I am slightly late in the game with this article that was released in September about Vancouver fashion.  To sum it up, MSN Travel listed the top 10 worst dressed cities in America and threw in some international and Canadian cities for good measure.  Vancouver ranked as the 3rd worst dressed city in the world because of our affinity for yoga pants.  To my horror, the Jersey Shore (10) ranked as better dressed than Vancouver.  I cannot believe that Jersey Shore Oompa Loompas ranked higher than Vancouverites.  But I digress…

If a casual approach to style makes Vancouver the worst dressed city, then yes, Vancouver’s fashion style is not so hot.  For one thing, the fact that I have been told many times by Vancouverites that I am one of the best dressed people they know is telling.  I am absolutely NOT the best dressed person, not by a long shot, but by Vancouver standards, the effort I put in certainly stands out.

How much effort do I put in?  Well, when I look at my closet, I always ask myself one question…what would my European Nana do?  She taught me to always dress with the expectation of running into someone I know (picturing an ex is good motivation!) and to always put in effort when going out to meet people because they will appreciate it. It also makes you feel good, which makes you look even better.

Would Nana appreciate the comfort of yoga pants?  No, since she doesn’t understand what the word “comfort” means.  She is the person who wore her high heels when she sprained her ankle, because it was more “comfortable” that way.  Yeah, she’s  awesome.

My question to yoga pant enthusiasts is: If you lived in Paris, would you go to a café to meet up with friends in yoga pants after working out?  Ummm, I don’t think so.  Since Vancouver isn’t Paris (who am I kidding?!?!), do take a page out of Nana’s style and filter your yoga style: don’t wear your yoga pants to work (unless you are paid to do so), with heels of any kind, or to establishments where you hope to meet anyone of substance.  Harsh?  Well, that’s my Nana.

In all honesty, who really cares what MSN Travel says about Vancouver style.  So long as you are happy and, perhaps, comfortable (sorry Nana), does it really matter how the world perceives your style?  Not really, but I might judge you a teensy bit when I see you at the pub in Lulu’s — I do write a fashion blog after all.

I love me some leggings, tunics, and tall boots.  This year, however, I have begun to covet the boyfriend sweater look.  It took me a while to embrace the baggy look as I am no stick insect (ie I have hips and boobs), but I found this adorable rugby style sweater at Mango in Montreal and paired it with my pencil leg, dark wash, J Brand jeans (from the Holts outlet in Toronto), and finished the look with a long gold necklace and tall boots.  I have to say, I killed that look!

Tips for pulling off the bf sweater look:

1. On the bottom wear skinny jeans or thick leggings
2. Pair your pants with pumps, tall boots, or cute little booties
3. Finish the look with a long necklace (I am loving gold these days) — especially nice for those with a bust as it can prevent the sweater from bagging out too much from the chest area to the tummy

 Image courtesy of Mango.com

If you live in America or Canada, most likely you reside in an area that keeps getting slammed with snow. Snow, snow, and more snow.

Luckily for me, I don’t live in a part of Canada where I see much snow; however, I travel frequently for work and am currently in some of the snowiest regions of the Great White North.

For my travels I packed 2 pairs of black boots.   One was protected with leather protector spray about 4 years ago, and the other with mink oil in October. If you want to protect your black boots from salt, snow, and moisture marks…spend the time to slather on the mink oil.  It really works!

Mink oil works like a wax job on a car; the moisture beads off like the water beads off your windshield . Impressive, at least for the boots that are protected.  I have some restoration work to do when I get home with the other pair.

Pick up Mink Oil (I like KIWI brand) at any local drugstore.

Keep warm!

Image courtesy of Chicotpia.com

With Christmas around the corner, we’re all pinching our pennies to save up for that ever important New Year’s Eve dress.  This year is especially important for me as I have a wedding to attend!

In the summertime, I blogged about a DVF dress I found for $90 at Bloomingdale’s in Chicago.  While I was there, I ventured to my favourite dress designer’s department — Nanette Lepore.  I discovered an amazing dress that afternoon, the Darjeeling Dress by Nanette Lepore.  It was gorgeous, what dream dresses are made of: silk, intricate beading, and a big price tag ($378).  As you know, the DVF came home with me but the Darjeeling did not.

M
y birthday was in November and I decided to see if the Darjeeling Dress was available on eBay.  Oh it was and for only for $125.  With shipping it came to $150 and arrived within 2 weeks from Australia.  FABULOUS.  My poor DVF dress will have to wait until the following weekend when I celebrate a BFF’s 30th birthday as Miss.  Darjeeling will be worn NYE 2011.

Bomber jackets are all the rage and hitting their trendy peak.  If you are the girl that lives in your jean jacket throughout the summer or you just love Top Gun, then bomber jackets are your perfect winter “jean jacket”.

Bombers are the perfect topping to tunics, skinny jeans and tall boots.  If you’re looking for an affordable leather version, Danier Leather offers cheaper alternatives to designer price tags.

Personally, I wasn’t ready to invest $$$ in a leather bomber jacket until I found a $23 “leatherette” version at Forever 21–that’s right $23 and it didn’t even stink like pleather (yeah, I smelled it in the store!).

In fact, my new bomber jacket was such a good deal, I can’t even find a photo online to show you from their website!  And before you judge me too much, Forever 21 really is a great place to get trendy pieces at ah-mazing prices.  Thanks Forever 21 at Yonge and Dundas in TO.

Happy bomber hunting!

PS I should have saved this to be a Frugal Friday post, but I just couldn’t wait to share it with you all!

Greetings from Montreal my lovely fashion followers.  I must apologize for being so quiet on the blog front lately, I have been very busy with my other non-fashion related job.  But I finally have some free-time today to report on fall trends!

In observing Montreal street style, I am happy to report that over the knee (OTK) boots are still all the rage.  Especially flat OTK boots.  Girls look more like Robin Hood than Heidi Fleiss in the flat OTK’s. 

What this means for my West Coast fashion followers is that OTK boots will be around until at least Fall 2011!  Those of you that jumped on the trend last year, you were on the money and are echoing current Montreal street style.

Work Style Tips:

• Stick with flats or very low heels
• Wear tights or leggings in the same colour as the boots (ie black with black, grey with grey, or patterns in the same colour palette)
• Pair with skirts or dresses that hit right at the knee — be classy not trashy
• Avoid butt baring mini’s (you should always do this at work, in fact!)
• Rock them with Jeggings as these tuck in nicely – only if you are permitted to wear jeans at work
• Keep your neckline high so the eye is drawn to the boots
• Limit accessories since the boots are the showcase of this outfit

I love the below STRAZZA over the knee boots from Aldo (a Montreal based company!).  They’re affordable ($69), work appropriate and uber CUTE!

I’ll try and post some Montreal street style pics this weekend.  It will require stalking fashionable women…one of my favourite past times. 

Paris Fashion Week’s Most Fierce Kitten Heels

All hail these gorgeous yet practical Valentino pumps.  With a short heel measuring at 3 inches, these shoes are comfy femininity meets tough luxe.

Fashionistas around the world have been rocking these pumps.  Most recently, Anna Dello Russo (Fashion Director at Large and Creative Consultant at Vogue Nippon) and Giovanna Battaglia (Fashion Editor at L’Uomo Vogue and freelance stylist) wore them at Paris Fashion Week.

While $895 is definitely steep for these Valentino Studded Patent-Leather Pumps they are selling out fast.  Despite this scarcity tactic, if you still can’t afford them, watch out for affordable knock offs to start appearing at stores like Nine West, Aldo and H&M in the near future.  Popular runway shoes inspire the shoes you see everyday at these types of stores–but it usually takes a few months.

Check out how Giovanna and Anna (wings and all) rocked them last week.  Magnifique, non?

Dear Mr. Marcus,

Oh you know how to play with a girls heart, don’t you?!?!  This week I blogged about loving sequins and last month about how sequins are BIG for fall.  Then I see this lovely model decked out in a trench, sequins, platforms and a MARC by Marc Jacobs bag!  Were you thinking of me with this look?  I like to think you were.

In any case, as much as I love the outfit…I simply cannot afford all of it.  So let’s see how Frugal Friday treats us today!

Love always,
Fashion Chronicles

Let’s go bottom up today and start with the shoes!  Oh the shoes.  One of my BFF’s was rocking these shoes at dinner a few weeks ago and she was so ashamed to admit that she got a good deal on them.  I assured her that good deals are AWESOME and that it’s my duty to share this with the world.

Behold, the trendy ULIANO shoe for $45 from SPRING!  That’s a price I like compared to Mr. Marcus’s shoes above which are probably 10x that price!

The dress!  Now I love sequins, which I have already mentioned about 100 times in the past month.  But I know not everyone loves a full-on sequined dress as much as me, or my buddy Neiman.  Check out these two options…one full on sequined and the other with a classy accent.

The left dress is the Rolando Santana ‘Katie’ sheath dress and sells for $182.  The ‘Katie’ is a great little party dress, but if you’re feeling a bit more conservative, I love the Eliza J Sequined Ponte Knit Shift Dress on the right. And for $138 at Nordstrom, the price is right.

The wool/cotton blend Marc Jacobs trench on the model really is super cute, but $758 is a bit dear for me.  Finding a military-style trench is easy this season as everyone continues to be mad for military.

The below Burberry inspired trench for $198 at Express would be great to carry you through a mild winter season and it comes in camel, navy and black.

Finally, the MARC by Marc Jacobs hobo style bag.  I am sorry to disappoint Frugal Friday fans but I am a sucker for quality handbags and would actually recommend you get this MARC by Marc Jacobs bag or invest in a similarly styled bag.

Sorry, I truly am a sucker for handbags–in fact, my hall closet fell on me last week (long story) and all that fell out were handbags.  Too funny.  Have a fabulously fashionable weekend!

Some might say my personal style is fairly conservative yet classic.  I like chic styles that will last for years to come and don’t easily give in to short lived trends.  However, like my mother, I admit to having a weakness for sparkles — yep, it’s true.

Lucky for me, sparkles are BIG for Fall 2010.  I recently purchased a super cute sequined tank at Target for $17.99 (pictured at left) that looked fab with indigo skinny jeans and my boyfriend blazer. The key is to wear a sequined top with simple accessories that add to the outfit rather than compete with it.

Earlier this year, I discovered the below Kate Spade glitter bow slingbacks on the Neiman Marcus website.  Yeah, they’re expensive ($325) but so cute!  These slingbacks would be super adorable paired with a brightly coloured dress–like magenta!

The shoes defo wouldn’t compliment a sparkly top like the one above, but would be a gorgeous accent to a simple dress.  They also aren’t everyday shoes…save them for a special sparkle worthy occasion!  I wish these lovely Kate Spade’s were in my closet…I guess I’ll wait for the $17 knock-off to arrive at Target.

Go ahead and get glittered for Fall 2010.

Hermès must have been really miffed at Lady Gaga for scribbling all over her white Birkin with a black marker, because they’ve launched a super sexy limited-edition collection of Kellys and Birkins in an all-black luminescence called – you guessed it – So Black.

All the exterior hardware has been blacked out with a glossed black finish. The So Black range is available in six models and in two leathers of box and mat crocodile.  Bonus?  The collection includes special packaging: a bag, box and bolduc – all in black.

Prices start at $5,200.  Wonder if Lady G is on the waitlist? Available at hermes.com.

Article Courtesy of Leah Rumack, Globe and Mail