Tired of merely drooling over Fashion Week frocks, we combed the blogosphere for some designer duds we could duplicate. Grab a sewing kit, some dye and DIY:

• Replicate Doo.Ri’s bedazzled tights with guidance from Shini Park of Park & Cube.

• Commissioned by Who What Wear, Erica Domesek shows you how to recreate the tie-dyed looks of Proenza Schouler.

• As writer and Vitamin Daily ambassador Sarah Nicole Prickett discovers, it just takes a pair of scissors to turn a $59.99 Joe Fresh trench coat into a Celine dress.

Have your own designer DIY idea? Post it on our Forum.

A modern day Holly Golighty looking for fame-worthy frocks would shop where the walls are painted Tiffany Blue.

That shop is the brand new Holly. Stocked with lines beloved by stars (La Rok, Rachel Pally, Jay Godfrey) and made by stars (Nicole Richie’s House of Harlow, Erin Wasson’s Low Luv), thumbing through the boutique’s racks is like flipping through the style section of US Weekly. What would we get snapped in? Kain grey pocket tee ($98), Genetic Denim black lace cigarette jean ($290) and Charlie My Love blue tie-dye sandals ($280).

Someone tell TMZ style has flown North for the spring.

Holly, 215-332 Water St., Vancouver, 604-681-8883, www.shopholly.ca

It took one dress—a white chiffon gown worn by Michelle Obama at the presidential inauguration—to catapult former Vancouverite Jason Wu’s fashion career.

The same could be so for another Taiwan-born local, Joanna Hu. The challenge to Kwantlen's fashion design students was to design a dress that Lara Osen, owner of Misch, might buy for her boutique. The resulting silk charmeuse dress in military green so impressed Osen that she’s selling that very dress alongside Alexander Wang and Phillip Lim for spring.

Now that’s the power of one.

$595 at Misch, 2960 Granville St., Vancouver, 604-731-1017, www.misch.ca

With all the military-inspired fashion this season, it’s tempting to join the troops.

This tailored, studded flak jacket by Roxy gets wins for both a flattering fit and a perfect price point ($69). Four boxes of them just arrived at the store.

Soldier on!

At Quicksilver, 820 Granville St., Vancouver, 604-688-9030, www.quiksilver.com

When the James Perse pop-up shop, well, popped up on South Granville, we knew we'd find a minimalist space and well-edited collection of our "weekend uniform."

But alongside classic cotton basics are limited-edition pieces exclusive to Vancouver, like the men's grey long sleeve "Vancouver Twenty Ten" crew neck  ($69) and the women's sweatshirt with the Canadian flag ($125).

It's patriotism, Perse-style.

James Perse, 2717 South Granville St., Vancouver, www.jamesperse.com

His Valentine’s Day fantasy may be French Maid, but we prefer something with French lace that we can wear past February 14.

And what could be more perfect than a bra and brief in blush tones from Agent Provocateur. In addition to appeasing your significant other, the softly sexy Gypsy set satisfies two spring trends—skin tone shades and letting your lingerie take centre stage.

For everyday wear, let just a bit of the bra peek out from the top of a jacket or dress as seen on the Akris runway. And on Sunday, let the set speak for itself and don’t be surprised if he offers to dust the living room en Français.

Bra ($235) and brief ($175) at Agent Provocateur, 1020 Alberni St., Vancouver, 604-688-2712, www.agentprovocateur.com

So you’re not quite as swift with the Singer as your mom once was.

Thank goodness there’s another mother who’ll whip up a gorgeous handmade dress for your budding fashionista. With au courant details like 1920s drop waists and Liberty of London fabrics, the modern frocks by Vancouver line Mette will have her standing apart from the crowd.

And not because she’s wearing a bright orange polyester shift—that was you at age 4.

Dresses from $40, www.mette.ca

Nothing is quite as iconically Canadian as the Hudson’s Bay Company (it predates the Confederation by two centuries, after all) and now they’ve expanded into hip new territory with their first Hudson’s Bay Company store, here in Vancouver.

Stationed on the main floor of its downtown flagship, the special shop-in-shop has the look of a sleek, modern cottage. On weighty wooden tables designed by Toronto artist Dennis Lin, you’ll find trendy takes on the brand’s iconic multi-stripe, including a cashmere cardigan from Pink Tartan ($195) and organic, vintage-washed tees by Shared ($30-$40). Harricana handbags and hats made from recycled fur and Virginia Johnson elk scarves also caught our sartorial eye.

Or channel the voyageurs by ordering one of the Hudson’s Bay Company canoes (from $6,500) on display.

The Bay Downtown, 674 Granville St., Vancouver, 604-681-6211, www.hbc.com

Our fashion resolution is to embolden our closet of basics with uncommon accoutrements and we’ve found the funkiest little web shop to get us started.

It’s called Bona Drag, after a Polari phrase popularized by Morrissey that means “nice outfit,” and it’s stocked with cool curios. We gravitated towards goods like printed wool cloaks by Lindsay Thornburg ($900), patterned knit stirrups by Mara Hoffman ($110) and unconventional chain jewellery by Bliss Lau (from $158).

There’s also an adorable pair of studded Capezio ballet slippers ($48, pictured) on the site that’s begging to be a DIY project.

www.bonadrag.com

It’s time to trade auld for new and exchange carols for Carrall Street.

That’s where you’ll find new boutique, Lynn Steven. What once housed a rowdy saloon where Joe Fortes served drinks some hundred years prior is now a house of style. Owner Nicole Dennis Durnin has stocked her shop with brilliant embellished basics, like white tees covered in studs (Monrow, $105) and little navy dresses adorned with zippers (Isabel Lu, $160).

There’s also cozy knitwear by local line Granted, gemstone jewellery by celeb-favourite Pade Vavra and, come spring, luxe tops by Toronto designer Erin Kleinberg.

But it’s not just the new product that’s worth stopping in for. In the centre of the store, a circular wall made of 5,600 old books conceals the change room—that’s what you call chic lit.

Lynn Steven, 225 Carrall St., Vancouver, 604-899-0808, www.lynnsteven.com