eye see!!

A sketch I made last night in the wee hours of the night..

A short post, but I got these sunglasses a while ago from Aldo and have been loving them! I was actually looking for more Ray Ban Wayfarers, but instead I saw these. I love the detailing... and it's finally light outside for long enough so I can wear my sunglasses for longer periods of times...

like fine wine

Weather, when can I pull out the maxis??

While the weather is still in limbo, I can't wait until it's actual spring weather so I can pull out the spring/summer stuff I've been wanting to wear all winter. I just want to go around wearing a maxi skirt, run around in a field, not have to wear winter coats and just have some sunshine...

Who am I kidding, I still want to run around in short shorts!!

It's really interesting how we acquire our tastes and how these tastes and preferences eventually evolve and mature into our personal style. Last spring/summer, I wanted to wear short shorts all day every day, and now I've made a fast break for the long dresses, hah! Also shows how easily I succumb to trends...

The Sartorial man who is painfully missing in my life... love the collar!

A few days ago one of my friends told me he bought the Esquire handbook for dressing or something like that. I told him to read The Sartorialist more often. I think it's hard to define a style for oneself. And while I appreciate that he is caring more about his appearances via some Esquire handbook, in the end, true style points come from how you define what you wear: you wear the clothes, the clothes don't wear you.

I can always recognize Emmanuelle Alt, too

I think it's skill to be recognizable by first glance on the street - Anna Dello Russo, anyone? It says a lot about how you've incorporated style into yourself.

To some (a lot) people, all this that I'm talking about sounds like rubbish. Clothes will be clothes, pieces of cloth at most. But clothes are a huge contributor to your outward appearance. What you wear, how you wear what it is, whether you like it or not, makes you. And these outward appearances make the biggest difference in terms of first impressions. This is why you will wear the suit to the interview and not the pajamas - you want to appear proper and reliable for your job.

I find myself inexplicably attracted to the current more western/Cali trend going on...

But who am I to speak? I have barely found my true style niche. At this stage I'm still flitting between trends... Style, personal taste, these are all things that take time to mature... like fine wine.

to bob or not to bob?

Arizona Muse: owner of THE most amazing bob...

As a Danish prince knows, that is the question. But before I get ahead of myself, are you guys noticing the revamp? I like that the design is cleaner than before. I had to get rid of the cool background image because I couldn't get it to be static... what? Okay fine I'm incompetent aka lazy so now you guys get a simpler design. And for those of you who use bloglovin, the link is on the side!

Appealing to my nerd sensitivities.....

And speaking of revamping, now that it is spring (even if the weather would like to protest otherwise), I'm feeling for a haircut, a la welcoming the new spring with the end of winter. I need a haircut anyway - before the split ends start creeping in. The question is whether or not I'm willing to try something new this time... One of my new favorite models, Arizona Muse, has probably one of the coolest bobs ever. So much so it's tempted me to possibly consider getting a similar haircut. But my hair is stick straight (typical Asian hair), which would require me to perm my hair... I've had stick straight, long-ish hair all of my life it's so hard for me to picture myself in any other hair. I love how Muse's hair is so naturally wavy in all the right spots to give the bob a more refreshing, young feel (and NOT Anna Wintour bob-y)...

Maybe the question should be, "Do you want to look cool or not?"

So should I? To bob or not to bob (Arizona Muse style, of course), that is the question... ugh she looks so cool with that haircut!!!!


Photo Credits: Arizona Muse for Dazed & Confused; Arizona Muse for Madewell (x2)

forever "it"

The Bag To Rule Them All.....

First of all, apologies for being MIA for so so long... once the new semester starts, everything starts catching up and I had little time to update. Although it was probably for the better that I did not update as I've been lacking inspiration these days - as it is spring break and I'm being unsocial, I'm lounging around at home in my slouchy sweaters. But I will try my best with updating from now on! This blog will not be a fad... (and I need to be better about photographing)... Anyway....

Chanel, a classic beauty I will never admit to owning a knock-off of

One of the dilemmas of being a poor college student is not knowing when to invest in a great bag. I have a love-hate relationship with the so-called "it-bags." On one hand, I'm totally smitten, but on the other hand, I know it will inevitably cause a dent in my wallet. Dilemma. That's why I turn to "perennial-bags." These are bags that stay "it" all the time and you won't have to worry about buying yet another bag for next season.

The PS 1 - Forever "It" aka the perfect satchel bag, ever.

Signs of a "perennial-bag":
1. Minimalistic - a simple design with nothing that really stands out in particular. The real beauty of these bags come from their simplicity as a whole
2. They literally go with everything. (Note: everything does not really mean everything. If someone catches you in ugly slouchy sweatpants, ugly sneakers, and a high school team t-shirt, not even that Chanel bag will save you. Am I speaking from personal experience?....... Maybe.)
3. Versatile - you can wear them for different occasions, when you want to look professional, or when you want to be simple and casual
4. Great quality - it's gotta last a long time if you plan on wearing it for years on, right?

The Michael Kors Hamilton tote... another favorite I wish I had...

Speaking of great quality and long-lasting finds, I always hear stories about people discovering great vintage finds in their mom's closet. I think I'll always be thinking about what I'd want my daughter to find in my closet (I know, it's early, but it's still fun to think about), stuff I'd like her to steal from my closet then proclaim to her friends she found it in her (tres tres fashionable) mother's closet.... which means I need to get rid of that knock-off asap but there is no way I'm gonna be able to afford that bag in the near future....

Photo Credits: Jak&Jil Blog, the rest all courtesy Google Images

chunky pumpy

 Shoe cravings...

I am glad to say... gone are the days of the stiletto and hopefully we can now finally move onto the days of more comfortable heels that are not out to break our ankles at every sidewalk crack. The chunky heel is in (thanks to the clog)! I mean, look at the UO shoes pictured above. I want them so bad, so bad for the spring, when I can finally reveal the skin on my feet without my feet getting frostbite...

Time to update my shoe closet (yet again)....

I am so ready to chuck away my old pumps and replace them with these snazzy pumps for the summer. I love the colors... Clearly I have been online shopping on UO too much, but I just love the pumps they have! They have it in this great green color but also in this coral-ish orange color... Dilemma. I'm getting sidetracked, but the point is, I love this pump-clog hybrid. It makes pumps so much more attractive to me. Totally loving this revamp. My old perception of the pumps was something not fun, totally professional, and serious. And now I am finally seeing the playful edge and the younger side.... finally!

Viktor & Rolf camel pumps I wish I could afford..

Part of it, though, is because I have a rustic love for leather and wood. I blame the clog phenomenon, where I fell in love with the thick wood heels and now, naturally, I've fallen prey to these chunky pumps.. But say what you may, I want a pair of these for the spring and I want them now!

Photo Credits: UO x2, Style.com

japanese ファッション

The spirit of Japanese fashion - kawaii and individualistic

Japanese fashion has this really distinct feature about it that makes it recognizable from a mile away. You can't miss it. And you'll always recognize it. The same can be usually said about other places, too - i.e. you can always tell if a girl is from Paris or if a guy is from Italy - but it's uncanny how distinguishable Japanese fashion is. Like smelling fish a mile away....... okay, not the analogy I was going for. But you know what I mean.

Everything is sooo cutee...

This is the land of avant-garde. Over the top? No no no, that is encouraged. Costume? Please, roleplay is a basic. As opposed to the emphasis of fit, it's the thought that counts. People dress with a concept. Flamboyance! And everything still looks so cute!!

Love this take on vintage, pure Tokyo

The Japanese are great at layering. Layering different prints over each others. Layering different lengths over each other to create interesting juxtapositions. Layering weird shapes over each other. Layering interesting colors together. There is no taboo in Japanese fashion because it's all encouraged. They're a walking modern art museum.

Kenzo S/S '11

Of the big Japanese names, my personal favorite is Kenzo (it aligns more closely to my style and I'm not daring enough to really delve into abstract, complex shapes and layerings). This brand really grew out of an East meets West mixing of Japanese traditional patterns. Just looking at the S/S '11 collection, you see the abundant pattern mixing, the length layering (on the left, also something I would probably never wear in real life unless I was costuming..), and the Japanese, oriental prints and even geta-like flat platform sandals (on the right). Love it.

The famous CDG drop crotch pants

If there's a Japanese brand that really describes Japanese fashion for me, it's got to be Comme de Garçons. Just like its name suggests, it is everything boyish. Oversized and hapless layering makes it seem like clothes a little, attention-seeking boy who wants to grow up would wear. This is Japanese fashion to me: forever young, cute, hapless. It's stuff we would try to put together when we were younger, playing dress-up, at a loss for dressing appropriately. Love clothes for what it is, without a care for whether or not it fits us or if it looks costume-y or ridiculous - we wear clothes, we love fashion, because it's fun!! There should never be any airs in fashion, because in the end, we are just a bunch of people who love to wear clothes..

This is what Japanese fashion embodies.

What I would give to go to Tokyo...

P.S. To be fair, I was in Tokyo..... when I was six months old. And lived there until I was one. But I don't think that really counts.... 

Photo Credits: Street Peeper, The Sartorialist, Street Peeper, NYMag.com, Street Peeper (Verbal of Teriyaki Boyz), The Sartorialist

milan favorites!

 One of the best jobs, ever. Seriously.

Soo, sorry that this is a late post, but I have to say, fashion weeks are super overwhelming. I still have like fifty shows' pictures to sift through for Paris... Needless to say, I'm still running behind. Also, this is the first time I've really nitty-gritty paid attention to menswear. Menswear is definitely a different creature - it is so so detail-oriented with the styling. Tough, but also helps train my eye for detail, haha...

Bottega Veneta F/W 2011

My favorite collection from Milan was Bottega Veneta, hands down. After sifting through hundreds of photos of the collections, this was one of the few that actually stuck out to me. Not sure why, but I felt like show after show, I was looking at the same thing over and over again - everybody had the same silhouette shape, everybody had the exaggerated proportions. Everybody had camel and standard fall colors. But Bottega Veneta had this great crumpled look that was closer-fitting on the models than the boxy look from the exaggerated proportions. It's relaxed, it's refined... And I love the velvet - although, a lot of shows had velvet.. It was like everybody rediscovered it at the same time. This is the male look to look forward to..

Jil Sander F/W 2011

Jil Sander, though, won me over with its great colors. I love, love, love the bright colors. It's great for uplifting any fall or winter, since inevitably everybody will be wearing the same camel, the same brown, the same black.. boring (even though I am guilty of such boring-ness in the winter). Also, I loved the tweed workings. But again, we see the exaggerated proportions... same old, same old.

Missoni, Roberto Cavalli, and Burberry Prorsum

Honorable mentions, though. Burberry, as usual, is a big outerwear collection. I love the oversized coats (soo London boy look) and I would love to have one for myself... although I'm not sure that is supposed to be the purpose of a menswear collection (eek). But I love the textures, the materials.. Cavalli was a really 70s look that was super retro and had great accessories. I loved the dusty color palette and I love the combination of bohemian-cowboy with the air of refinement and polished 3-piece suits. And Missoni... great print mixing and I like the African/tribal look.

P.S. Could you guess who's my favorite male model? Haha... no prize even if you guess correctly.

Photo Credits: Tumblr and The Fashionisto for all the runway looks