New SS08 Layout

Hey people, it's that time of the year again for a new layout! BG and I were totally panicking about making a new banner. On one hand, as those of you who have read our blog long enough would know, we always try to update the S/S banner on March 1st. On the other hand, we have been more uninspired than usual about this S/S season, (perhaps because the F/W08 fashion shows are currently showing) and it's the end of the school term ( i.e. lots and lots of work!) The nerdy side of my brain has convinced me that this layout is our optimal layout: the MC of personal time spent photoshopping= MB of this blog. For those who don't do econ, we mean that this is the best we could have done given our circumstances.

Let's admit it, this season is confusing -too many trends; too many 'in' colours; together with a lot of loud accessories. With prints, there are the sort-of-tacky-looking stars and the spring-friendly flowers. As you can see, we favoured the flower prints. But the trend of black, white and grey is still very 'in', (think black skinny jeans + tee + blazer combo.) OK, so this isn't really the reason why we have half the flower picture in black & white and half in colour. We just think it's cool. Plus, we love how the Balenciaga model seems to pop out on the b&w side and the Prada model looks like an edgy fairy stomping around in a garden. But it all works out in the end! Neat huh?

This oh-so-artistically taken flower photo was shot by me at the LA Getty Center Central Garden last summer. If you haven't been there, then you must next time you're in LA. It's such a gorgeously designed garden. There are so many types of flowers there and they're designed in a really organised, pretty way. I'm not the type to enjoy nature, but this is as one of the few gardens that I actually loved. (Yes, I know, I'm such a city bumpkin that I even consider an immaculately-designed garden to be nature.)

Credit to style.com for the runway model photos. As usual, if something is technically wrong with this layout on your browser, please let us know. We hope you like the layout and get some S/S vibes from it!

The Limited Edition 2.55

The luxury retail market is always coming up with gimmicks and limited edition goods to lure customers into buying more and more.
Chanel's latest Limited Edition product, is this 2.55 in honor of the Chanel Mobile Art Exhibit. Now this may look like any old 2.55, but for once in fashion, the beauty lies on the inside.
Inside the flap to be specific. Inside the flap, is this signature by the legend of fashion himself, KARL LAGERFELD, commemorating the Mobile Art Exhibit in Hong Kong. Logic tells me that Chanel is trying to rip people off, because the scribbling of a few words inside the flap is certainly NOT worth the premium they are charging for it over the standard 2.55's. A mere signature does NOT bring one closer at any level to the author of the signature. The red/orangey color isn't even that complimentary!

But the fashionista side of me is in AWE that I have been able to get so close to and even trace Karl Lagerfeld's signature. I admit, I might have even let out a tiny squeal of delight. A little like what Victory Ford felt when she found Coco Chanel's dress form in Lipstick Jungle (though of course, this is not QUITE as cool nor meaningful, since I know nothing about designing and making clothes). I know this reaction is probably completely illogical and against my better judgment since it is obviously a marketing ploy to make more money for Chanel, but oh, I just can't help it! :)

And I can't wait to go see the exhibit! Its fully booked this weekend, but I'm definitely going next week! Report back!

Paris Fashion Week F/W08 Wrapup I

This is why Paris Fashion Week is THE fashion week I look foward to the most. I mean, if I'm not going to be able to afford anything on the runway, I might as well ogle at the most creative and gorgeous collections, starting with Balenciaga.

Genius. Seriously genius. Once again, Nicholas Ghesquiere used Balenciaga's history and created a very modern collection. The clothes all look very structured yet still so sensual.

The show started off with minimal, well-cut and structured evening dresses. Take note of the shoes: pointy shoes are back! Is the trend with round-toed shoes soon to be over?

These are the more work-suit looks. I hope those tulip skirts become part of the mainstream trends, (and hopefully high street retailers will be 'inspired' to make affordable versions!)

Metallic, shiny dresses are nothing new. But the shapes of these dresses are amazing.

The velvet top with skinny pants/ skirt combo seemed to be a huge favourite. I love how pretty the colourful tops are. And the black & white velvet top look is just amazing with the black eye makeup! Seriously loves it!

The show closed with printed coats and dresses. While I can appreciate how these artistic pieces form part of the collection, I have to say I'm not a huge fan of the coats. For example, the coat on the left makes the model look like she's got a muscular costume on.

Can't wait for more Paris fashion! Did you love the Balenciaga show too?

Image credit: www.style.com

Swarovski Necklaces

I've always had the impression that Swarovski jewelry were either not very interesting looking or so loud that it bordered on gaudy. However, recently I've had a change of mind. Suddenly these delicate, simple, elegant looking necklaces that I used to find "not very interesting looking," looks very attractive indeed. This has mostly been due to this recent TV show I watched, where this character in it pairs all her very chic work outfits with these very elegant and sleek looking necklaces, which I later found was sponsored by Swarovski. Intrigued, I looked up more of these necklaces and realized that while they are not super loud and ultra trendy, they are the perfect accessory for a smart work outfit. They are subtle and elegant, but are still very pretty and feminine- perfect for work.
Trendy elements are also subtly added to their designs, such as above.
This chained necklace is one of my favourites (left). The design is simple and elegant but still makes a statement. And this gorgeous purple crystal necklace (right) is just the thing to brighten up the usual dreary colors of work clothes in a quiet way. I can just imagine it looking fabulous, with a plain black suit and white shirt paired with simple diamond (or crystal!) earrings and subtle purple eye shadow!

Image Source: Swarovski

Oscar's Fashion 2008

To everyone-who-actually-enjoys-looking-at-glamorous-stars-in-gowns' relief, Oscar's wasn't cancelled. Stars went all out (in terms of the sizes of the gowns) this year as the Golden Globes ceremony was cancelled. This year, the main trend in the gowns were huge, black or red gowns, and empire dresses for the pregnant. The dresses were all pretty 'safe'. I'm going taking note of the dresses I liked here:

My favourite dress of the night was probably Cameron Diaz's Dior dress. Yes, it's not a particularly exciting dress, but I'm a fan of the fabric folds. It's simple, well-designed and pretty. And while it's arguable whether her makeup is too simple for Oscar's, I really like how she sticks to her natural-beauty style.

A trend seemed to be the long, simple dress + big necklace combo. Both Nicole Kidman (in Balenciaga) and Keri Russell (in Nina Ricci) looked very elegant. I thought Keri Russell's dress' colour looks really etheral on her, and the necklace is just a perfect match.

Black was one of the two popular colour choices, and huge gowns were equally popular. I thought the best was Hilary Swank's Atelier Versace gown, with Penelope Cruz's Chanel Couture coming in second.

The other popular colour choice was red. Katherine Heigl looked gorgeous as usual. However, I am getting a bit bored of her old Hollywood look, and her makeup seems a bit overloaded (-the blush).

Heidi Klum's vampy dress was comparatively interesting and she was equally gorgeous (in a slightly different way.)

The Marchesa girls: Anne Hathaway looked really pretty. I like how the dress is one-shouldered in an interesting way, especially the way the fabric looks like it falls and wraps around her arms so perfectly. As for Jessica Alba, she looked pretty (hard to imagine her not looking pretty), but she could probably have done better.

The two people who actually chose interesting dresses were Cate Blanchett, who wore Dries Van Noten and Marion Cotillard, who wore Jean Paul Gaultier. I love how the JPG isn't only shaped like a mermaid, but it also has silver 'scales' on it, and the dress didn't look like a costume. Not surprisingly, Marion Cotillard's dress was many critics' favourite.

If you've read my thoughts above, then you'll probably notice that I wasn't overly enthusastic about the dresses. They're weren't bad, but just not stunning or surprising. Whose dress was YOUR favourite?

Image credits: http://justjared.buzznet.com/, http://fadedyouthblog.com/