Change in style

ALL THAT GLITTERS: Midtown Toronto fashion consultant Tamara Glick says creative accessories serve to modernize clothes you already own.

Stay trendy as you step into fall

It’s almost time to retire your summer wardrobe and replace it with warmer, thicker pieces, as temperatures begin to fall. To look your best while you make the transition follow the advice of these professional stylists, who shared their fashion tips and trends for the coming season.

 Just for women

Although layering is key this fall, Tamara Glick, who runs Trademark Image Consulting near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, says there will also be an emphasis on creative and vintage inspired accessories.

What’s great about this trend, she reveals, is that it not only creates visual interest but it also updates and modernizes clothes you already own. To achieve this look, Glick suggests adding a collar or choker style necklace, which fit like a collar of a shirt, to staple items you have from previous seasons.

“So they may be made out of leather, they may be jewelled,” she says. “They can come in all kinds of formats and they really work similarly to a necklace.

“It will give it a totally different appeal.”

Glick says 1970s inspired clothing will carry over from summer, and for fall it will come in the form of items like wide leg or flare trousers and denim, but adds that skinny pants aren’t going anywhere yet.

Calf- and maxi-length skirts and dresses will also continue to be in style. To pull off a midi-length bottom, Glick says, make sure it ends at the narrowest part of your calf.
“So that would be above the calf muscle — in between the knee and the calf — or just between the ankle and the calf muscle,” she says. “It makes the leg look slimmer on anyone.”

According to Glick, animal print — particularly leopard — will also be making a comeback, which will come in both warm and cool shades. Glick suggests picking the colour that best matches your eyes and skin tone.

“That’s going to be in anything from a full dress, which I’d recommend for someone who is in their 20s to early 30s, to accents like purses, scarves, shoes and even outerwear,” she says. “So it’s a great trend that people can wear in any age range.

“You can implement it in many ways.”

As for the season’s essential outerwear, like a classic trench coat, she says it will be offered in a wide range of bold colours and patterns, which will pull an outfit together and help make you look more stylish overall.

To find some or all of these items, Glick suggests heading to the Shops at Don Mills (1060 Don Mills Rd.) for stores like BCBG Max Azria and Mendocino.

 Just for men

PAIRED RIGHT: Stylish, yes, but is it right for you?

Men’s stylist Patricia Trépanier, who divides her time between Toronto and Montreal, says that while bold colours like mustard, orange and purple are in this season, you should apply the less-is-more theory. She suggests using them as accent colours to spice up your look instead of going with a full-blown raspberry-pink dress shirt.

“I prefer when they go with just a pop of colour in the outfit,” she says, adding that little details make all the difference. “Such as with a pocket square, the tie, the bowtie or even with the cufflinks.”

Another item that will bring interest to your outfit and is both fashionable and practical for the coming cooler weather, she says, is a scarf.

“There’s something that’s really classy about wearing a scarf,” she says, though cautioning that there are right and wrong ways to wear one. “Some guys just put their scarf like they don’t really care, but you have to look like you care — but not too much.”

One of the ways she suggests is a dressy knot known as the slip-knot, which is when you pull the ends through a loop. She also says to make sure you choose a colour that complements your skin tone and adds that most guys can’t pull off green or light pink.

For scarves, Trépanier recommends the brand Matinique (available at The Hudson Bay Company at 44 Bloor Street East) or heading online to shop the Ssense collection (www.ssense.com.)

This fall, tweed or wool sports jackets will also be trendy and they carry the added bonus of being able to transition into winter and early spring.

“A way to dress it down: Wear a shirt, a tie and a cardigan with a blazer on top and pair it with a pair of jeans,” she says. “Or if you want to dress it up you can just wear it with a pair of chinos and a dress shirt and a pair of loafers.”

For tops like cardigans or jackets, some of Trépanier’s top picks are Club Monaco (at 157 Bloor St. West. or in Yorkdale Mall) and Banana Republic (80 Bloor St. West).

But she warns that just because something is in style, doesn’t mean it’s right for you.

“There’s all these trends and everything and it’s important to follow fashion, but I feel like it’s not because it’s trendy that you have to wear it,” she says. “You have to make sure that it suits your body type.”