We’re big on buying our beaus gifts we can borrow.

These handsome Daniel Wellington watches, par exemple, look equally chic on our dainty wrists as they do on our companion’s.

With their preppy grosgrain straps in various colours they are pure collegiate cool. If you want to get in on the oversized trend for women, the face is large, but ultra fine and framed in a subtle rose gold.

Who we kidding? The only stockings these are going in are our own. —Athena Tsavliris

At A2Zane, 753 Queen St. W., Toronto, 416-803-7754, www.a2zane.com

Fancy a beauty ritual with great returns on little output?

It’s no wonder beauty editors are raving about the Binchotan facial puff ($19). Who knew flushed cheeks and a barefaced glow could be this simple? The sponge is made with konjac vegetable and charcoal powder which both have innate detoxifying and exfoliating properties. Use daily for skin that’s clean, bright and smooth.

It only lasts a couple of months before you’ll need to chuck it, so take our word for it, and buy a few. —Athena Tsavliris

At Jacob and Sebastian, 622 Queen St. W., Toronto, 647-345-0478, www.jacobandsebastian.com 

Not since the Japanese avant-garde invasion of the '80s has a fashion brand been so embraced by the art world as Rodarte, the demi-couture label by twisted sisters Laura and Kate Mulleavy. In a brand-new book, photographers Catherine Opie and Alec Soth show you why.

Transgendered models in patchworked chiffon. Zooming shots of shredded shoulders over tattooed skin. Blurred desert vistas. Two intertwined series of photos map the mystical, insular, and not-quite-habitable planet that is Rodarte.

Coffee-table book? Hardly. This one's so dreamy, you'll want to keep it under your pillow at night. —Sarah Nicole Prickett

$95 at Magic Pony, 680 Queen St. W., 416-861-1684, www.magicpony.com or www.amazon.ca

Fancy going from from pixie to Pocahontas in a day?  

At Toronto’s Doll Bar, a hair extension-only salon, owner Melissa McKenzie will give you the long, luscious mane (from $398) you’ve always dreamed of. A full head of So.Cap hair extensions take less than two hours to apply.

But if you’ve got the locks, why not think about getting feathered ($15 each) instead? McKenzie can add rooster plumes (in any colour of the rainbow) to your tresses for a bohemian inspired look. Wear with a Navajo print blouse and you really will be channeling the Native American princess. —Athena Tsavliris

Doll Bar, 1099 Queen St. W., Toronto, 416-792-4455, http://dollbarinc.com

There’s only one cocktail I drink and that’s champagne and fresh raspberry juice. It reminds me of a great night at The Newton Bar in Berlin.

I’ve since added a little fresh mint and limejuice to the mix, and I prefer to sip from a champagne coupe. They’re chicer and more fun than flutes. Queen West’s new cocktail emporium, BYOB has some great '60s and '70s picks (from $12 a glass).

It’s such a lovely summer cocktail. Served with great friends and German electro-punk, I’m back in Berlin. —Athena Tsavliris

BYOB, 972 Queen Street W., Toronto, 1-877-989-8980.

Some girls want diamonds. Some girls want thorns.

Jewellery inspired by the iconography of rock, roll and religion: that's Speech. Designer and self-taught silversmith Michael Mercanti takes impressions of rose-thorns, tree bark, bones and more. Then he makes them hardcore pretty. An acid coral double ring is $200; a branch cross is $150; a delicate, dangerous crown of thorns is $500.

It's the right stuff to toughen up vintage slips and lace, all summer long. —SNP

At Carte Blanche, 758 Queen St. W., Toronto, 416-532-0347, http://ssspeech.com

We love a satchel that isn't just trying to be the Proenza Schouler PS1.

So many “it” bags are only pale imitations of Proenza Schouler's number one hit. Not so the Cambridge Satchel: bold, bright, and recognizable in its own right. Each 13” or 15” satchel is handmade in the UK from crisp, sturdy leather in one of a zillion crayon-box colours. At the bag shop A to Zane, you can score one in sun-yellow, rose-red, purple, or—booooring—black. If you  have neon sympathies, scoop a limited-edition fluoro style in green or orange, as seen at Dover Street Market.

Who needs a logo when you've got the stamp of cool?

From $169 at A to Zane, 1040 Queen St. W., Toronto, 416-803-7754, a2zane.com

Summertime, and the ridin's easy... and it gets easier still with Bowery Lane Bicycles, the made-in-NYC, seen-on-the-Sartorialist, mode of transport.

With Dutch styling and American steel, the Bowery Lane Bicycle is a testament to old-school craftsmanship. Favourite style “The Breukelen,” in sheeny black, has the look of a vintage cruiser without its tricksy, rickety feel. Of course it costs more too, but with extras like sustainable cork handles and a signature wooden crate (holds your handbag or two six-packs), the price tag makes sense. Our city's bickering over bike lanes, but on a ride this fine, who needs 'em? Cars will move for you. —SNP

$595 at the Drake General Store, 1144 Queen St. W., Toronto, 416-531-5041 x. 101, drakegeneralstore.myshopify.com; www.bowerylanebicycles.com

Think horizontal stripes are for preppies? Think back: they have a secret, rebellious history, from prisoners to punk rock stars.

Tania Martins gets both sides of the stripe. Co-owner of Carte Blanche and designer of its it-girlish in-house label Pink Cobra, she's half tender, half tough. Her spring line-up has rompers and crop tops in ice-creamy shades, the sweetness cut with leather and bared shoulders. Martins has also reworked classic, skinny, black-and-white stripes in two styles, one a crop top ($169), the other a dress ($195). Prep or rebel? Could go either way. But don't wait—Pink Cobra's striped numbers have sold out once this season, and they'll sell out again. —SNP

Carte Blanche, 758 Queen St. W., Toronto, 416-532-0347, www.shopcarteblanche.ca

Welcome the new light with Karen Walker sunnies, made for a bright and not-so-distant future.

It's really spring, right? This isn't just another one of nature's gotchas? Okay, cool, because we want new shades to wear in the newly great outdoors. Our pick: Karen Walker's “Peg” ($180) in the exact colour of orange sorbet. The Kiwi brand is a perennial stylist's fave, and we see why. Frames are distinctively shaped, but meld coolly to all manner of personal styles, from retro to futuristic.

This spring is about colour: blocked, clashed, in all ways bold. Said sunnies would go brilliantly with mint green, navy and basic denim blues. Or wear with a plain-and-easy outfit, just to make your eyes pop. —SNP

Karen Walkers sunglasses at Chasse Gardee, 1084 Queen St. W., Toronto, 416-901-9613, www.chassegardee.com