Fashion Friday :: Red and Green Reimagined

[trip style = any]

This post is written by Trip Styler fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

There's something endearing about even the tackiest Christmas light display---blow-up snow globe on the lawn, reindeer on the roof, blinking lights and all. I feel the same way about Christmas sweaters, battery-powered Santa brooches and Frosty the Snowman ties. December is the only month we can get away with wearing red and green together. My favorite way to dress festively is to take those colors and move them a little to the left {to the left}. Let's call them olive and cabernet. Those are my Christmas colors---reimagined---and also my top holiday meal... These looks are perfect for a cozy cabin getaway, hot chocolate date, après ski, or wherever your plans take you this holiday season.

Now What To Wear?
Men (clockwise from top left)
J.Crew homespun henley, Gant by Michael Bastian the mb down vest, Wallace & Barnes cpo jacket, New Balance mustard 574, Billy Reid military chinos

Women (clockwise from top centre)
Pendleton the portland collection north plains tunic, Aritzia dennis hat, Current/Elliott the vintage sweatpants, Madewell driftstitch sweater, New Balance high roller 574, Artizia meribel vest, Corgi for J.Crew cashmere socks

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[graphic by @heatherlovesit]

Fashion Friday :: High/Low Fall Trends

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This post is written by Trip Styler fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

If you're going to get one piece this season, get a big coat. That's the advice of FLARE Magazine's senior style and market editor, Truc Nguyen, who was in Vancouver this week presenting fall fashion trends at the FLARE World Runway Tour Presented by TRESemmé.

The clothing trends seen on the runways for fall/winter were mid-century silhouettes, pastels, oversized coats, 90s revival punk, new structuralism, strapless or off-the-shoulder, jumpsuits and plaid. The accessory trends included novelty bags, thigh-high boots, functional flats, t-straps, short leather gloves and fur mittens.

Think of trends as something fun, not something prescriptive you have to follow. But also know that we're usually following trends whether we know it or not. There's a great scene in The Devil Wears Prada where second assistant Andy Sachs laughs at a few editors deciding between similar-looking belts until she---and her sweater---are schooled by fashion editrix Miranda Priestly:

"You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and select, I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back, but what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis; it's actually cerulean.... It's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry, when in fact you're wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room."

Here are a few of my picks for the season, at both high and low price points, inspired by the three things to remember for fall: Big coat! Cool flats! Fun bag!

Big Coat

An oversized coat may feel like a burden when you're travelling, but it never has to fit inside your luggage. Wear this coat style with a fitted silhouette underneath, like skinny jeans and a t-shirt, along with one of my own favourite trends of the season: sneakers. from left: ASOS oversized wrap front coat, Rick Owens Lilies quilted sail coat, Zara masculine coat, Forte_Forte coat

Cool Flats

Here's the perfect excuse for not packing heels in your carry-on. Instead, bring along interesting, functional and comfortable flats. left column: Isabel Marant lilo ballerina flat, Dieppa Restrepo laura oxford, Pour La Victoire zandra monk strap flats; right column: Urban Outfitters t-strap flat, Topshop mave metallic points, DV by Dolce Vita monk strap oxford flats

Fun Bag

Novelty bags are meant to add whimsy and colour to an outfit, and they're not meant to be an investment item. They're great treasures to bring home from your travels that will always take you back to wherever you bought them. clockwise from top left: Alice + Olivia zebra clutch, Zara iridescent messenger bag, Santi pom pom clutch, Kneeland Mercado Meché Correa lucky milagros bag

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[graphics assembled by @heatherlovesit]

Fashion Friday :: Make A Statement

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This post is written by Trip Styler fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

The best-kept secret in packing isn’t the scarf---because everyone knows to pack a scarf by now {FYI - scarf tying 101}---it’s the statement accessory. OK fine, your statement accessory can be a scarf, but you have lots of other options to make your basic travel staples POP.

A simple long weekend packing list of jeans, a couple tops and a sweater can be complemented by a hat, a statement necklace, a pair of bold socks or stockings, great eyewear and a bandana that doubles as a pocket square. Just like that, two outfits turn into four.

This approach to packing has significantly reduced my suitcase real estate. I can actually pack for a weekend in a weekender bag now! {Except for shoes, but that's why God invented oversized handbags...right?}

Now What To Pack?
Target limited edition wool rancher hat, Norse Projects wool 6 panel cap, Y's by Yohji Yamamoto triple layer stole, Kenneth Jay Lane turquoise stick necklace, Strathcona Stockings turquoise roses trouser stockings, Apolis washed linen bandana, D.L. Eyewear frames, Ladies & Gentlemen bloc necklace

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[graphic assembled by @heatherlovesit]

Fashion Friday :: Western Spirit

western spirit

[trip style = any]

This post is written by Trip Styler fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

Rodeo season is in full swing {check out our recent Calgary Stampede coverage} and whether or not you plan on catching a chuckwagon race this summer, or just embracing the {wild, wild} western spirit, we thought it was high {noon} time to wrangle our favorite country-inspired looks, plus a few rodeo style tips to boot.

Styling Tips -- Rodeo season is hot. To beat the heat and show a little leg, go with a western-inspired bootie instead of a traditional cowboy boot. -- The Canadian tuxedo is encouraged, but mix it up with light and dark washes. -- You're not going to a costume party, so instead of head-to-toe cowboy, add a couple western touches to your everyday style. -- "Top it, belt it, stomp it." Fashion advice from Brenna Hardy, Stampede Stylist at Calgary's CORE Shopping Centre. -- Always store your hat upright; otherwise, the brim will relax. Time to invest in a hat box! -- Add a little fun to your bum and place a bandana in your back jean pocket. -- Accessorize with turquoise, a southwestern staple, or weave a piece of leather into a fishtail braid.

If all of this western style has inspired you to take a rodeo getaway, check out the upcoming Cheyenne Frontier Days (WY), Pendleton Round-Up (OR) and Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NV), or gallop to next summer's Calgary Stampede.

Now What To Wear? Women (clockwise from top left)Madewell perfect chambray ex-boyfriend shirt, Free People serra do mar tunic, Frye carson tab mid boot, Velvet farley dress, Vanessa Mooney open road ring, Madewell barnwood boot, Ralph Lauren hand-tooled leather belt, Imogene + Willie elizabeth stretch jean

Men (clockwise from top right) RRL buffalo twill western shirt, To Boot New York hawthorne boot, Imogene + Willie natural plus bandana, Imogene + Willie barton rigid jean

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[graphic assembled by @heatherlovesit]

Fashion Friday :: Cycle Chic

[trip style = urban]

{Editor's Note: We will not be publishing on Easter Monday.}

Fashion Friday posts are published regularly by fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

I'm heading to Amsterdam next month and recently a friend jokingly asked if I'd go to the red light district. I confess I hadn't even thought about it. When I think of Amsterdam, I imagine stylish cyclists on Dutch upright bikes with tulips in their baskets riding alongside picturesque canals. I suspect the same thing of Copenhagen, and I refuse to think any differently until I'm proved wrong. Part of this confidence comes from my faithful addiction to street style blogs and their sub genre, cycle chic blogs, birthed in Copenhagen in 2007.

There's something magical about cycling in a bike-friendly city, smiling at passersby, having moments of fleeting flirtation at stoplights with fellow cyclists, all while getting in some light cardio. Of course bike commuting is only magical until that moment when it begins to downpour, you're splashed by passing cars, yelled at by impatient cyclists and you knock down a whole row of bikes while locking up your own. That's when you go inside for a Heineken. Speaking of Dutch beer, I'll have to drink some and I'll have to go to the red light district. It would be disrespectful not to...right?!

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[street style photos via thesartorialist.com, garancedoré.fr, amsterdamcyclechic.com, thelocals.dk and jakandjil.com]