EDITOR DANIEL PALMER THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 15 2012 5 Spring 2012: How to wear it with style Local bloggers recommend bold pastels,collar-length necklaces and metallic materials Commerce student Harris Allen (above) wears a mix of leather and canvas. Yanping Zhou (right), a transfer student, models a mix of pastels and prints. Photos by ASHLEY VIENS By ASHLEY VIENS r spring 2012 fashion, bolder and brighter is definitely better. This season’s trends take a laissez faire approach to mixing prints and colours without regard for matching. Colour palettes are all about the hue, richly saturated in bold shades of or- ange and magenta and in vibrant tones of tangerine and turquoise. Kelsey Dundon is writer and photog- rapher for The Anthology, a blog dedi- cated to style, fashion and life in Van- couver. “Shoes are really great this season, we're seeing lots of colours on one shoe which, when added to an existing out- fit, can add pops of colour,” she said. “The Marni line from H&M is also wonderful, lots of resin-looking acces- sories and statement, collar-length necklaces.” Geometry is also a dominant theme: colour blocking is back from the 80s, with earth tones and vivid intersecting colours. “A hat is a statement itself, it can to- tally transform an outfit, and I hope to see it come back in fashion this sea- son,” Dundon added. Dundon notes tangerine — one of Pantone’s colours for spring 2012 — is popular right now, especially in sum- mer dresses. Futuristic materials are also popu- lar, ranging from pixel-like prints to metallic materials and accents. And unlike in other years, spring fashion doesn’t have a nautical influ- ence. Instead, stripes have taken on brighter colours, lending an athletic feel to a wardrobe. Langara students are still dressing for the cool spring weather that has plagued the city so far in March. It hasn’t stopped some from spread- ing sunshine with their wardrobes. “Fashion has really gone to work wear,” said commerce student Harris Allan. “A lot of mixing of different fab- rics, too, like leather and canvas.” Allan said he takes inspiration from celebrities and various style blogs such as Hypebeast and The Sartorialist. Criminology student Mart Sangi said she doesn’t really have a style icon but likes her outfit to be comfortable. “I just wear whatever, depends on the day,” she said. Trends and colours may be seasonal, but remember: good style is timeless. TI Vitamindaily.com Demicouture.ca Stylequotient.ca Littlefashionisto. com Herwaisechoice. com Source: Vancouver Magazine Victory for local urban gardens A local business hopes to turn unused outdoor space into personal vegetable gardens By CLAYTON PATERSON Inree Vancouver friends have Tienes an urban farming project to help homeowners turn their lawns into vegetable gardens. Victory Gardens, created by Lisa Gi- roday, Sam Philips and Sandra Lopuch, offers to educate residential and com- mercial property owners on utilizing unused space for food production. “Very simply, we help people grow food,” said Giroday. “That involves a number of different services that allow for that to happen.” In addition to developing the infra- structure to help people grow their own food, Victory Gardens provides mentoring and educational resources for anyone interested in learning about urban farming. “(Urban farming] promotes sustain- ability, local growth and community,” Philips said. The trio is also hoping to form alli- ances with various restaurants and farmers’ markets in Vancouver to help promote local food production and con- sumption. “Food production within a commu- nity centre is synonymous with ancient culture from over 1000 years ago. We can go back to our roots, it’s almost a necessity,” Giroday said. CLAYTON PATERSON photo Lisa Giroday (left) and Sam Philips display the start of an urban garden. The term “victory gardens” is de- rived from government campaigns im- plemented during the First and Second World Wars to reduce pressure on pub- lic food supply by maximizing commu- nity space. The campaigns were also designed to serve as symbols of camaraderie and support to unify civilians in what Phil- ips refers to as a passive war effort. “The fight is very different now,” said Giroday. “We believe there’s a lot to be done in the way of rethinking how we consume and how we think food should be utilized.” Giroday said the Victory Gardens team has already been contacted to look into converting rooftops into gar- den space in some areas of the city. “T think that it’s always more cost ef- fective to grow your own food,” said Giroday. “The cost can be heavy at first to create the infrastructure, but the benefits are almost immediate.” Get clean for spring A tidy place to work can make studying for finals easier and save time overall By CARISSA THORPE tion and get organized — just in time for finals. A clear work space will help you think and save you from distractions. You'll also save time if you know where to find everything you need rather than searching feverishly for those notes from the second day of classes before your final exam. “The average businessperson wastes 150 hours each year looking for stuff. Add 10 more hours and that is an entire work month,” writes Liz Davenport in Order From Chaos. In their student loan and debt repay- ment workshops, financial aid advises keeping all of your important papers organized, such as tax documents, banking statements, and student loan correspondence, so be sure to find an easily-accessible place for all of those. It’s been said before, but it still rings true —-if you have a place for everything and keep everything in its place, keep- ing organized is a much easier task. So even if time and money are tight, tidying up can help relieve some of the stress the end of the semester brings, and help save you time and money by staying organized. [:: time once again to spring into ac- EXAM study tips MM Clear your study space of unneces- sary items HE Recycle old notes you are sure you are never going to use again ME Get creative with organizing files by using shoe boxes or old ceral boxes Muse a bulletin board to post reminders of due dates and exams HE Look on Craigslist to see if you can find a free or cheap filing cabinet HE keep all important documents, includ- ing tax, banking and student loans, in one place