Betina Lou S/S'14 - The Clothes Maiden Magazine

Betina Lou’s cute clothes are Parisian to New York secretary-chic, and we simply cannot get enough. Created by Montreal designer Marie-Eve Emond, the collection is full of high waists, decorative buttons, pretty prints and Parisian chic bows resulting in classic, almost vintage-looking pieces simple enough to wear every day. Classics have been reinterpreted through staple pieces including the trench dress, the denim skirt, the double-breasted trapeze jacket and pleated pants. Since the launch of Betina Lou in 2009, the Montreal designer behind the collection, Marie-Evie Emond’s vision was to draw inspiration from uniforms and men’s wardrobe items but placing emphasis on feminine cuts and finishes.

Betina Lou’s previous collection has been channeled through into the S/S’14 collection with its recurring design of striped seer sucker shirts and dresses combined with broderie anglaise, and traditional black, navy and white shades paired with splashes of warm hazelnut, wine red and royal blue. Betina Lou’s principle behind its pieces is stylish comfort, which is the epitome recurring throughout the collection; emphasised by pieces created with combed cotton twill and silk-like Japanese fabrics, the pieces are a fusion of comfort and stylish details including ribbon and lace and decorative top stitching.

It’s easy to imagine girls scooping up these threads and pretending to live their lives in a Breakfast at Tiffany-esque way, sashaying around in a nautical inspired dress set off with sunglasses lounging on a beach with a Martini. Betina Lou’s simple, timeless, feminine wardrobe staples with easy-to-wear neutral colours and subtle patterns are easily recognized as influenced from fashion of the past. Indeed Marie lays this claim to “Golden Age movies, Mad Men, bazaars, elders with a classic style, vintage fashion magazines, especially ’60s Elle and ’70s Eaton catalogs” as inspiration.

Not only is it rare to find well-designed fashion but fashion that advocates ethical and responsible consumerism. Betina Lou’s clothing is designed, cut and assembled in Quebec and uses quality materials such as natural fibers which are renewable and biodegradable such as wool, cotton, silk and linen. Pretty and ethical, this sounds perfect to us!

The vibe for Canadian label Betina Lou‘s spring/summer 2014 collection is free-spirited, feminine and flirty making you want to ditch the woolly jumpers and slip those legs into a dress or two. Throughout the SS14 collection, the subtle mix of deep set collars and rich, dark shades in classic silhouettes and luxurious fabrics like silk, boiled wool, and viyella cotton screams timeless and effortless fashion.