Shop Talk is written by OM senior editor Dayanti Karunaratne and Sarah Fischer, OM account executive and fashion maven.
Earlier this month, we introduced you to Dina Renon, the cover model from Ottawa Magazine‘s Shopping annual. Of course we never give away the whole story — to get all the details in the profiles by Victoria Abraham and the stunning Rémi Thériault photo spreads, you have to buy the guide.
But we can’t help but bring our stylish ambassadors of fashion into the digital realm. Here’s a glimpse of five folks that caught our eye this season. From an up-and-coming stylist to a seasoned entrepreneur, we love their personal flair and worldly tastes.
Take Akash Sinha. He brings a spiritual approach to community building with his green building company, and uses a wide variety of ways to make sure he’s always having fun. It all translates into fostering positive relationships, exploring the arts, and having fun.
“We definitely want to be a part of what makes Ottawa cool.”
Speaking of bringing cool to the capital, Marianne Hassan (right) has definitely upped the ante in terms of boutique shopping for women (and those who love them). Her high-end lingerie store, Brachic, offers expert fitting and carefully-chosen lines.
It might surprise readers to learn that Marianne opened Brachic without any business or entrepreneurial training. But she knows women, and she knows bras.
“Our gold standard is that every bra must fit. A good-fitting bra can make you [appear to] lose 10 pounds.”
Then there are those people in Ottawa who bring style to the city simply by crafting beautiful, tasteful outfits. They turn heads on their way to work, they inspire us all to try a little harder when it comes to stepping out.
Enter our jet-setting couple, Marion Tezier and Theak Chhuom (below). They’re both ‘govies’, but they certainly don’t adhere to the black-and-grey uniform so many nine-to-fivers fall prey to.
While Theak insists his style is quite simple, he has fun with pocket squares and socks. And tutoring Marion.
“I am more earthy. I am very big on materials like cashmere, silk. It has to be well cut and good material.”
— Marion
“I basically taught her how to dress.” — Theak
And last but certainly not least is our young style maven, Maiko Rodrigues (below). When we first met up with Maiko he had just finished styling his friend Erin Saoirse Adair for her new album. She’s since become a local favourite with the band Three Little Birds.
He was brimming with excitement, passion, and style. He was 20 years old, but seemed to possess unbridled spirit. We wanted to know his story — how he came to be living in Ottawa, and where he was going from here. (Turns out, he likes it just fine here!)
“My ideal in life is to be very multicultural, speak numerous languages, and be very open-minded. That’s what I like about styling: you can bring all that together and you can create fantasies.”
And maybe that’s part of the fun of the Shopping annual: creating fantasies. Sure, most of the time we don’t have time (or energy, or money) to curate perfect outfits or travel the world in search of the ultimate hand bag, but we can dream! And, as it turns out, we aren’t alone in our ambitions. These fashionable people prove that the city isn’t starved for style — in fact, it just might be stepping out at an office/concert/boutique/corner store near you.
Get the full story — complete with more photos from the closets of our style ambassadors — in the 2012/2013 edition of Shopping, available at Chapters locations, Brittons magazine stores, and other newsstands around town. Or order your copy online by clicking here.