Banana Republic 20th Anniversary

a lot of things can happen in 20 years. it is nearly 20 years ago that we came to canada! four years short of when banana republic beat us to it, and to celebrate their 20th canadian anniversary they threw a party. i am so thrilled we were able to go celebrate and support the brand that has been supporting us since the very beginning. i’ve been SO stoked to see the design making leaps in the last few seasons and have been obsessed with the pieces from all the recent collections (fall 2015, and remember the white collection?), before i share our post from the s/s 2016 presentation in NYC i wanted to take you inside toronto’s anniversary party on bloor street.

first on the agenda was, of course the outfit. i really wanted to put together something that represents all the things i love about the brand. the first thing you see of course is that coat. don’t you just love that coat?! the masculine lines, that tweed. it just has me wishing i was shorter so i could pull off that mary-kate/ashley duster coat moment. i wore the look sans bolo tie for the event but thought it would be fun to add that little detail later when we shot it. the scalloped blouse is one of my favorites in store right now, and adds a touch of femininity. and finally everyone was raving about the double lapel, unsure wether it was a built-in feature (it’s not) or a layering piece it captured the right kind of attention. cinch it all with a belt to show off my waist and we’re good to go. visit banana republic to shop the look and see below for all outfit links and details.

and finally the party! toronto sure knows how to throw them. it was such a pleasure to meet all the bloggers on hand at the event (see video below for all the links) and see familiar faces. the big draw was of course the personal appearance by michael anderson, the creative director for men’s and women’s design at banana republic. heading into his new role in women’s fashion it was really amazing to be able to speak to the person responsible for what i will be wearing in the coming seasons. kind of a real-life devil wears prada moment… except the devil is replaced here by a handsome and charismatic brit. what is great about michael is that he is genuinely interested in the customer experience of the brand he helps create, looking at the people and drawing inspiration from what surrounds him, even when he is not working. i enjoyed our chat, listened to him dive into camera talk with tyler and loved all his feedback. in the end it’s clear that the brand is in great hands and i can’t wait to follow along for the next 20 years.

thank you banana for having us be part of this incredible milestone and showing us how to celebrate in style. xoxo

wearing: banana republic tweed coat, hacking blazer, scalloped silk blouse, ankle jeans, ashbury tote, belt  & shoes

video by customatic, last photo by arthur mola