Haute Couture S/S08 III

Starting with Armani's tribute to Valentino:

This post, like all of the other recent haute couture posts, is all about Valentino's final show. The old-school king of romance is retiring after more than 40 years of designing flowery and lacey dresses. Personally, I've always been neutral about Valentino. To me, Valentino is a well-respected designer who has been around for a very long time. I don't exactly love or hate his designs because I wasn't even born yet during some of his more memorable designer years and because such fancy clothes isn't exactly studentwear. But this is the very final Valentino show, so let's take some time to admire the final work of a master:

Take note of the Phillip Tracey hats -they're so pretty! Isn't the bow on Natalia V.'s head SO adorable? I could totally imagine a red one on Blair (Gossip Girl)!

OK, so I admit I can't tell the difference between this collection and Valentino's RTW line. They just all look very lady-like to me.

The gold, 20's dress on the left is one of my favourite from this collection. It's modern but still very classic-looking.

Flowers in many different forms -a signature of Valentino's.

Chic and elegant.

Gorgeous! Don't the purple/ pink flowers just look like they're growing on a vine on these dresses?

These dresses look so big and puffy, yet still so light and floaty. Just what certain romantic dresses are supposed to look like.

The silver (or is it white?) dress on Vlada (right) is another one of my favourite dresses in this collection. It's SO gorgeous!
Farewell Valentino!

Image credit: www.vogue.co.uk

Haute Couture S/S08 II

Chanel
To be honest, the last few seasons of Chanel have not been too impressive for me. It was either uninspiring or so artistic that it was beyond my comprehension. But in this season's haute couture show, the Chanel I know is finally back. The collection was simply AMAZING and I loved everything on the runway. Inspired by spiraling forms and delicate colors of shells, the models resembled youthful nymphs flowing down the runway. According to the reviews, there was also a giant Chanel jacket made of concrete in the room, that reminds one of the Tristan throne in the Little Mermaid, further alluding to the sea theme.
By pairing the classic Chanel suit jackets with these short draping and pleated skirts, Karl cleverly adds a flirty fun touch to the whole outfit.
The collar of the long coat (left) adds a modern touch to a classic piece. And the exaggerated style of the white blouse (right) is elegantly distinctive and not clownish at all (as over exaggerated pieces tend to be).
The evening/cocktail dresses were the best. Karl had beautiful romantic pieces (like above), exquisitely made with frills and details, that were pretty, girly and very very feminine.
He also had more modern youthful fun pieces that were totally adorable and cute.
He then had modern yet more sophisticatedly designed pieces that were elegant and simply stunning. The workmanship of that silver long dress is simply genius. The frills, the different materials and those two pockets- genius!
And of course there were black dresses (wouldn't be a Chanel runway without black dresses!). These are definitely more creative and different from the black Chanel dresses we're all used to. In fact, the black dress on the left reminds me a teensy bit of Armani......
And I love love love the last silver dress (right). She looks exactly what I imagine a fairy/nymph would look like. I especially like the fact that it is more loosely cut and not like all those super fitted evening wears out there we're so used to seeing.
Another thing I love about this show are the mary jane the flats throughout. All the models wore flats with outfit, which gave an extra youthful touch to all the outfits- even the evening wear. It totally made me rethink the role of flats. That sit, after I write this I am going to go dig out my mary jane flats!
Oooh and the hair. I LOVE the hairstyle, they made them look like fairies even more. I wonder how I can make this look more wearable..... perhaps a neat bun with gorgeous sparkly hair accessories?

Christian Lacroix
The theme of the Christian Lacriox show was, An Angel Passing By. I don't really see how that is from the outfits, but maybe it is something one feels when one is there? Anyway, despite that, I thought the collection was quite marvelous. It was everything I expected from a Christian Lacroix haute couture show. As the reviewer on style.com said, "...Lacroix is doing nothing new. The ideas that went into this incredible collection are the ones he's always worked at: influences from the eighteeth century, fin de siècle Paris, and gypsy costume." And I totally agree. What is really marvelous about his collection is the genius way he throws the most unlikely fabrics and colors together and makes it work in the most stunning way visually. His intricate and exquisite workmanship is also unparalleled.
An excellent example of his mastery with mixing. Who would've thought that red plaid, blue brocade and leopard print and blue/black strips, red plaid and leopard print would go so well together?
Admittedly a lot of times, his outfits are more costume like than ever, but that IS the point of haute couture. Just LOOK at the workmanship! How does the sleeves (and the dress for that matter) hold up (left)??? How does the drapes and shape of the skirts stay that way?
My personal favourite outfits were his blue ones. I'm not sure if it is simply a personal obsessions with blue for me or not, but the blue outfits just looks STUNNING. He had these two that were distinctively Victorian with a bit of an equestrian feel.
And these two blue creations are also brilliant in a more "modern" style that is both vibrant and youthful.
I am still trying to decide whether these two would make vividly gorgeous wedding dresses in reality (minus all that heavy headgear etc) or would just make a bad memory.

Regardless of its practicality in real life, the Lacroix collection was a visual feast for those of us who love beautiful things.

Givenchy
On the other end of the spectrum, we have the Givenchy collection that is the antithesis to Lacroix's style. While Lacroix had vibrant hues and an array of different patterns and flowing textures, Riccardo Tisci had subdued colors and a structured style that is distinctively minimalist. Yet they both equally make us salivate with lust just looking at them. Inspired by the gothic ballerina, the shape of the skirts were both flowing and structured all at once. How does he DO it??? With a lot of starch? And the tailoring of the jacket (left) and the ruffles (right) on the top is just genius.
The outfit on the left is the definition of minimalism. And the white dress is a beeeeeautiful work of art.
Besides black and white, Tisci also experimented with metallic fabrics and other bold colors (he also had a really really all red dress!). I love the shape and tailoring of the metallic dress (left) and how he mixed the fabrics in the green/white dress (right).
I absolutely LOVE these two dresses. You know how in Project Runway they talk about how a collection needs to be coherent yet not repetitive? Well I think these two are the definition of that. They are obviously from the same collection, yet one is feminine and girly (left) and one is styled and sophisticated.

Image Source: Elle.com

Haute Couture S/S08 I

'Tis the week for mega-gorgeous, artistic and unwearable couture!

Christian Dior
Haute Couture S/S08 started off with a bang with the ever-dramatic collection from Christian Dior by John Galliano. As per the collections from the last few haute couture seasons, this collection was composed of strong, bright, vivid colours. The theme of this collection was Madame X, which I know nothing about and am not bothered to Wiki it, but do do so if you're interested. To be honest, while these couture pieces are all truly amazing, I'm not completely awed after Dior's Japanese collection in HC S/S07, my favourite yet. Perhaps it looks more stunning in real life.
The jewel colours are SO gorgeous. Gosh, imagine all the work put into constructing the dress and all those little details!
These are great to look at (in an artistic way) and very unwearable.
Don't the models look like they're wearing super-volumous dresses with capes on? And please don't tell me that the grey dress (left) is made of animal skin because that's just scary. (Hmm, maybe I should look up a closer-up photo.)
Aww, these are so cute and girly! (-in an expensive and unrealistic way of course.)

Anne Valerie Hash
I like how this collection feels very delicate, yet still edgy in some ways, (maybe it's the neatral colours or the menswear characteristics.) A very soft and feminine collection, with some current trends incorporated in:
Huge shoulders.
Soft and see-through.
Pencil-dress and menswear.

Giorgio Armani Prive
I think this is the first Armani Prive collection that I have truly liked, (or maybe it's just that I've already forgotten the older collections.) I've always thought Amrani collections as sleek, sophisticated in a slightly outdated fashion. Yet this collection feels more modern and softer.
The suits look somewhat impractical. Good thing people don't actually wear these, but if only we could wear cute, bubbly suitskirts to work!
I especially love the cocktail dresses -so divine! Sigh.
Cocktail dresses as art pieces.
As for the long gowns, they're feminie and glamorous as always.

Image Credit: http://www.style.com/

Kirsten Dunst For Miu Miu SS08 Ads

For people who love to shop, January is a bit of a dry month. But for fashion-lovers, January is pretty exciting as it is when a lot of the SS campaigns are released. One of the campaigns I've been most anticipating is the Miu Miu campagin because a) Kirsten Dunst is Miu Miu's model of the season, and b) I usually love Miu Miu's campaign images. I have to admit I didn't really like Lindsay Lohan's FW07 campaign. Maybe I just didn't think Lindsay suited Miu Miu, or maybe the images just seemed too grown-up for Miu Miu.

The colour scheme of the SS08 campaign seems pretty similar to the FW07 one. But what I like about this campaign is that it really conveys the feeling of the clothing collection - the clothes and bags are very obviously featured, but it still manages to be artistic and dramatic. Also, I think Kirsten did really well. She manages to look coy, theatrical and ladylike while still looking playful. (You have to stare at it for awhile before really feeling the images. Go to the Miu Miu website for larger pictures.)

Now I don't actually love all the images, but I like the campaign as a whole. Plus I may be biased as Kirsten is my favourite actress. And while it would be nice to see Miu Miu use a model to model the campaign, it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon.

I want to say this looks like a good 'look' for work (minus the red bow on the head,) but the skirt is way too short. If only I could go to work looking this chic though! Even the bag looks big and practical for work!

Hmm, I couldn't decide whether I like this image (top)...

or this image (top) more. But these two are definitely my favourite out of the lot. The clothes are SO cute, girly and quirky. I just don't know where one would wear them. Oh well, it's not like I could afford these clothes.

Do you like Kirsten's Miu Miu ads?

Image credit: http://www.miumiu.com/

Sleeping Before 1a.m.

At the beginning of January, BG and I evaluated our New Years Eve celebration on the phone. (We like to evaluate all our activities in great detail. Sometimes our talks are even longer than the actual events!) Then we decided to set out our new year's resolution. Reading back on my 2007 resolutions, I cannot imagine what I was thinking back then so this year, I wanted the resolutions to be beneficial and somewhat achieveable. I think I should admit here that I write new year's resolutions mostly for the fun of it and not 100% because I spend my whole year slaving over them.

So anyways, I suggested one of my last year's resolution for both BG and me, but we modified it: "Aim to sleep before 1a.m. -For the nights I'm not out." I added the last remark to make it realistically achieveable. And it's not like I'm out much anyways, so it's ok.

Usually I'm not one to broadcast my resolutions, but since I think some of you out there might benefit from it, I thought I would share it and maybe you would consider it too. I take skincare pretty seriously. After washing my face at night, I always put on eye moisturiser, (I'm currently using the two in the picture above.) And while this may seem like the norm to many of you, I know people who actually don't use eye moisturiser. Anyways, so in the past few years, I usually go to bed from 2am-6am -not exactly healthy. There are always emails to check, youtube to watch, Facebook to stalk (uh hum, BG,) random sites to surf, books to read...... You get my point.

And while it was totally fine and not os obvious when I was younger, I've noticed that when I sleep very late now, the skin around my eyes have starting to age. Think dark circles, puffy eyebags and most scarily, fine lines. So in an attempt to stop all these from happening so soon (-I'm not that old!), I have decided to really try sleeping before 1, or erm, maybe at 2.

What are your beauty-related New Year resolutions?

Image credit: http://www.sephora.com/

Light-Coloured Blazer With Black Satin Lapels

Hey, so you may have noticed that the blog has been on a short standstill. BG is currently enjoying a chilled, though rainy holiday in Sydney. As for me, I've been MIA for a week because the thingy that gives off the wireless broadband signal broke down at home! (I feel the need to explain because my friend, J was nice enough to make sure I was alive on Facebook, and to apologise for sending out panicked texts and emails from the library to some friends.) So basically, I've been living in an Internet-less environment for 5.5 LONG days. Very long days. I don't know about you, but I'm extemely Broadband-dependent. After digging out all the wires at home and attempting all possible ways to access the Internet and failing, all I thought was, OMG how am I going to survive? Omg, save me. The situation was somewhat like the situation descibed in this NYT article.

So obviously, I finally have broadband wireless at home, (thank goodness!) and can blog again. Today's post is about one of my favourite item of clothing, the blazer. Specifically, light-coloured blazers with black satin lapels. I'm not 100% sure that the black bits are called lapel but I basically mean the collar and the flap of fabric along the V-neck. (Yes, I know I lack fashion knowledge.)

Even though I only own one black blazer, I realised that black blazers sometimes look too boring or formal for casualwear. So when I saw this Marc by Marc Jacobs blazer I really wanted it. It's so sleek, well-cut and cool. And since it's cropped, the length looks really flattering and perfect. Unfortunately it costs 398USD -well above my budget for a not-too-practical blazer. If you think about it, white jackets get dirty really easily, and this blazer is definitely not one for the worn-out look.

After searching awhile, I found another one. This one is by Lux at Urban Outfitters. OK, so it's not white and doesn't look as sleek as the Marc one. Just in case the picture isn't clear, it's light grey and has grey stripes on it. But at 55 pounds, it's way more affordable and worth it for casual-going-out wear.

What does everyone think of these blazers?

Image credit: http://www.shopbop.com/, http://www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk/

Cozy Gloves

To protect our hands in the chilly winter (they are one of the coldest extremities!) a pair of cozy gloves is an essential investment.
Having grown up in the subtropics all my life, I never really needed to wear gloves. So when I went the States, I got really excited and thought, "Yes! Now I can finally wear all those cute woolen gloves with the matching hats that they sell from Ralph Lauren!" I even bought a matching pink cable knit beanie, scarf and gloves in preparation! Unfortunately, when I finally got to the windy city, I realized that the measley protection that my woolen mittens were not enough. Not only were my fingers numbed from the cold, but the gloves got WET (from the snow) and made my hands even colder! (Above: RL)
And so I finally decided to invest in a pair of more serious gloves. My attention turned to leather gloves, because they were waterproof and they looked fitted enough that I'd be able to kinda utilize my fingers. I finally settled on a pair from Marshall Field's with serious looking lambswool lining (it was fluffy looking). They've served me well for the last three years. Recently, I also bought a pair of leather gloves with faux fur lining from Milan cause it was on sale, it looked so sleek and the fur lining inside felt soo nice and divine (almost real like!). Though they've both served their purpose for me so far, but I have to admit, on occasions when I'm outdoors in the negative degrees for too long, my hands and fingers still get numb from the cold afterwards! (Above: RL)
This made me wonder how people survived wearing those thin lined leather gloves of cashmere, silk and fleece when my very serious fluffy ones don't quite do the job! My friend who owns a pair that is lined with cashmere, claims that the warming properties of cashmere does the trick- even better than faux fur. She let me tried her gloves for 10 seconds and it felt warm enough, but I'm still skeptical. It just doesn't make logical sense for me! I know cashmere is extra warm, but ultimately it is still really really thin. Can it possibly top the job of many many layers of fluff? (Left: RL, Right: Saks)
Oh and if you like to build snowmans, go skiing or have a snowball fight i.e. anything that involves direct contact with snow, a pair of very very serious waterproof super fluffed up North Face style gloves is probably a good idea. I made the mistake of going skiing with my first pair of leather gloves and the leather was positively ruined (in my defense, it was my first time skiing and I didn't see the point of getting a pair just for half a day of skiing). After that, since they were ruined anyway, I tried to build a snowman with those gloves (snowman building is SO much harder than it looks on tv!). After an hour not only did my snowman looked pathetic (the snow just wouldn't pack!), but my fingers were beyond frozen and numb- it was burning! How I wish I had a pair of these at that moment........(Above: North Face)

Image Source: Saks, Ralph Lauren and Nordstrom