For those of you jonesing for spring and looking for some cheap chic, here’s a peek at PURE ALFRED SUNG.

At a media preview last week, I fell in love with...

Spring may still be a distant dream, but there is no time like the present to start with the spring-cleaning of your makeup bag (or bags, if you are a beauty junkie like me). Out with the old and in with the new is my motto when it comes to spring’s new makeup lines. Sometimes, however, there are those products that are just too hard to part with—unless you have a guaranteed great replacement lined up! 

I'm fresh home from an event for Maybelline New York (more to come... lots of great tips for actually wearing the season's bold colours for cheeks, lips and eyes), but I have on tip that's too good to wait.

As you've likely noticed, one of the big makeup trends heading into Spring is the bold red lip (it continues into Fall too). The problem is finding the "right" red. Well, makeup artist Charlotte Willer, has a foolproof tip for finding the right red (or any lipstick colour).

There’s no denying that bangs are hot right now. Just this past weekend I had two friends ask me to give them the royal fringe treatment. Though I wouldn’t necessarily endorse an amateur chop for a first timer, (I once forced my father to cut my bangs and let’s just say there may have been a bowl involved and, as a result, I became very well acquainted with hats) I do understand the sudden urge to change up your look—especially with all the great celebrity fringe inspiration that’s been flying around lately. 

I understand star power. I get that certain celebrities have a built-in fan base that retailers are interested in tapping into. What I can’t wrap my head around is how and/or why just because someone is famous it's assumed that they are capable of designing a fashion line? In certain cases, like say, Gwen Stefani with L.A.M.B. or Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen with The Row and Elizabeth & James, these stars have proven their talent. These ladies all had an inherent personal style to begin with, though. What about the “celebrities” that couldn’t put an outfit together on their own to save their life? Just because Avril Lavigne can sing, does not mean that she can dance or act and it most certainly doesn’t mean that her name should be slapped onto a clothing line….

Fashionists rejoice! Today marks the DVD release of the Vogue documentary, The September Issue, about the making of the magazine’s “style bible” (aka the 2007 September edition) and, perhaps more importantly, the world’s most notorious editrix, Anna Wintour. Being the slightly less than fabulous city Calgary is, we didn’t get the film in theatres until months after it was released (in fact, I think it only started playing here about a month ago) so imagine my happy surprise when I went to the mailbox last week and found a screener waiting for me. While I was already a fan of Wintour’s tough-as-nails demeanour (I intend to be just like her one day), I knew that the film could certainly teach me a thing or two about the crazy business that is fashion magazines. Check out the life lessons I gathered from Ms. Wintour and the Vogue gang after the jump. 

Now that New York Fashion week has wrapped up for another season, the fashion folks are making their way across the pond to see what London, Paris and Milan have to offer for Autumn/Winter 2010. While plenty of trends emerged at the New York shows (see which trends Flare magazine foresees here), most were pretty predictable—new uses of fur and leather, strong military influences and a clear minimalist vibe. What most of us fashionists weren’t expecting to see, however, was the abundant use of socks on the runways. Yes, that’s right folks, socks of all shapes and sizes (not to mention colours) were the go-to accessory for Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Rag & Bone, just to name a few. See for yourself after the jump.

Buying without trying is a risky business. In certain situations, however, (like say, when I live in Calgary, and my beloved Anthropologie is nowhere to be found) a girl has got to do what a girl has to do. I recently fell head over heels for a slightly retro, multi-coloured silk dress on the Anthropologie site. This love was so deep that I was willing to shell out some pretty major coin (shipping and duty from the states are nothing to scoff at) site unseen and place my very first online clothing order.

I am a pretty open-minded person when it comes to fashion trends. Sometimes clothes are meant to be wearable and straightforward, sometimes they are meant to be art and sometimes they are meant to be wearable art. The latter is likely what Lady Gaga is going for most of the time, but whether she’s pulling it off or not is a whole other ball of wax we can get into another time. This week in New York, however, I have spotted a trend developing that I can just not stand. In fact, it is so absolutely hideous that I won’t even tolerate it. After I voice my thoughts in this post I will do my very best never to cover anyone who wears this wretched look again. Fashion Week's fugly footwear will not be stepping foot on styleswept again—I'm not sure I could stomach it! See what all the fuss is about after the jump.

Back in November we saw the beginning of a new trend in bun placement happening. First there was Rachel Bilson, followed by Cameron Diaz (who personally inspired me to try the look) and then the lovely January Jones at the GQ Man of the Year awards, all moving their updos to the crowns of their heads. This past week, though, there has been a massive surge in super-high bun activity on the fashion scene—sometimes with awesome results and sometimes, well, not so much...