Mens Fashion

~Mens street fashion~

Men’s street fashion seems to rely more on patterns and individual, unique pieces versus layering. Usually summer fashions for men include muscle shirts and tank tops, tshirts, to no shirts! The west coast vibe is really apparent in how men dress in the summer, almost initiating a Californian surfer vibe. A few brands that remain very popular among men in Victoria are Obey, Converse, and DC.

(pictures of the three brands maybe?)
Men seem to gravitate towards clothes that are durable and comfortable, as well as fashion forward. Hoodies, jeans, and runners or canvas shoes are incredibly common. Those looking for durability often invest in a pair of workshoes, which are worn with everyday outfits. A lot of guys these days also like to wear stretchers. Others invest in facial piercings. Hair is usually kept short, but shaggy; layers and/or spiking are not uncommon hairstyles.
Overall, the aesthetic of island boys can best be described as “laid back”; lazy, almost. However those who do invest time and care into their fashion choices often find it pays off.

Popular shops

Time for another entry this one will be about popular shops in Victoria BC, hopefully you will find this handy when shopping for new clothing.

I'll start off with the malls located in Victoria.

The Bay centre is the most popular mall in Victoria since it is located downtown and near the main bus routes. 

You will mostly find common stores like Urban Planet, Blue notes, Syrins and other less expensive shops.

There are also more expensive shops such as Club Manaco which has more tasteful clothing.

Photo not mine.

Next off is Mayfair mall

Mayfair mall is located on Douglas Street and is also popular among teenagers.

You will mostly find almost the same shops as you would in The Bay centre but there are exclusives you will only find in Mayfair such as, Banana Republic, Sephora and many others.

Photo not mine.

The last Mall I will be talking about is Uptown.

Uptown is the newest and soon to be most popular mall in all Victoria. There is big brand companies such as Forever 21, H and M, Joey fresh, Walmart and many others. 

It also has mini boutiques in which you can find unique styles for a bit more of a cost.
Uptown is still not finished but once it s done, I'm sure Uptown will be the new popular districts to shop at. 

Photo not mine.



Enough will the Malls I will now move on too more local shops in the area.

Johnson Street, is a very popular street full of many local shops with very urban styles. Many thrift shops are located on this street, many of which are inexpensive and you will find unique types of clothing. There are also many boutiques among this street. I highly recommend shopping along this street.









Photo not mine.




The last area I will be talking about is Cook Street Village.

Cook street village is located on cook street close to Beacon Hill Park, it has many local boutiques you will surely find something right for you there that you will find no where else in the area.







Photo is not mine.




The last thing I will take note on is a store I highly recommend is called "Side Show".

Side show is located on Johnson street and is a downstairs boutique located by Baggins shoes.
Side show carries many unique clothing, jewellery and shoes. They specialise in vintage clothing and alterations, they feature many local designers and sell their items in the shop.
The shop owner is a wonderful gal and so friendly you'll just have to buy something!




Photo not mine.





They newly renovated the shop so it looks wonderful inside!

Photo not me.

Summer dresses!

Hello again! I went out a couple days ago and took some more photos, the thing I noticed this week was summer dresses are finally coming out for summer weather!

The most popular dresses I find are above the knee and with sleeves, of course with an added belt. I've noticed a lot of women are wearing floral's this year.

I asked around town to see where most women are buying their summer dresses and I've found out 40% of women are buying their dresses from local boutiques then ready to wear shops in the malls. The most popular places in which women are buying from are located on Johnson street by market square.

35% of women are buying dresses from second hand shops and vintage shops yet again most in which are on Johnson street.

20% of women are buying their dresses from ready to wear conformist brands, like forever 21 H and M etc.

The other 5% I found interesting is buying dresses online, who would have thought of course the method is cheaper. One of the most popular places to buy dresses online is Modcloth!

Fair Fashion

As a few of you know the Oak Bay Tea part was a couple weeks ago, so I thought it would be fun to look around and try to find some radical styles.


There weren't any trends from what I could see but there was a lot of unique styles.

This couple were the first ones to catch my eye, the punk and grunge look have become very popular over the past couple years. As well as making the clothes you buy unique. Such as their pants, those are called "Crust pants", you make them buy just buying a regular pair of jeans and placing patches all over, and of course ripping your own T-shirts.

I also noticed as always leggings and baggy shirts are popular. Along with short shorts are always making a come back like ever summer these days,

One another type of clothing I noticed was popular was long cardigans/jackets with shorts. Kinda gives you the "No pants look" but I personally think it's cute.

One last fashion I will address is men's one thing that caught my eye was most young men this summer are wearing, screen printed tank tops with bright shorts.

Backpacks?

First off I must apologise for the photo quality since I didn't have my canon on hand with me when I shot these pictures I took them with my I-pod camera.
Anyway, I'm sure you've noticed these sorts of backpacks hanging around the area.
  


If you didn't already know these are "Herschel" backpacks, these backpacks have quickly taken over Victoria High schools all over the area. I would know since I own one myself. My father purchased it for me last summer when they were first getting there name out there. Since the new school year started (September 2012) They have exploded everywhere you look you see this backpack.

This is my Herchel backpack it's pretty worn down since I use it everyday.

If you're wondering where to purchase one, I bought mine at Bagins shoes last summer and they had a lot of styles and colors probably even more then last time I went. They're located at.
561 Johnson St  Victoria, BC V8W 1M2
(250) 388-7022Another thing I may add is the inside of the bag itself what drew me to it was the candy stripe pattern on the inside.
The candy stripe pattern is in all the pockets and holders.
If you're wondering about the price it varies from 40 to over 100 dollars but they are worth it 100%.
Some of the backpacks have laptop holders and sunglasses holders, the backpack itself it the most durable backpack that I have ever owned and trust me I have had A LOT of backpacks threw out my school career.
If Bagins does not have the color or style you like you can purchase them on the Hershal website HERE.

Introduction

I guess I should do an introduction page since I'll be posting here.
So where do I start, I'm Kat I was born in Rainbow California and myself and my family moved to Canada Victoria British Columbia to be specific. Coming from a mega hot climate to more mild climate was a dramatic change, to be honest I prefer the climate in Victoria more so then California.
You may be asking why I'm making this blog, well this blog will mainly focus on Victoria street fashion, trends in Victoria and popular stores to shop at in the area. I also travel to central Vancouver so there will most likely be some fashion posts about that as well.
The photos I will be using will be 100% mine from my camera, please do not use any of them for your own personal use, thank you.

Alrighty that's all I have to say about that, I hope you enjoy my blog!
Heres a picture of me