Found: The Perfect Toque

You know you live in Canada when you know how to spell the word 'toque'.  An essential component of every snow bunny's wardrobe, the toque can make or break an outfit.  The perfect hat can keep our heads warm and make us look smoking hot while a poor choice stops the heat from escaping but gives us a serious case of the winter uglies.  Okay, you think I'm being dramatic and perhaps I am, but consider this:  do you really want to look like a pool cue from November to March?

For years, my toques have been little more than afterthoughts.  I've always waited until the last possible moment before finding a hat, at which point all of the good toques have been snapped up and I'm left to stuff my head into something that makes me look bald and leaves lines on my forehead.  This year, I'm a little bit older and a little bit smarter and I've already picked up a true gem of a toque from Roots that's actually making me excited for the first snowfall.  It's soft, the perfect shade of grey and I swear, actually makes my eyes look bigger.  I'm also a little bit in love with their legwarmers.  Perfect over skinny jeans, jeggings or leggings and under your wellies or tall boots, they are every cold-weather Canadienne's best friend.  Speaking of boots, check out the new video from Roots and if you're like me, you might actually get a little excited for fall.  Those boots are heaven! The Antonia Cable Toque ($24) and Cabin Legwarmer ($22) are in Roots stores now or online at www.canada.roots.com.  Oh, and am I the only one who just spell-checked 'toque'?

Clothing A La Carte

 

Gap Inc. let us test-drive the new online shopping site with kiosks set up throughout the room. 

 A pretty server made sure we were well hydrated for our night of online shopping.

Clockwise from top left:  Gloria Chik from urbanebloc.com, A few good men buying some pants online, Gap girls wearing pants from Gap's Premium Black Pant Collection, Some fab fall looks from Banana Republic

We've been waiting and waiting for Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy to bring their online shop to Canada.  After all, our country is vast and if you don't live in a city, it's not always easy to get to a store for a shopping fix.  The Gap girls invited me to the launch of their e-commerce site this week and I was super impressed by how easy the site was to navigate.  And, with free shipping (and returns), they've made online shopping a breeze.   Good news for us, bad news for our wallets.  Sorry wallet, I win.

Be sure to try out the new Premium Pant Collection (I already have the ESSENTIAL pant for fall, the slim cropped and am waiting for my new boy fits to arrive next week)

Check it out at www.gapcanada.ca and happy shopping! 

PS - Don't forget to follow me on facebook for discounts, contests and even more insider info

When my mind turns to back-to-school fashion, I always remember those outfits from Northern Reflections that were so popular with my classmates.  You know, the ones with some bucolic scene of a horse or river otter or matronly beaver.  The sweatshirt would of course have its own matching turtleneck, socks and scrunchie, and no matter what anyone thought of her, the person wearing the outfit could rest wholly assured that in any light, by anyone's measuring standard, she knew how to match, darnit!

In-the-know fashion folk have, as long as I can remember, looked at people that match their accessories to their shirt or their lipstick to their dress as lacking creativity and style savvy.  This season, the rules of the fashion game have unequivocally changed.  Designers like Stella McCartney, in keeping with the pared-down aesthetic of the season, have fallen for tone-on-tone looks and I think for once, matchy-matchy is right on trend.  Take that, fashion police! 

Real Life Runway Tip:  I'm not saying you should run out and grab yourself a loon sweatshirt and all of its loony accoutrements but take your cues from the runway and match your top to your trousers and your tote to your toes.  After all, taupe nails are where it's at this fall.  I love Joe Fresh Beauty's polishes in Caramel and Storm and at 3 for $10 (or $4 each) you can test out the trend without breaking your budget.  

And The Winner Is....

A big congrats to Kathleen Funke, the winner of Real Life Runway and Old Navy's Back-To-School Contest!  The hilarious entries made me feel a little better about my numerous fashion faux-pas throughout my school years.  If you missed it, here's Ms. Funke's entry:

"Every year I eagerly awaited back to school shopping. My mother took all four of my siblings (separately) to the mall for new sweaters, corduroy pants and matching jogging suits. My new clothes were never to be worn until the first day of school. When that day arrived, I would proudly march into school wearing my new Little Mermaid jogging suit. By lunchtime, I was always a sweaty mess. It was September, after all. The next day, I would put on another sweater and pants. By day three, my mother would lay out jeans and a t-shirt, hiding my sweaters for a few weeks."

 

Happy shopping, Kathleen and thanks to everyone who entered!  Keep checking back for more contests throughout the fall...after all, everyone deserves a treat every once in awhile.

Old Navy Fall 2010 Lookbook

Okay, I know, Old Navy, Old Navy, Old Navy...can I talk of nothing else this week?  I can't help myself, I'm feeling some serious love for the store right now and when these new fall lookbook images appeared in my in-box, I just had to share.  We all know that Old Navy is cheap and cheerful as can be, but when their pieces are properly layered, mixed and accessorized, it's amazing how you can pull together an entirely delicious outfit with next-to-zero guilt.  I can't wait to get my hands on the grey cocoon cardi, the denim shirt (gorgeous with the go-to colour for fall, camel), and the red trench.  If you haven't already, you have until Friday to enter the Old Navy Back-to-School Contest (exclusive to you, my fair RLR friends) for a $50 Old Navy gift card.  Just post a comment here or on my Real Life Runway facebook page with your best (or worst) back-to-school fashion moment.  I'll announce the lucky winner next Monday!  Off to make room in my closet! Tralala...