Fancy Hair Accessories

I used to wonder why accessories stores would sell these fancy hair accessories as if they were popular hair accessories because I had imagined that they were only suitable for fancy daytime events, like for a wedding in a garden or an old-fashioned Sunday brunch, which I supposed not many people attended these days (esp young people.)

But ever since Gossip Girl, I have started seeing hairbands and other similar hair accessories in a different light. (OK, so the huge red bow with Blair's school uniform is a bit over the top, but the others are usually cute.)
So when I went into Accessorize (the UK version of a much better Claire's) last week, as soon as I saw those fancy hair stuff, I rushed over. The first one I held this red rolled sinemay one against my hair. I LOVED it! It was unexpectedly pretty and just so different from what I usually see on myself. Believe me, I've always thought these things were fussy and old-fashioned but I just loved the way the material formed pretty loops on my head.

So I went back to check the hair accessories on Gossip Girl and apparently my preconception that these hair accessories were for brunches weren't completely off -Blair wore one to the grand brunch hosted by Chuck's dad in Episode 102. The one Blair is wearing is so pretty! It's a simple, classic design without being boring.

Here's a similar one to the one Blair is wearing. It's the black version of the red one I tried on. I didn't think the black one looked that great on me because my hair is black -the red one totally stood out more.

Maybe it's the pokka dots, but this one definitely gives off a more dressed-up vibe. It really looks like the ones one would wear to a garden wedding, (where older ladies would wear those fancy hats! Wait, or is it at funerals?)

I couldn't resist including this pink feathers with beads accessory -it's so girly in a non-cutsy way.

This silver sequin and feather accessory looks young and trendy. Perhaps one can even wear it on a fun night out (complete with a 20's styled outfit)?

So yes, maybe I have been brainwashed by Gossip Girl, but if I had a themed party to go to, I would totally try one of these out! Happy Easter holidays people!

Image Credits: http://www.youknowyouloveme.org/, http://www.accessorize.co.uk/

A Trip to New Zealand

Usually on a holiday, one of the main attractions for me is the shopping. Even if it is the usual department store stuff I can get back home, I still do it. When it comes to the actual tourist attractions, likes views and such, I am the type to just take a picture with/of it and be on my way. But lately, I've been feeling a need for change of scenery, probably because I've been living in the concrete jungle,where whenever I step foot out the door there is shopping- and they're not even on sale yet!- for too long.

My trip to Auckland, New Zealand was just the retreat I needed! It was all so incredibly peaceful and tranquil being there. So refreshing to not be accosted by shop after shop of merchandise tempting me. In fact, the experience was completely different from my usual vacations. Instead of finding the prospect of being outdoors very scary and frankly rather boring, for once I actually stopped and appreciated it all- and it was nice.
Our first stop on my arrival was a drive up Mount Eden, which is an inactive volcano in the middle of Auckland. Now you can only see the the crater of it covered in grass, with cows grazing in the center of it (left). Tourists are not allowed down into the area, because it is really quite steep (not to mention tourists would errode the grass). Mount Eden also happens to be the highest point in Auckland, and as you can see (right), affords us a very nice 360 view of the city.
The next morning, we went for the America's Cup Yacht Sailing experience as part time members of the crew, helping roll the sails up/down and taking a turn at the wheel- its hard work! And even though the weather had been summer-like all week, out on sea, it was surprisingly cold. Not at all what I'd imagined sailing weather to be- good thing I brought a sweater!
Despite the unexpected weather, it was a wonderful 2 hours. The weather was perfect and the view was absolutely breathtaking. Shown here is the view of Auckland downtown and the view of the Rangitoto Island- which my friend tells me looks like this from all around. How cool! I especially love how the white clouds/ blue sky compliments the scenery (I have a thing for blue skies and white clouds).
Seeing as how I was in the land of the sheep, I thought it was only appropriate that I went to see a proper sheep show (even though one can see sheep/cows practically anywhere over there). It was surprisingly interesting. Basically they put on a show very much like the one in Babe (the movie), except using dogs instead of pigs of course (left). It was impressive how well the dog is trained, it was like a robot! Then we were shown how a sheep is sheared (right). It was really quite cool! And afterwards we even got to feed the lambs and they were just darling!
That night, we then went to Parnell for dinner. Its an adorable old quaint street full of cafes etc. Unfortunately by the time we finished dinner, it was already pass 10pm and the Chocolate Boutique Cafe was closed. It is the most darling-est place ever, luckily I got to go back later for a cup of hot cocoa, which was divine.

Then we headed to our next stop (yes it was a LOONG day)- the Minus 5 Bar. Basically it was a small room made of ice, decorated with ice sculptures that is very very cold. Even the cups they served drinks in were made of ice! It was VERY cool. I absolutely loved it. Way better than the little "ice room" we have here at Balalaika in HK. Unfortunately even with borrowed uggs (they have hygiene socks- thank god!), gloves and coat, it was still very cold, so we didn't stay for too long. Kind of reminded me of my days waiting for the bus to come during the Chicago winters. Haha.
The next morning (Sunday), we woke up at 7.30am and participated in the Round the Bays charity walk/run! This is definitely not something I'd usually do in my home town. Definitely unique. I heard that so many people on the streets at once is not a common Kiwi sight. Luckily the weather was really good, cool and cloudy- perfect for a walk. We completed the 8.4km walk in 1 hour and 33 minutes!
After THAT we recovered with a 3 hour nap and a few further hours of laziness at the Piha beach, munching on pizza, reading and waiting for/watching the sunset. Its a truly beautiful beach a hour away from the city. The sand is supposedly volcanic dust or something, so its darker than usual. Not a swimming beach though, cause the waves are too strong. But its fun to walk along the shores. It was soo nice, I actually wanted to stay there forever- and I'm not even a beach person! I do believe I am now a newly converted beach at sunset/out of direct sunlight person!
And on my last day in Auckland, I jumped out of a plane. It seemed the thing to do in Kiwi land. Once I got there of course I started freaking out. The idea of defying years of well trained instincts and jumping out of a plane seemed like an insane idea. What if the parachute doesn't open? What if I die? But then I figured that I've come half way across the world for this and its now or never. If I do it when I get older, I have a higher chance of dying from a heart attack! So I paid and before I knew it, I was strapped and was on an one-way plane that will take me up to the height of 12,000 km. One way because it wasn't designed for landing with passengers (no seatbelts!). 20 minutes later I was up there. And then, before I knew it, the door was opened and I was pushed out into the sky. After the initial shock/scare though, I realized that I was falling down in the sky and the feeling was INCREDIBLE. I'd imagined it to be like one of those things in the theme park where they drop you down from a height x 100, but no, this was nothing like that. Your heart stays inside your body and there's just this RUSH coursing through you as you fall. And too soon, the parachute was opened and I was floating comfortably down to land. It was AWESOME. I am so glad I did it. The experience was totally worth all the nerves and scare going up!

Sigh I wish I was back there! Now I think I know what "retreat" means and why people want to go to the middle of nowhere and just relax and enjoy the scenery and be away from the hustle bustle and the claustrophobic atmosphere of the city from time to time.

Ps. Click on the images for a better look!

Sun Dresses For A Sunny Day Out

OK, so my title is misleading: obviously you can wear sun dresses on non-sunny days too, but it sounded catchy. Plus, in some ways it does make more sense to wear sun dresses on sunny days because the skirt of the dress is so full and volumous that you would probably get yourself (or at least the skirt bit) wet from the rain, since as well all know, umbrellas don't cover us up 100%. Oops, I'm rambling. Moving on...

Isn't this such a cute picture? I'm pretty indifferent to Sienna Miller (as an actress or suppsedly style icon,) but I can't help but think that while Sienna and her dog certainly look cute, her dress really makes the whole image even more pretty and complete. I mean, imagine her in skinny jeans -the picture wouldn't look as pretty right? Since I've seen this picture, I've started noticing sun dresses around. They just seem like a nice S/S08 staple to one's summer daywear selection. Check these out:

Sienna Miller is of course, the Miller sisters' fashion line, Twenty8Twelve's best PR + walking manequin. And since I'm mentioning this, it's only fair to show this pretty front frill dress by Twenty8Twelve.
But since I'm not willing to pay that much for a sun dress, I move onto high street stores. Top Shop's got this simple sun dress for 25 pounds. The bright blue is very 'in' for this season and perfect for those of you think a white sun dress is too basic. (Although note that Top Shop does make a white version.) I like the button details in the front because those little buttons just seem to make the sun dresses less cutsy.
And for those who don't want plain coloured dresses and want some details, the new Kate Moss Top Shop collection (-so new that it was just released today,) has these black or white lurex dresses available. To be honest, from my past experience of seeing the Kate Moss Top Shop stuff in the stores, the clothes tend to look a bit cheap -maybe not cheap looking but probably not worth the premium they added for Kate Moss' name.

Anyways, don't sun dresses just look so cheerful and perfect for a sunny day out? I blame the full and swirly skirt.

Image Credits: www.topshop.com, www.asos.com

Mobile Art Exhibit Hong Kong 2008

After much hype, I finally went to the Mobile Art exhibit early last week. I even picked an earlier time so then there'd be less people! Turns out I worried for nothing, because they limit the number of people in the exhibit and allow people in at 15 minute intervals. So if you are planning to go, go online to HK Ticketing and reserve a space, the reservation fee is 10HKD. Or you can try your luck and walk in, but then the time slot might be full.

Just in case you missed my previous babbling, this Mobile Art exhibit is the latest Chanel/Lagerfeld project, and is basically a traveling contemporary art container featuring the works of 20 international artists inspired by the Chanel 2.55 bag. It will be traveling around the world for two years, bringing the art to the people. Its first stop is Hong Kong. From there, it will be heading to Tokyo, New York, London, Moscow and finally Paris.

Onto the exhibit. Located on the top of a parking lot at the Star Ferry, it faces the dazzling harbor front and is surrounded by the tall bustling buildings of Central that makes up the business center of HK. Against such a backdrop, it truly felt like an UFO had landed.
The UFO, or more accurately the collapsible "art container" designed by Zaha Hadid is a stunning piece of modern architect in itself. It is like nothing I'd seen before in such a grand scale. It is curvy, sleek, white and elegant...I think I just described Chanel! Once I was inside, I further marveled at how the interior too was curvy, sleek, white and elegant- not a single flat wall in sight! I wonder how it stays up! You must go to the Mobile Art website to take a virtual tour. After checking in my purse, I was assisted to put on a Creative MP3 around my neck and headphones. Then I chose a language (they offer English, Cantonese, Chinese, Japanese, French and maybe some other) adjusted the volume, hit play- and the journey began.

They cleverly time it so that we all start our journey at different times, so it truly IS an individual experience- no mingling or pointing things out to one another. We were each in our own world listening and going at the pace of our own soundtrack. And I mean that literally. The little voice in our head sets the mood and guides us through the exhibit piece by piece, giving us time to appreciate in between before telling us to move on, go up the stairs or turn left. For those of you who have directional problems like me- don't worry, there are people around to point you in the right way. Now I've debated for a few days now the degree of detail I should blog about this, because the details of the exhibit have obviously not been publicized for a reason. It really is something that one has to experience for themselves to fully appreciate. So here I thought I will just highlight a few of my most vivid pieces to wet your appetite (I don't remember the exact names, but i will just give the best description I can):

• The reflection piece. Once you walk into the dark room, you are told to sit and in front of you, you will see a strip of water on the floor. And reflected in it, you will see the bustling activities of a row of Parisian houses going about their daily tasks. Through the windows you see people eating breakfast, preparing to leave for the evening, turning on/off the lights, the lighting showing the time of day, from night, dawn and sunset. In the background, you can hear the buzzing sounds coming from these houses. And then the voice says that everything looks more beautiful in reflection, but that he wanted to "be part of what is going to happen" and we moved on.....I thought that was very neat and I loved it
• As we exit the room we are lead to examine various pieces of work in front of us. One collection in particular, I really enjoyed. And it was the 6 carton boxes placed in two rows along the room. We are told to look inside the boxes and in it, you see a short little repeating skit projected from above, of naked women (and men) interacting with the 2.55 bag. Most memorably, I remember a naked woman lying belly down on top of the 2.55 swimming across the box and in another box, two women were fighting over the 2.55!
• Towards the end, you will see a gigantic 2.55 with the flap opened revealing an opened Chanel compact powder box inside. And in the mirror of that compact box is a video of models practicing shooting with 2.55 bags as the target! Something about the powder of the compact box resembling that of gunpowder. I've definitely not thought of it that way.
• And lastly, my favourite, was when we were at the wall where stripes of rice paper are found and was told to write down a wish on it and then hang it up on the tree next to the desk. I'm not sure that was even a piece of art, but I liked the idea of making a wish and leaving a mark at the exhibit. (Though I'm sure they have to stripe that tree everyday to accommodate all the wishes!)

Before you leave the exhibit, you are also handed this free booklet as a souvenir. Inside, is some quite comprehension information about this exhibit, interviews with Hadid, Lagerfeld and the other international artists and photographs of Hong Kong, Tokyo and a Chanel collection featuring Devon Aoki, along with some other things. It almost made up for the ban on photography inside the exhibit! Almost.

And that was only a small part of the exhibit! At the risk of sounding like I work on the marketing team of this project (which I unfortunately do not), you simply MUST go see it for yourselves!

Not that I am saying that it was a wonderful brilliant artistic and life altering experience and so you must go, because if I did, it would only be because its Chanel. As quite frankly, I cannot say that I understood much of the meaning behind most of the exhibits. I wandered through dazed trying to absorb everything. I came out still slightly dazed and confused, but one thing I DO know is that it was definitely a unique experience. Unique experiences do not occur frequently in this jaded world we live in and THAT is why I think everyone should go.

Always the economist, I wonder how this project is being funded. Everything from admission to the booklet was free. And the creation, maintainence and transportation of this project (its takes 51 tanks to transport this structure by boat!) is certainly not cheap!

Image Source: Chanel Mobile Art