If there’s one downside to the digital world, it is a serious lack of decent stationery. Try finding a good looking notebook that won’t break the bank (Smythson) but won’t leave you embarrassed during a meeting (anything from an office supply store).

That’s why we are excited about the recent opening of the Ordning & Reda shop in shop at The Bay. The Swedish stationer sells colourful notebooks, chic magazine holders, and simple diaries that get us in the mood to put pen to paper. Think Moleskin quality combined with Ikea simplicity and colour. If only you could buy a hot dog on the way out. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

Ordning & Reda, notebooks range from $20-$40, The Bay Queen Street, 176 Yonge St., Toronto, www.hbc.com

Sensible shoes are for sissies. Wild cats choose footwear with attitude. From zebra-skin booties to leopard-print pumps, anything in animal print makes the cut this fall.

Cruella would be all over these sexy dalmation-print booties (fifth pair, clockwise) from Joe Fresh. $79 at select Joe Fresh stores across the GTA

No two zebras have the same pattern of stripes. Stand out in a crowd with these pretty zebra ballerinas ($70) from Aldo. At Aldo stores across the GTA, www.aldoshoes.com

Another bootie, but this time with a wedge. From J.Crew’s MacAlister ($450), this boot was definitely made for walking. www.jcrew.com

Charlotte Olympia is the catwalk queen of vertiginously high shoes in feline prints ($1,128). Shrinking violets need not apply. Available at The Room at The Bay and Davids Footwear. 

—Athena Tsavliris

Where else but The Bay can you find kettles and Katrantzou under one roof? From fur traders and settlers to the sartorial playground that it is today (have you not been to The Room yet?) our venerable department store has come a long way, baby.

In this fabulous book ($65), The Hudson Bay Company teams up with Assouline to share stories dating back to its founding in 1670. Bonnie Brooks (CEO & President) initiated the book while Vanity Fair’s Graydon Carter wrote the foreword.

With its striped cover, this iconic tome is a major nod to tradition, heritage and Canadian cool. —Athena Tsavliris

www.assouline.com

Imagine a pair of shaping tights that conceals our lumps and bumps while burning calories as we walk. Sounds like a hosiery hoax, wouldn’t you say?

Never ones to pass up a chance at losing weight the lazy way, we gave ShaToBu a go. Developed by Canadian chiropractor Denise Perron, the tights feature seamless resistance bands woven into the waist to thigh portion that provide a light workout as you go about your daily activities.

In the land of shape wear, ShaToBu is a lot more comfortable than some of the products out there and it’s definitely figure flattering.

As to whether we shed any calories, the cupcakes scoffed en route home might have sabotaged our chances. —AT

At The Bay across the GTA.

Your thighs love a tough gym session, but how to stop the girls from bouncing?

Buoy your bosom with a sports bra sturdy enough for the largest of cups. The Shock Absorber ($69) is the number one choice among personal trainers, providing the ultimate in support and comfort.

With straps that are wide, padded and extendable and fabric that is super breathable, this innovative brassiere is a breakthrough in design.

Jane Fonda would approve. —AT

Available at The Bay, www.hbc.com

Charlotte Olympia Dellal adores leopard print. She loves it so much that she wore leopard print shoes with a Giambattista Valli gown for her wedding this summer.

This cutting-edge cobbler designs shoes that stop traffic. If they’re not leopard print, they’re sparkly or stripey or made from some exotic skin. And they are always vertiginously high. A gold spider web adorns the sole of every shoe.

A globetrotting It Girl, Dellal studied at the Royal College of Fashion and Cordwainers in London and is a regular fixture in the society pages. Her sister, Alice, is a model and rock singer and her brother, Alex, is dating Charlotte Casiraghi, the granddaughter of Grace Kelly.

Shrinking violets need not apply.

At The Room at the Bay, 176 Yonge St., Toronto, 416-861-9111, www.thebay.com

It doesn’t matter whether it’s imitation, real or printed, this season’s coat is incomplete without a flash of fur trim.

The cuffs on Sunny Fong’s coat make it opulent enough for a Russian oligarch's mistress. $2,395 at the Room at the Bay, 176 Yonge St., Toronto, 416-861-9111, www.thebay.com

Chic and modern, we love the full fur collar on this Pink Tartan design. At Holt Renfrew, www.holtrenfrew.com

We predict a catfight when your gal pals see you in this faux leopard number from Joe Fresh. $89.99 at Loblaw stores across the GTA.

A cinched waist and oversized fur collar accent this gorgeous chocolate brown coat. $850 at www.mackage.com

As much as we love our summer staples – shorts, espadrilles and a tattered Panama – our fall fashion radar is most certainly on.

With her artful prints and feminine details, it’s hard to resist Calla Haynes’ collection for fall. An Olivier Theyskens graduate, (she worked with the Belgian designer at Rochas and then Nina Ricci), Toronto-born Haynes received her first major accolades at Paris Fashion Week.

This next collection is darker and edgier than her spring debut, but a smattering of thigh high hemlines, flirty ruffles and sheer fabrics keep things ultra-feminine and alluring.

We’ll trade in summer shorts for printed silk pants any day. 

Calla is available at The Room, The Bay, 176 Yonge St., Toronto, 416-861-9111, www.thebay.com

After appearing on tennis courts in 1933, the green crocodile has been sported on the courts, off the courts, and everywhere in between.

Now the company behind the classic tennis tee has brought that laidback feel of sportswear to the bedroom with the Lacoste Home Collection. Choose from a handful of different sets, each one inspired by the bright colours and modern styles of Lacoste’s ready-to-wear collections. The duvet sets start at $200 for twin ($250 for queen) and can be paired with solid twill sheets (from $70) and a croco-knit throw ($110). Finish off the bedroom with a classic crocodile print cushion (from $70).

Love all, indeed.


Lacoste Home Collection at The Bay.