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by The Backseat Stylers | March 27th, 2013 
Winner Devyn Abdullah
The inaugural season of our new favourite reality series, The Face, has sadly come to an end with the crowning of Devyn Abdullah as the the winner on last night’s finale. Hailing from the Bronx, NY, Karolina Kurkova‘s model mentee beat out fellow finalists Luo Zi Lin and Margaux Brooke Snell for the coveted title of The Face and spokesmodel contract with ULTA Beauty.
We were #TeamCoco loyalists through to the very end and were disappointed when Margaux wasn’t able to pull out a win. Who were you rooting for? And do you agree with ULTA’s selection of Devyn as the winner?
Finalist Luo Zi Lin
Finalist Margaux Brooke Snell
xx, T & S
Images courtesy of The Face
by The Backseat Stylers | March 21st, 2013 
Who run the world? Queen Bey, obviously. As if a world tour wasn’t enough to keep her busy, news comes today that Beyoncé has teamed up with H&M for a summer collection. Everyone’s favourite hair-flipping diva is featured in the fast fashion retailer’s new campaign, modelling swimsuits and beachwear inspired by her own style and that she personally gave input on.
Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Head of Design, said: “There’s the perfect bodycon dress, as well as a flowing sun dress that makes a real statement. And of course there are the bikinis, especially the fringed bikini. What makes these pieces even more special is that Beyoncé herself had input into the design, and they are full of her own personal style.”
The campaign was shot by Inez and Vinoodh in the Bahamas back in January. ”I’ve always liked H&M’s focus on fun affordable fashion” Beyoncé said. “I really loved the concept we collaborated on to explore the different emotions of women represented by the four elements – fire, water, earth and wind. It was a beautiful shoot on a tropical island. It felt more like making a video than a commercial.”
In addition to the print advertisements, a TV commercial featuring a new Beyoncé song, Standing On The Sun, will also be launching. How excited are you, my fellow Beyoncé fans?
xx, S
Image courtesy of H&M
by The Backseat Stylers | March 13th, 2013 
Mackage outerwear has been a closet staple for us for years now, so we’re rather excited to hear that the label’s Montreal-based designers, Eran Elfassy and Elisa Dahan, are applying their design chops to a new offering: handbags.
The inaugural collection includes 12 covetable clutches and tote bags done in snake and pebble-embossed leathers. “We strived to mirror the mixed-media elements that we have come to be known for in our coats,” Elfassy told WWD. One of the designs is the result of a collaboration with Megs Mahoney Dusil, cofounder and CEO of PurseBlog.com – someone who obviously knows a lot about handbags.
Priced from $225 to $600, the debut collection will be available by July 15 at select retailers, including mackage.com and shopbop.com. The images released so far look promising, and we can’t wait to check the bags out in person. Perhaps at Mackage’s runway show at Toronto Fashion Week next week? Here’s hoping.
 
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by The Backseat Stylers | March 12th, 2013 
H&M Group‘s highly anticipated new label, & Other Stories, launched on Friday with the opening of its first bricks-and-mortar store in London and online shop in select European countries. So what’s the story on this new chain?
& Other Stories is a fashion brand offering women a wide range of shoes, bags, accessories, beauty and ready-to-wear to create their personal style, or story. Their creative ateliers in Paris and Stockholm design diversified fashion collections with great attention to detail and quality at an affordable price.
We’re rather envious of our friends across the pond, because & Other Stories’ wares look right up our alley. The new brand is higher end than its sister company, H&M, and its offerings less trend-focused. The very first collection, for Spring 2013, features unique takes on classic silhouettes, and has a decidedly minimalist lean. Check out the gallery below for highlights from the inaugural lookbook.
It might take some time for & Other Stories to expand to North America, but here’s a great way to tide us over in the meantime: H&M online shopping. What say you, shopping gods?
 
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by The Backseat Stylers | February 28th, 2013 
From Club Monaco to Zara, our favourite retailers are launching e-commerce sites left, right and centre, and our closets couldn’t be happier. The latest? Joe Fresh! That’s right folks – the cheap and cheerful brand launched online this week via a shop-in-shop over at jcpenney.com.
Unfortunately for us Canadian Joe Fresh fans, the new e-shop doesn’t ship north of the border. We’re choosing to look on the bright side though: Joe Mimran, aka Mr. Joe Fresh, already has e-commerce on the brain, so surely a Canadian site can’t be too far off…right? Fingers crossed!
xx, T & S
by The Backseat Stylers | February 27th, 2013 
If, like us, you’ve missed the last four years of Fashion’s Night Out in New York and had big plans to attend the one-night-only shopping extravaganza this year, it looks like we’re out of luck. The news comes today that FNO is officially going on hiatus in the U.S. this year.
FNO was originally launched back in 2009 to help give New York’s economy a boost during the recession and grew rapidly to epic proportions both in size and budget. According to WWD, “the sponsors of the event — Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America and NYC & Co. — made the joint decision to go on hiatus so retailers and designers can focus their budgets on projects that are more in line with their specific objectives, rather than a big event on one night in September.”
So it looks like our plans to rub elbows with Anna Wintour and sing karaoke with supermodels this September won’t be happening after all, at least not in New York. Fashion’s Night Out will continue to be held in 19 countries around the world in 2013. Having just hosted our biggest FNO festivities to date here in Toronto last September, our fingers are crossed that Canada is still one of them. We’re not quite ready to let go of our after-hours shopping party just yet.
xx, T & S
by The Backseat Stylers | February 15th, 2013 
Remember earlier this week when we broke the news that Zara‘s Canadian e-commerce site was going to be launching very, very soon? We don’t like to brag, but we were very, very right. The news is confirmed: the fast fashion retailer will indeed be offering online shopping in Canada starting March 6 – in just a few short weeks!
Mark your calendars and start saving your lunch money because Zara’s about to become that much more irresistible. We simply cannot wait! In the meantime, check out the Zara Woman February 2013 lookbook and get excited because online shopping is finally happening.
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by The Backseat Stylers | February 13th, 2013 
As we mourn the fact that we haven’t been in New York this past week for the Fall 2013 collections, we’ve discovered yet another reason we need to get to Manhattan, stat: shoes! The Museum at FIT unveiled its latest exhibition last week, and it’s a must-see for footwear addicts like us.
Curated by Dr. Valerie Steele, Shoe Obsession features over 150 pairs of jaw-dropping shoes from the 21st century. Christian Louboutin, Charlotte Olympia, Nicholas Kirkwood, Manolo Blahnik – all of our favourite shoe designers are included in the exhibit, and are just a few of the many represented. There are also extraordinary designs from Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Prada and more, many of which come straight from the shoe closets of the likes of Daphne Guinness.
The exhibit runs until April 13, which gives us exactly 2 months to get ourselves to New York for a viewing of the Shoe Obsession exhibition and, of course, for a visit to the Saks Fifth Avenue shoe floor for a pair or two to take home with us. In the meantime, check out the gallery below for a peek at some of the shoes featured in the exhibition.
  
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by The Backseat Stylers | February 11th, 2013 
Ever since Zara began rolling out online shopping around the world, country by country, we’ve been praying fervently to the shopping gods for it to be Canada’s turn next. A hint at the timeline came in December when Inditex Group, which owns Zara, said in a press release, “the brand plans to open its online store in Canada during the 2013 spring/summer season.” That, fellow Zara fans, may be even sooner than it sounds.
Rumour has it that the fast fashion retailer’s Canadian e-commerce launch is imminent. Zara has yet to confirm the news, but whether it’s next month or later this year, we’re freaking out. The mere thought of Zara’s cheap and chic offerings being just a few quick clicks away is almost too much to handle. We’re already addicted, and soon we won’t even have to leave our homes to shop Zara’s always on-trend line-up of sharp blazers, stylish outerwear and edgy dresses and separates. Not to mention the shoes! Sounds like a dream come true to us.
Are you as excited as we are? Watch this space for upcoming updates on the Zara Canada e-commerce launch!
xx, T & S
by The Backseat Stylers | February 4th, 2013 
On this dreary Monday morning (here in Toronto, anyway), it seems that the shopping gods have finally heard our prayers for affordable Oscar de la Renta. The announcement comes today via WWD that the designer has created an exclusive collection for online discount designer retailer theoutnet.com. Launching on February 26, the 24-piece offering will retail from $325 to $1,295, much more pocketbook-friendly price tags than ODLR’s main line. Olivia Palermo will serve as the face of the limited edition collection.
“Currently, the brand’s outlet model is driven by surplus merchandise, and this marks the first time product has been actively developed for this channel of trade,” said Oscar de la Renta CEO Alex Bolen. “We have things around here that are underutilised – [such as] 40 years of patterns, fabrics and artwork that a lot of people spent time on. We thought, perhaps we can put something together in a way that is new, that doesn’t require as much development time and in an exclusive way.”
The line-up of red carpet-ready dresses and chic separates will be made using the same patterns, fabrics and factory as the main line. What a score for The Outnet – and us ODLR fans! “We know that our customer loves Oscar,” said The Outnet’s managing director Stephanie Phair, “but we also feel that this is an amazing opportunity to tap into The Outnet’s audience and a new audience that Oscar as a brand might not have reached yet”.
Finally, the chance to add some ODLR to the wardrobe! February 26 can’t come soon enough. We’ve got our eyes on those floral-print cocktail dresses, at the very least. What’s on your wish list?
  
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THE BACKSEAT STYLERS BY T & S
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