It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Not only is the weather finally hot enough to ditch the black tights in exchange for open toe sandals, but our favorite luxury retailers are selling off their spring/summer inventory at a rapid pace. For the Canadians who love a good brick and mortar deal, be sure to hit up The Room at The Bay and Holt Renfrew for their hot summer sales and save up to 50% off  designer goodies.  And for our online shopping fans, we’ve made a list of the top 10 summer essentials every girl should have in her hot weather wardrobe and we’ve tracked down the designer versions all on sale for up to 70% off!  But you better hurry – these sales won’t last forever!

Click through to shop and save on designer summer essentials…

CFDA’s Best Dressed: Monday night’s CFDA Awards brought forth la crème de la crème of the fashion world.  We think Alessandra Ambrosio looked stunning in a red silk crepe Prabal Gurung gown but we loved the Olsen twins Row handbags the best!  Click to see Tommy Ton’s pics of the night courtesy of Style.com.

Kate’s Wedding Dress on Display: Planning a trip to the UK this summer?  Be sure to stop by Buckingham Palace to catch a glimpse of Kate Middleton’s Alexander McQueen wedding dress which will be on display at the palace from July 23 until October 3.  Along with her Sarah Burton designed gown you’ll also get the chance to view her ivory silk tulle veil, Cartier tiara, McQueen shoes and Robinson Pelham diamond earrings.  That’s definitely worth a trip across the pond! (Fashionista)

Three Plus-Size Models Land the Cover of Vogue Italia: Italian Vogue featured three plus-size models, Tara Lynn, Candice Huffine and Robyn Lawley, on their June 2011 cover to much online fanfare (three cheers for Vogue!).  Editor Franca Sozzani explains her decision to The Cut.  

Canadian Designers Get Some Support: Mercedes-Benz Canada and IMG, in association with the FDCC, have joined forces to launch Mercedes-Benz Start Up, a new Canadian design initiative that will support up-and-coming Canadian designers by connecting them with an experienced panel of industry insiders to mentor our homegrown design talent.   It’s refreshing to see big business getting behind our designers!

Tom Ford Spills All To CNN: We love when designers give interviews, especially when they are as open and honest as Tom Ford was in a recent CNN interview.  Who knew Yves Saint Laurent sent him hate mail after Tom took over his post?  If Mr. Ford ever writes a tell-all book, we’ll be the first in line!  (Fashionista)

We’ve decided that it is impossible to get sick of snakeskin.  Just like animal prints and fur, this exotic skin always has a home on the runway regardless of the season.  Whether crafted into a texturized handbag or printed on a sheath dress, you can always bet on spotting something from this reptile’s family parading down the catwalk.  So it came as no suprise when everyone from Altuzarra and Thakoon to Barbara Bui and Pucci did python for Spring/Summer 2011 (oh and expect the same for Fall 2011 thanks to Prada, Chloe and Valentino).  We like the idea of mixing brights with our snakeskin as seen at Altuzarra (where a day-glo yellow turtleneck was paired with an asymmetrical hemmed python skirt) and Pucci (where pink cropped pants were worn under a lace up snakeskin tunic) so we thought we’d search for some snakeskin pieces with a pop of colour like Kotur’s purple clutch (also available in turquoise) or Sephora’s printed hair clips.  Just don’t wear them all in the same outfit of course. 

Click through to shop our favorite python and snakeskin pieces for less…

Fashion is all about contrasts and extremes.  For example, Spring/Summer 2011 highlighted insanely bright colours but it also focused on clean, crisp whites.  Loud, bold prints made an appearance on the runways this season but so did simple, minimalist designs.  All these extremes leave a girl wondering which direction to swing her Prada purse in!  So when we spotted this gorgeous monochromatic navy look on Salvatore Ferragamo’s runway, we loved that they took the art of the contrast even further by pairing a short cropped top with a floor-sweeping maxi skirt.  Short on top, long on the bottom is a look we never thought of trying, until now.  And since we found Ferragamo’s navy runway look on a dime, you can bet we’ll be breaking out this contrast at our next event.

Click through to shop Salvatore Ferragamo’s navy look for less…