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by The Backseat Stylers | June 17th, 2013 
As if Club Monaco‘s boutiques aren’t already chock full of irresistible wares, they will now be stocking the retailer’s first shoe collection beginning this August.
The fall line-up will feature 25 styles, including embellished smoking slippers and exotic skin, single-sole pumps, and will be made in Italy. Retailing from $198 to $395, the collection will be sold exclusively at Club Monaco’s Bloor Street store in Toronto and Fifth Avenue, SoHo and Bleecker Street locations in New York, as well as online, in its first year.
If Club Monaco’s shoe designs are as chic as their usual fare, then we’re definitely in for a treat.
Images via WWD
by The Backseat Stylers | June 15th, 2013 
It’s finally time, fellow footwear addicts: Louboutin fever is about to hit Toronto! The Christian Louboutin 20th anniversary retrospective exhibition bows next week at the Design Exchange on June 21 and runs until September 15, 2013. Want a refresher on what’s in store? Check out the exhibition sneak peek we posted a few months back, and then click on over to dx.org to purchase your ticket, stat.
With the exhibit’s arrival also comes a barrage of events for Louboutin’s uber-fans, including the opening gala and a series of talks. Here’s the skinny on everything that’s happening, including the 411 on how you can meet the designer in the flesh and get your favourite pair of red-soled beauties signed.
OPENING GALA
Christian Louboutin – the man himself! – will be on hand to personally unveil the exhibition at a glamourous black tie gala on June 20. Guests will be the first to view the exhibition while enjoying hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and interactive activations by FLARE Magazine. It promises to be one of the biggest events of the year, so be sure to snag your ticket before it’s too late. Tickets are $150 for members and $175 for non DX-members via dx.org. See you there in your most fabulous Loubies!
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by The Backseat Stylers | June 11th, 2013
It’s never quiet for long on the designer collaboration front, especially when it comes to H&M. The fast fashion retailer announced today a guest collection by Isabel Marant that will hit stores this fall. Known for an effortless, rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic, the French designer will be designing a line-up that includes apparel and accessories for men, women and teens. Yes please!
“I am flattered by this collaboration: H&M works with the best designers and this invitation is an exciting honour. I aim at creating something real, that women want to wear in their everyday lives, with a certain carelessness, which I think is very Parisian: you dress up, but do not pay too much attention and still look sexy. The collection is infused with this kind of easiness and attitude. Everything can be mixed following one’s own instincts: my take on fashion is all about personality” said Marant, pictured above with Margareta van den Bosch, Creative Advisor at H&M, in a press release.
The Isabel Marant pour H&M collection will launch on November 14, 2013 in about 250 stores worldwide as well as on hm.com. Stay tuned for more details as they’re released. How excited are you for this latest H&M collab?
Image courtesy of H&M
by The Backseat Stylers | June 7th, 2013 
As huge Sex and the City fans, we witnessed our beloved Carrie Bradshaw’s numerous shoe-related shenanigans. We remember fondly Carrie getting mugged for her favourite Manolos, playing in the Vogue shoe closet, and getting hitched to Big in those famous Something Blue embellished heels (pictured above). And now, 15 years after SATC‘s premiere on HBO, comes the announcement that Carrier is taking her shoe obsession to the next level: Carrie, or rather Sarah Jessica Parker, is designing a shoe line.
“In a silly way, I think it’s what people have expected of me most because of Carrie Bradshaw,” says Parker. She’s right, and it’s about time. Dubbed ‘SJP’, the line is slated to launch exclusively at Nordstrom in early 2014. The collection will include pumps and flats priced from $200 to $300, handbags for under $700, and a few trench coats as well, all to be produced in Europe and New York. And of course there’s a Manolo connection – the actress has teamed up with George Malkemus, longtime CEO at Manolo Blahnik, on the line, someone who obviously also knows a lot about shoes.
“Because I got to play that role, I wore a lot of shoes,” Parker says, “and by default I learned an enormous amount.” Given her enviable on-set footwear wardrobe of Manolos and Louboutins during her SATC days, we have nothing but high expectations for SJP’s latest venture. We can’t wait to see what she designs for us.
Image Credit: Charles Sykes/AP (via)
by The Backseat Stylers | June 6th, 2013 
It’s been quiet on the Nordstrom front ever since the Seattle-based retailer’s announcement of five locations in Calgary, Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto, and if you’ve been antsy for an update, we’ve got one for you. At a retail conference in Toronto earlier this week, Nordstrom Canada president Karen McKibbin revealed some juicy tidbits that fans of the department store chain will be excited to hear.
First off, they’re hiring. The process has already begun in Calgary, where Nordstrom is on the hunt for the best of the best to ensure that their famed customer service is just as high quality in Canada as in their U.S. locations. That means assessing 400 candidates for every sales floor position, so if you want in, you’d better make sure you have your game face on and are ready to serve.
They’re also looking closely at the cross-border pricing issues that U.S. retailers that have set up shop in Canada in recent years have encountered. McKibbin said, “It appears there will be some differences on certain products – taxes, duties and other factors. We are going to do everything we can to minimize that, and I don’t want you to think that’s lip service. We are really hard at work at this problem now.” As shoppers who have seen shockingly significant price disparities, we’re happy to hear it.
The best piece of news, though, is that Nordstrom hopes to open another 3 to 5 stores and at least 15 Nordstrom Rack outlets in Canada, starting in 2015. If you’re not anywhere near the four cities announced to date, here’s hoping one of the new locations will be in your neck of the woods. And while Canada won’t have its own dedicated e-commerce site right away, we do have Nordstrom.com, which ships north of the border, to tide us over in the meantime.
Oh, and P.S. Nordstrom’s famous Half-Yearly Sale is currently underway.
Image via Retail Week
by The Backseat Stylers | May 24th, 2013 
Mark your calendars, fellow Toronto shopaholics! It’s been over a year since it was announced that Toronto Premium Outlets would be opening in Halton Hills (on Highway 401 at Trafalgar Road) in summer 2013, and now we finally have an official launch date: August 1, 2013. In just a few short months, the first phase of the 500,000-sq. ft. outdoor shopping centre, billed as “the first upscale outlet mall to be developed in Ontario and Canada”, will open its doors with 85 designer and name brand outlet stores on its roster.
John Klein, president of Toronto Premium Outlets, announced the first store last year: Hudson’s Bay’s first “designer outlet prototype in the country.” No word yet on what types of merchandise will be stocked at the Hudson’s Bay Outlet, but we’re already daydreaming about the possibility of prior season overstock from The Room and The White Space.
The rest of the directory has been a very well-kept secret to date. At the groundbreaking ceremony last April, Josh Kaufman, former Vice-President of Development for SmartCentres, said, “It will include the best U.S. and Canadian fashion apparel brands offered and, in some cases, for the first time in Canada.” Premium Outlets has promised a reveal “very soon”, but here are the outlet/factory stores we’ve discovered to date via our master detective skills (a.k.a. online job postings), though not all have been confirmed by either Premium Outlets or the brands themselves: As of May 23, the complete store directory has now been released. Check it out in all its glory over on the Toronto Premium Outlets website. Highlights include:
- American Eagle
- Banana Republic
- Bose
- Brooks Brothers
- Burberry (Dec 2013) **NEW
- Calvin Klein
- Coach
- Cole Haan
- Columbia Sportswear
- Dynamite
- Eddie Bauer
- Gap
- Guess
- Hudson’s Bay Outlet
- Icebreaker
- J.Crew
- Kate Spade New York
- Levi Strauss
- Lucky Jeans
- Michael Kors
- Polo Ralph Lauren
- Restoration Hardware
- Ted Baker
- True Religion
Intrigued? So are we – we can’t wait to find out all the other brands opening up shop at Toronto Premium Outlets this August. Watch this space for more updates and for the complete directory once it’s been released.
By the way, many of you have emailed us for information about jobs, and we finally have some to share. A job fair will be held on Thursday, June 6 from 8am to 6pm at the Milton Sports Centre in Milton. Good luck!
Pictured: Hagerstown Premium Outlets, Washington D.C.
by The Backseat Stylers | May 16th, 2013 
It’s no secret by now that we here at The Backseat Stylers are huge fans of Toronto-based designer Sunny Fong and his label VAWK. There’d be even more VAWK in our joint closet if our bank accounts allowed for it, so we’re very excited about Sunny’s latest venture: an extremely pocketbook-friendly collaboration with eBay Canada.
Sunny has designed a limited edition, 7-piece collection of clothing and accessories to be sold exclusively on eBay. Each piece is being created by hand and with fabrics and materials used in VAWK’s main line. From $59 for a lizard-embossed leather cuff with fox fur to $119 for a chic black shift dress, all items will be sold at fixed Buy It Now! prices with free shipping in Canada. In short, the collection is a STEAL and we’re dying for every single piece, especially that leather skinny tie.
Check out the gallery below for the complete VAWK for eBay line-up, and mark your calendars for the launch on August 12! The designs will be produced in very limited quantities, and you won’t want to miss out on the chance to snag some gorgeous VAWK pieces at such incredible prices.
Images courtesy of eBay
by The Backseat Stylers | May 9th, 2013 
It’s turning out to be a busy year for Target on the designer collaboration front. First Prabal Gurung, then Kate Young, and now? 3.1 Phillip Lim.
Yes, you read right: the popular New York-based contemporary designer (and one of our favourites!) has created a limited edition collection of men’s and women’s apparel and accessories for the discount department store chain. “Since an early age, I’ve been intrigued by the idea of design evolution,” Lim said in a press release. “One of the reasons I wanted to collaborate with Target is because I felt that together we could create a collection that would inspire – one that is modern and chic, but still very accessible.”
The travel-friendly line-up will feature over 100 items priced from $19.99 to $299.99. The collection will launch on September 15, and will be available in most Target locations in the US and Canada as well as on target.com. Check out the sneak peek video here and watch this space for more on 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target in the coming months!
Image via Style.com
by The Backseat Stylers | May 1st, 2013 
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Pre-Fall 2013 at the Vogue Dinner for Michael Kors
Michael Kors has been on an epic roll of late. With a record-breaking IPO last year, a loyal fanbase that includes Michelle Obama, a spot on the Time 100, and soaring profits to boot, the American designer and former (and our favourite!) Project Runway judge is looking pretty unstoppable right about now.
In fact, Kors fever is about to hit an all-time high in Toronto with the #MKToronto bash this evening, where the designer himself will be in attendance. We can’t wait to hear some Project Runway-worthy pearls of wisdom.
Follow the #MKToronto hashtag for the scoop and stay tuned for our recap later this week. In the meantime, check out our 5 favourite Michael Kors looks on the red carpets so far this year.
Emily Blunt in Resort 2013 at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards
Solange Knowles in Spring 2013 at the United Nations World Food Programme Dinner
Olivia Munn in Spring 2013 at the Time 100 Gala
Karlie Kloss in Spring 2013 at the 2013 Grammy Awards
xx, T & S
Images via Just Jared
by The Backseat Stylers | April 10th, 2013 
Michelle Williams
Another week, another Target launch party attended by some very bold face names.
Last night, the likes of actresses Michelle Williams, Kate Mara and Maggie Gyllenhaal attended a bash in New York in honour of celebrity stylist Kate Young‘s design collaboration with the discount department store retailer. Each walked the red carpet in a look from the pocketbook-friendly eveningwear collection.
The offerings are looking rather cute, but that might be the Michelle Williams fan in me talking. Kate Young for Target launches online and in stores on April 14 – check out the complete lookbook here.
Kate Mara
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Debby Ryan and Kate Young
xx, S
Image Credits: Starpix/JustJared
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THE BACKSEAT STYLERS BY T & S
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