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by The Backseat Stylers | January 24th, 2013 
Kate Hudson, currently the face of Ann Taylor, has designed a capsule collection for the specialty womenswear retailer. Most recently seen at the Golden Globes in a stunning Alexander McQueen gown, the actress collaborated with creative director Lisa Axelson on a summer line-up inspired by her own red-carpet style.
“Working with Ann Taylor has been a great creative experience, and there is a really wonderful connection,” said Hudson. “Ann Taylor is great at creating iconic wardrobe staples and updating them season after season.”
The Kate Hudson for Ann Taylor capsule collection is due to hit stores in May. Given Kate’s impressive red carpet track record, we can’t wait to see it.
xx, T
Image Credit: Ann Taylor (via WWD)
by The Backseat Stylers | October 26th, 2012 
World Mastercard Fashion Week (WMCFW) is currently in full swing and there’s no more fashionable a city in Canada right now than Toronto. Whether it’s models strutting their stuff on the catwalk, editors and VIPs sitting front row, or bloggers getting a sneak peek backstage, everywhere we turn it’s a fabulous feast for the eyes.
Being surrounded by many of the most sartorially gifted industry insiders for 5 days in a row is both inspiring and dangerous; our fall/winter wish lists have grown rapidly while we’ve people-watched over the course of the week, not so stealthily ogling the sea of chic ensembles around us. Unable to resist the urge to shop, we snuck a trip to Toronto Eaton Centre (TEC) in between runway shows. Armed with the top street style trends we’ve spotted at the fashion week tents just down the street, we scoured the 3-floor fashion mecca for pieces that would help us – and you! – get the looks.
We loved freelance fashion writer Bianca Teixeira’s cobalt blue, double-breasted pea coat, which she donned over a similarly-hued frock for a monochromatic look on opening night of WMCFW. Want a vibrant pop of colour in your fall/winter outerwear rotation too? Stop by Toronto Eaton Centre for a teal lapelless option at H&M ($129), an oxblood wool biker coat with leather sleeves at Zara ($269) or a raspberry wool blazer with contrast piping at Juicy Couture ($361). These are sure to cheer you up on a rainy fall day.
Whether it’s zebra, cheetah, or snake, the animal print trend is going nowhere fast. While it was a wonderfully loud leopard print coat that caught our eye, you can start small with a scarf like Massimo Dutti’s woollen green snakeskin foulard ($59.50) or a handbag like Banana Republic’s ‘Jamie’ box clutch ($150). For those of you who are ready to fully embrace animal print, a dress is surely the way to go. Who needs a LBD when you can rock Ann Taylor’s zebra knit jacquard sheath dress ($98) or Juicy Couture’s ponte knit green python dress ($218) instead?
We’ve spotted everything from crisp white cotton button-downs to colourfully-printed silk blouses so far this week, and one of our favourites has been the studded collar shirt we saw on Jenn Campbell, FLARE Magazine’s Senior Digital Editor. TEC has tons of collared shirts to choose from and whittling the list down to just 3 was a tough task, but J. Crew’s silk boy shirt in heart throb ($158), Club Monaco’s ‘Patricia’ silk shirt with contrast leather piping ($149.50) and Mendocino’s graphic print blouse by Clover Canyon ($312, arriving in November) are our top picks.
When it comes to statement necklaces, blogger Nelia Belkova is the queen; we’ve seen her sporting one fabulous piece after another every day this fashion week. Go big or go home, her accessories philosophy seems to be, and it’s ours too. Hang a conversation starter like H&M’s insect necklace ($14.95), BCBG Max Azria’s rocker statement necklace ($178), or the Lulu Frost for J. Crew crystal petal necklace ($220) around your neck to take your fashion week outfit to the next level with some help from TEC.
It’s the last day of WMCFW today, and U.S. retailer EXPRESS, which is launching a new store at Toronto Eaton Centre next month, is set to close the week. We’ll be live-tweeting tonight’s 9pm show, so be sure to follow @backseatstylers and @toeatoncentre on Twitter for updates straight from the runway.
See you at the tents one final time this season – and then at Toronto Eaton Centre! After all those fashion shows this week, you’ll want to do some serious shopping at TEC’s newest boutiques: Canada’s first unisex J.Crew, North America’s first Massimo Dutti, and Canada’s first Ann Taylor. We know we will.
xx, T & S
Sponsored by Cadillac Fairview
by The Backseat Stylers | October 6th, 2012 
Image credit: George Pimentel
Ann Taylor has officially landed on Canadian soil. This week, the New York-based specialty retailer finally opened the doors to its first international store, at none other than Toronto Eaton Centre. Having attended both the fall and holiday previews over the last few months, I’m rather excited to finally be able to get my hands on the collections.
At the very top of my wish list? Several gorgeous pieces of statement jewelry, as well as a few pairs of chic shoes, all of which is fairly pocketbook-friendly. In fact, Ann Taylor pricing in Canadian stores will be the same as in their U.S. counterparts. Yes, you read right: the price tags will be the same no matter which side of the border you happen to be on. Cause for celebration? I should think so.
If you want in on this Ann Taylor action but aren’t anywhere near Toronto, don’t fret, my dear fellow Canadians. The retailer is currently working on expanding its online shopping site to include Canada, and is expecting to launch in the spring of 2013. In the meantime, check out the gallery below for snaps of Ann Taylor’s ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebrations at Toronto Eaton Centre earlier this week.
Welcome, Ann!
 
Me, T, Nelia Belkova and Kimberly Lyn with Lisa Axelson, Creative Director of Ann Taylor (Image Credit: George Pimentel)
FASHION Magazine’s Caitlin Agnew
Blogger Anita Clarke checking out the – what else? – shoe section
Kimberly Haire Giddens, Regional VP at Ann Taylor
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by The Backseat Stylers | August 27th, 2012 
The holiday previews continue! Next stop? Why, Ann Taylor, of course. By now I’ve attended their Fall 2012 preview and popped by their boutique at The Somerset Collection, so I’m starting to get a bit anxious for their fall arrival in Toronto. How much longer until me and my fellow Torontonians can finally get our hands on their stylish workwear, cute party dresses and to-die-for costume jewelry? Not soon enough, by my measure.
The holiday preview was chock full of pieces I can’t wait to add to the rotation during the holiday season and beyond. The pearl-embellished knitwear (perfect for the office), the glitter smoking slippers (in all available colours, obviously), and so very many of the statement necklaces are all on my Ann Taylor holiday wish list. Perhaps even a zebra-print satchel. What’s on yours?
   
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by The Backseat Stylers | August 21st, 2012 
Me, Kimberly, LOFT Store Manager Dyanne and Nelia
It’s the last segment of our #StylishRoadTrip saga! To refresh your memory, Kimberly Lyn (of The Souls of My Shoes) and Nelia Belkova (of Style Blog) and me made an easy 4-hour trek to The Somerset Collection in a swanky yellow Ford Focus a few weeks ago. I’ve already chronicled the damage we did at INTERMIX, Saks Fifth Avenue and Madewell, among other stores, but we obviously couldn’t leave Troy, Michigan without a sneak peek at two retailers arriving in Canada for the first time later this year, Ann Taylor and LOFT.
From what we saw (and shopped!), the two sister specialty chains, both owned by Ann Inc., will be more than welcome additions to the Canadian retail market. The way we see it, Ann Taylor has us (yes, petites included!) covered from Monday to Friday with its chic office garb and cocktail party-ready dresses, while LOFT has all the cute casual wear we’ll need for fun weekend outings and date nights.
Nelia, Kim and I all took full advantage of the opportunity to raid both boutiques before they open up shop in Toronto in a few months. At LOFT, we each bought the exact same striped sweater. Fashion blogging triplets! For the record, I found the sweater first, but who’s really keeping track? At Ann Taylor, it was the accessories that caught our eyes. The neon necklaces and easy-to-wear cuffs made for fun pops of colour, and we couldn’t leave Troy without taking some home with us.
Now that we’ve had a taste of what LOFT and Ann Taylor will be bringing with them north of the border, we can’t wait to shop their new boutiques in a few short months! Check out the gallery below for more photos of what’s in store for us, Toronto, and start getting excited.
    
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by The Backseat Stylers | June 14th, 2012 
Ann Taylor announced last month its plans to open the brand’s first international stores in Canada this Fall, and at last night’s exclusive launch event we finally got the juicy details you’ve all been waiting anxiously for. Mark your calendars: Ann Taylor is slated to open at Toronto Eaton Centre in October 2012, Yorkdale Shopping Centre in November 2012, and online in 2013!
We also got a sneak peek at the Fall 2012 collection, and there’s plenty to cheer about there too. Peplums, animal prints, and colour-blocking were all spotted in Ann Taylor’s on trend Fall line-up, but it was the accessories that really blew me away. I can’t wait to shop the eye-catching shoes and bold statement jewelry.
The brand’s apparel offerings are office-ready, as expected, but also perfect for after work cocktails. Creative Director Lisa Axelson, who previously designed for Club Monaco, Gap and Banana Republic, brings a younger, trendier feel to the Ann Taylor aesthetic that will appeal to everyone from the chic young professional to her stylish mother.
If you’re wondering about price points, by the way, rest assured that you won’t experience sticker shock when shopping Ann Taylor’s Canadian stores. The significant discrepancies between price tags north and south of the border, a sad reality with many U.S. chains that set up shop in Canada, aren’t expected to be an issue at Ann Taylor.
Get your pocketbooks ready though: between the colourful outerwear options, the cute bow-embellished leather gloves, the colour-block pony hair pumps and the bevy of other items you’ll be coveting – like I am already – your Fall shopping list at Ann Taylor is going to be a long one, so you may as well start saving up now.
   
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by The Backseat Stylers | May 24th, 2012 
After months of speculation, U.S.-based womenswear retailer Ann Taylor finally announced today the opening of the company’s first two international stores, both in Toronto, Canada. Slated to open in Fall 2012, the two new boutiques will offer a full range of women’s apparel, shoes, jewelry and accessories that aims to dress women “across every generation from desk to dinner and workday to weekend”.
Brian Lynch, Ann Taylor Brand President said in a press release, “We are pleased by the strong awareness Ann Taylor already enjoys in Canada and look forward to offering our Canadian customers great fashion, quality and value in a new, exciting and aspirational shopping environment.”
The locations of the two new boutiques have yet to be officially announced, but a wayward floor plan and current job posting lead us to the conclusion that they will be opening at Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Toronto Eaton Centre. Neither location is a surprise, as Yorkdale in particular has celebrated the launch of two significant first-to-market store openings in the last year with J.Crew and Tory Burch.
Are you excited to be able to shop Ann Taylor’s chic offerings north of the border in a few short months? Stay tuned for more news about Ann Taylor in Canada in the coming weeks!
xx, S
Image Credit: Lila Photo
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THE BACKSEAT STYLERS BY T & S
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