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- March, 2010 (19)
- February, 2010 (26)
- January, 2010 (35)
- December, 2009 (24)
- November, 2009 (38)
style
Knit Picks: The Cowichan Sweater
| Image: Clinton Hussey | Published: February 03, 2010
The Cowichan sweater has a time-honoured place in the pantheon of Canadian style somewhere between the fringed belt of Quebec’s Carnival and the Roots Olympic bucket hat.
So it should have come as no surprise that the Bay’s Team Canada Olympic sweater sparked some controversy when it was unveiled last October. Although hand-knit, the Olympic sweater does not use traditional wools or traditional colours, nor is it knitted by Cowichan First Nations people.
However, like all iconic fashion pieces, the Cowichan sweater has often inspired contemporary designers to put their own twist on a classic.
Canadian-made Graphic Deer Sweater by Vancouver's Granted Clothing, $314, grantedclothing.com
Authentic Cowichan sweater from Hill's Native Art, $195 to $255, hillsnativeart.com
The Bay's hand-knit Team Canada sweater, $350, hbc.com
December Style: Holiday Chic
| Image: Clinton Hussey | Published: December 02, 2009
While a jingling elf cap may keep the accounting department in stitches at the office Christmas party, the sharp, ambitious dresser knows to steer clear of theme outfits in favour of a more classic – and classy – look. Herewith, a selection of accessories that will bring holiday cheer to even the most workaday ensemble.
Christian Louboutin glittered pump, $675, holtrenfrew.com
YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick, $38, holtrenfrew.com
Jimmy Choo suede Kara clutch, $995, holtrenfrew.com
H. Stern cobblestone crystal cuff, $19,995, birks.com
H. Stern noble gold and champagne diamond star pendant, $10,475, birks.com
Arfango velvet loafer, $695, holtrenfrew.com
Antique gold pocket watch, $650, Otto Friedl at Hotel Vancouver, 900 W. Georgia St., 604-683-2820
Tiffany trefoil key fob, $1,100, tiffany.ca
Giorgio Armani bow tie, $135, holtrenfrew.com
Tateossian Rare Stones collection gold filigree and
South American stalactite cuff links, $4,500, holtrenfrew.com
Costen Catbalue tourmaline and diamond ring, $5,900,
costencatbalue.com
November Style: Wristwatches
| Image: Clinton Hussey | Published: November 04, 2009
The advent of the cellphone and BlackBerry may have rendered obsolete the functionality of the wristwatch, but its pull as a powerful status symbol has not diminished in the least.
The advent of the cellphone and BlackBerry may have rendered obsolete the functionality of the wristwatch, but its pull as a powerful status symbol has not diminished in the least. Along with the wedding ring, the wristwatch is today the only universally acceptable piece of male jewelry – but it wasn’t always so. Less than a century ago, the pocketwatch was king, while “wristlets” (considered a passing fad) were the exclusive province of fashionable women. However, after this new hands-free technology was credited – along with the machine gun – with leading the British to victory in the Boer War, the wristwatch made the leap from battlefield to boardroom, as captains of industry embraced the manly new accessory.
1. Concord Delirium La Nuit, $17,890, birks.com
2. Birks Signature with diamond bezel, $10,950, birks.com
3. Vancouver’s St. Moritz Watch Corp.’s Stella Maris, $395, st-moritz.com
4. Tiffany T57, $10,300, tiffany.ca
5. Tiffany Grand small, rectangle, $3,350, tiffany.ca
6. Vintage Alfex multi-chrono, $395, Otto Friedl, Hotel Vancouver, 900 W. Georgia St., 604-683-2820
7. St. Moritz Valjoux, $1,295, st-moritz.com
BOTTOM ROW (left to right)
1. Tiffany Atlas small square, $3,800, tiffany.ca
2. St. Moritz Lugano, $995, st-moritz.com
3. Gucci Twirl, $795, birks.com
4. Vacheron Constantin Contemporary Patrimony, $35,600, palladiocanada.com
5. Philip Stein diamond Teslar, $2,605, holtrenfrew.com
6. Omega Vanoc 2010 Limited Edition Seamaster, $4,500, birks.com
7. Girard-Perregaux Cat’s Eye, $31,990, palladiocanada.com
What Your Sneakers Say About You
| Image: Clinton Hussey | Published: August 05, 2009
When ad man Henry Nelson McKinney coined the term “sneaker” for Keds’s rubber-soled – and therefore noiseless – shoe in 1917, he could hardly have foreseen the humble canvas-top shoe’s eventual, all-pervasive market dominance. Whether you’re running a marathon or just running errands, sneakers are perhaps the most versatile article of clothing ever devised – be they “trainers,” “gym shoes,” “runners” or just “kicks.”
1. Men’s Pony Neff Signature. $109.99, pony.com
2. Men’s New Balance MTG 580 SP. $160, newbalance.com
3. Women’s New Balance WR769CBC. $140, proceeds to benefit the Canadian Breast Cancer Society, newbalance.com 4. Women’s Geox Respira NET System Cross-trainers. $140, geox.com 5. Women’s Nike LunarGlide+. $149, nike.com
6. Men’s Louis Vuitton Vitamin in suede. $625, louisvuitton.com 7. Women’s Pony Feed the Cat. $69.99, pony.com
8. Unisex Converse Jack Purcell Race Around Oxford. $120, converse.com 9. Men’s Converse John Varvatos Sockless Wing Tip. $190, converse.com 10. Men’s Nike LunarGlide+. $149, nike.com 11. Women’s Louis Vuitton Impulsion.
$550, louisvuitton.com
- Pony,
- Nike,
- Running shoes,
- Sneakers,
- style,
- New Balance,
- Louis Vuitton,
- Converse,
- fashion,
- Geox,
- gym shoes,
- style,
July Fashion: Waterfront View
| Image: Clinton Hussey | Published: June 29, 2009
Considering all the crunches and squats you did to get your beach bod, shouldn’t you be showing it off to its best advantage? Any fool can slip on a pair of flip-flops and amble down to the shore, but it takes true dedication to pull off a co-ordinated seaside ensemble. Making sure you have everything you need, and then some, in one handy beach tote is an art – one we’re happy to share with you.
For Him
Etros striped beach towel, $275, holtrenfrew.com • Handmade Megatote in “greenvine” by Vancouver’s Fiveleft Leather, $400, fiveleft.ca • Tumi mobile power charger, $150, holtrenfrew.com • Two-tone, braided leather hat by Makins, $345, holtrenfrew.com • Apple iPhone 3G, $199-$299 (8G or 16G) with three-year contract, rogers.ca • Tom Ford Cyrille aviator sunglasses, $515, holtrenfrew.com • Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Lip Butter, $3.99, etbrowne.com • dermaglow dermaSPF 45, $50, dermadna.com • Kelowna-based Alan Bradley’s award-winning debut mystery, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, $25, flaviadeluce.com • John Varvatos thong sandal, $245, holtrenfrew.com
For Her
Hermès Egyptian Cotton Elephant towel, $675, hermes.com • Eric Javits terry sun hat, $145, holtrenfrew.com • Prada Sunglasses, $310, holtrenfrew.com • Shu Uemura Sage Depsea Water Facial Mist, $30, holtrenfrew.com • Bamboo handle straw bag from Vancouver’s Gaya, $36, gaya.ca • Clarins After Sun Replenishing Moisture Care, $45, clarins.com • Clarins limited edition Sunset Coral tinted SPF 6 Instant Sun Light lip balm, $20, clarins.com • Evolve Cherish Color full coverage colour protecting shield, $14.95, 800-267-4676. • Kiehl’s Vital Sun Protection SPF 30 Sunscreen All-Sport Year-Round Face & Body Lotion, $27, kiehls.com • Giorgio Beverly Hills Sunshine fragrance, $45, elizabetharden.com • Skyler Marilyn bikini top, $65, skyler.ca. • Tory Burch flat sandal, $210, holtrenfrew.com
Camp Couture: Children's Clothing
| Image: Clinton Hussey | Published: June 03, 2009
Before you send them away for the summer, at least kit them out properly.
Finding just the right summer camp clothes for kids is a delicate balancing act. First, there’s the issue of size: with bathing suits, no “room-to-grow” rationales – unless you want to shell out for therapy after an embarrassing swim class wardrobe malfunction. Then there’s style: Johnny and Janey spend nine months of the year in school clothes, the style of which is often dictated by a draconian set of adult rules. Summer is the time to let go and have fun with print, pattern and colour. And finally, price. Like many a summer dalliance, you’re here for a good time, not a long time. Don’t spend a fortune. Save that cash for back to school.
Boy (6-7 yrs)
Two-tone sunglasses, $7.50 from Gapkids • Camouflage logo beach towel, $14.50 from Old Navy • Star Wars lunch bag, $28 from Pottery Barn Kids • Quilted high-tops, $19 from Joe Fresh Style • Hawaiian sunset swim trunks, $19.50 from Old Navy • Strike! T-shirt by Vancouver’s Redfish Kids, $28 at Redfish and at select retailers.
Girl (11-12 yrs)
Flip-flops, $4 from Old Navy • Backpack, $55 from Pottery Barn Kids • Cuffed capri pants, $16 from Joe Fresh Style • Peek-a-boo one-piece bathing suit, $12 from Joe Fresh Style • Clear-frame sunglasses, $10 from Joe Fresh Style • Sun hat, $6 from Joe Fresh Style • Hibiscus pattern beach towel, $14.50 from from Old Navy
Natural Beauties
| Image: Clinton Hussey | Published: May 12, 2009
Forty years ago, we were more than happy to slather on chemicals, parabens and silicones in our continuing effort to conquer the ravages of time and look our best. Only crazy, filthy hippies went on about handmade goat’s milk soap and beer shampoo. But as Bob Dylan once sang, the times they are a changin’, to the point where green, all-natural, organic, vegan-friendly and eco-conscious have become the new watchwords of the cosmetics industry. Only now we needn’t smell like sheep yogurt after a long, hot shower.
1. La Prairie Advanced Marine Biology Night Solution made from a proprietary aquaculture of ocean botanicals. Partial proceeds from each purchase benefit Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society. $225, holtrenfrew.com
2. Rocky Mountain Soap Oatmeal and Honey soap, $4.99, rockymountainsoap.com
3. Killian Perfume Six all-natural scents from the scion of the Hennessey Cognac family. The cut crystal bottles are to be reused and refilled from one of six in-store casks. $225 ($115 per refill), holtrenfrew.com
4. John Masters Organics Mandarin Maximum Moisture concentrated revitalizer, $63, beautymark.ca
5. Rocky Mountain Soap Foot Butter (travel size), $7.49, rockymountainsoap.com
6. Spa Binge Organics Rare White Grapefruit Body Shea Rich Cream made from 100 per cent organic, vegan, carbon-offset active ingredients, $42, absolutespa.com
7. John Masters Organics Organics Linden Blossom Face Cleanser, $27, beautymark.ca
8. Care Stella McCartney Toning Floral Water, $40, holtrenfrew.com
9. Kiehl’s Aloe Vera Biodegradable Liquid Body Cleanser, $21 (100 per cent of net profits benefit JPF Eco Systems, a charitable foundation created with Brad Pitt to support global environmental initiatives), kiehls.com
10. Care Stella McCartney 5 Benefits Moisturizing Crème with 100 per cent organic active ingredients, $88, holtrenfrew.com
11. Live Clean Green Earth certified organic, plant-derived, pure vegan Strong Hold Styling Gel, $6.99, live-clean.com
12. Skyn Iceland Icelandic-based Relief Eye Cream, $49.50, holtrenfrew.com
13. Rocky Mountain Soap Mountain Man (blue bar), $4.99, rockymountainsoap.com
14. Escents Organics Matcha Tea Vegan Soap, $4.99, escentsaromatherapy.com
15. Deserving Thyme Purifying Body Scrub, $26, deservingthyme.com
16. Escents Verve handmade soap, $4.95, escentsaromatherapy.com
17. La Prairie Advanced Marine Biology Tonic, $110, holtrenfrew.com
18. Live Clean Green Earth Firm Hold Styling Spray, $6.99, live-clean.com
19. Live Clean Fresh Water Liquid Hand Soap, $4.99. live-clean.com
20. Spa Binge Organics Rare White Grapefruit Body Shea Lotion, $23, absolutespa.com
21. Lush Seanik Shampoo Bar made of nori and Irish moss, $9.95, lush.com
22. Rocky Mountain Soap Company Natural Jasmine Perfume, $28.99, rockymountainsoap.com
23. Kibio Intense Intemporelle Cream with rosehip, argan and ho wood, $52 at all Shoppers Drug Mart locations
24. Lush Sea Vegetable Soap, $7.25/100 grams, lush.com
25. Skyn Iceland Oxygen Infusion Night Cream, $110, holtrenfrew.com
26. Escents Organics Matcha Tea Detoxifying Body Scrub, $19.95, escentsaromatherapy.com
27. Deserving Thyme Muscle & Joint Massage & Bath Oil, $14.95, deservingthyme.com
28. Lush Shave The Planet Non-lathering Shaving Cream, $14.95, lush.com
Blue Moves
| Image: Clinton Hussey | Published: March 24, 2009
April 30 is Jeans Day across the province, an annual charitable event wherein employers and employees raise funds for BC Children’s Hospital by purchasing the right to trade in their workaday pencil skirt or dress pants for a much-loved pair of their Sunday best. Much as BCBusiness supports an occasional lapse in business formal attire, we feel we must offer the following caveat to the denim impaired: please, no mom or dad jeans! In other words, avoid elastic waists, snap-front closures or highrises that reach just below the armpit. Stonewashed finishes are also taboo. To participate in Jeans Day, visit www.jeansday.ca.
Clockwise from top left:
Sweden’s Cheap Monday unisex tight fit original dark wash, $78, www.dutildenim.com; Women’s Kasil Jeans Democracy fit, Hepburn wash, $228, www.dutildenim.com; Men’s Taverniti boot cut James jean, $250, www.holtrenfrew.com; Women’s Lafayette in Alloy Moonlight wash by Vancouver-based Fidelity Jeans, $196, www.fidelitydenim.com; Women’s True Religion Stella Nine Lives, $298, truereligionbrandjeans.com; Men’s Rockstars by Vancouver-based designer Jason Dussault of Dussault Apparel, $125 at select Bay locations, www.hbc.com; Levi’s handcrafted Hesher jeans, $228, www.dutildenim.com; Women’s button pocket Small Town jeans, $238, www.dutildenim.com; Men’s Nudie Thin Finn Organic Dry jeans, $178, dutildenim.com; Women’s Lindy silhouette in Vintage Light Bali wash by Mavi, $98, www.mavi.com
Off the Cuff
| Image: Clinton Hussey | Published: March 01, 2009
From not-so-humble origins as a costlier alternative to silk-ribbon sleeve closures, the cufflink has always denoted a certain level of wealth – and power. Since the advent of the tuxedo in the late 1800s, cufflinks and their matching studs have often been the one touch of socially acceptable individuality allowed for men at the better sort of functions; they’ve also proved an enduring part of proper office dress – at least until the late ’60s, when polyester leisure suits nearly killed them. Their revival came from the unlikeliest of sources: women’s wear and the English New Romantic movement of the early ’80s. Today cufflinks are the final finishing flourish to any executive outfit, for either gender.
His: (from left)
Sterling silver enamelled oval basket weav e, Tiffany, $495, tiffany.ca
RT by Tateossian red enamel filigree, $140, harryrosen.com
Costen Catbalue white gold meteorite cufflinks, $2,200, costencatbalue.com
Sterling silver Jan Leslie horseshoe, $350, harryrosen.com
Sterling silver and black enamel stripe, Birks, $175, birks.com
Birks Dimodolo 18-karat gold and diamond cufflinks, $2,725, birks.com
Sterling silver Tiffany Bull & Bear cufflink, $240, tiffany.ca
Her: (from left)
Sterling silver Bull & Bear cufflink,
Tiffany, $240, tiffany.ca
Pink Tartan gold and diamond clover, $4,995, pinktartan.com
Van Cleef & Arpels 18-karat white gold and onyx Alhambra, $4,550, birks.com
Pink Tartan crystal horseshoe, $165, pinktartan.com
Costen Catbalue 14-karat yellow and white gold sun and moon, $1,300, costencatbalue.com
Costen Catbalue yellow gold Celtic knot with 1.41 carats of rubies, $2,500, costencatbalue.com
Pink Tartan red enamel clover, $45, pinktartan.com
Undercover Lover
| Image: Clinton Hussey | Published: February 01, 2009
We've just pulled clear of February, that dark heart of wintry gloom, when leaden, soggy West Coast skies are at their most lifeless. But how do you spark romance in a torrential downpour, when tearful resignation is more appropriate? And where, pray tell, is the sexy in a hibernal uniform of trench coat and gumboots? For inspiration, we look to the humble flasher, who long ago made a display of rain gear – and little else – to remarkable effect. A special Valentine to you, dear readers. Be sure to share it with someone you love.
Hers (left):
Banana Republic trench, $215, bananarepublic.com
Agent Provocateur Joanna briefs, $90; bra, $130; and suspender, $70.
agentprovocateur.com
Cougar Sport lined rain boots, $70 from Gumdrops, gumdrops.ca
His (right):
Banana Republic trench, $450, bananarepublic.com
Duchamp striped boxer briefs, $65, and webbed floral tie, $195, Holt Renfrew, holtrenfrew.com
Tretorn rain boots, $70 from Gumdrops, gumdrops.ca
