Fresh from showing her Spring 2012 collection at LG Fashion Week in Toronto, Calgary-based designer Lauren Bagliore comes home to show a collection us locals can wear right now.

Bagliore’s Winter 2011 collection with her signature black and white with a hint of grey look will walk the runway at DaDe Art & Design Lab, Thursday, November 3 for a fashion show (tickets, $50). Watch for the familiar including Bagliore’s Desiree dress that can be twisted and tucked to work 15 different ways and the rare including limited edition coats numbered and signed like works of art. Italian sculptor Bernini inspired the collection, which uses draping and asymmetry for wearable looks with an edge. —Jaelyn Molyneux

At Dade, 1327 9 Ave. S.E., Calgary, 403-454-0243, www.dadeartanddesignlab.com

If you don’t know your knit from your purl or your dart from your pin tuck, Stash Needle Art Lounge can sort your crafting skills out.

The sewing and knitting space offers classes for beginner and intermediate stitchers. Or, if your skills just need a little practice amongst friends, the lounge lets you hang out in their 100-year-old warehouse space, use their equipment, and benefit from their encouraging company (starting at $6 an hour). Settle into a plush chair by the fireplace to get started on a sweater or stake out a sewing table by the window and craft your own couture. —Jaelyn Molyneux

Stash Needle Art Lounge, 1B, 1215 13 St. S.E., Calgary, 403-457-0766, www.stashlounge.com

We have reduce, reuse, recycle figured out. Upcycling is another story. Luckily it has a stylish ending.

Reworks Upcycle Shop has made the leap from online retailer to Inglewood storefront carrying all manner of well-designed products that take waste materials and turn them into something new and better. Think egg flats and shoulder bags made from factory off-cuts of felt, toys made from plastic milk containers and chairs made from traffic signs and Champagne corks.

The world is a much better place when popping a bottle of bubbly leads to new furniture. —Jaelyn Molyneux

Reworks Upcycle Shop, 1217B 9 Ave. S.E., Calgary, 403-263-4366, www.shopreworks.ca

An ode to the Inglewood boutique that is now bigger and better.

S is for space. Espy shuffled down 9th Avenue a few blocks to a space that is triple its old size.
H is for his and hers clothes.
O is for the ogling that comes with a Stop Staring dress.
P is for personal shopping with stylists coming to your home to audit your wardrobe.

E is for events like the VIP shopping party on September 23 or the Curvy Girls party on October 4.
S is for the sale room, tucked away with easy to access deals.
P is for the piles of up to 1,500 jeans kept in stock.
Y is for the youthful glow that comes from Espy’s own mineral-based vegan make-up line.

—Jaelyn Molyneux

Espy, 1009 9 Ave. S.E., Calgary, 403-457-3779, www.espyexperience.com

From the owners of Sugo and located right next door, the newest addition to the city’s impressive pizza repertoire is Without Papers Pizza.

Grab a slice of the Hogwild pie (wild boar sausage, prosciutto, braised rapini, friulano and roasted garlic white sauce, $18) or the Baby Doll (chicken, eggplant, artichokes, tomatoes and goat cheese, $18) while enjoying classic flicks (think Barbarella and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) projected on the walls.

And afterward, leave room for something sweet. The eatery serves house-made ice cream ($7) and Grizzly Paw Floats ($7), because nothing finishes off a pizza night like a Black Cherry Cola float. —MG

Without Papers Pizza, 1216 Ninth Ave. SE, Calgary, 403-457-1154, www.wopizza.ca 


Inspired by his favourite treat, the Cookie Monster creates poems about his beloved cookies.

At the new Inglewood bakery Cookie Mama, the prose turns to music with nearly two dozen types of cookies, each inspired by a classic tune.

Our favourites include Sweetest Taboo (sunflower and sesame seeds, oatmeal, wheat germ and coconut), Good Vibrations (dark chocolate and Skor chips) and the gluten-free Cocomo, a coconut macaroon with chocolate drizzle ($2.50 each). There are also egg-, dairy- and butter-free cookie options and cupcakes such as the Rocket Man (cookies and cream with chocolate oreo butter cream icing, $3 each).

“On-nom-nom-nom.”

Cookie Mama, 1420 Ninth Ave. SE, Calgary, 403-266-5431, www.cookiemamacalgary.com

Before serving the meal at your next dinner party, ask your guests to take a number.

A numbered seat, that is.

Designed by Dade Art and Design Lab, the sleek elm chairs are numbered 1 through 10 and are available as a set ($3,000) or individually ($380). Great conversation starters, they can also offer amusement if the dinner conversation is a little dry—switch numbers everyone!

And if handsome guest number 2 pulls out your chair and pours the wine, it could be your lucky number. 

Dade Art and Design Lab, 1327 Ninth Ave. SE, Calgary, 403-454-0243, www.dadeartanddesignlab.com

Yes we reduce, reuse and recycle—but sometimes loading up can be green, too.

Riva’s Eco Store new Inglewood space has fabulous collections, like adorable pillows by K Studio and mini speakers by OrigAudio ($19.99). And we’ve already stocked up on water-based nail polish by Acquarelle ($18, pictured) and pretty tops by Stewart and Brown.

Too much of a green thing? Never.

Riva’s Eco Store, 1237 Ninth Ave. SE, Calgary, 403-452-1001, www.rivasecostore.com

Attention fashion army! The spring runways are flooded with military-inspired looks: Balmain, Chloé and Rag & Bone (pictured).

But if you want to hunt for authentic pieces, head to Inglewood’s Crown Surplus. The third-generation family business stocks new and old military surplus and has a wide selection of classic pea coats, traditional army jackets and striped tops for the added nautical flair.

Packed to the rafters with other military garb and war paraphernalia, the shop is a tad overwhelming, but sift through the racks and you’ll come out with pieces that are true to the trend.

At ease.

Crown Surplus, 1005 11th St. SE, Calgary, 403-265-1754, www.armysurplus.com

Dynamic duos: Peanut butter and jelly, Bonnie and Clyde, bread and butter, Dolce and Gabbana, and now, home furnishings and art.

Ellipses Design has just shacked up with DaDe Art and Design Lab in one large space to offer a must-stop shop for all your home décor desires.

For art, large abstract canvases by artists such as Danielle Bartlette and Darcy Lundgren are on the roster and new addition Bee Kingdom’s colourful glass designs.

Home furnishings include large leather adjustable sofas by Bullfrog, one-of-a-kind tables from reclaimed wood and stunning stainless steel pieces from Beijing. 

Some couples were just meant to be.

DaDe Art and Design Lab, 1327 Ninth Ave. SE, Calgary, 403-454-0243, www.dadegallery.com