The first time I met David Dunkley was at a swish little cocktail party at the Windsor Arms Hotel. Besides his warm charisma, I was most disarmed by the top hat he wore—an unusually grand fashion statement for a mere ‘after five’ event. Yet Dunkley, one of Canada’s most outstanding milliners, sported the lofty chapeau with such natural aplomb that …

I work in an image-obsessed business where those in front of the camera often take great pains to try and always look their best. We have to. People expect it. Besides, our livelihoods depend on it. And there are certainly a lot of fashionable people who work in the television spotlight. But over the years, I’ve met a handful of …

Brigitte Robinson: REAL STYLE 1) Define your personal style in three words? Classic, Eclectic, Fitted. 2) What is your fashion philosophy? When you shop: Be brave! Go out on a limb.  Always choose great fabric, cuts, and colors.  Bring along a friend who is honest and fashion savvy 3) What is a fashion faux-pas in your fashion books? Never, and …

Many of us credit our mothers with teaching us the meaning of true style, but we can often learn as much about the subject from our daughters. Mine certainly help buoy my ongoing enthusiasm for fashion: Watching their sartorial self-expression as they get older is a blessing. Despite my parenting foibles and the fact that they grew up with a …

The late great costume designer Edith Head once said: “You can have anything you want, if you dress for it.” I’m not sure that always happens, but some people are able to so clearly imagine the life and image they aspire to, that the way they dress automatically casts them into a role that speaks of creativity and credibility. Take …

Listening to one’s inner style voice and making brave fashion choices can be challenging, even in the most sophisticated urban centres. But imagine what it would be like to grow up in a rural setting, light years away from the grit and jazz of the big city, and harbour a passion to express yourself through style, to be an original, …

At the heart of great style is a kind of timelessness. Maybe that’s why I was so charmed by the sartorial approach of Perry Quinn, a Niagara-on-the-Lake realtor I met at a garden party in Chester, Nova Scotia, last week. Quinn, 58, who originally hails from Baie Comeau, Quebec, cut a dashing figure that conjured up visions of the Great …

Dear Marcella—   This is a tough one, because at this early stage of the romance, you don’t want to turn your new guy off by making him feel insecure, or think that you’re overly concerned with superficial appearances. Still, if fashion is important to you, and you’re intent on trying to inspire your man to turn up the style …