Muse Closet: The Bag

Obsession: The Bag

Bacci's-Celine
Bacci's-Celine

Accessories play a delicate part when creating an ensemble, shoes and jewelry create style cohesion, but what accessory trumps them all—the bag. The iconography of designer culture is encapsulated in the bag; we covet it, we borrow it, we wait list for the bag.

Bacci's-Celine "Doctor Bag"
Bacci's-Celine "Doctor Bag"

No longer a logo driven product to produce brand identity and allegiance; the new bag is shaped in style, personality, and attitude. Always a game changer, Phoebe Philo shifts fashion’s direction once again at Celine. The bag is given new life by Philo’s functional, elegant, and brazen designs.

Phoebe Phio- W magazine
Phoebe Phio- W magazine

One of my favorite stores in Vancouver, where Celine is available, is Bacci’s. With home décor and fashion for both women and men, Bacci’s avant-garde collections deliver unique styleology.

Bacci's-Celine "Cabas Shopper"
Bacci's-Celine "Cabas Shopper"

Don’t worry boys, I haven’t forgotten you.

News Flash–backpack receives update! No longer just for the classroom, backpacks have gained style. The new backpack is ergonomic, stylish, and confident. Stylish tweeds and leather detail have replaced canvas and nylon. These new knapsacks go from jeans to suit with masculine shapes and edge.

Roden Gray-Nanamica
Roden Gray-Nanamica

Where did I get my favourite knapsack–Roden Gray, home to fashionable men and ladies apparel. Indy and establish brands, like Nanamica, share equal space in this two level loft style boutique. I personally love my Nanamica bag because of its utility and shape.

Roden Gray-Nanamica
Roden Gray-Nanamica

Where to find it…

Celine @ Bacci’s

2788 Grandville Street

Vancouver, B.C. Canada

604.733.4933

Nanamica @ Roden Gray

8 Water Street

Vancouver, B.C. Canada

www.rodengray.com

Style Profile: Student Style

Head Of the Class: Student Style

I bumped into three fashionable students heading to class: Sarah Merrill, Mariam Fageri, and Zlatina Pacheva. These students dare to say, “sweatpants be gone” in the face of rain, exams, and exhaustion by demonstrating that fashion can be utility and stylish while hitting the books.

Sarah Merrill: A typical rainy day in Vancouver is no match for Sarah, her Hunter rain boots in classic black splash puddles away as she heads to class. Wearing a 1920’s silhouette coat, a cowl neck scarf, and Cheap Monday skinny jeans, Sarah is noticed walking down Simon Fraser University (SFU) hallways, which could double as her catwalk.

Sarah
Sarah
Sarah Boots 2
Sarah Boots 2

 

Sarah Bots
Sarah Boots

Mariam Fageri: All great artist dress in black, and Mariam is no expectation. What stood out for me on Mariam was her brushed gold earrings and gold-embroidered vest. Her cowl neck scarf is on trend, but her unique persona is what makes this outfit standout.

Mariam
Mariam
Mariam Accessories
Mariam Accessories

Zlatina Pacheva: Often imitated but never duplicated is the tweed coat, skinny jean, and platform shoes that Zlatina wears. Her look is on trend for the season, but her presentation is flawless, easy and relaxed as she wears her look with confidence.

Zlatina
Zlatina

 

Zlatina Shoes
Zlatina Shoes

Muse Profile: Pint-Size Style

Pint-Size Style

Style Child
Style Child

Recently in Los Angles, I was browsing through the Beverly Centre; like all my trips, my first priority is to gather treats for my two favorite people, my three-year-old god-daughter and four-year-old Godson. I love buying them clothes because children are so expressive with their style authentically at that age. Now is the time to nurture their creativity before years in school and massive media overload when children lose style freedom to conformity. Therefore, I buy them items that are personal and expressive to their personality.

What shocked me as I walked through this maze of commercial driftwood was the amount of children stores blended between haze of fashion yuck. I waked into each children store excited to find my two little fashion soldiers clothes to express their inner beings. Yet to my dismay, I was met with over-priced clothes aimed towards baby girl strippers, and baby boy douchebags. Barley-there dresses for little girls stood next to overworked jeans for little boys. How was I to find a suitable outfit for my two fashion individuals? Needless to say I ended up with nothing. Disillusioned by my outing in L.A. I returned to Vancouver to discuss my fashion disappointment with friends, and to ask where I could find great children clothes, my friends returned a resounding, “I don’t know?”

Fashionable Kid 2
Pint-Size Style Accessories

Walking through Holt Renfrew, Canada’s version of Barney’s New York, I grew empty by my gift-less entry back to Canada. I pride myself on discovering new styles for my god kids; they love being able to express themselves through clothes because with so little words in their vocabulary clothes are their connection to self-expression. Nearly defeated by lack of gift success, I found inspiration from a pint-size fashion queen. Her look was adorable and she modeled for me brilliantly: her coat, yellow scarf, boots, and tweed tights hit all the fashion trends of the season. Her stylish demeanor impressed me, as she stood proud by her father and modeled her signature look, which was described to me by her father. Her cap felt most authentic to her mood and personality.  Fashion is like great music—seamless—and this little girl hit all the right notes.

Pint-Size Style
Pint-Size Style

Muse Closet: Gastown–Community Boutique

Fashion Community

Community Project
Community Project

The Downtown Eastside—Gastown—is one of the most historical and diverse neighborhoods in Vancouver. Hampered by drugs, prostitution, and crime; the Downtown Eastside has seen some dark days, as most retailers fled the neighborhood for richer grounds. Celebrity socialite, Jackie Cohen has kept her Army and Navy Gastown location as a neighborhood anchor. Today, Gastown is home to hipsters, artist, and fashion boutiques, which have taken this run-down neighborhood overnight. The gentrification has been good for real-estate agents and entrepreneurs, but little has done to include the low-income residents who are being pushed out of this urbanization. Across the street from Army and Navy is a small step in the right direction, Community, a small thrift and vintage boutique that is trying to do its part by including and employing struggling East Side residents.

Gastown Boutique
Community Project

Community is special because it joins fashion, art, and residents into one unified community. The vintage and thrift pieces are a handpicked mélange of histories finest: 1950’s collectibles and 1970’s fashion throwbacks; Community hits all the right fashion buttons. Walls are adorned with independent artist who will fascinate you, while this two level rustic boutique captures the historic atmosphere of Gastown.

Community Inside
Community Inside

Community keeps both men and women stylish with vintage denim, 80’s rocker t-shirts, and distressed leather. Stepping into Community is like a stylist closet of greatest hits, so run down and grab your recycled fur to support a community.

Support for Community has been impressive thus far, as a new location Frock Shoppe will be coming soon… I guess good ideas with heart always prevail.

Vancouver Boutique
Fashion Cares

Community

41 W. Cordova Street

P: 604.682.1024

Website: communitythriftandvintage.ca

Vancouver, BC

Coming Soon…Frock Shoppe

311 Carrall Street

Vancouver, BC