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by The Backseat Stylers | April 18th, 2013 
“Nice jacket”: two words that literally made my week, uttered by Viktor Horsting (or was it Rolf Snoeren? It was all such a giddy blur.) to me. The jacket in question? A mustard yellow blazer with contrast black piping designed by Viktor & Rolf themselves. The Amsterdam-based duo was in town earlier this week for a very well-attended meet-and-greet with Toronto’s fashion set at The Room at The Bay.
With HBC President Bonnie Brooks and VP / Buying Director of The Room Nicholas Mellamphy as hosts and DJ Mia Moretti spinning her magic, partygoers that included the inimitable Jeanne Beker, FASHION Magazine’s EIC Bernadette Morra and socialites Stacey Kimel and Suzanne Rogers spent the evening chatting with the charming Dutch guests-of-honour, sipping on champagne and admiring the V&R wares.
Dr. Lisa Airan and PR maven Suzanne Cohon stole the sartorial show with brightly-coloured frocks, the former in an orange Carven dress with cutouts and the latter in a fuchsia Roksanda Ilincic number (last seen on Ginnifer Goodwin!). The usually cool as a cucumber blogger Anita Clarke chose a peplum Roland Mouret to meet her fashion idols, while the effortlessly chic stylist Amy Patel paired her Margiela x H&M bodysuit with denim overalls for the occasion. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention blogger Jay Strut, who showed up in a heavily embellished Balmain jacket that made our jaws drop.
Check out the gallery below for some of our favourite looks from the night.
  
Image Credit: George Pimentel
 
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by The Backseat Stylers | March 18th, 2013 
Yours truly with Roksanda Ilincic
Roksanda Ilincic made a one-day jaunt to Toronto last week for a fête in her honour at The Room at The Bay. The Serbian-born, London-based womenswear designer brought with her a charming disposition and highly covetable Fall 2013 collection that both won over the city’s fashion set.
Not that she didn’t already have big fans here. Socialite Stacey Kimel, blogger Nelia Belkova and Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fashion Director Suzanne Timmins were all decked out in Ilincic’s unmistakably chic and colourful wares at the invite-only cocktail party. The statuesque designer herself chose a whimsical printed pink gown for the occasion, a design from the Fall runway collection that just debuted in London last month.
Those of us without the pleasure of Ilincic pieces in our closets (yet!) still showed up in our Thursday best: Jenna Naumovich sported the to-die-for, limited edition Giuseppe Zanotti for Kanye West ‘Cruel Summer’ heels, while Jessica Chiu donned a printed Prabal Gurung frock that made our hearts go pitter-patter. Yours truly decided on a LRD by another London-based designer, Mary Katrantzou, while T wore a patterned velvet blazer by Club Monaco.
Merely a day after The Room’s latest shindig, while we were still basking in the glow of meeting the lovely Roksanda, came news of the next: a month from now, on April 16, featuring Viktor & Rolf. Mark your calendars!
Hudson’s Bay Company’s Suzanne Timmins with Stacey Kimel
 
CTV’s Angie Smith and The Room’s Jenna Naumovich
Kimberly Lyn, FLARE Magazine’s Ryan M. Cheung, Nelia Belkova, me and The Genteel’s Irene Kim
Jessica Chiu and The Room’s Steven Baughan
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by The Backseat Stylers | January 2nd, 2013 
What a year 2012 was! It started with a Toronto Fashion Week runway walk and ended with some Tiffany & Co. hardware. In between, we attended a lot of events, made some lovely new friends, celebrated our 3-year anniversary, wrote 373 blog posts, and more than doubled our reach. Not too shabby, by our measure.
Here’s a look back at our favourite moments from the past year. Thanks to all of you lovely readers, brands, PR folks and fellow blogger friends for showing us so much love. We’re excited for what 2013 will bring, and hope you’ll stick with us to find out!
S’s runway model moment for VAWKKIN at Toronto Fashion Week
The side of S’s head was on an episode of America’s Next Top Model. It was awesome.
A stylish road trip to The Somerset Collection in Troy, MI? Yes please!
T and model Irina Lazareanu, giving their best smizes.
Celebrating Three Years of Style with Style Blog, The Souls of My Shoes and our lovely readers…happy birthday to us! (Image Credit: You Just Got Spotted)
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by The Backseat Stylers | May 24th, 2012 
Me with Rodarte’s Laura and Kate Mulleavy
The Bay still knows how to throw a party. After several quiet months, Toronto’s social and fashion set returned to The Room at The Bay last night for a shindig in honour of Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy. With their Fall 2012 collection in tow, the sisters charmed the likes of socialites Suzanne Rogers and Stacey Kimel, editors Bernadette Morra and Mosha Lundström Halbert, as well as bloggers Anita Clarke and Kimberly Lyn.
Yours truly spent the evening photographing the city’s most sartorially endowed, sipping champagne with my fellow media types, and chatting about Kirsten Dunst’s unexpected Met Ball dress (Rodarte, of course) with the designers themselves. Clad in a Manish Arora dress (fit for a hippie wedding) and navy velvet Loeffler Randall shoes (something blue?), I sought to rectify the Rodarte-less situation happening in my closet. When I asked the design duo about any upcoming collaborations, though, the answer was a disappointing no: “Right now, we really need to focus on our next collection,” Kate said. I’ll take that as a ‘maybe’.
In the meantime, The Room at The Bay is the source for all things Rodarte. And with The Room’s spring sale just around the corner (a little birdie told me so) and my pocketbook at the ready, I may just get my hands on my very first piece of Rodarte yet.
 
Flare’s Ryan M. Cheung, Glam Canada’s Aya McMillan and Flare’s Fiona Green
Kate Mulleavy, The Room Creative Director Nicholas Mellamphy and The Bay Fashion Director Suzanne Timmins
I Want – I Got’s Anita Clarke and Front Row Mag’s Michelle Bilodeau and Rachelle Saevil
Me with The Souls of My Shoes’ Kimberly Lyn
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by The Backseat Stylers | November 17th, 2011 
Nicola Formichetti
Last night, Creative Director Nicola Formichetti and his creative team, including women’s designer Sébastien Peigné, previewed Parisian design house MUGLER‘s Spring 2012 collection at The Room at the Bay in Toronto. With the likes of FLARE editor-in-chief Lisa Tant, supermodel Yasmin Warsame and socialite Suzanne Rogers (in Givenchy!) in attendance, it was an evening of bold-faced fashion names and fierce clothing and shoes, both on the guests and the MUGLER-donning models and mannequins.
Though his frequent collaborator Lady Gaga sadly didn’t make an appearance, Formichetti himself was enough of a rock star on this night. Dubbed the “sexiest guy on the planet” by the Bay’s own President & CEO Bonnie Brooks, the man best known as Gaga’s fashion director charmed the invite-only crowd of editors, clients and fashion fans. Check out the gallery below for party photos.
FASHION Magazine’s Susie Sheffman and supermodel Yasmin Warsame
Models in MUGLER
Blogger Anita Clarke and socialite Suzanne Rogers
 
Flare Magazine’s Liz Cabral
Nicola Formichetti and writer Septembre Anderson
xx, S
by The Backseat Stylers | November 13th, 2011 
Barbara Bui and me
Just on the heels of Oscar de la Renta‘s recent visit came another bold-faced name to The Room at the Bay; this time, it was French designer Barbara Bui with her Spring 2012 collection in tow. With a throng of fans looking on, Bui chatted with the prolific Jeanne Beker about her passion for surfing, what she would teach her 7-year old daughter about fashion, and her suggestions for how women should shop and dress in such a rapidly changing fashion environment.
“Even if things are going very quickly, you (should) keep it to the same style,” the charming designer recommended. “You just add pieces to that; you don’t have to change (your style) every season. That (would be) completely ridiculous.” She added, “You don’t have to follow too much (what’s in) the magazines, or you’ll lose your individuality”.
Bui’s own designs certainly follow this philosophy. Her collections consistently present an edgy aesthetic that women of all ages identify with, as was apparent by the mixed crowd that ranged in age from fashion fans in their 20s to long-time customers in their 60s. I currently count myself as a fan, but given what I saw of Bui’s highly covetable Spring 2012 collection, I have a feeling I’ll be a happy customer, too, soon enough.
   
xx, S
Image Credit: Photo #1 by Nelia Belkova; all others by The Backseat Stylers
by The Backseat Stylers | June 28th, 2011 
There’s been a lot of Charlotte Olympia on the blog lately. First, I bought my new Banana Is My Business fruit-themed pumps. Then, I wore them not once, but twice. And now, I have the audacity to post about these Dolly canvas platform pumps that I just scored on sale at The Room at the Bay. It’s like I’m addicted or something.
My pocketbook rues the day I met Charlotte Dellal. Me and my shoe closet, on the other hand, are deliriously happy.
xx, S
Image Credit: Net-a-porter
by The Backseat Stylers | June 4th, 2011 
When Charlotte Dellal was in town last year for The Room at the Bay‘s The Next British Invasion event, she sported a certain pair of fruit-themed peep-toe pumps from the Charlotte Olympia Spring 2011 collection. From an elegant evening look to a chic day ensemble, the surprisingly versatile pumps brought a pop of colour and some cheek to both of her outfits. I’ve been dying for a pair ever since!
After an arduous 7-month wait, I finally acquired the most coveted pair of shoes on my Spring 2011 wishlist yesterday, thanks to The Room and Creative Director Nicholas Mellamphy‘s ingenious buying. I wanted to take my very first pair of Charlotte Olympias out for a spin immediately, but with a pair of fancy new kicks and nowhere to go, I settled for an impromptu photo shoot instead.
Sadly, some of my models won’t be making it past this weekend, but my new Charlotte Olympia Banana is My Business pumps will be in my shoe rotation for a long time to come!
  
xx, S
by The Backseat Stylers | June 2nd, 2011 
The Bay announced back in March that Canadian-born, London-based womenswear designer Erdem would be designing a capsule collection for The Room in time for Fall 2011. Today, we get a first look at the nine-piece collection, and it’s looking rather covetable!
Inspired by jungle orchids, Erdem’s exclusive print for The Room is an unexpectedly joyous fusion of wild florals and bright colours. The print will be available on dresses, skirts, blouses and scarves this September in The Room’s Toronto and Vancouver locations. With nine pieces to choose from, it’s going to be incredibly challenging to choose just one…or two!
This capsule collection isn’t Erdem’s first for a retailer; pieces from his exclusive collection for UK-based Matches are still currently available, but the print is much less vibrant than what’s he’s created for the Bay. I can’t wait to see the full collection at The Room this Fall!
xx, S
Images via b-insider.com, Flare.com, fashionmagazine.com
by The Backseat Stylers | June 1st, 2011 
Blogger Kimberly Lyn, Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, blogger Nelia Belkova and me
Last night, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the designers behind womenswear and accessories label Proenza Schouler, dropped by for a visit at The Room at the Bay in Toronto and charmed the pants off the city’s fashion set. Bringing with them pieces from their Fall 2011 collection, the duo made the 200+ crowd swoon with their obvious design talent and – let’s face it – boyish good looks and down-to-earth charm. Most of us present, including yours truly, were reduced to schoolgirls with crushes.
I had the pleasure of meeting Jack and Lazaro, and wish I could tell you that there was witty banter or intelligent debate. Unfortunately, all I can recall of my starstruck moment was a cheery “Welcome to Toronto!” on my part, some discussion around how gorgeous and comfortable Nelia Belkova’s Proenza shoes are, and a hurried group photo session snuck in before the rest of the partygoers lost patience. There was the shaking of hands too and, needless to say, I haven’t washed my right hand since. I kid, of course.
Boyband-like appeal aside, the designers’ Spring and Fall 2011 collections were intriguing in their own right. There were PS1 bags galore, but what stole this fan’s heart was a certain printed neon yellow top, spotted on a lucky mannequin, and the matching tweed skirt on The Room’s Megan Loach. Proenza or not though, reception attendees showed up in their surprisingly colourful Tuesday best, taking full advantage of the city’s scorching temperatures (finally!) to don their couped-up summer fare, with Liz Cabral’s Prada SS10 printed beach scene skirt and Suzanne Rogers’ Rodarte SS11 Ming print dress leading the charge.
As for me, I deemed my Proenza Schouler Fall 2011 pieces entirely too warm for the 40-degree weather and settled for a 3.1 Phillip Lim dress and silver patent Louboutins to match. I don’t think Lazaro and Jack minded though – there were far too many usually too-cool-for-Schoul fashion folks fawning over them for them to notice anyway.
Proenza Schouler’s signature PS1 bags in black and raspberry suede
Stylist Tricia Campbell Hall, Kimberly Lyn and blogger Anita Clarke
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THE BACKSEAT STYLERS BY T & S
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