Oakridge Style

Ana Serrano

Christmas is the best time of the year to share wonderful memories with the people you love, but it can often be busy. I admire Oakridge Centre for offering events that invite families to create a defining moment at Christmas amid the hectic schedule. On Sunday, December 13^th, Oakridge Centre presented the acclaimed film The Polar Express during its “Festive Family Film” event.

To ensure participants were helping to do some good during this season of joy, all of the donations collected at the event by Oakridge Centre were given to Dress for Success Vancouver. That wasn’t all there was to talk about!

It was a fun experience, seeing many families gathered at the Empire Oakridge Cinemas, and enjoying a delightful holiday movie. Christmas spirits were inspired by a visit from Santa and participants could warm up with hot cocoa and cookies, provided by Starbucks. That wasn’t the end of the sweet treats either. Everyone in attendance enjoyed free popcorn and pop, as well as the chance to win an Oakridge Centre Gift Card and a commemorative Polar Express holiday bell.

The screening finished early enough to allow us avid shoppers to hit the mall and I couldn’t avoid noticing the great sales Oakridge Centre is offering this month. So, even if you missed the Christmas fun at the film screening, you don’t have to miss out on the joy of smart shopping. Make sure you visit Oakridge for great last-minute finds–and don’t miss your chance to take a picture with Saint Nick himself.

‘Tis the season for travel. As we prepare for the holidays, many of us are also preparing for packing our bags and heading out of town, or the country, for that matter. Planning on spending time on a plane, or in an airport this season? We’ve scoped out the best picks to help you have a serene trip.

Top 5 Picks for Travelling in Style this Season
Buy yourself a pair of oversized, uber stylish sunglasses at Sunglass Hut. They can be worn as sunshades, or to block out the reading light shining down from the next seat while you’re trying to sleep.

Visit Perfect Match to find the scarf-also oversized-that doubles as a blanket-wrap.

Find an easy-to-wear travel suit at Edward Chapman or The Bay.

Coach will have the just-right carry-on bag-that can be later used for overnight weekend stays.

Don’t be late for your boarding time. Stay on top of time with a stylish watch from Fossil.

Entertainment never stops, and neither does staying connected with loved ones, with an iPhone from Apple.

The glitz, the girls, the glamour. Resort 2010 had us daydreaming of the getaways we’ve planned for the upcoming year. We scanned the collections for our favourite looks, and present them here, for you.

Top Picks from Resort 2010
Anna Sui’s signature summer clothes, with no set tone or theme. We are still loving trenches (especially hers, with ruffles) and the tuxedo jacket.

Alexander McQueen’s splatter effects, brushstrokes, and line-drawing prints.

Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein’s off-the-shoulders ‘T dress’.

Chado Ralph Rucci’s lemon yellow and pink chiffon summer dresses with extra tucks and stitches-as per the designer’s signature tailoring.

The easy, flowy-yet tailored-combination of masculine and feminine at Victor & Rolf.

Happy dreaming.

Get the Look
Find sources for your full resort-wear inspired outfit at Sunglass Hut, Swarovski, Rodeo Jewellers, MonteCristo Jewellers, Swimco, Olsen Europe, and more.

Years ago, London was considered a second-class fashion citizen, at least compared to Milan, Paris and New York. Today, attending the shows across the pond has become de rigeur fro any fashion editor worth her (or his) Manolos. London designers are once again making waves as prescient trend-setters who think outside the box.

We’ve reviewed the Spring 2010 menswear, and present here our:

Top Picks from the Spring 2010 Menswear Shows
A few designers did leggings (look out Miuccia, these ones are pulling from womenswear, for men, too)
Topman’s slim, single- and double-breasted suits
Prada’s looser, easier silk tops
James Long’s sleaveless leather bike jackets, and man-bag clutches, backpacks and briefcases
Carolyn Massey’s tailoring and nylon anoraks
Katie Eary’s skeleton-print tops and gold gladiator sandals

Though we loved a lot of it, we didn’t love the white socks paired with leather loafers and shorts–yes, shorts–at B Store, the Quality Street candy wrapper-inspired shiny pants by AW Anderson, or the ill-fitting white suit by Wintle.

Get the Look
Find your runway-inspired digs at Harry Rosen (pictured) and J2Men.

Brad and Angelina’s jewelry line, Madonna for Dolce & Gabbana, Lara Stone for Louis Vuitton–the list of celeb-fashion partnerships goes on. Here, a rundown on who is doing what with whom.

1. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have debuted a new jewellery collection, The Protector, for Asprey. Snake-inspired, the collection includes diamond, black diamond and pave rings in addition to bracelets, earrings, men’s cuff links and dress studs.

2. Madonna has signed on to be the face of Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring 2010 collection–featuring their sultry corsets.

3. Model with the Mick Jagger mouth Lara Stone has replaced Madonna as the face of Louis Vuitton.

4. Victoria Beckham has reportedly signed Gossip Girl Blake Lively for her new collection.

5. Lindsay Lohan is said to be staying on at Ungaro, despite the horrified general reaction to her first collection.