Long time no see

We have Japanese actress Ueno Juri or Australian model Lara Bingle. Who do you think wears it better?

I thought the chunky sequin skirt and black Addams Family style top on Ueno Juri was an original combination however that hasn’t been the case, I came across a pic of Lara Bingle wearing the same clothes, practically unaltered from its Autumn 2011 Louis Vuitton runway glory.

As you can see, the only factors that differentiate the two outfits are the hair and shoes. Overall, I think the top and skirt combo is unique but I won’t go as far to say that it looks stunning on either of these ladies. It’s up to the wearer and/or their stylists to make up their mind and be informed about what kind of garments suit their clients the most.

concerto series.a cello concerto

With my recent obsession for all notes Vivaldi, Rachmaninoff and Bach, it is only a matter of time before I find a way to relate music to fashion. Altogether I’ll be exploring the ideological outfits that my inner musician would wear to a concerto as a Cello soloist, piano soloist, oboe soloist and violin soloist in the next few days. Inspired by the following editorial, first up is……… the cello

Above, US Vogue 2005 editorial, by Gemma Ward and Mario Testino
Below, Sydney Symphony

My three words to describe the cello are: confident, steady and cool. In comparison to the charming and playful sounds of the oboe and flute, the sound of a cello is not lady like at all. The sound and size of a cello almost does not fit with an image of a female player

So I say a female cellist is strong, stylish, intelligent and better not to be messed with. I like how the Chloe outfit below helps bring these images out on the wearer. The details of the outfit below slightly resembles the form of a tuxedo

The pants would be well fitted cut of high quality fabric, finished off with satin folds – shows that you know how to look good without resorting to extravagance, but also knowing what to wear in what kind of situations

Having the top tucked into the pants lengthens the lower body, and makes your movements look more impressive

Summer Essentials 2009/2010

Wow, it’s been a long time since I last posted Summer Essentials

I hope this Summer 2009/2010 edition is able to give you an idea of what to cut out and what to buy this summer

Boater hat Mimco * Sweet dress recipe pattern book
Wear every non-working day, I remember obsessing over fedora hats and not being able to find a decent bowler hat, but they’ve been over-used in the past few years in local fashion ads beyond cliche status, the boater is a more classy alternative, and it’s on sale at Mimco for $30!

Tunic Aubin & Wills
At least 2 wears a week, pair wear with wooden clog sandals and half calf socks

Maxi dress Bardot junior
This is THE dress on every one this season, tye die is also very big. I worked part time retail in the Christmas period which just passed, and saw the maxi dress on a lot of young mums. Halter and strapless styles were very popular, to be honest though, people and their saggy boobs in halter maxis were not a good sight, I prefer the bust to be shirred, it’s fresh, simple and makes you look much younger. The pics above are actually girls maxi dresses, as I was not able to find a womans maxi dress in that style. The same tye dye design can be found in the Bardot ladieswear section as a halter maxi

Clogs Crocs * Funkis
I’m a recent advocate for Crocs, it’s a love hate relationship, actually. They’re hideous (at first sight) but they’re so comfortable! And besides I am going through a childhood reminiscence period right now (could be early 20-something syndrome) but I miss the images of cute little feet in clogs and the equally adorable breezy cotton outfits from childhood

Crocs may not go with every outfit, while Swedish clogs from Funkis is a more versatile option

Above knee shorts See by Chloe
Dress up with tank and blazer, or dress down with cute prints

 

Mix and match tank Malene Birger
Great for summer evenings

<Image sources: mimco.com.au, craftylove.blogspot.com, bardotjunior.com.au, crocs.com.au, funkis.com, net-a-porter.com>

Yay or nay? Chino pants

This particular style was definitely not love at first sight for me… haha and as usual I start liking it when everybody else has moved on

The first time I saw the pants in real life, not just in pictures on The Sartorialist, on someone I just thought ew. It’s far from a flattering shape on its own, and on her, it looked hideous

But like most people, when you start to picture the pants on you, the hideous-ness somehow cuts in half, then I discovered See by Chloe summer collection, and that convinced me that I have to get those pants made/purchased

The pants may not look so fancy on its own, a nice belt or accessory to focus on would definitely highlight the outfit.

If only I could afford Chloe… but I would invest in some good quality fabric and get myself measured at a tailor. Right now the only place I know in Sydney which sell good fabric is Tessuti’s, I would kill to get most of my wardrobe re-made with fabric from there, the store is in CBD and there is one in Chatswood.

As for tailor, I recommend Corner et Studio alterations boutique in Balmain, the finished garment will fit like perfect.

 

 

 

<Image sources: thesartorialist.blogspot.com, dropsnap.jp, style-arena.jp, chloe.com>

Designers for Daffodil Day

Today is Daffodil Day, my friends! If you are, like me who forgot about it until I got off the bus this morning to see a sea of yellow, please don’t just walk past the volunteers holding the merchandise to go waste it on a coffee/tea/donut directly afterwards. There are mini teddy bears, badges, squishy footballs, pens and of course, daffodils for sale. I always get the pens because it is the most economical option for me, they last forever and write very smoothly, they are chunky and very comfortable to hold onto, the design also never disappoints. So if you’re going to get a $5 fancy gel pen from big-w which runs out in a day for a uni student like me, get a Daffodil Day one!!!

I know $5 or $3 is not a conventional price for a pen or simple badge but funds raised go toward helping people and I believe most of us know someone who has suffered or is suffering from cancer, so it is not too difficult to develop a little generosity towards not-for-profit organisations like Cancer Council to assist in providing support for research, better treatments and advance toward a cure.

If you live near Doncaster, Victoria you can also log onto the Designers for Daffodil Day site www.designersfor.daffodilday.com.au, vote for your favourite dresses designed for Daffodil Day by Jayson Brunsdon, Akira Isogawa, Bettina Liano and more and have a chance to win a $500 Westfield Doncaster voucher. Or if you like, you can also bid on the items which are also on auction. Auction closes Monday 31 August.

Good Luck!

Fashion Week and Eurovision Semi-Finals

News #1

Don’t know if you guys watch Eurovision, supermodel Natalia Vodianova hosted the Eurovision semi-finals last Friday. The girl is obviously better at modelling than television presenting, the finals hosts were way more professional, but WHAT IS IT WITH THAT SLEAZE HOLDING onto Natalia like that for the entire duration of the show?!?!

<Image source: Zimbio>

News #2

I know this is very late but I was at Fashion week in early May/late April. Lisa Ho was my first show of the week, enjoy, if you haven’t already seen the pics.

Lacoste Winter 2009

These outfits remind me of the German flag and Ice Queen

 

I am STILL on the plaid bandwagon

I am in SUCH a confused state about plaid. Is it in or is it out?

Plaid is just one of those trends that never go out.. or are never really in, either. It’s just always there..

I have taken a special liking to plaid trousers/shorts lately, the way Tommy Hilfiger’s styled it is very nice but I prefer a more casual take on the plaid trousers. Say, plaid trousers paired with a simple white t-shirt or suspender plaid shorts/skirt with a nice top.

tokyo.paris.who wears it better?

Remember this APC coat? Found Clemence Poesy wearing it a while ago and just recently in Style Arena. The colours are more flattering in the first pic so Clemence Poesy is actually wearing navy

<Sources: Garance Dore, Style Arena>

GYABO! Noda Megumi “Nodame” style

It’s been so long since the last post I nearly forgot the login password!

WordPress says a secure password is where there is more than 8 characters in the password and they have to be a combination of symbols, letters and numbers. So I made this supernova password and I just remember my password by the way it is typed, if you asked me what my password was and there’s no QWERTY keyboard in front of me and it has been more than a month since I last logged in then zilch, no password

If you’re wondering how this relates to the title of the post well it does not ha ha ha! It is just some useless banter to excuse myself for deserting the blog for a while

Noda Megume or Nodame in short is a character in a Japanese classical music drama called Nodame Cantabile

The drama centres around the lives of a messy, unorganised girl with a natural talent for piano called Nodame and a neat perfectionist, who is also the number 1 student (and popular) at Momogaoka music academy called  Chiaki Shinichi (Chiaki-Senpai in short, Senpai is upper classman, Japanese use surnames/first names interchangeably)

Nodame and Chiaki-senpai are both in the piano performance division, Nodame plays the piano and dreams to be a piano teacher. Chiaki is a piano playing aspiring conductor, the two meet by chance when Chiaki-senpai gets wasted and passes out in front of his dorm room so Nodame lets him stay in her messy room overnight

Chiaki-senpai wakes up to Nodame playing a beautiful Beethoven amidst a mountain of rubbish. Chiaki-senpai freaks out, calls Nodame a garbage woman (LOL) and flees. He opens the front door and realises his room is right next door (even more LOL)

Chiaki and Nodame soon meet again when he was chosen to help Nodame with her piano (peer support program or something). Nodame falls in ‘love’ with Chiaki-senpai, he still calls her a garbage woman, but lets her hang around him anyway because they are next door neighbours. Little does he know through his uncaring behaviour that he is nurturing Nodame’s piano

Anyway I think Nodame’s clothes are incredibly cute

<Image source: http://www.designchronicle.com/memento&gt;