Exciting news! FASHION Magazine has launched a new online Style Panel featuring some of the country’s best style bloggers. In their words, it is where “Canada’s best dressed It girls share their unique style know-how in answer to your toughest how-to-wear questions”.

I feel honoured to have been selected to be part of the Style Panel and look forward to helping everyone solve their tricky styling troubles as best I can each week.

This look is my answer to our 1st style question which was: “How can you wear a summer outfit before the weather is ready for it?”

See below for my full response and extra photos by Steven Lee of SilhouettedSkyline.com (we both love this shoot so much we couldn’t let the rest go to waste!) to view all the blogger answers click HERE!

The transitioning season is like being tickled by Mother Nature. For fashion lovers, I think it a particularly frustrating time because we’ve already been waiting months to wear the new trends, considering we see them on the runways six months in advance. In Canada, it seems that as soon as the sunshine returns and we hit something above 5 degrees, everyone strips down to a T-shirt, hits a patio and pretends it’s mid-July. It is between the months of March and May that (what I consider to be) the biggest “transitioning” wardrobe faux pas are spotted throughout the streets. For example, wearing heavy knit closed toe tights with summer sandals, flip flops when there’s snow outside, and being heavily layered up top and wearing sandal below. These outfits don’t make sense. Don’t get me wrong; as soon as it is warm enough to go bare leg and rock an open toe, I am over the moon, but one of my key tactics is to pay attention to the texture and weight of fabrics to see how they can work together. The next step is to layer well with lighter pieces.

This look is a perfect example of how I play with layers and lighter looks in the transitioning months. It is no doubt a spring look that’s stepping towards summer, but instead of baring too much, I’ve chosen to show a lot of leg with a short dress, but covered up and counter balanced with a long trench. I recently wore this outfit to a store party at Bird in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and while I walked out the door feeling slightly worried that people might think I’d messed up the date of Diddy’s White Party in the Hamptons, I felt warm, chic, sexy and received nothing but compliments the whole night.

At this time of year, you’re always going to pass by the person in the parka, next to someone in a halter-top and straw hat, but what you’ve got to do is find your own balance and take a risk.

Gracie’s wearing: Silk trench, Alexander Wang at Jonathan + Olivia. Ink print dress, Jessica Mary Clayton at Fawn Boutique. Shorts (worn underneath), Topshop. Shoes, Aldo Rise x Preen. Clutch: Mogil at Fashionably Yours. Nail Cuff Bracelet, Giles & Brother. Brass bracelet, Mainsai. Friendship bracelets, assorted.

(feature as seen on FASHION)