This summer, Vancouver designer Katie Quinn is determined to make Downtown Betty a household name with her colourful signature hand–silk-screened skimboard bags.

What: Nanna body suit by Nümph

Women searching out summer-reading material will want to sniff out Chandler Burr’s The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York (Henry Holt, 2008). In it, the New York Times’s perfume critic illuminates the invisible facets of the multibillion-dollar fragrance industry, and compares the conception and execution of two perfumes, Un Jardin sur le Nil by Hermès and Sex in the City star Sarah Jessica Parker’s Lovely by Coty.

A Vancouver-based fashion designer has turned the white, plasticky weather-barrier material normally found at construction sites into her medium of choice for everything from men's costumes to wedding dresses.

What: Leather sandals

At an Obakki fashion show, attendees don’t hem or haw when it comes to the subject of men’s shorts.

The original plan was to tell you how to assemble a complete summer wardrobe for around $100. What kind of drugs was I on? The only places you can do that are thrift stores, H & M (and even there you'd whip through the budget fairly quickly), and the Real Canadian Superstore.

Designer Christie Clayton has created an easy-to-wear, beach-friendly collection that was inspired by nu-rave music, with funky silkscreens and zipper pulls featuring the Holy Ghost.

What: Rubi & Kino floral blouse

Judging by what’s hanging from retailer racks and the derrières of gamines, hottish pants and short shorts will hold sway once again on the beach and on the streets this season.

Kimberley Dawn Cathers’s vintage-fabric designs on label kdon are cool on-line sellers—and never coy.

What: Aaneta Muddy leather purse

Mario Moretti Polegato is an unlikely fashion entrepreneur. As a young man working in his family’s Italian wine business, he never expected to head a global shoe and clothing empire that sells products in 68 countries. He didn’t anticipate that his efforts to patent his products in China would be studied around the world. Or that his fame would bring invitations to speak at English-speaking universities, including Simon Fraser University’s downtown campus.

Despite all the celebrity testimonials from stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Oprah, and Jessica Alba, many people are still confused about what body shapers look like and what they can do for the average person.

What: Billabong Riley short