SPRING DREAMS Creativity sparked by black holes in your own wardrobe? Why not. What inspired the new collection from Allison Smith's Allison Wonderland line ($98 to $188) was "daydreaming what I'd like to wear this spring and summer". Tweaks to a 1970s pattern led to a sleeveless wrap dress in cream-coloured lightweight cotton embroidered with mocha-coloured flowers as just one pretty option. Smith's take on the season's must-have trench coat comes in light grey, cheery lipstick-red, or black nylon.

SUGARY GOODNESS Although it’s an unlikely time of year to be introducing sweets into your life, Vancouver jewellery artist Holly Cruise has found a way without having to compromise any New Year’s resolutions. Her Sweety Cakes and Lolly lines of rings ($125 to $195) have all the pretty appeal and none of the nasty calories. Handmade glass miniatures of birthday cakes, cupcakes, and lollipops sit atop a sterling-silver base—perfect for the girl turning sweet 16.

Celebs like Denise Richards, Britney Spears, and Liv Tyler have started a bit of a trend by hauling Harveys Seatbelt Bags almost everywhere they go.

BAGS OF FASHION Last month, high-tech whiz-turned-handbag designer Gail Conzatti opened Tutta Mia (translates as "it's all mine") in the old Point in Time location (1302 Victoria Drive) with her fall line of Gaia handbags up front and central. Fashionistas can swing around town with Elsie ($280), made of furry cowhide and buffalo leather. The Mini-Weekender ($240) is a scaled-down version of a big seller, and, similar in size and shape, Omni ($240) now boasts a practical double strap.

What's the best sign that Vancouver is coming into its own as a style centre? How about the fact that there are so many runway shows happening over the next little while that you'd swear it was New York during Fashion Week? B.C. Fashion Week's spring 2006 industry-oriented events overlap with Vancouver Fashion Week's, plus there are a range of unaffiliated, genre-busting shows elsewhere around town.

The mission-style Denver Stool from Montreal-based Baronet, available at Design House (110 Mainland Street), features a hint of Asian influence. You certainly won't feel like you're sitting in a hacienda. The pagodalike scooped seat and subdued lines of this sleek, slick stool transform High Noon into Zen Noon. The wooden stools are available in several finishes: chocolate, walnut, painted aluminum, dark tea, and anthracite.

If Frodo let the Designer Guys have a go at Bag End, they'd probably pick these hot new table lamps from sassy, sexy, and super-progressive Spain to shed a little light on his new décor. Just in at LightForm (1060 Homer Street), the retro-'70s, mushroom-shaped Yeyeye lamp was designed by Enric Gregorio for the Barcelona-based company Lookiluz. The metal shades are available in white, black, red, and yellow, with white metal or light wood bases. They sell for $985.

You can set them around your patio, light a garden path, or arrange a few on your balcony for a romantic summer supper. Garden Fireballs are ceramic spheres filled with lamp oil, creating soft, natural ambient lighting outdoors, available at Chintz & Company (950 Homer Street).

A local company has invented a way to disguise those ubiquitous moulded-plastic patio chairs. Coconut Covers slip over the cheap seats, transforming decks into chic outdoor living rooms. Heavyweight cotton-canvas versions come in two styles: Fresh has ties on the legs, and Luxe features a wide box pleat and a belt that buttons on the back. The colours are navy, black, forest green, burgundy, natural, and taupe, at $29.99 apiece.

Far from being just a weekly stop for organic vegetables and artisanal cheese, the city's farmers markets are increasingly appealing to green thumbs in search of something a little different.

Too often, the boob tube is the focus of the room, drawing attention away from the rest of the décor. Now a Canadian company has come up with a funky way to cover up the television when it's not in use: TV Kozys are made of fabrics that fit over different sizes of sets. Custom-made in Hogtown, they come in such fabrics as mod black-and-white geometric poly-canvas, classy blue-and-white toile, neutral ultrasuede, and shimmery smoke-blue taffeta-all with cord trim.

Although they're definitely a far cry from the paper-doll chains you made in elementary school, it could very well be nostalgia that has made Tord Boontje's streamers, curtains, and lamp garlands so popular (Design House [1110 Mainland Street]). Part of a collection entitled Wednesday, the various manifestations are laser-cut from metal, silk, or a synthetic paper called Tyvek. The Until Dawn curtain ($145) makes for a perfect room divider and can be cut with scissors to fit.

The more gadgets that appear on the market, the more interesting the persistence of certain others becomes. Tivoli Audio built a company based solely on the impressive quality of its table radios. The technology and sleek 1960s design are the work of the late Henry Kloss, Audio Hall of Fame member. If you can't find or afford his original KLH Model Eight table radio, Tivoli offers the Model One and Model Two, with extra speaker ($139.99 and $219.99, respectively, at A?&?B Sound).

Crocodile toes The tennis-inspired Lacoste brand, famous for decades for its crocodile logo-often mistaken for an alligator-polo and tennis shirts, has just launched a fresh new line of men's shoes. The cute little critter imprints the Vert collection, now available at Holt Renfrew Pacific Centre. Vert comes in three styles: Stroll, Amble, and Mosey.

BRA VOGUE Finally, a lingerie collection that is all about mismatching. No more opening the drawer to find that the five pairs of panties that match your favourite bra are in the wash. Flouting all convention, the La Senza Candy line is not merely an undergarment; it spins fashion into the collection's bras, panties, tanks, camis, capris, and T-shirts.