Insurance executive Taryn wants a chic, age-appropriate look for her aprËs-ski activities with friends. No ski bunnies, no yoga gear, no PJs. It's time for Taryn stand out from the crowd, so we take her up on her style challenge.

   Our Style Mission

While we can’t help Taryn with her skills on the slope, but we can try and get her out of her usual boring après-ski outfit. Our challenge is to create a sexy, casual evening look for Taryn on our $500 budget, without turning her into a ski bunny cliché.

Our guest expert is style-setter Sarah Casselman, Fashion Market Editor of Fashion Magazine. She had these tips for dressing Taryn:

• Taryn has a very warm complexion. I’d love to see her in bright colours (she looks like she has a very bubbly, vivacious personality).

• Avoid moon boots, a very trendy fashion victim item. Also avoid high heels. Might be okay for a celebrity, but let’s pare it down for the real world.

• I suggest a chunky-knit cardigan, a wide belt, a great pair of leggings, and a flat, knee-high boot.

• Also avoid the all-white fur, ski-bunny, classic Aspen look. That won’t be age-appropriate for Taryn.

   Our Look Book

For Taryn, we wanted to find her the perfect “lift ticket”. We pulled together a casual yet funky look for Taryn’s evening resort activities. We chose some great, rubber-soled boots as her foundation, topped by skinny jeans and a fun top. But we ran out of time and money for accessories!

Outfit details

• Dark brown suede boots: $200 at Browns Shoes
• Karen Zambos brown faux fur cropped vest: $75 at Aritzia
• Red and brown plaid shirt: $28 at Aritzia
• White lacey tank: $28 at Aritzia
• Skinny medium-wash blue denim jeans: $150 at Banana Republic.

Sarah Casselman’s opinion

• I love the fur vest, right off the bat. Faux fur is a key piece on runways lately. The crop length is really great for her figure and highlights her slim hips.

• The denim is good. I myself would have put her in a classic, rich, darker denim.

• You knocked it out of the park with the boots. I want some for myself!

• The camisole is the only thing I don’t like in this outfit. The white stands out. It’s really stark against the warm tones of the rest of the look. I would have chosen a warmer colour; perhaps an olive tone or something to match the browns of the shirt.

• I do like the plaid shirt. On the wrong person, it could look messy, but she’s so slim that it really suits this look.

WATCH IT!

Watch a clip of this episode with comments from Sarah Casselman.

   Did our style picks make the “Do List” or “Don’t List”?

Taryn loved the whole look, especially the boots. She was really excited to wear the outfit, and also to mix and match the pieces with other items in her wardrobe.

Sarah Casselman was impressed with our work. Apart from the camisole, she loved all of the pieces, and she didn’t even ding us for a lack of accessories! (She felt that, in this case, no accessories is completely acceptable.) We scored a solid 8.5/10 from Sarah. Right on!

   Tips we learned on this episode

• For après-ski, make sure your shoes or boots have non-slip, rubber soles.

• When layering, good undergarments are the foundation of the look. Work in texture and colour, but watch out for too much of a colour contrast.

   Other Show Segments

• Style Tips: How to Layer
• Style Tips: Furry fashion – Do or Don’t?
• Tricks of the Trade: Photoshop Beauty

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Please note: opinions expressed about fashion and beauty in this article are just that: our opinions. Feeling beautiful on the inside is what matters most, but we like to do what we can on the outside too.