Lyons was stranded and we had to settle for an Instagram stand-in—which did indeed complemented the party’s Canadian-ified photo booth. (Complete with stuffed moose and a Pharrell-meets-Mountie hat.)

See all the Operanation 2013 party pics »

On Thursday night the Four Seasons Centre was decidedly catering to just one season, with the expansive performance hall transformed into a luscious garden of evil. Filled with party goers and potted plants alike, the green-tinged space was all for the Candian Opera Company’s Operanation fundraising gala, themed as “A Night of Temptation” for its tenth iteration.

While all-black ensembles were by far the most popular fashion statement, texture allowed for individuality. From mesh cut-outs and ruffled pleats to velvet and sequin add-ons, the little black dress (or gown, for that matter) certainly stood out at Operanation. Darker colours, such as navy-blue and deep jade-green—as seen on soprano Leigh Anne-Allen and The Hudson Bay Company’s Megan Loach—provided a different take the all-black trend and should make inky gowns a gala must. And on the opposite end of the colour spectrum, bright primary colours stood out in the sea of dark shades, including Tatiana Read in red, FASHION’s editor-in-chief Bernadette Morra in blue Viktor and Rolf, and a hit of yellow, courtesy Odessa Paloma Parker’s Jeremy Laing number.

See the Queen’s Plate Hats & Horseshoes party photos »

Horse races and ladies in fancy hats make for a most stylish pairing. From the Kentucky Derby to the Royal Ascot to Canada’s very own Queen’s Plate, an afternoon at the race track demands a wide-brimmed hat. (Or, in the case of a fascinator, a hat as tall as it could be wide!) This past Sunday saw the 154th running of the Queen’s Plate and many of Toronto’s most fashionable crowd made the journey to Woodbine Racetrack, hats in tow. To celebrate the race, Woodbine’s annual Hats & Horseshoes party took over the grounds around the walking ring, bringing together food trucks, betting stations, a Grey Goose-sponsored VIP lounge and, of course, the aforementioned stylish racing fans. Milliner David Dunkley was also on hand with many of his couture creations available for partygoers to try on—or buy if they happened to arrive sans hat. Compared to previous Queen’s Plate races, this weekend it was quite apparent that fashion has become a huge focus. Yee haw!

See photos from the Holt Renfrew Rag & Bone party »

Toronto is so desperate for springtime, that not even last night’s biblical style storm wouldn’t stop its style inclined inhabitants from flocking to Holt Renfrew for a party in honour of Rag & Bone’s neon-heavy spring collection. Packed to the racks of the department store’s third floor, partygoers—including designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville, who made it in the nick of time after hours of flight delays—seemed especially eager to throw down to the DJ tunes and get crafty with the makeshift graffiti board that had been installed on a nearby wall.

And now for the fashion: Spring’s graphic black and white trend was embraced by many partygoers, most notably by stylist Mariko Lauren who channeled Wednesday Adams in a peter pan collar dress and wide brimmed hat and the always-fabulous Kealan Anne Sullivan, who artfully paired a vintage policeman’s hat with a black velvet cape, a white turtleneck sweater and beat up jeans. Socialite Stacey Kimmel braved gravity in a skin-baring halter black dress with selectively geometric fabric slashes. And at the other end of the spectrum, designer/photographer Ashley Rowe went for the kaleidoscopic effect with her lime green active suit suit, turquoise-dyed hair and gal pal stylist Cara Joy Purkis who wore head-to-toe red.

See all the Holt Renfrew party pictures »

Not even a micro-blizzard can stop Toronto from celebrating the start of World MasterCard Fashion Week in style. Open-toed shoes and floor-grazing hemlines were spotted on many of the attendees at Holt Renfrew’s cocktail kickoff party, with barely a salt stain or goose-bump in sight.

The party, which started after the last of Monday’s shows, transplanted the front row set—that is, a mix of editors, designers, photographers and buyers—onto the third floor of Holt Renfrew. Ambient music (courtesy a Bellosound DJ in a white Jeremy Laing dress) mixed well with on-brand magenta lighting, making for quite the party den far away from the tents at David Pecaut square. And magenta wasn’t just everywhere thanks to the lighting: from Ashley Rowe’s dip-dyed hair and bright caftan to Lisa Tant’s magenta bolero jacket to a pocket square (that may have actually been a pair of panties, according to one onlooker) worn by a crafty male guest, the evening was filled with shades of pink, purple and red.

Check out the photos of the MOON Ambassadors! »

Fresh from the launch of their new e-commerce website and recent pop-up shop in Toronto, Canada’s MOON Apparel has given us a peek at their new campaign, which will feature bloggers from across the country, including some very familiar faces.

The modern fashion line, which is helmed by Jordin and Tamara Mimran (the nephew and niece of Mr. Joe Fresh himself, Joe Mimran) is celebrating individual street style and in doing so have partnered with ten stylish fashion bloggers from five cities across Canada. The bloggers that have been specially selected will be members of an ambassador program set to launch this month in conjunction with MOON’s recently launched online store.

Check out the first Canadian Ann Taylor store and party pics!

Ann Taylor has touched down on Canadian soil. As a part of the brand’s global expansion, the first Canadian store was unveiled atToronto Eaton Centre. Conveniently nestled between the must-shop Apple Store and Lululemon, the bright white space was unveiled on Thursday. And there’s only one way to celebrate a store and that’s a party.

The spacious store was filled with bloggers like Style Panel’s Gracie Carroll and The Backseat Stylers’ Sharon Ng Hayes. Zoomer Magazine’s editor Suzanne Boyd and menswear designer Farley Chatto also showed up with others to scope the selection. Champagne and wine was sipped and tiny snacks consumed, the makings of any good party.

View the photo gallery »

Walking through the oversized doghouse gate in Toronto’s Distillery District, it was clear that the Paws for the Cause gala and fashion show had marked its territory. The second annual doggies-on-the-catwalk event had the city’s cutest pooches sporting Canadian-made coats from Babies & Beasts while their celebrity dog walkers strutted their stuff in darling duds by Philip Sparks. Plaid-on-plaid suits, faux fur–collared jackets and ladylike dresses ensured that models like eTalk’s Tanya Kim and MTV’s Aliya-Jasmine Sovani looked (almost) as cute as their leashed companions.