Nicole Bridger is back and bringing practical style to the British Colombia Fashion Week runway. 40 minutes after the show's scheduled start time, audiences hustled into the Chinese Cultural Center's dark studio and waited for the electro-pop music to start. With a packed house and an antsy crowd, Vancouver's veteran designer sent out her first model.

Starting the show off modestly, Bridger unveiled her casual and Eco-friendly day wear. Lululemon owner Chip Wilson helped Bridger fine tune her low-carbon-footprint fashions during their Oqoqo fashion collaboration while Vivienne Westwood showed the designer a thing or two about feminine style during their time spent together in London.

Loose fitting fabrics and colors that reflect the natural hue's of spring seemed to be the on-going theme throughout the show. Bridger played up her flowing ensembles by belting the shirts with a harness-esque strap and balanced the silhouette out with chunky heels. The styles, however, failed to please some of the fashion savvy folks sitting around me, causing them to call the clothes "bland" and "unoriginal". Despite the slow start to the show, Bridger quickly changed gears and brought out her top-guns.

Let's face it, we all like to consider ourselves savvy shoppers. Whether it's buying local in one of Van's favorite boutiques or pulling the chicest vest out of the $5 bin at the local thrift shop, finding a one of a kind item is always an ego booster.

Now, however, we can avoid the exhausting and tedious act of scouring every last rack in the store by attending Vancouver's very own Spend on Trend. The event, taking place September 5-7 at Scotia Bank Dance Centre, will feature 24 vendors from all over the country showcasing their latest and trendiest designs. If buying local and supporting your friendly, neighborhood designer is part of a recent attempt to be a better Vancouverite, this would probably be your chance to make good on that promise.

From bags to boots, dresses to denim, Spend on Trend Vancouver 2008 will be the first chance to buy Fall's latest fashions. Tickets to the event are $5 and can be conveniently bought at the door. $1 from each ticket is also donated to the St. Elizabeth Home Emergency Shelter for Women and Children (and who said shopping is selfish?). For the keeners out there, the first 25 people in the door receive a free gift bag valuing over $50.

Photos courtesy of Spend on Trend's website

Canada's illustrious Fashion Magazine is finally opening up and listening to what the public wants. Last week, fashionmagazine.com announced that Canadians were now able to vote on who becomes the magazines next big online bloggers.

With 20 finalists representing each Canadian region, the 10 trend watchers with the most votes will be awarded the chance to give their weekly opinions on the hottest spots to shop, flaunt and horde fashion in their area.

I figure Vancouver, who is being represented by Craig David Long and Terri Potratz, has a good chance of winning the contest. With our growing number of independent shops and increasingly more fashion savvy individuals, Vancouver is finally starting to break out of the simplistic trends of yoga gear and plaid.

Keep in mind though, it's worth it to look at all the finalists. Good fashion is by no means restricted to one city or region. There are some talented writers from across Canada that are in the running to win the reporter challenge including a dear childhood friend of mine, Meghan Tooley, from Winnipeg.

Take advantage of this rare opportunity to voice your opinion. Voting ends tomorrow morning. Happy voting! Photo from FashionMagazine.com

First of all, let me point out that no, I have not recently adopted the use of Internet Slang nor am I so lazy that I cannot type out 3 letters. I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt here and assume most people are already familiar with 4REAL and their mantra. If this is the case, skip the next two paragraphs. For the rest, 4REAL is a documentary television project turned international success story and this summer they are turning up the good time vibes.

Who says clothes can't fuel a revolution?

Thursday, April 17 (tomorrow) hot, eccentric fashions are being brought to the streets of Vancouver. At 8pm, outside the Riot clothing and accessories store (1395 Commercial Drive) a new style of fashion show is being unveiled. With the promise to showcase this season's brightest, tightest and flashiest collections, Riot hopes to start, well.... a riot on the Drive. Fresh air and neon colors do, after all, mix very well together.

Look for fashions from such brands as Kensie, Hurley, and Level 99 Denim. If you are fun-loving enough to attend the rally and enjoy some trendy fashion, or hate this post enough to want to yell at me personally, then show up at 8pm tomorrow and let it all out.

Photo courtesy of Nicole Stewart PR and Riot clothing and accessories

Greens, and browns, and yellows, oh my! The fresh new fashions of Nicole Bridger came out full force this week at BC's exclusive fashion week. With an impressive resume that includes a partnership with Oqoqo and Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, and the Generation Next award for top new designer from BC Fashion Week organizers, Nicole Bridger certainly has a scent of success around her. Despite being a sophomore in the fashion designing world, Bridger already seems to be dedicated to proving that sustainable fashion can be comfortable and classic.