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by The Backseat Stylers | March 28th, 2013 
Backstage before the Joe Fresh Fall 2013 presentation at Toronto Fashion Week last week, designer Joe Mimran complimented me on my shirt. It was no surprise that he liked it – it was his after all, a black and white graphic print silk blouse I recently acquired from my local Joe Fresh store. In fact, my sartorial choice for that evening turned out to be a sign of what was to come on the runway: black, white and oh so fresh.
With Heather Marks and Amanda Laine leading the pack, Joe’s line-up of models emerged in fall pieces perfect for those of us who are ready to retire the colour-blocking and bright prints and bring back the black and white with a vengeance. From a simple striped turtleneck to a heavily studded leather jacket to a jumper aptly embroidered with “The End” to close the show, Joe Fresh’s runway collection for fall was everything we’ve come to expect from the brand: trendy but not painfully so, pocketbook-friendly without looking it, and entirely covetable.
With too many pieces on my fall wish list to count, it seems my Joe Fresh addiction continues…
   
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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 5th, 2013 
My Margiela for H&M candy wrapper clutch has been sitting untouched in my closet since it came home with me last November, waiting patiently for a chance to come out and play. I finally took it out for its inaugural spin this past weekend and, obviously, it called for a black on black on black outfit.
Salt and pepper bouclé tweed, silver metallics and black leather – a few of my old favourites, all wrapped up neatly in one ensemble. After spending the last year in brighter colours than ever before, this decidedly darker getup felt like a reunion with old friends.
 
Sandro top / Joe Fresh jeans / Maison Martin Margiela for H&M clutch / Alexander McQueen boots / Balenciaga bracelet / MAKE UP FOR EVER makeup
xx, S
by The Backseat Stylers | January 15th, 2013 
“How many plaid blazers does a person need?!” exclaimed Nelia when she spotted my latest Club Monaco purchase. I didn’t realize we were counting, but the answer is obviously a really, really high number, as evidenced by the count in my closet.
It appears I have a plaid jacket problem that I hadn’t quite identified until my dear friend so kindly pointed it out. My guess is that it’s closely linked to my Smythe addiction. In my defence, though, this is the only brown plaid blazer with navy sleeves that I own. I’m fairly certain.
On a side note, I managed to mix black with brown and navy with black all in one outfit – potentially breaking two so-called style rules - and the world didn’t come to an end as many, including T, would fear. Ponder that one.
  
Club Monaco blazer / Club Monaco blouse / Joe Fresh jeans / FLARE x ALDO bag / Ralph Lauren boots / MAKE UP FOR EVER makeup
xx, S
by The Backseat Stylers | January 7th, 2013 
My closet has been undergoing a colour evolution over the past year, and this Viktor & Rolf sale find from The Room at The Bay was the most surprising addition to date. Me in mustard yellow? Never would I have imagined! It’s never had a place in my wardrobe until this very blazer, and now I’m wondering where it’s been all my life. In fact, I’m so enamoured by the jacket that I wore it for a recent shoot for eBay.
I’m currently featured in the eBay Style Stories series. In the interview, I’m asked to divulge my favourite eBay find ever (too many to name, really!), what’s next on my must-buy list (hint: a piece from a Toronto-based jewelry designer), and my eBay saved search terms (top secret info!). Find out all of that and more about yours truly in the story here.
xx, S
Viktor & Rolf blazer / Zara blouse / Joe Fresh jeans / Nicholas Kirkwood shoes / YSL ring / MAKE UP FOR EVER makeup
Image courtesy of eBay
by The Backseat Stylers | December 6th, 2012 
I’m fully embracing tights-wearing season this year. I’ll reluctantly stow my black opaque tights away next May, but until then I’ll be enjoying their presence like a baby does her warm blankie.
In the meantime, I’m trying to avoid the winter wardrobe doldrums and am resisting the urge to wear all black everything until spring arrives. I was rather pleased with my semi-recent acquisition of a cheap and cheerful button-down from Joe Fresh for this very reason. I adore the bright red contrast collar.
It may be frigid out there, but it’s never too cold to have a little bit of sartorial fun. Underneath the Canada Goose, anyway.
xx, S
Joe Fresh shirt / Burberry skirt / Bruno Frisoni shoes / MAKE UP FOR EVER makeup
Image Credit: George Pimentel
by The Backseat Stylers | October 31st, 2012 
Joe Fresh has been rocking my world lately; I’ve been buying up the Fall collection like nobody’s business. Along with my milk and eggs, I’ve been stocking up on coloured pants, silk blouses, and skinny jeans that fit like they were made for me with each trip to my local Loblaw store. This recently developed addiction to all things Joe had me even more excited than usual to see the Spring 2013 runway show at World Mastercard Fashion Week last week, and I wasn’t disappointed.
The show opened with none other than the legendary Pat Cleveland, who sported the first in a series of black and white looks that made my heart go pitter patter. I’ve been embracing colour recently, but a return to my old, monochromatic ways would be more than welcome. I feel the same way about metallics, which I happily abandoned a few years ago. The latter half of the Joe Fresh show may have just brought me back to the shiny side with a stunning metallic leather laser-cut dress and printed gold leather skirt that I just have to have.
Quite a few of those runway pieces will be on my grocery shopping list come spring, and at Joe Fresh price points the Mister can’t possibly complain. Besides, fashion over food, am I right?
   
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by The Backseat Stylers | July 25th, 2012 
Joe Fresh’s expansion into the U.S. just got real. Since October of last year, the Canadian fashion brand known for its affordable and stylish offerings and supermarket department beginnings has opened six freestanding stores south of the border, with plans for more. Now, thanks to a newly-inked deal with J.C. Penney, Joe Fresh is set to launch shop-in-shops in 683 of the Texas-based retailer’s locations across the U.S., over the next four years.
The agreement with Joe Fresh is part of a large scale overhaul J.C. Penney is embarking on that will involve repositioning the mid-range department store chain’s brand and remodeling its stores. “We are moving from being a promotional department store toward a unique classification — the first-ever ‘specialty’ department store. It’s entirely organized by specialty shops and 100 percent staffed by specialists who are experts in products,” J.C. Penney’s chairman and CEO Ron Johnson said.
“It’s going to be exciting. It’s bold. It’s aggressive,” said Joe Mimran, founder of Joe Fresh, of J.C. Penney’s plans. “I buy into the vision — the wider aisles, the self checkout, the cafe, the juice bar, the seating arrangements, the room being offered to the brands and the fact that each brand can have its own voice.”
He added, “For us, it looked like a great opportunity to get a very large footprint in the U.S. very quickly and to do it with someone who is visionary.” The 683 Joe Fresh shops will range from 1,000 to 2,500 square feet, and will be designed and branded by the Toronto-based label.
J.C. Penney has not performed well over the last few years, but its transformation into a department store format that’s worked well in Japan, China and Korea is certainly intriguing. And thanks to one of its first tenants, Joe Fresh (I mean, who doesn’t love Joe?), I’m looking forward to visiting a J.C. Penney store for the first time in, well, ever.
xx, S
Image via WWD
by The Backseat Stylers | July 18th, 2012 
In the 3 weeks since I first confessed my love for my new Proenza Schouler shorts, my adoration for them has not waned. In fact, here I am again, sporting the same green shorts, still happy as a clam over one of my favourite acquisitions this sale season. Surely this must be a style blogging faux pas: not only repeating a piece (the shock!) but doing it two outfit posts in a row (the horror!).
I’ll even let you in on a little secret: I’ve worn these shorts way more than twice in the last 3 weeks. And, I love them so much that I even have a black pair on their way to me – true story. I have grand plans to wear both pairs until they’re threadbare, too. So consider yourself warned: if you’re not a fan of high-waisted green (or black!) shorts, I may be assaulting your computer screen with them quite a bit this summer.
 
Joe Fresh blouse / Proenza Schouler shorts / OBJECT for Danier clutch / Cole Haan shoes / Prada sunglasses / MAKE UP FOR EVER make-up
xx, S
by The Backseat Stylers | March 24th, 2012 
Another season, another fresh collection from Joe - Joe Mimran, that is. Creative Director of Joe Fresh and purveyor of all things cheap, chic and cheerful at Toronto Fashion Week each and every season, Mimran’s very reasonably priced clothing and accessories line and its supermarket beginnings continue to take the North American fashion scene by storm, one brightly hued sweater at a time.
Joe Fresh always brings the colour to the Toronto Fashion Week runway, and the Fall 2012 collection certainly didn’t disappoint. From orange biker jackets to green, fur-trimmed coats, the brand’s latest line-up gave its fans plenty to look forward to in the colour department. Even more enticing than that scarlet, patent leather coat, though, were the black and white herringbone looks that rounded out the collection.
There was a lot of herringbone on my Fall 2012 wish list after the show. Herringbone blouse, herringbone pants, herringbone dress…I want it all. The very best part? At Joe Fresh price points, that’s a definite possibility.
   
xx, S
Image Credits: Jason Hargrove
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THE BACKSEAT STYLERS BY T & S
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