Jason

Lauralee

Lauralee: My style is nouveaux vintage. I like old school glam with a Blade Runner thing going. Kind of like retro but future. Rachel's (Sean Young) look inspires me. Her style is fierce with all the black. I love her hair and the way she puts herself together.

TorontoVerve: What's the best advice you've received in life?

Lauralee: I read this online: "You're always one decision away from changing your whole life." Every decision gets you closer to where you need to be in life. I made some decisions recently that were life changing and I'm happy.

Follow Lauralee on Instagram.

TIFF Talk 2016: Pauline, "The Bad Batch"

Name: Pauline from Toronto

The Film: The Bad Batch (USA)

What's it about?

It's a post-apocalyptic movie about criminals (aka Bad Batch) trying to survive a group of cannibals in the desert.

Did you like it?

I loved it. I sat right at the front so I couldn't escape the mayhem. The director, Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), introduces us to this gruesome cannibalistic world; which is so raw and jarring. It was so disturbing to watch the girl (Suki Waterhouse) get her arm and leg sawed off to be eaten.

The film got a positive response from the TIFF crowd so I think audiences will generally like it, but it's not for everybody. All I can say is if you go see it, have an open mind.

Follow Pauline on Instagram.

Clip from The Bad Batch

Beverley

Beverley: My style is 1950's chic. The thing I love about the 50's is the silhouettes were very modest yet sexy. Audrey Hepburn did a movie called Funny Face and it's all about the fashion world. It takes place in Paris and going to Paris is one of my dreams. You see a lot of the beautiful silhouettes in that film. Women back then used to wear gloves a lot as well -- you would never see their bare hands; which I think is very delicate and sweet.

TorontoVerve: What's the best advice you've received in life?

Beverley: Love your neighbour as you love yourself. Working in the retail world, you never know what a person's situation is when they walk into your store, but as long as you're loving to that individual, they'll end up walking out with a smile. And that's what I want. I want them to have a great experience talking to Beverley.

Cat

"I wanted to wear the least amount of clothing today and this dress was the smallest thing I could find. I make clothes for a bunch of fashion designers so I get inspiration from them."

Check out Cat's website, Pigeons and Thread, to see some of the cool contemporary street wear that she and her partner, Kelly, makes for clients. Follow Pigeons and Thread on Instagram.

Emily

Emily: My style is a moon-child, hippie sixties-type of thing. Sometimes I'll be wearing a lot of black and other times I'll be wearing super colourful pieces. Strong feminine personas like Janis Joplin and Winona Ryder inspire me. They really kill it with their style.

TorontoVerve: What's the best advice you've received and from whom?

Emily: A friend told me to not keep things bottled up. Talk to as many people as you can. I was kind of like in a weird place with school and everything -- trying to figure myself out. Talking to a friend really helped me.

Follow Emily on Instagram.


TorontoVerve made #8 on Street Style News' Daily Most Popular Chart!

Alina

Follow Alina on Instagram.

Katrina

TorontoVerve made #2 on the Street Style News Most Popular list! 

Ren

"On the very last day of school, my ninth grade teacher told me, 'Never stop being exactly who you are.'  She said that not really in any context. I was kind of an odd duck in school. She was always special to me."

Follow Ren on Instagram.

Alex

"I love shopping vintage. 60's fashion inspires me."

Follow Alex on Instagram.

Chelsea

Chelsea: "My style is minimal and androgynous. Artist Vashtie inspires me because she likes to mix menswear with women's wear."

TorontoVerve: "What is the best advice you've ever received"

Chelsea: "Just be myself and don't care about what anybody thinks."

Follow Chelsea on Instagram and Tumblr.

Aaron

Aaron: "In one word, my style is 'Sartorial' - I love sport jackets and suits. Tom Ford inspires me. You can see a different character in each one of his campaigns."

TorontoVerve: "What has surprised you the most about yourself this year?"

Aaron: "How long I can stay on a patio. I'm literally spending a whole day there just soaking in the sun."

Follow Aaron on Instagram.

Kim

"The best advice I've ever received is fake it till you make it. I actually heard that from a random old dude in a bar. He told me, 'I don't know what I'm doing. I look like I know what I'm doing, but I really don't.' So that's what I do. It's basically lying, but in a nice way."

Maddi

Maddi: "I would describe my style as casual Wiccan. It's kinda whatever I can throw together and still keep that dark and light aesthetic."

TorontoVerve: "What's the one thing that surprised you the most about yourself this year so far?"

Maddi: "I think how daring I can go with my style. I recently shaved all my hair off."

TorontoVerve: "What inspired you to shave all your hair off?"

Maddi: "Rebellion, I guess. I wanted to break the stereotype that pretty girls should have long hair."

Follow Maddi on Instagram at @MemoirsOfAQuietSoul.

Zai

"Trendsetting is very important to me, so that was part of my mindset when I got dressed up today. I was always afraid to take my style outside of the box. So when I put my clothing together I felt pink was a nice risky colour. Then I saw the bow-tie, which I had for a year, but never worn because I wasn't comfortable with it. I bought it because I thought I needed to own it. I still have fears when dressing and tackling my comfort zone, but I'm always up for the challenge. I didn't grow up with much money. I grew up in foster care, which was an amazing experience and benefitted my character because I was able to experience so many different cultures in every regard: music, food and fashion. My upbringing has helped mesh it all together."

TorontoVerve recently featured Zai's dapper street style at the Brickworks.

TorontoVerve made #8 on Street Style News Daily Most Popular: http://www.streetstylenews.com/most-popular-august-31-2014/

Zai

Zai: "My style is an infusion of my thoughts. I like to switch it up. I like to buy little bits of everything and put them together. Like right now I'm wearing Ted Baker, RW and Co., American Eagle and Kenneth Cole. My glasses are from Rapp Optical."

Zai is the Creative Director for the Toronto-based video production company Behind the Seen. "We film and photograph [events] and package the footage together so you can use it for promotional material to show potential clients."

Follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Anna

Hannah

Hannah: "I like many different looks. Could be really casual one day and very dressy another day. Whatever the mood is of the day. I have a lot of clothes and I love putting them together in interesting ways. I'm very passionate about fashion. Coco Chanel is my original inspiration. It's just classic -- it's timeless and beautiful."

TorontoVerve: "Who's your biggest role model in life?"

Hannah: "My mother. She's no longer alive. She died about a year and a half ago, but she's the most wonderful person in the world. She was very gracious and thought the best of people. She always encouraged me in anything that I was interested in doing."

Lemo

"I love colourful patterns and prints. Singer Solange Knowles inspires me because she uses a lot of African prints and mixes and matches a lot of colourful stuff."

Lemo's street style previously appeared on TorontoVerve 2 years ago.

Victoria

Victoria: "I'm not quite certain what my style is. It's not a distinctive look. It's whatever I throw on each day. However I feel. My parents influence my fashion. The old Saigon era. It's kinda French Vietnamese."

TorontoVerve: "What's your favourite memory in life?"

Victoria: "Meeting my partner. It was love at first sight."