Cole Haan Shoes

To be honest, I've never felt much for Cole Haan shoes. They were just one of those classic American brands that I keep getting confused with Kenneth Cole. But walking into the store the other day, drawn by the sales sign, I was quite impressed with their shoe collection this season, especially the ones with their Nike Air cushioning feature. This has probably been around for forever, but I just found out recently. So excuse my babbling....Ever since my summer experience, I've wanted a pair of quality black pumps as I've finally realized the tremendous importance of it in professional wear. Ideally it would be comfortable and the made just right. A pair of perfect Prada black pump jumps to mind. But alas, they are quite out of my reach at the moment. And to be fair, I probably wouldn't want to wear it daily anyway. Hence, when I saw these Fiona's at the Cole Haan store, I fell in love. They shape is made just right. The height is great. The quality is good. It is cheaper than a pair of Pradas (at around $300, though I'll probably wait until it goes on sale to make the final kill). And to top all that, it has Nike Air cushioning embedded in the front for comfort. Now I don't know if this is a new thing or not, but what a genius idea! I tried it on. It really makes all the difference. At 3 1/2", it is very very very comfortable. And I'd give much to be comfortable and chic. Oh and these also come in plain leather, but I thought the patent leather version gives it a bit more of a oomph. Anyway, some more beauties from this comfortable and chic collection. The Carma. For a pair of peep toes, I think these are quite nice as it peeps just enough. And I have a thing for platforms heels. These also come in patent leather and plain leather and all the classic colors, but I just thought I'd show this one just to spice it up a little. At 4", these Dalya are just the thing to wear for a casual day out and into the night. With sturdy chunky heels (which are so cool), platforms AND the cushioning thing, you won't have to rest. Plus, I love the patent leather and suede combo here. And this wine red color is just great if one wants a pair of red shoes, but don't want to it to be too flashy i.e. ME! Then, they have boots. I love the folding thing here. It adds simple detail without being too much. Though I'm not too sure about the squarish looking heel here....though at 4" I guess you need it for extra support. I like the slimmer heels here better. Though of course these two are going after completely different looks. One is simple and classic and the other has more details and is more feminine.

So yes, after seeing this collection and falling love with the Fiona, I don't think I'm going to confuse Cole Haan with Kenneth Cole anymore!

Image Source: Cole Haan

Happy Birthday Barneys Girl!

The big 21 -BG is finally legal worldwide! Here are your virtual presents:

To kick off your birthday celebration, the purple Rebecca Taylor dress (left) would be perfect for a fancy dinner and the pink Mint Jodi Arnold dress (right) would be so fab and cute for cocktails! These dresses are short enough to be cute and young, yet not too revealing. Gosh, I want them too!

Sexy, basic knee-high boots for winter (by Versace)! They might be a bit too high for school, but they're good for all the other occassions where you don't have to walk too much.

And more winterwear. You've been craving for a black, basic coat for ages. This Burberry coat is perfect for all occasions, from work to shopping, to fancy dinners and meeting up at Starbucks.

You totally needs extra stock of her new basic makeup -YSL Radiant Touch Concealer. Such an easy-to-use and good quality concealer to cover up those dark circles from late nights.

Even though you've got more than enough eye shadow palettes, you still hasn't gotten around to buying a Chanel Quadra eyeshadow palette.

Tickets to the musical you've been wanting to watch for so long- the Legally Blonde Musical! Has anyone watched it? We both want to know how it translates from the movie to a musical.

With your HP laptop dying, here's a gorgeous and seriously useful MacBook Pro.

Although on the 26th Oct, Mac's going to come with the new OS, Leopard.

Finally, in the spirit of our favourite new show, Gossip Girl, get some young, hip party dresses. Remember this Catherine Maladrino dress? Serena just wore in the latest episode to a date -it's so pretty and trendy. Loves it!

Have a fabulous time at Ruth Chris and cocktails darling! Muah!

Image credits: www.shopbop.com, www.burberry.com, www.saksfifthavenue.com, www.apple.com, www.legallyblondethemusical.com

Halloween on the Streets

For more inspiration, I turned to the streets. More specifically, celebs and current pop culture icons.
First off are Lindsay Lohan's outfits for Halloween 2006. Her aerobics outfit is not bad. And as for the other one...well I guess it IS Halloween and looking slutty is a prerogative. After all, didn't they say in Mean Girls that Halloween was an excuse for girls to look let their slutty side out?
More inspiring and less slutty, I love Hilary Duff's gypsy idea. And I think if one is to go for the aerobics look, Haylie Duff knows how to do it. The colors and accessories match perfectly, everything just looks so cute! Also, she doesn't look like she forgot to put pants on i.e. Lohan above.
One of the sources of inspiration for Halloween I believe are movies. Last year it was probably Marie Antoinette and Memoirs of a Geisha. So I tried to think of all the thematic movies out this year.... there weren't that many:Harry Potter, Spider Man- too cliche. Finally, I settled on the Pirates of the Caribbean and Hairspray. For Pirates, you can either go for Kiera's whole Chinese pirate look (not that I think Chinese pirates dress that way) or go for a more simple Pirate look i.e. loose white short, black skinny pants, captain hat, compass and sword. And for Hairspray- 60's fashion and BIG HAIR.
And last but not least, we can all take inspiration from Marc last year and try the Ugly Betty look. I bet you they probably sell that poncho somewhere by now. And for something highly imitable with a trip to Walgreens, there is Betty's Halloween costume last year.

And these are all my more "creative" ideas so far. Betty Boop, cowgirl, Greek Goddess (actually not bad), playboy bunny, Barbie, Elle Woods, goth, Edie Segwick, pinup girl, Dita von Teese, cheerleader, preppy, American flag, zombie, hobo also comes to mind. But they didn't strike me as very easily achievable or creative. Any more smart and creative ideas to share?

Flared Jeans

For the past year, I've been imagining myself in a pair of plain, black, flared jeans and a simple top. For one thing, flared jeans, in my mind, form part of the going-to-college image. Another thing is, even though I've been favouring the long top and straight/ skinny jeans look in the last year or two, I've got short tops that just don't go well with skinny jeans.

But apparently, finding a pair of such simple jeans was a lot harder than I thought. I visited Barney's, Saks and Neiman Marcus near Rodeo Drive and hardly found any bootcut jeans available -All they had were skinny or high waisted, wide-legged jeans.

So I lowered my expectations and decided that I would even settle for a pair of washed, boot-cut jeans (like the Citizens of Humanity ones above.) In San Francisco, even though the new Bloomingdale's offered a wider selection of jeans, I still couldn't find my dream pair. Luckily, one of you readers suggested I go to the Blues Jean Bar -I loved it there! (Thanks for suggesting I go there btw.) You tell the saleslady what you're looking for and the size and they just pull out a few choices from their shelves. Normally I would hate a store that doesn't organise its clothes by brand names, but this is one exception.

One of the saleslady's recommendation was the new J Brand's Lovestory jeans, (technically, low-rise bell-bottom jeans.) The saleslady wasn't sure about them since they looked more like pants than jeans, but I tried them on and love them! The material is really elastic and they're tight on top and flares out at the knees, so they're comfortable, fits well and look good. If you haven't worn a pair of flared jeans in a while, go try a pair on! It's such a refreshing feeling, (and perhaps slightly odd since it's been awhile.) (I found out later that Kate Moss supposedly wore them in blue recently.)

The truth is, finding jeans that match what you want isn't actually that difficult -just go onto www.shopbop.com. But I'm one of those careful people and I wouldn't buy jeans unless I've tried them on, meaning that I'm limited to the choices sold in shops. Anyways, anyone else been trying on flared jeans again recently? And I don't mean bootcut, I mean flared!

Image credit: www.eluxury.com, http://www.shopbop.com/

Halloween on the Runway

I've never been much of a dress up for Halloween kind of girl. The last time I did it, I bought a witch hat and put it with the outfit I was wearing- which was a black dress and a denim jacket. Not very inspiring. But since this is my last year of college, I feel like this is my last chance to go all out for Halloween and dress up crazy and everything. With that, I've started to think of what I want to dress up as for Halloween. I don't want to be boring Halloween cliche after all and go as a playboy bunny or anything (not that I know where I am going, but thats beside the point). And so, I've decided to draw inspiration from the most creative and trendy of them all- the fashion designers. After all, there is not reason not to be fashionable on Halloween! The first designer I thought of was naturally John Galliano who loves to dress up so much himself. And luckily for us, his FW07 collection was all about costumes (isn't it always?). Here are two I pulled out: the viking look and what I would like to call, dressing up like a rose look. The viking look here is all about the hair and the rose look is pretty much just one big layered dress- oh and the make-up. Don't forget the scary red make-up. For the most part, there are lots of room for you to also look pretty in. And remember to have fun with the color of your stockings! Halloween is THE time you are allowed to be mismatched! For something more feminine and sophisticated, draw from the Dior Haute Couture show, which to me looks Venetian inspired (first two anyway). Love the cute clowns outfit. And I LOVE the askewed masks. I am currently kicking myself for leaving my Venetian mask at home sitting on my Koala bear..... Oh and there is also this blue look, which for me is in between statue of liberty (the hat, one shoulder strap and pose) and a water nymph (blue flowy skirt). Next on my list for creative talents is Alexander MacQueen. From his FW07 collection, we have the supposedly witch look (left) though to me its more like a vampire look, and the Egyptian Cleopatra look (right). Hmm... I may consider the vampire look.... that would give me a good excuse for very fun make up :P Inspirations from the latest SS08 runway. We have MacQueen again with this bird look. If you must be an animal, at least do so fashionably right? And then there is Gorgio Armani. This is actually my favourite look so far. With those pants, its an almost gypsy/genie look. And probably this is the most economical and fashionable to achieve too! Anything gypsy pants you buy may be considered an investment for next season! Back onto the Haute Coutures, Jean Paul Gaultier has the royalty look. Now all you got to decide is whether to be an western royalty or sultan. A chance to buy something rich, gold and shiny. More from the FW07 runway, we have Balenciaga with the folk people look and Dior with the farming/peasant in expensive clothes look. Any attempt at folk can be considered an investment this season (nice scarf?). And as for the farming/peasant in expensive clothes look- its all in the hat. These two looks can really be considered just looking fashionable. And lastly, try the space age neon look. This is your chance to wear bright colors all over without people wondering what you are thinking!

Image Source: Style.com