Pleats, Please

As I'm frantically packing to go to Surabaya, my hometown, everything in my path looks like a shipwreck! Don't you hate packing? I never know what to bring, then comes the problem of selecting clothes you love but ending up with no actual outfits because each single piece just doesn't look good together! I'm such an over-packer, I always think I'll need things that I don't. Are any of you like that?

Amidst all this mess, I'll have my momentary calm in writing down and blogging for a bit. I wore this outfit recently to go to a farewell party followed by some cocktails with friends. We all have our LBDs, I happen to have quite a few (although sometimes I get bored of it too)! Accordion pleats that are not just confined to schoolgirl skirts seem to be making a comeback these days...

I personally think that the point of LBDs is for you to have fun accessorising! Pretty much everything goes with black, so to keep things a little less dull I added a waist belt, leopard print pony hair platforms, a green clutch and a colourful necklace!

Definitely wouldn't have gotten this dress hadn't it been for the little layered pop of neon pink at the bottom. I like how under different lighting you can see through the sheerness of the black outer layer.

I am in LOVE with this shoe! It's tall, is leopard printed calf hair (!!) and is super comfortable to wear.

Since my accessories take centre stage, here's a little close up to show you the details. I love Tom Binns' jewellery but at $1000 a piece, I think I'll get it in better days to come. I found this Tom Binns-ish necklace at a steal in a local Singaporean boutique called Femme-X for S$25!

Juicy Couture dress, Miu Miu leopard print platform heels, Nina Ricci belt, BCBGMaxAzria clutch

It's finally time to me to board the plane and go to my personal food heaven, Surabaya. If any of you are as big a glutton as I am, I'd recommend you take a weekend jaunt down to my little hometown :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Master Class: Vogue UK September 2011

Freja Beha Erichson graces the cover for the September issue of Vogue UK. She also features in a stunning, albeit melancholy, editorial with Arizona Muse. These girls have been everywhere in the past year. Along with Anja Rubik and maybe Lara Stone, I'm pretty sure they have been to more runways, covers and editorials in the high fashion circuit. It's also rumoured that Freja and Arizona have been "romantically linked" this past runway season! We'll wait and see how that bit of gossip develops...

Titled "Master Class," it is shot by Mario Testino.

To me, it's a mix of lots of different elements. It echoes the great Dutch artist, Johannes Vermeer who painted works like The Girl with the Pearl Earring. At the same time, it has a religious, nun-like undertone. Then there's something a little dead and robotic about the models too.

Credits: zac-fashion

Don't you love the moody, monochromatic atmosphere of all this? It makes nuns and being conservative look so fashionable. Those accessories are really something worth coveting!

Coveting Cold Weather: Fall 2011

Many designers have finalised their ad campaigns for the Fall 2011 season and my, what a lavish spread it is! I thought I would show several of the ones that caught my eye, whether good or bad. I feel like ad campaigns should exude an attitude and most importantly, a concept. It's not only about selling beautiful clothes but a certain lifestyle that comes with it and that we consumers, would want to buy in the hopes of tangibly encapsulating the attitude of the campaign.

Dolce & Gabbana

I always love the plurality of the Dolce & Gabbana campaigns. It's never one, two or even three people but always a group. The composition exudes their signature Italian "refined" glamour. Love the juxtaposition of the androgyny and femme fatales. Makes me want to wear their dresses with those gorgeous blazers. Can you spot all the famous model faces in the campaign?

Givenchy

They have got to be one of my favourite fashion houses over the past several years. I like the slightly masculine (but not too man-repeller) attitude of their clothes. It's edgy, chic but embraces lots of femininity all at the same time. This ad campaign also features Naomi Campbell but I prefer Mariacarla Boscono all the way! Look at that lushness but it's really quite a simple campaign.

Gucci

I think their Fall 2011 really captures a certain attitude that many other campaigns may not have. The heavy fur, jewel-toned colours and overall hue of the campaign makes for a visual feast. Simple but interesting, contrasts between light and darkness - I love it!
Props to Frida Giannini for really turning Gucci into something not so logo oriented that made the brand really tacky for a while. Abbey Lee-Kershaw looks sublime in these photos.

Versace

I WOULD DIE (live and die again) IN THIS DRESS! It's so beautiful! Opulence with such a clean, androgynous aesthetic that's contradictory to the dress itself. Versace has steered itself to a direction that is so much more pleasing to my eye in the last couple of years. I remember a time when it was all about skimpiness... and now Donatella finally understands the impact of glamorous understated clothes that hint at the female figure rather than "Hello, I'm $50 an hour."
Now, can someone please adopt me and buy me this dress? kthx.

Roberto Cavalli

OK, I admit I was surprised at the amount of designers' ad campaigns I liked that I usually didn't like. Case and point: Roberto Cavalli. For those living in Singapore, you know how uglayyy as a hawker centre bin the ad campaigns they have plastered on the walls and windows in Mandarin Gallery are.
This dear friends, is captivating! I think I'm a sucker for contrasts: the dark and neutral coloured leopard prints really stand out against a luscious background of red, pink and golden leaves.
If only we all looked that good frolicking in Fall foliage... in full length silk dresses no less.

I've more campaigns to show you but it's a lot of pictures, so read on!

Metallic Keyholes

Went to Marina Bay Sands with my mum the other day to attend this jewellery thing at Mondial. We stayed there for about 15 minutes, had some champagne and my mum turns to me and says, "Tish, we have to get out of here now. Otherwise I'm going to buy everything in here! ... And that's not a good thing" My mum is the ultimate sucker for jewellery.

We headed up to Ku Dé Ta on the 57th floor of the hotel and continued our night there. Kept it casual with the outfit but jazzed it up a bit with some accessories. I was dying to wear a dress I got recently, but it seemed a little too formal, will have to debut it some time! Instead, I debuted my new rose gold Brian Atwood Maniacs! So in love with this pump: the shape, colour and height.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I need to get the guts to eventually start photographing outside and in daylight. Got inspired by Lanvin's Resort 2012 collection in a stairwell and thought it a good place to start. Not too many people take the stairs, so I don't exactly have to face public scrutiny while taking pictures of myself! Kinda like the gritty feeling of cement too.

These Brian Atwood babies were the brainchild of a collaboration between Atwood and Victoria Beckham. She loved the rose gold Rolex watch David Beckham got her so with her obsession for ultra high heels and Atwood's Maniacs, the rose gold colour took form. If I'm not mistaken, they were seen on her runway collection not too long ago.

Maxstudio.com green silk blouse, Zara black leather-panelled leggings, Brian Atwood rose gold Maniac, Hermès Birkin bag, various rose gold accessories.

I don't know if you can really define this as colour blocking but it definitely is colour combining? Took out one of my favourite tops from Maxstudio.com since I haven't worn it in a while. I love the unique details at the top and the back because it's a mixture of chiffon that's "embroidered" (I don't think I can really call it embroidery because it's textured and floaty) and pearl beads covered in the same green chiffon. This is also the first time in about 3 months (with the exception of my time in Europe) that I've worn trousers/leggings. Singapore is so hot! I'm sure anyone anywhere will agree with me on how hot this summer has been.

Hope everyone's having a fantastic week, it's almost the weekend!

You Know I'm No Good: Amy Winehouse

As we all know, Amy Winehouse passed away on the 23 July 2011 at the young age of 27. The singer whose cause of death is still unknown, but is suspected to be due to emphysema, had hits such as "Rehab" and "Valerie". Despite her public battle with drugs and alcohol, there is no doubt that Winehouse made great music; something I sing along to in my shower.

Amy Winehouse for Harper's Bazaar USA, October 2010

Although there are many bad aspects we can tear Amy down for, she not only made music that is distinct, but also had a quirky fashion sense that is immediately recognisable. With her winged eyeliner, beehive and tattoos, Amy represented an updated look of a '60s girl complete with patterned dresses and hot pants.

Her signature look has inspired a Vogue Italia editorial shot in 2007 by Steven Meisel. I think it's one of the most gorgeous and textural editorials I've seen in a while. It features Hanne Gaby Odiele, Kinga Rajzak, Lara Stone, Maryna Linchuk and Meghan Collison. The use of colours and patterns is stunning! Take a look at some of the pictures I've selected:

"Vogue Patterns"

Photographed by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia, December 2007

These pictures are really entrancing. At first, you don't really know where to look because there are so many patterns going on but Steven Meisel did a fantastic job capturing the models and their clothes.

While she may not be someone to aspire to, there is no doubt that her style resonates with many. As a result, beautiful editorials such as this are created. Apologies for the overload of pictures, I was so captivated by the patterns!

R.I.P Amy Winehouse (1983-2011)

Neo-navy Leopard

Just wanted to do a really quick outfit post to show you the bargain of a shirt I got from the Zara sale the other week! I'm very wary of leopard prints just because I feel a lot of them look a bit tacky, especially when worn incorrectly. Also, I'm not that big a fan of leopard prints (unless done correctly like Dolce&Gabbana) to begin with. As a solution, I went and bought a shirt that technically has leopard prints on it but it's in blue! So you can't really tell they're leopard unless you really look for it.

Here's my little weekend outfit while lounging on my balcony deck - of course, sipping some cocktails! Except for the fact that the pictures aren't actually on my balcony... awkward! Anyway, snapped some quick shots after I came home from watching Transformers 3! Singapore has been so hot lately that I can't even fathom to think of wearing anything remotely related to pants.

Tried carrying the bag and it was so awkward, so I just got rid of it and put it on my bed.

So can you tell it's leopard print? I think the white and blue makes it much more subdued to wear rather than traditional leopard print that I find a little daunting to incorporate into my wardrobe.

My mother will not (for the life of me) get me a Hermès collier de chien bracelet! While seeing how cool it really is to "wear" one, I got myself a little Hermès-inspired CDC in the hopes of convincing her how good it looks haha! Tactics, dear friends, tactics! Yet, she allows me to get their watch (wearing it) and their bag (above)!

I know some girls really love their heels and I don't blame them because it makes your gams look like they belong to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (look at my Transformers reference!) but, heels aren't healthy for your feet if you wear it for too long and too often.

In cases like this, I definitely turn to my trusty flats. I got these while I was travelling in Europe for such a bargain! Aside from Tory Burch and Lanvin, I don't often find ballet flats that look good on my flat feet so these Gucci ones were a must-have the minute I tried them on :)
A major plus point is that they're not those super tacky Gucci flats that you can see from a mile away with their brown logos... it's silver (easy to match) and understated (big advantage!).

Zara shirt, Mango shorts, Gucci flats, Hermès bag

I've promised myself to shoot some outfit posts in the coming days in broad daylight! So stay tuned and have a great weekend. 

I definitely am (or at least bittersweet) because I'm going to see Harry Potter Pt 2 today and my childhood is officially going to be over!

Shoe-o-graphy

I think any girl can understand why we have shoe fetishes. With the amount of heels, booties, lace-ups, stilettos, wedges, espadrilles, platforms... and you name it out there; it really leaves no room for anyone not to like something.

As a result of my trolling around different websites for shoes I fantasise about... these are some gorgeous shoes to add to my collection when I have stacks of money the size of the Empire State Building. And by then these shoes will be so outdated! Most of the shoes are from F/W '11 collections of the respective brands - feel free to ask me more in the comments!

Left to right

Top row: Fendi, Nicholas Kirkwood, Charlotte Olympia

Bottom row: Yves Saint Laurent, Reed Krakoff, Christian Louboutin

Clockwise from top left: Christian Louboutin, Marni, Alexander McQueen, Giuseppe Zannoti, Christian Louboutin, Azzedine Alaïa, Lanvin, Miu Miu

Left to Right: Giuseppe Zanotti, Reed Krakoff, Nicholas Kirkwood, Lanvin

I could imagine wearing these heels a million different ways and in a million different ways, it could spruce up an outfit. They're all so beautifully crafted (as we all know) but they're so unique, such stunners in their own way. But of course, if I were to hoard all of these in one season; I think I'd really have to pawn my life to some mindless job just so I can wear these sublime beauties to work.

So what shoes are on your mind? What items are you lusting after?

Colour Me Mine

I've been so sick these past two weeks that I've been house bound whilst coughing and sneezing and feeling downright lousy. So I've managed to hoard a bunch of images that have given me a little inspiration while I wait to recover.

I used to think I was a colourful girl with a wardrobe that exhibited colours of the rainbow, but now that I actually try and curate my clothes... that is sadly not the case. In retrospect, it's slightly strange because as an arts student I was always about the colour - I never painted a work that was purely black and white. Yet, my wardrobe is so neutral! Blacks, beiges, looots of white and my supposed subconscious colour of choice, green.

So here's to hoping these colourful images will strike some dormant technicoloured nerve and really go out there and get myself more varied clothes! In my defence, as the colour blocking-neon trend has been everywhere, I've gladly added oranges, fuschias, blues and purples to my growing collection ;)

This is Janice Dickinson (left) feature in a March 1979 edition of Vogue. Reminds me of Gucci if it were one of those vintage 1950s sock-hop girls

How Phillip Lim is this suit? Celia Hammond in August 1996 Vogue

Credits: Tommy Ton for style.com, Vogue

Nevertheless, how could anyone resist these neutral beauties? You can't go wrong with something as sublime as this!

Credits: fgr
So what kind of girl are you? One of colour or one who's neutral?

Peek, If You Dare

So here goes my first outfit post in a LONG time! I just had the idea of shooting it after getting back from a farewell dinner and drinks at Senso and Ku De Ta with my relatives so excuse the bad lighting and background. It really means I need to either a) get a WILLING photographer, or b) get one of those remote controlled timer things and c) get the balls to photograph myself in broad daylight in front of people!

So here's a new blouse I got from the recent Topshop sale! Caught my eye right away because it's flowy and it's got an awesome open back. I love anything that has an unexpected touch to something quite conservative looking - and I'm a sucker for drop backs, open backs, keyhole backs, you name it. Don't you think showing your back is more sophisticated than flaunting decolletage?

It's too bad you can't see the detail on my skirt because it's black crocheted fabric that gives a slightly peekaboo effect. Blame it on the bad lighting and those unsightly cables! So shameful...

I love these shoes! Scored them at a great Bally sale some time ago - it's so 1920's art deco. Plus, they're really comfortable that I could wear them all day without getting tired.

A couple of silly pictures before I round off the post. I was probably singing to Maroon 5 there, as usual, jamming it out in my room alone! Also, wanted to show you guys the rings my mum got made for me - first two pieces of real jewellery (actually sort of my matches my earrings too, another piece my mum got).

Topshop blouse, Karen Millen skirt, Chanel bag, Bally shoes, Hermes watch

On a side note, finally got the Chanel bag I've been dreaming of! I know so many people have it but my mum was so adamant that I couldn't get one unless I deserved it. So I welcome the classic Jumbo Caviar into my bag collection - love!