Yes, those high heels are made of chocolate. We ate macarons that were the exact same shade of pink as the frocks at Missoni. (This is how the magic happens, people)

Every season, after our style team returns from the international fashion shows, we get together to hash out the key trends and top moments from New York, London, Paris and Milan. This season, in the midst of Toronto Fashion Week, we stopped in at the DEQ lounge at the luxe Ritz-Carlton hotel for inspiration. One of our key findings? We wish we could have every meeting there!

Click through for more pics…

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I wish you an incredibly fun New Year’s Eve tonight and a wonderfully relaxing New Year’s Day tomorrow! I’ll be spending January 1 with my husband, pots of tea and piles of movies (also, possibly piles of Advil). I’ve put together my dream screening list and asked some members of the ELLE Canada team to share their favourite stylish movies. Happy New Year!

My suggested screening list:

1. In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye. A fascinating glimpse at the world of Vogue through its fashion editors, including Polly Mellen, Camilla Nickerson and Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, who gets my vote for person I’d least like to be stuck with in an elevator.

2. Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The opening scene—where Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) ambles down Fifth Avenue at dawn—is so incredibly beautiful.

3. Girls. I rewatched season 1 over the holidays, and episode 3—starring Booth Jonathan, HPV and Robyn’s “Dancing on my Own”—inspired me to text “masterpiece yo” to my sister. Season 2 premieres January 13 on HBO Canada. Watch for our recaps.

4. Rear Window. Grace Kelly is astonishingly beautiful in this classic Hitchcock film, embodying ladylike elegance with nipped in waists and full skirts. Supporting star: the Hermès Birkin.

5. Clueless. The most quotable movie of the ’90s. “That was way harsh, Tai.” Amazing.

More New Year’s Day movie suggestions from the ELLE Canada team:

“A Single Man.”
—Ciara Rickard, production editor

“A Single Man. Kill Bill. Dolls by Takeshi Kitano. How to Steal a Million.”
—Elena Viltovskaia, associate art director

“Empire Records (Happy Rex Manning Day!) and Now & Then.”
—Alannah O’Neill, associate editor

“Roman Holiday. I used to imagine everyone in Italy to be like Audrey Hepburn—effortlessly riding around on Vespas with their perfectly tied silk scarves blowing in the wind. Then I went to Rome and saw that this is actually 100 per cent true. Not fair.”
—Ava Baccari, web writer

OVER TO YOU!

What’s on your fashionable movie list?

The best thing about good, old-fashioned snail mail? Magazine subscriptions! I love coming home from work to find a new assortment of magazines in my mailbox. (I often check out the back pages even before I make it into the house—Entertainment Weekly’s Bullseye, The New Yorker’s Cartoon Caption Contest and ELLE Décor’s Etcetera are just some of my favourites.) And this is the best time of year to stock up on subscriptions. Magazines Canada has just launched its annual buy 2 get 1 free subscription offer. There are 190 titles to choose from (including, of course, ELLE Canada).

At 1free.magazinescanada.ca/savenow until February 28, 2013.

Hello, Pink! Our November 2012 cover star rocks the California coast in a Gucci suit and a hat by Heather Huey. In the interview, she talks to ELLE Canada about her new album, The Truth About Love (“It’s the opposite way that most people talk about love. It’s the psycho version!”) and her baby, Willow Sage (“When you have a child, you realize that you’ve been pretending—you’ve been acting in a play. Everything was tainted or compromised before.”)

Plus, the new Cover Girl chats about fame, fashion and her first acting gig, in Thanks for Sharing with Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Read the article—and see all the pics!—in our November issue, on newsstands October 8.

Daria Stroukos—this week’s top model—hits the catwalk at Jil Sander Spring 2013. All photos courtesy of ImaxTree.com

To say that expectations were high for today’s Jil Sander show is like saying that Anna Dello Russo has a bit of a thing for fashion. Today marked the designer’s first womenswear collection since leaving her namesake line in 2000.  (Raf Simons, the previous Jil Sander designer, earned a standing ovation for his Fall 2012 finale collection before being named head designer at Dior. So. That ups the game a bit.) Before today’s show, tensions were running high outside the venue as the crowd became a crush and security refused to let anyone in—until the president of Milan Fashion Week intervened.

It was amazing. He spoke like an auctioneer, gesticulated like Celine Dion, and finally, defiantly, released the flimsy plastic barrier holding the crowds back and indicated that everyone should head in. (Previously, Paris Vogue’s Emmanuelle Alt had expressed her displeasure at being made to wait in “don’t-you-know-who-I-am” terms. Didn’t work.)

Once inside, we walked up two flights of stairs to an intimate, minimalist space with a specially constructed ceiling for the show. I started to feel nervous for the designer.  I needn’t have worried.

The collection was beautiful. Minimalist, as expected, with impeccably tailoring (as expected), and a ’60s influence that is cropping up across the Spring 2013 collections. I’ve admired many shows since I’ve been in Milan, but this was the first one (so far) that made me feel emotional. A true fashion moment!

Click through for more of Laura’s favourite pics from the show…

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You know that scene in Legally Blonde where Elle Woods pulls out her tangerine Apple iBook (remember those?) amidst a sea of serious-looking black PC laptops, and you’re supposed to laugh at her helpless incongruity? Well, I didn’t—I coveted. How could anyone even think of using their dull, nondescript computers when there was a colourful equivalent right there? I’ll never understand, just like I can’t bear the thought of lugging around my current boring-yet-reliable laptop case now that I know this neon number is in existence. I’ll consider it part of my back-to-school overhaul shopping.

And yes, I fully realize that I’m not actually going back to school come September, but why give up on your favourite traditions for a technicality?

Marc by Marc Jacobs Dreamy embossed laptop case, $62, available at net-a-porter.com.

Cat Power’s voice is like molasses—a rich honey sweetness. She’s the epitome of cool—talented, beautiful and smart, with lyrics that inspire deep thoughts and deeper feelings. Her latest album, Sun, features the mixing talents of DJ (and hottie) Nico Jaar, and she’s playing in Toronto on October 20 at the Kool Haus. I can’t wait. I love her.

Cat Power concert ticket, $43.75, ticketmaster.ca

Dear makers of bite size tortilla chips,

After being cornered by the converging forces of other people’s cold sores, double dipping and family-sized guacamole, we’d like to thank you for being so thoughtful.

You are the makers of good, clean patio party fun.

A tip of the chip to you,
Kat

If stamp collecting has never impressed you as a particularly glamorous way to pass time, the Great British Fashion Stamp Set just may change your mind. Launched by The Royal Mail Service in May, it honours 10 of the most prominent British fashion houses including Alexander McQueen, Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood. I love the graphic elegance of the outfits, shot by acclaimed photographer Solve Sundsbo.

The set is available for purchase on The Royal Mail site at £6 a pop.

Earlier this week, I met up with many of the editors and publishers from our 43 sister ELLE publications from around the world. The conference was held in Versailles—which meant I got to indulge in croissants and take in the Joana Vasconcelos Versailles exhibition at the Palace of Versailles. My favourite piece was the giant pair of stainless steel stilettos made from saucepans that were set up in the Hall of Mirrors. The Portuguese sculptor said the piece—which is called Marilyn in honour of Ms. Monroe—captured the “collision of great style and everyday life.”

The ELLE conference offered up its own collision of great style with editors from around the globe. Like any family reunion, you see that you share a common DNA, but each member of a tribe expresses it differently.

Click through to read more about the international ELLE editors!

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