Mary Katrantzou

Mary Katrantzou x Adidas Originals 2015 Collection

25 July, 2015 Nelia

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If you’re a fan of Mary Katrantzou’s masterfully printed frocks, but can’t justify the hefty price tag, then Mary Katrantzou x adidas Originals collection is going to be right up your alley! This is the second ‘fashion meets athleisure’ collaboration between the two brands, and it’s amazing!

The first collection, while pretty cute, was too heavy-handed for my taste – giant shoe lace prints all over the place are not my idea of casual chic. But this collection is different – the athletic theme is still clearly present (tennis racquets, badminton shuttlecocks, baseballs, darts) but this time, executed in a more subtle way. There are dresses that look like they could easily belong in Katrantzou’s regular line-up, as well as more casual pieces perfect for those sporty fashion-lovers.

In Canada, select pieces from the collection can be found exclusively at Hudson’s Bay online or at The Room in Toronto and Vancouver. If you’re in another part of the world, Shopbop carries some styles, while most of the collection can be found on MaryKatrantzou.com.

I already ordered my fave pieces, and if you’re into any of the styles, I recommend snagging them ASAP…lots of sizes are already gone online. Good luck and happy shopping!

More after the jump!
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What I Wore: Off To The Races

9 July, 2015 Nelia

Last Sunday was my first time at the Queen’s Plate, but it certainly won’t be my last. I loved everything about my experience at the racetrack – from dressing up, to bidding on horses, to people-watching, to enjoying everything the Hats and Horseshoes party had to offer – it was truly a blast!

I did have a moment of panic about 30 minutes before leaving the house…and ended up completely changing my outfit, and also MacGyvering a fascinator from a large flower purchased at Homesense, old headband, discarded ribbon, and 2 hair elastics. Though le bf looked at me as if I was insane, I did end up getting a ton of compliments on my DIY headpiece, and it was even featured in Toronto Star’s Queen’s Plate hat line-up. Take that, le bf!

Once we got to Woodbine Racetrack, we were a bit overwhelmed by all the action happening all around us – food trucks selling yummy bites, various party tents with things to do and people to see, wine and beer tastings, fancy hats for sale, and that’s before we even stepped foot inside the main building! We found our way to the Rethink Breast Cancer tent, where we spent most of our day. It had everything – DIY fascinator station, manis courtesy of The Ten Spot, fashion illustrators drawing partygoers’ outfits (mine was done by the talented Danielle Meder!), sweet and savoury treats, silent auctions, Be Good gelato cart…it was THE PLACE TO BE!

But of course, the track provided even more entertainment! Knowing close to nothing about horse races, I decided that my strategy would be to bid on contenders with fun names and/or my lucky number 8, which is how I ended up picking Aldous Snow and Conquest Boogaloo, and actually winning!

Overall, we had a wonderful time at the races. Queen’s Plate is quickly becoming one of the top summer events, and now I know why. I was told that each year it gets bigger and better, and I can’t wait to see what next year’s Queen’s Plate will have in store.

More after the jump!
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Mary Katrantzou for Topshop Collection Available at The Bay Yorkdale on March 6th!

21 February, 2012 Nelia

Get your wallets at the ready, ladies (and gentlemen)! It’s official – the highly-anticipated Mary Katrantzou for Topshop collection WILL be available at The Bay Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto on March 6th! With this week’s Jason Wu for Target pop-up shop, and Marni at H launching on March 8th…I think I’m not the only one who will be eating ramen noodles for the rest of March…or am I?

Will you be lining up? Are you taking a week off as part of your shopping strategy? Let me know in the comments!

Mary Katrantzou for Topshop Lookbook!

10 February, 2012 Nelia

Today was supposed to be a lazy sick day in bed for me…I wasn’t going to blog, go online, or do anything at all…except for sleeping, and watching TV, of course. Well…I broke my “go online” rule…and found out that Mary Katrantzou for Topshop collection lookbook is now available! And, of course, who could resist?

Not sure about you, but I have serious envy right now for all those Brits that will be able to shop this collab. At this point, I doubt we’ll be seeing these pieces at Topshop stores in Canada, but one can always dream, right? Love all the floral pieces, love the styling, and love the price points (GBP 40 to GBP 350). Now the question is…how inflated those prices will be on eBay? Another prediction – VERY inflated. Le sigh.

What do you think of this collaboration? Are you going to line up on February 17th, when the collection finally hits the stores? If you are…pick me up a piece or 10, will you?

UPDATE: Well, guess what?! The Mary Katrantzou for Topshop collection WILL be available at the Yorkdale Topshop location (at The Bay) sometime at the beginning of March! Stay tuned for more details. Dreams do come true!!!

Photo Credits: Vogue UK

Mary Katrantzou for Topshop!

28 October, 2011 Nelia

News broke this morning that Topshop (that we finally have in Canada – hooray!) will be collaborating with London-based designer Mary Katrantzou! Katrantzou’s artfully printed frocks have first caught my attention at The Room, where I was too terrified to even glance at price tags on her beautiful pieces of art that we call dresses. And we all know that…if you’re too scared to look, sadly, you can’t afford it. So you can imagine how happy I was that after all the drooling and wishing for a chance to own a piece by Katrantzou, my dreams are (sort of) coming true!

The collection, consisting of 14(!!!) pieces is slated to drop next February, according to the Style Bubble. And though you certainly won’t be paying anywhere near regular prices for this Topshop collab, it will still cost you a pretty penny, with this dress going for GBP 350. But no matter, the die-hard Katrantzou fans will be delighted at this lovely collab, and judging from the preview pics, we’ll be getting a bang for our bucks – the preview dress looks stunning, even if it’s a little less dramatic than her original designs. But for a fraction of the price, who’s complaining?

This is definitely one of the best fast-fashion collabs ever…certainly in the same league as Lanvin for H&M. Are you as excited as I am? Share in the comments, lovelies!

Photo Credits: Style Bubble

God Save The Queen: The Next British Invasion Party!

21 October, 2010 Nelia

Last week, the most amazing thing happened. A group of prominent young British designers landed in Toronto to be feted at The Bay’s own Room on Queen St. Having swooned over many of their collections on Style.com for years, it was an incredible experience to have been able to meet and mingle with such creative geniuses as Canadian-born Erdem Moralioglu and Mark Fast, Jonathan Saunders, Nicholas Kirkwood, Giles Deacon, Marios Schwab, Tom Binns, Mary Katrantzou and the lovely Charlotte Olympia Dellal – all huge names worldwide, and all partying together at the same Room at the same time! When I first got the invite, I think le boyfriend went deaf from my…ahem…excitement. Huge thanks to Sandra for the invite! You’ve made my year!

I must say that I was quite nervous and starstruck by most of these talented individuals, and as Sharon of The Backseat Stylers put it, sometimes you have to remind yourself that designers too are people. If there was one designer that I really REALLY wanted to meet it had to be Erdem. I’ve always been fascinated by his beautiful, feminine designs and thankfully, the designer himself was just as charming in person. As a Canadian, who once upon a time went to Ryerson, he said that it felt great to come home, where he still has a lot of friends and family.

Later on at the party, I also got a chance to meet and speak to Charlotte Olympia Dellal, whose fun and fab outfit (peep the banana clutch) and whimsical shoes stole my heart, as did her cheeky personality.

Other attendees that night included Tommy Ton of Jak and Jil, whose photos are a huge inspiration to thousands of fashion lovers everywhere, and who is also notably a Canadian, Lisa Tant of Flare Magazine, Dan Levy of MTV Canada, and dozens of amazing Toronto bloggers. I had such an great time hanging out with Sharon and her hubby, Kimberly of The Souls of My Shoes, Lisa – The Hip Urban Girl, and meeting stylist Tricia Campbell Hall.

There were so many stylish people to photograph, so many beautiful (and I mean REALLY beautiful) clothes and shoes to look at – I can truthfully say that this was the event of the year in my books. So much talent and fashion under one roof, it was intoxicating.

And that’s the thing about the new Room at The Bay. It offers a wealth of labels to even the pickiest of shoppers, all carefully displayed in a gorgeous, brightly lit space, featuring trunk shows straight off the latest fashion shows, and giving its customers an opportunity to actually meet the designers. Even on a regular shopping day, The Room is an experience in itself, but pair it with what happened at The Next British Invasion gala, and you’ve got yourself a sure recipe for a night to remember. It might not feel like The Bay you already know, and perhaps it isn’t. This newly-improved Bay is way better!