FASHION Magazine

Short and sweet—that’s summer in Vancouver. But there’s no shortage of darling swimwear designed here to maximize our brief beach season. Make waves in one of these local suits that touch on summer’s hottest trends.

Take your style notes from Prada this season and pair a sweet summer dress with bold, antique-style earrings. Edmonton’s Rachel Bingham lovingly handcrafts one-of-a-kind jewellery from antique and discarded materials sourced throughout the world for her line BangBang Bijoux (bangbangbijoux.com). Mixing vintage brass, Lucite and resin with re-polished beads, crystals and appliqués, these on-trend treasures tell a sparkly story (from $35).

Summer is the ideal time to stock up on easy, breezy printed pieces like this colourful little number from L’Aubainerie ($20, aubainerieconceptmode.com). Add a bohemian-chic fringe necklace à la Missoni Spring 2012 and cork platform sandals.

Not sure what to pack for your summer vacation? Two words: Tory Burch. The queen of boho-prep has (finally!) opened her first Canadian boutique at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre (3401 Dufferin St., 416-783-0698, yorkdale.com). Swing open her signature orange-lacquer doors and you’ll find a glam 2,500-square-foot space filled with Burch’s ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags, jewellery and more. This summer, snap up a white collarless jacket, an effortlessly cool drop-waist frock (inspired by ’20s-era Deauville, France) and a juicy-hued top-handle bag.

This snappy baseball jacket from H&M ($80, hm.com) hits on the season’s athletic trend (mesh vests at Alexander Wang, slouchy jerseys at Isabel Marant and exaggerated ball caps at Kenzo). Its striking gold and burgundy colour combo and shrunken shape will keep you looking like an all-star all season long.

Whether you’re a workout junkie or finally making good on a New Year’s resolution to get fit, there’s nothing quite like spring’s landslide into summer to motivate an increase in all things fitness. From the best exercise classes to athletic-inspired fashion, we’re here to help you look (and feel!) like a gold medal winner all summer long.

Step aside, there’s a new shoe-tique in town. Owner Shannon Bizon has relocated her just-over-a-year-young store, Shoeuphoria (Grenier Place, 200 St. Albert Rd., St. Albert, 780-418-7785, shoeuphoria.ca), to a sophisticated new space but kept the same affordable prices. This season’s standout styles include colour-block wedges and strappy metallic sandals. The wide selection of labels include Jessica Simpson, Rockport, Steve Madden and Canadian line Blondo.

Spanish label Camper (928 Ste-Catherine St. W., 514-879-5833, camper.com) has opened its first stand-alone boutique in Canada, right here in Montreal. This 37-year-old family-run company offers quirky-cool footwear for the whole family. On my lust list this summer: These canary yellow ankle-strap Chantal heels, which will be the perfect pop of sunshine with my new cerulean dress.

Drenched hair and skin, cheeks flushed from exertion—with clear eyes and full hearts, Kari Molvar contends this season’s beauty can’t lose.

Gearing up for fashion week is always a sport in itself, but this season designers and backstage beauty pros went for a literal interpretation. With slicked-back hair and rosy cheeks flushed as if they’d just come in from a run, models strode athletically down the runways in mesh tracksuits, neoprene zip-ups and jerseys ticked with racing stripes. But even if you’re not in training mode, the look is just as chic. With that in mind, we asked the elite hair and makeup pros to give us a few pointers on pulling off the trend.

We break down this season’s trend » HAIR | SKIN | FULL GALLERY

As Canada’s athletes gear up for the London 2012 Olympic Games, we speak with a veteran and a newcomer—six-time medallist Clara Hughes and first-time Olympian boxer Mary Spencer—about preparation, pressure and product.

From graphic stripes to flirty florals to polka dots, the spring runways were awash with bright, bold prints. Now’s the time to trade your tried-and-true solid-coloured swimsuit for one that truly makes a splash, like this colourful brushstroke-print bikini from George (shown, $7 per piece, fashionbygeorge.ca). Whether you prefer to match or play mixmaster with the pieces is up to you.

View the photo shoot »
Shop the shoot »