Green Sleeves

Who: Lisa

What: Green wool coat she had designed from another coat in Shanghai. I also loved the rich grey patent handbag. The loops on her sleeves are for ribbons that can be tied in bows around her arms.

Asar-tots

Who: Keisa
What: Despite still holding mom's hand, there's something all grown up about this little outfit. Perfect red tights, red patent mary-janes and faux fur coat. Just shows that great style starts young.

Retro Chic

Who: Mrs. Erikson

What: Mrs. Erikson is one of the most stylish elderly ladies in this city. When I approached her on the street for a photograph she said it wasn't the first time. From her purse she pulled out this photograph of herself taken by a local street photographer in 1961. In the image she is walking to a business function on Granville Street in Downtown Vancouver. Behind her is the name of a shop ironically named Milliner.

She's wearing a tailored suit by Montreal designer Arnold Scassi (born Arnold Issacs + Scassi is Issacs spelled backwards) who is best known for his suits and glamorous evening wear. Some of his highlights include dressing Barbara Streisand in an almost see-through outfit for the Oscars in 1969, Catherine Deneuve in 1970 among others.

Mrs. Erikson was wearing leather pants and her signature tortoise shell wide- framed glasses (very 1960s). Unfortunately, she was feeling too under the weather to have her picture taken (I thought she looked amazing!), but promised that if the AV team caught her in the future she would say yes. Someday, we'll get that photograph of her.

Classic Vancouver

Who: Dawne
What: I'm a fan of her French inspired black and white stripped shirt. A great bag.

Where: Downtown Vancouver

Well Again

Spotted: Wellington boots...simply put there are so many new takes on this original style of rubber boots from England. These new interpretations are popping up everywhere in Vancouver now that it's raining. Here's a quick sampling of what's out on the street. I like how this one woman has mixed the plaid print on her boots with argyle tights.

Scooter Babe

Defining Style

Who: Devon

What: I thought this vintage hat from the 30s was contemporary. While the hat is a distinct, bold piece, Devon's style is not easily defineable; she's edgy, rock n' roll, vintage inspired...I could go on.

Where: Blanche Macdonald graduation show

Double-Take on the Double-Breasted Coat

Who: Riko
What: The bold geometric print of Riko's dress shines beneath that fabulous black coat, drawing the eye to those strappy seude boots and her quilted bag. But the shape of the coat and the individual details such as the angled buttons on the seam, the open, round collar are stunning. The black patent belt creates a great silhouette, giving her the illusion of wearing a dress in winter.

Portobello West Fashion + Art Market

Portobello West is Vancouver's answer to the well-known artisan markets of London. The Asartorial team attended the November market hunting for stylish shoppers wearing local designers. People were mostly wearing casual Sunday attire (we include ourselves on this list). In the end, the great style achievers were particularly strong amongst some of the designers.

Déjà Vu

Who: Karine, Designer

What: We knew Karine was familliar...she made our top ten best dressed list at FUSE in October. Here she is again with the same hits of yellow felted fabric found in her scarf, hat and bracelet, all her own designs.

Where: Portobello West Market

TOODLEBUNNY

Who: Trudy Wynans, TOODLEBUNNY

What: A Vancouver based jewellery designer, Trudy Wynan's personal style was immediately spotted by the Asartorial team. We loved her unique, edgy jewellery designs, which she's wearing here with a skirt and suspenders. Like her designs, she's both chic and a little rock n' roll.

Where: Portobello West Market

Nazreen's Designs

Who: Nazreen, Nazreen's Designs

What: Women who wear aprons outside of the kitchen; Nazareen's apron was made of a delicate sheer peach fabric...definitely not made for cooking in.

Where: Portobello West Market

Casual Sunday

Who: Ali

What: Classic Vancouver Sunday casual. Though Ali was not wearing a local designer, she did get the coat from Ark Clothing, an independent store on Main street.

Where: Portobello West Market

Very Vintage

Who: Bonnie

What: Noticed the vintage 70s leather coat with the zigzag pattern at the hemline. We were looking for local designs and even asked about the necklace, which confirmed she was wearing head-to-toe vintage clothing.

Where: Portobello West Market

Silver with Envy

Who: Joan

What: I love women with fabulous silver hair. This great classic cut frames her face perfectly.

Where: Portobello West Market

9AM Glam

Who: Nicole
What: A great contrast of colour and texture, including the backdrop of vegetables from the produce aisle where we met.
Where: Whole Foods

Vegan Style

Noticed: Women are wearing Matt & Nat bags in Vancouver like never before. What do I like about Matt & Nat bags? They're Canadian and not made of leather. There are so many styles that I rarely see repeats of the same bag.

The Ones That Got Away

Metallica

What: I love this girl's sense of style...the pointy metallic shoes, the carefully constructed casual that looks effortlessly put together. Absolutely adorable. I've never seen sockettes with bows and ruffles, have you?

Tiff and Co.

Who: Khari
What: Simply put...he leads his own way.

All Zippers

What: The ruffle bag with zipper trim is fabulous on her. It's shocking to me that some people are able to pull off the skinny jeans so well. I like the little touches in this ensemble, the lace stockings, the peacoat buttons that only go part way.

A tale of two styles

Two friends. Two stories. Two distinct styles.

The Green Harrods Bag

Who: Emi
What: I first noticed her boots, her white coat and then the bag. Why don’t our department stores create more stylin’ shopping bags?

Miss Match

Who: Makoto
What: I love how she mixes a sporty knit toque with a chic dress, coat and boots.

Hand-Me-Downs

Who: Amy
What: One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure. The woolen scarf is a hand-me-down from her sister’s closet. It stood out because of its unusually long, almost unraveling threads.

One Bold Piece

Who: Veronica

What: A red kettle purse, given to her by a friend, really stands out against all black. Great haircut. I like how her bangs go up on the sides, rather than being straight and blunt across.

About Fandom: Anna Sui

A recent launch of designer Anna Sui’s fall make-up collection marks two occasions: Sui's first visit to Vancouver and my first encounter with public fandom. Honestly. Yes, I'm a fan of many people, places and things, but I rarely ever display this kind of interest publicly. That is until now.

Anna Sui's sense of style. She is all about big, chunky jewellery. Colourful beadwork. Bold prints. And, her signature red pout. Included here are images of Anna Sui at the launch, along with her adoring fan club.

Anna Sui on her customers."People are attracted to my clothing because of all the elements I try to put into it - the touch of nostalgia, the trendiness, the hipness I try to create by adding a touch of rock 'n' roll," she says. "There's always a very feminine, girly aspect to it. There's always that ambiguity of good girl, bad girl. All those things have to go into the clothes, or it doesn't look Anna Sui."

The Fans of Anna Sui

The Fans of Anna Sui

The Fans of Anna Sui

Easy Style

I was on my way to work when I encountered this most elegant gentleman. While he's loaded on the distinct labels, it all works. I can't give you his name, because we didn't share a common language. It's amazing how much you can communicate without one.

A Tribute to the Trench

Who: Simone
What: There's something about her, even the way she holds her umbrella is lovely. This is someone who wears a trench coat well. Love her grey tights.

Bold Orange Scarf

Who: Kelsey
What: Great hair, unusual black feather earrings. I also liked her make-up. Noticing more girls are wearing faux red cheeks.

Making Peace

Who: Hee Seong Kim
What: He was with a group of stylish friends. This photograph doesn't do him justice. His glasses paired with those sneakers looked amazing in person. His uber stylish friends, who are still recovering because I selected him, coached him for this photograph, giving him the thumbs down for waving a peace sign at me with his fingers.

White Patent Tongues

(woman: far right) The tongues of her sneakers are pulled right out, revealing patent white surfaces. Great green bag. It's early november and white, not grey and black, is still pravalent. Ripped jeans are back!

Shoppers

Who: Britt

What: Who says you can't wear white after Labour Day. Great boots.

Where: Granville and 14th

Basic Black

Who: Casey James

What: Mixing different fabrics and textures highlights individual pieces in an all black outfit.

Where: West Vancouver