Traveling for The Fash Pack has allowed me to stay in a lot of hotels but very rarely do I feel as at ease and at home as I did at Hotel le Germain on my recent visit to Toronto. The hotel, located on Mercer street in downtown Toronto, is only one of the hotels in the popular Le Germain group portfolio but manages to retain a casual and personable atmosphere, which if often hard to come by with successful, luxury chains.

The lobby is cosy and boasts a massive glass fireplace, behind which sits a library, which forms the main public area, where people can either tuck into one of the 200 coffee table books on offer or sink into one of the sofas with a book or laptop while enjoying the fruits of the complimentary self-service coffee machine. Much of my time was spent there between meetings and appointments, taking advantage of the great WIFI before rushing back out again.

Near the lobby too sits Chez Victor, the hotel’s much loved in-house restaurant and bar. The menu taps into the multicultural nature of the city, offering staple dishes from the various communities like Little Italy and Chinatown, as was by far one of my favourite culinary experiences of the week. The night I dined there, the bar was just as full as the restaurant with a great mix of professionals and artsy folk.

Located in the heart of the city’s entertainment district, Hotel le Germain is a popular choice for the artsy scene and guests wanting easy access to what downtown Toronto has to offer. The hotel is ideally located for all of the major shopping areas and great spots like the Distillery District and the iconic CN tower are all within walking distance.

My suite had everything I could have asked for: moody lighting, dark wooden, homely interiors and a cosy and stylish work area too. The bed was easily one of the most comfortable ones I’ve ever slept on and the vast wardrobe space was ideal for housing my endless outfit options for the week. The only things I would have changed was the lack of a bath and my view, which wasn’t really a view at all, as my window looked out onto a big construction site.

For more information on the hotel visit http://www.germaintoronto.com/en/home

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I’ve always envied the ability of French women to travel light or without a bag altogether. There’s something inherently liberating about not being free of the gadgets and gizmos that now dictate our lives. Sadly though, it’s a skill I’m yet to master. Leaving the house on most days often involves carefully packing my bag in a way that enables me to carry my i-Pad, phone, notepad, a magazine or change of shoes – the list goes on. It’s something that’s a work in progress.

But if there was ever a time to swap the tote for something a lot smaller, summer is the time to do it. As we all strip away the layers, we seem to be more receptive to the idea of stripping away the load too so, with summer hopefully around the corner, now is the best time to think about going small.

If, like me, an oversized clutch is the first thing that springs to mind when you think of a smaller bag, think again. While they look great, they’re not the most practical things to wear during the daytime so instead, take style ques from stars like Solange Knowles and give the cross body a try. During the daytime the strap is practical and lets you run around without thinking about it and for evening, simply tuck the strap in or remove it to turn it into a clutch for a more dressed-up look.

There’s so many good styles available to meet all price points right now. The one I’m wearing here is from Coach, who are arguably one of the best brands out there for accessibly priced cross body bags. But if you’re after an investment purchase, Saint Laurent’s offering is the one to beat. The styles are classic and come in black and white and are timeless enough to justify the big expense. In the middle price bracket is Sophie Hulme. After the success of her much loved tote bags, the designer is now offering great cross body styles at similar accessible price points in the £265 price mark. The colour options are great and range from more bold green and blue styles to muted options in black and navy blue. But if you don’t want to make a big commitment, don’t worry because Topshop and H&M have some great styles that tap into the spirit of the designer options but at a fraction of the price. H&M, in particular, have a small satchel style that comes in neon pink, yellow and white that is perfect.

SHOP THE EDIT:

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Today, you’ll be hard pressed to find a model that doesn’t have multiple business projects outside of their respective modelling careers. Kate Moss and Gisele Bundchen are probably the biggest examples but in the past month alone, we’ve seen some of the industry’s biggest starts like Karlie Kloss branch out.

Miranda Kerr is a model whose been looking outside of the business for a while and in 2009 set up a natural beauty line, KORA Organics, in her native Australia. The line taps into her “passion for living a healthy, organic, lifestyle” and includes everything from cleansers and toners to blemish gels and hand creams.

Since the launch, the label had only been available in Australia but Net-A-Porter has just snapped up a few key pieces from the range, which are now on sale in the new beauty limb of the site. As you would expect, Kerr fronts all of the campaigns and brand imagery and if her skin doesn’t convince you to invest, I’m not sure what will.

SHOP THE RANGE:

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Givenchy recently unveiled Amanda Seyfried as the surprise replacement for Liv Tyler as the face its Irresistible fragrance. Rooney Mara would have been the natural choice but has just been snapped up by Calvin Klein.

The actress has been brought on to front the print and TV ads for the label’s new scent, Downtown, which is set to drop in July.

“We’ve put together a super-aspirational scent. Globally, consumers see downtown as a place they want to be. They identify it with youthfulness, edginess and cool, explains Catherine Walsh from Coty Prestige. “Calvin’s always been a leader, not a follower… he was the first to put his name on underwear, the first to do a fragrance master brand. When we looked at all of his scents, we realised that they shared one trait: they are authentic and personal. And then we strategised how to put that in this bottle.”

Considering what they’re aiming for, Zoe Kravitz would have been a better choice. The young actress oozes Downtown cool and youthfulness and, aside from the T by Alexander Wang campaign, hasn’t really been utilised by a leading brand so would have been a good way to go.

What will be interesting with Mara, though, is to see whether the pairing will results in us seeing her wearing a lot less Givenchy on the red carpet. Considering that the fragrance is such a big launch, I have a feeling it will.

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When I heard Jennifer Lawrence would be in Cannes this week I was hoping that I’d been proved wrong and finally convinced that her pairing with Dior makes sense but sadly, the black and dress she wore yesterday, though beautiful, just didn’t work for her.

Jessica Biel, on the other hand, looked perfect sporting a dress from the new Christian Dior cruise collection at the cruise show in Monaco this weekend. I’m not sure whether it’s because the brand feels more age appropriate for Biel than it does for Lawrence but there’s no denying that she absolutely nailed it. Everything from the simple accessories to her pink lips and wavy hair worked brilliantly.

See who else attended the brand’s resort show in the gallery.

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The Cannes film festival is much about what happens on the red carpet as it is about the films on show. And just as we’ve seen several great fashion moments so far, the red carpet has also seen a sea of great hair and beauty looks too.

See my favourite picks so far in the gallery.

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Rita Ora is on a roll right now and the fashion industry are more than happy to jump on board the ride. In the last few months alone, her Superga campaign was revealed, Calvin Klein flew her to Basel to perform at their party and more recently, replaced Alexa Chung as the face of Bicester Village.

In the process, she’s been wearing Chanel and a lot of it, naturally sparking rumours that a campaign is on the horizon. Today news broke that she has bagged another campaign but it’s not Chanel. Instead, Madonna has dropped £500,000 to secure the singer to front her Material Girl clothing brand.

It’s not the best move. Anyone who’s followed Material Girl will know that just about every star has been fronted the line and, on the whole, not for very long and with Ora working away into the hearts of the big luxury fashion brands, it would probably have been a smarter move for her to wait for that big campaign rather than accepting jobs like this.

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At one point, Kate Moss would have been the first person that sprung to mind when you thought of festival fashion but over the past few years, with the rise of Coachella’s popularity, Kate Bosworth has quickly taken her place.

Nobody works it quite like Bosworth. It’s stylish but easy and simple and far from the showy, look-at-me styles that have become all the range these days. Topshop has always had a great relationship with her. She sat front row at their Unique show back in February and sang in their Christmas video campaign shot by her fiancé Micheal Polish. Now they’ve taken it one step further by creating a 16-piece collection, inspired by her festival wardrobe.

And by the sounds of it, she was really involved in the design process. “I’ve always had a love of fashion. To gain learning experience from the Topshop design team has been a great opportunity for me,” she said in a statement. “Our intent was to create fresh, wearable and effortless festival pieces. I am proud of our work together and I adore these pieces, they fit perfectly with the mood of the Topshop Festival collection.”

And there you have it. Now you can look (or at least try to look) like Bosworth this festival season.

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Don’t bother arriving at La Société without a reservation. Whether you’re there for breakfast, lunch, dinner or an evening drink, you can pretty much guarantee that it’ll be a full house. When I arrived for lunch, the room was full of movers and shakers on the Toronto social scene.

But don’t be fooled. Despite it’s “IT” status, there’s nothing ostentatious or showy about it. The booths in the seating area come in a supple leather that greets you like a old friend and there is something innately familiar about the place. The French bistro, located on Toronto’s equivalent to Bond Street, looks and feels like The Wolseley, albeit a smaller version. The room is cosy and full of rich art noveau decor, dark wood interiors and moody lighting, all the result of a major refurb.

The menu doesn’t steer to far from the usual dishes you’d get at any French bistro so, failing to see anything that particularly excited me, I opted for the club sandwich and fries. Good choice. The sandwich was good, even more so than the club at Le Meurice in Paris, which is widely regarded as the best sandwich in Paris. But it was the presentation that really made me smile. The fries came out in the fryer that you would see at a fish and chip chop, instantly making a very simple dish look more interesting.

The deserts were equally as good. Just so I could get a taste of what the desert menu had to offer, the chef kindly whipped up a selection for me to try for. My favourite was the sticky toffee pudding, which I  went for on recommendation of the waiter, who heralded it as the best sticky toffee outside of England. And she wasn’t wrong. Incredibly gooey and moist on the inside, it was easily one of the best I’ve tasted. A chocolate cake went down well too, as did a lemon sorbet.

If you’re after innovative fine dining dishes, La Société isn’t for you but if you’re willing to look beyond that,  expect to get some of the best versions of your favourite classic dishes.

La Société, 131 Bloor St. W., 416-551-9929, lasociete.ca.

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Marks & Spencer has had its fair share of relaunches. The past few years seem to have been characterised by an attempt to tap into the fashion imagination of the masses. Its Per Una range was intended to be the collection to do that but, while it continues to sell well, the high street retailer hasn’t quite attracted the type of shopper that they’ve been longing for.

With Belinda Earl joining recently as a style director, there’s been a lot resting on this relaunch and for the first time, they seem to have really hit a sweet point. The autumn winter collection is perfect and is exactly the type of clothes they should be offering: quality pieces that feel relevant without being a slave to the trends and at prices that don’t break the bank.

The star of the collection is the outerwear. One of the main images from the look book shows a dusty pink coat that is already on my winter wish list. It reminds me of the pink coat at Carven but at only £85, it’s only a fraction of the price. The range also features a checked coat that will go down with customers all of age ranges and cashmere knits and tailored trousers and loose fitted blouses just might be enough to steal some of Zara’s loyal followers. Watch this space.

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