FASHION Magazine

View all of our Christmas
gift ideas for women »

Somehow, shopping for the leading ladies in our lives often proves to be the hardest. The challenge for Christmas gift ideas is to be creative, on trend, and meaningful—not the easiest task, but a necessary one. If you’re shopping for your girlfriend, wife, sister or mother, it’s essential to make the gift matter and worth every penny spent.

For Christmas 2012, we’ve dreamt of all things lavish and luxe that can double as a satisfaction to a women’s fashion craving as well as functional piece in her every day life and they are anything but traditional. We know that diamonds have been declared a girl’s best friend, but this year we’re thinking outside of the little blue box and selecting gifts that show creativity. We’ve opted for lush fur pieces that will keep her warm all winter, geometric shaped cuffs that will reinvent the arm party, and even a onsesie that just begs to be taken to a ski resort. These are the pieces that will win a woman’s heart.

See all the Christmas gifts
for best friends »

Buying a Christmas gift for your best friend should come as one easy task. You know your best friend inside and out, and chances are that you have similar tastes and shopping habits. But for those out there that don’t have a clue where to start, we have many ideas for Christmas gifts for best friends (and sisters and girlfriends too!) included here in our 2012 gift guide.

Christmas is a season of giving, and why not choose a Christmas gift idea for your best friend who you’ll likely be spending some of the holidays with? The affordable gift ideas for best friends featured here are all under $100, so even if the Christmas season is draining your wallet there are still cute, but cheap options out there for your best friend.

See all the Christmas gifts
for kids »

Christmas is the time when the younger ones in our lives declare what they want to see under the tree. And if you’re sick of hearing “puppy!” year after year it’s time to take back the reigns from Santa and plan creative gift ideas for kids all by yourself. While our selection of holiday gift ideas represents a wide range of ages from tiny toddlers to teenagers, they are all products that will make them look forward to your gifts for years to come.

If you want to head down the clothing route for girls, step away from the cutesy pink dresses and choose a studded and totally trendy Topshop headband—which is sure to make the other girls in class envious. And leave it to Marc Jacobs to create a high fashion version of the swappable and coveted Silly Bandz that all spell out his name—a fun and new take of the popular rubber accessory. And when you’re young, the $16 price tag means nothing, but the designer name says it all.

See the Topshop Vancouver opening photos »

Vancouver’s media and fashion folk clamoured into Topshop’s glossy new Granville Street location in the basement of the Bay yesterday, taking tours through the almost maze-like black mirrored space as they absorbed the many and varied sections the British export had on offer. From mod silhouettes to a Scandinavian-meets-military line to the fast fashion retailer’s exclusive collaboration with J.W. Anderson, the sheer number of covetable pieces was almost overwhelming. And then, there was the shoe wall—any red-blooded woman alive would experience a flutter of heart palpitations upon walking into the sleek space, where studded fall-apropos suede booties took up residence alongside futuristic powder pink and gold heels.

Check out the pictures from the new store!

It Brit megabrand Topshop has finally gotten a space to call their own in downtown Toronto. After opening a two-floor shop-in-shop at Yorkdale Shopping Centre last year (and kicking it all off with a blowout party featuring Coco Rocha, The Kills and Harley Viera Newton, to boot), Topshop has one-upped its first Canadian location, by opening an expanded spot at The Bay Queen Street. What used to be a small selection of the brand’s wears has been transformed into a 19,000 square feet of mirrored mecca rivaled only by its predecessor.

Topshop is loved by the likes of Kate Moss and Alexa Chung, so you know the brand is top notch. The Bay’s new Queen Street shop-in-shop has been filled with fur hats, two-tone purses and graphic sweaters that all seem just perfect for an early shopping spree. While the clothing is fine and dandy and we’d be happy to carry armfuls of clothing out of there, upon spotting the shoe section, we almost fainted.

Traditionally this weekend has always been about the turkey dinner and the turkey drop (may you not be on the receiving end). Beware the tryptophan-induced food coma because this long weekend there are plenty of fashionable, non-turkey related things to get up to: shopping sprees at the mall, runway shows in the prairies and the birthday of a beer baron.

We’ve spotted cap toe pumps on some of Hollywood’s most stylish A-listers, and Christian Louboutin’s Un Bout pump—seen on the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and Beyoncé—is undoubtedly the most coveted proponent of the trend. Whether dressed up or down, the PVC suede cap toe statement shoe has become the go-to footwear for stylish women everywhere, including FASHION’s own Style Panelists, Jen Tam and Vickie Laliotis. Check out 10 versions of everybody’s favourite Louboutin, at a fraction of the price.

Check out our picks!»

By Lesa Hannah and Sarah Daniel

Our Fall/Winter 2012 beauty trend report covers the makeup, manicures and hairstyles you need to know, paired with the best new products. From the moody colours of Dark Shadows to Wild Side’s super saturated shades and groomed ponytails, we have all of fall’s top looks in one spectacular slideshow. Time to start browsing!

See all the beauty trends for fall »

JUMP TO A TREND: DARK SHADOWS | THIN EVIDENCE | FRENCH TIPS | BROW CONTINUUM | CHARACTER SKETCH | AIR FORCE | THE WILD SIDE | MATCHY MATCH | BANDS & BANGS

Thanks to some stylish ladies, the usually-worn-by-the-boys headgear is no longer relegated to bad hair days: the embellished baseball cap is making a comeback.  Style stars like Gwen Stefani and Rihanna have been spotted about town donning some covet-worthy caps—Stefani paired a bright red cap with her gauzy beach ensemble, and Rihanna got the blogsphere abuzz when she donned a spiked Peace, Love and Understanding cap complete with tartan tail. From studs and spikes to prints and pops of colour, we’ve got ten caps that will upgrade your off-duty look!

Check out our cap roundup!»

Even if you only glanced at a picture in passing, the image of Anna Piaggi would have undoubtedly left an imprint in your memory: her blue marcel curls, rouge-dotted cheeks, flamboyant hats and colourful, pattern-clashing clothes were an unmistakable fixture on the front row, one that will be sorely missed as the fashion world learns today of the 81-year-old’s passing.

Piaggi was born in Milan in 1931, and broke into the editorial world as a translator at the Mondadori publishing house. She moved into fashion journalism as the fashion editor of Italy’s first women’s magazine Arianna in the ‘60s, and began contributing to Vogue Italia in the ‘70s. She’s began writing for everything from Vanity Fair to L’Espresso, and as her editorial page count grew, so did her eccentric wardrobe. Her 2865 dresses and 265 pairs of shoes were celebrated in a Topshop-sponsored, Victoria & Albert Museum exhibit entitled “Fashion-ology” in 2006, while friend and admirer Karl Lagerfeld documented over 250 sketches of her many looks in Lagerfeld’s Sketchbook.

Read ahead to see all three festival looks! » Festival style has become such a sartorial staple that even mega retailers like H&M have jumped on the festival style wagon, creating entire collections inspired by the motley crew of Aztec print wielding, face-paint dabbing festival goers that make the trek to far-away locales every year. […]

The post Osheaga here we come! We style 3 looks that will keep you looking festival-approved from the folk shows to the dance parties appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

With the explosive popularity of Isabel Marant’s heeled sneakers, Pierre Hardy’s colour-blocked high tops and various high-fashion collabs in the works with iconic sportswear brands like Nike, Adidas and Keds, it’s clear that sneakers are having a moment. We’ve spotted some seriously stylish kicks about town — from Toronto sidewalks to the cobblestones in Paris — and we’re loving the sporty vibe these comfortable shoes bring to any outfit.