That Piece of Metal

Up to now, my favourite and most trust-worthy going-out handbag is a small Vuitton Vernis pouch. While I'm not big on monograms, I do think that the monogram on Vernis isn't as obvious or popular as the typical tan-coloured monograms. But what I really like about the Vernis bag is that it's made of patent leather, meaning that it's not 'the end of the bag' if someone spilt a drink on it. Plus the shininess of patent leather just somehow seems to suit going-out at night. But after using it for a few years, it's beginning to turn yellow and just recently at the back of Teen Vogue, the Vuitton ad was advertising this new Vernis bag:

On first glance, I thought it looked like a pretty and practical going-out bag that could last at least four seasons. But right in the centre of the bag, there's gold piece of metal that says 'Louis Vuitton'. In my mind, that's a con.

Unfortunately, having this big piece of metal on bags seems like a thing Marc Jacobs has been favouring in the recent seasons, whether it's at Vuitton...

or Marc Jacobs. Honestly, when I first saw those Marc Jacobs bags in real life, I remember thinking, 'That's ugly. Why would MJ add that brand-named-metal on such nice, contemporary bags?' And is it really necessary? It's usually pretty obvious when a bag is by Marc Jacobs (to me anyways.)

MJ seemed to have started these metal tags a few seasons back with Vuitton's canvas bags. I remember really not liking the tags back then. The thing is, it's understandably harder now for designers to differentiate their bags in the market from high street ones, especially when high street stores manage to produce the bags so quickly and some stores (eg. Zara) actually manage to make the bags to not look cheap. But is this really what designers are offering us now?

This season, Marc by Marc Jacobs has shrunk their metal tag smaller into this 'standard supply' tag, which is kind of an improvement from last season's metal plates (literally). (If you've visited a Marc boutique last season, you would have probably noticed some of the bags had HUGE Marc metal plates on them.)

Gucci has stitched on italic 'Gucci' on some of its bags in recent seasons too. But for some odd reason, it seemed more artistic and prettier than the Louis Vuitton metal tags -and I'm not even a fan of Gucci bags. (The picture here has a huge 'Gucci' name on it. The Gucci bags I'm referring to have smaller ones stitched on.)

Anyways, back to the first Vuitton bag on the top of this post, what does everyone think about it? I can't decide whether the gold metal tag is horrible enough to make me stop considering it!

Image credits: www.louisvuitton.com, www.guicci.com, www.shopbop.com, www.marcjacobs.com, www.saksfifthavenue.com

Lancome: L.U.C.I

The other day I walked passed the Lancome counter and caught a glimpse of their new SS08 collection. Intrigued by the pretty shell packaging and vibrant colors, I booked an appointment to try out the new collection the very next day!
The theme of this SS08 collection by Gucci Westman is L.U.C.I, Luminescent Colorless Color Intelligence (And yes, I am aware that Colorless starts with a C and not a U. *shrugs* Maybe its a french thing?). The idea is to have a collection of colorless shimmery make-up that changes color all the time adjusting to different skin tones and the reflections of light. Doesn't that concept sound so awesome???
To begin with, the make-up artist did the whole usual cleaning, moisturizer, toner, pore minimizer (it is such a Lancome thing!) routine with me. Then she introduced me to their new make-up primer, La Base, which she applied to my face/nose (to fill in the pores) and under my EYES! Apparently, this is a special oil free formula that is even suitable as a eye primer! I'm not sure I follow the logic of oil free --> suitable for eye thing, but I LOVE the idea of undereye primer. It is SO annoying when the skin there is dry/flaky (even my eye cream has been applied!) and thus looks AWFUL when you apply concealer there. This product is genius. And it might be my imagination or the foundation, but I felt that my pores did look smaller. After all that base, foundation and concealer, she finished off the face with the Photonic Illuminating Powder, which is just loose powder with the sparkly light reflection stuff that is suppose to help highlight and sculpt your features. I really didn't feel the difference.
Moving on we had the eye make-up, where I daresay is where the whole luminescent thing should be at it's best. One of my favourite products out of the whole collection is the Illuminator, which is basically cream eye shadows. that goes on clear but reflects color when light hits it. How totally awesome is that??? I LOVE it. I got the "ray of pink light" shade. You can also use it as a base before you apply powder, but personally I think the powder would just mask the effect. If you get the more neutral apricot shade, you can also use it to highlight your features. After all, it DOES say it is an illuminator for the eyes and face.

The other eye make-up product is the eye shadow palette in the pretty white shell shaped box, the L.U.C.I EYES light color in motion duo eye shadows. I was really excited about it. I love eye shadow palettes and the colors looked so vibrant! The white shade that comes with the color is not simply a typical highlighting color, but it is a photonic eye shadow that changes color when light hits it. You can use it for highlighting or blend it with the color to create a third shade! The lady did a combination of ray of green and ray of purple (which is really quite blue) for me and let me say, the colors go on VERY sharply. Unfortunately for me what looked soo pretty in the palette did not go so well with me.... it was so overdramatic that it bordered on tacky on me. Maybe I am just unused to it? I mean, vibrant colors looked SO well on the models! Or could it be that Asian complexion doesn't go well with greens/blues? Well, in the end, as much as I LOVE eye shadow palettes, I had to pass on these ones. And a good thing too. I met up with 3 of my friends after and they were all totally horrified to see me as such!
To complete my eyes, she applied the Courbe Virtuose mascara on me (after the mascara booster of course). This one is suppose to make the lash curve and give divine length, but to me it just felt like any old Lancome mascara for me.... like Hypnose. Another thing I LOVE about this collection is the lip stuff. Even though the packaging is a bit bulky, I really like the Color Fever Shine (left). Especially since they came out with THE perfect ice pale pink color (Pink Flora) that I've been dreaming about. I love it. It applies quite smoothly too. They also have a collection of photonic Color Fever Gloss (right). They have this nice sheer shade that gives the perfect shine by itself and over lipstick. But one must be careful with these lip colors though. They have these two shades that are completely white that are loaded with photonic stuff that when you put it on your lips, it becomes a scary glowing alien color- not good.

Over all, I like the concept of the luminescent thing and subtly it works. But I reserve judgment on the super vibrant colors and the photonic overloaded lip stuff- thats just a little too much for me!

Phew~ well that was a lengthy review of a make-up collection. Kudos for finish reading it!

Image Source: Lancome

Stylish Puffers

Lets face it. As warm as layering and cashmere coats are, the comfy cushiony warmth a puffer provides is hard to beat. Lucky for us, this season designers finally came out with stylish looking puffers! I just LOVE the new designs for the collar. They are so refreshing (if not very practical. I can just HEAR my mom telling me how my neck is exposed to the cold and I will catch a cold....). I especially LOVE this one from Add Down (left), with the wide neck and the belt that gives it shape, it was the puffer that inspired this post! To "protect" the neck, there is also this one from Marc by Marc Jacobs (right), where you can adjust the neckline as needed. I LOVE this puffer as well. Also from Add Down, you can convert the wide collar into a hoodie!!! How CUTE! I also love the neat simple cutting that gives a more flattering body shape. Some other cute designs, there is this high necked puffer from Vince (left). Judging from the puff, it may also be warmer. And for a more biker-ish look, there is this one from Theory (right). For something more classic, we have these ones from Burberry. I've tried on the beige one on the left, and the cutting is actually not that bad and quite flattering! And I think the black one over here is perfect if you want something simple but still with a little bit of a twist (double breasted and high neckline)- your neck will definitely be warm!

Stay stylishly warm everyone!

Image Source: Burberry and Shopbop

SAG 2008 Fashion

Fashion at the SAG Awards this year was a bit of a yawn. There were very few (or argueably no) super impressive dresses. With the fewer number of award red carpets this year, one would imagine the actresses would put more effort into this ceremony, or that more actresses would have turned up. Nevertheless, here are some that I liked:

My favourite was surprisingly Kate Hudson's dress. OK, so her hair is admittedly a bit werid (-it's so shiny and sleek but it looks like something's off about it,) but I love her dress! It's so pretty and flowy-looking. Plus it's got that graceful, bohemian feel to it.

Marcia Cross was gorgeous as usual. Her hair is so perfectly curled. And even though she's wearing green again, that dress has got such gorgeous draping.

Not sure about that hairstyle on Eva Longoria, but this white, backless dress fits her amazingly, as usual. Not a particularly interesting dress though.

Normally I'm not a fan of Debra Messing's red carpet outfits, but I thought she carried off this Oscar de la Renta dress well. I think it's because the gold colour and those embellishment compliment her skin and hair colours well. But the point is, she's looking great and sparkly!

Both Kate Beckingsale and Vanessa Williams wore yellow, but the effect turned out to be very different. Kate looked really elegant and lady-like; kind of Valentino-esque. Vanessa looked feirce -the power of Versace!

I'm not sure how to feel about Amanda Bynes' outfit here. The dress is pretty and fits her well. And her hairstyle is very fun and elegant. But for some odd reasons, the dress kind of reminds me of American prom dresses, (a riduclously well-made prom dress of course.)

Michelle Pfeiffer's outfit looks plain, but everything fits so well and match perfectly. Maybe it's not the most interesting outfit around, but she looks fantastic. I can't get over how she's almost 50 years old!

Becki Newton's white dress is my other favourite dress. I love how it's got such a classy silhouette, but the tiered skirt bit gives it a much more youthful and stylish touch. Loves it!! Plus, I love her perfectly curled and styled hair! (And her Amanda smirk!) As for America Ferrera, I really think she could have done better. Grey and lacy dresses like that should be left for the more mature ladies.

To end this post, I chose this fun photo of Olivia Wilde. I actually really like that dress, and the cool tone matches her cool brunette hair so perfectly!

That's all for now. Hopefully Oscars will still happen and there will be more gorgeous dresses! Whose dress was your favourite?

Image credits: http://justjared.buzznet.com, http://fadedyouthblog.com

2xist - something for men

2-xist is finally here in Singapore!

Yes, the same label that Janice fuckinson rave about on her reality TV. How they are her biggest clientele and explicitly force her male models to be scantily clad at one of their launch parties.

We will not deny that JP Calderon (who cares if he's gay) and Brian Kehoe's the cuttie!

The issue that he confesses; taken at a pool with great directions from Janice

Local men can stop sobbing about being neglected in the lingerie wardrobe.

Launched last Friday, you can find the men's underwear brand from New York in retail mall CK Tang's men's section.


Source: www.2xist.com

27 Dresses

Ever since I heard about this movie a few months ago, I've been waiting in great anticipation to see it. After all, this is probably one of the few chick flicks coming out... since Knocked Up!
Just the name 27 Dresses is a selling point for me. And this cute poster with mention of "Devil Wears Prada" helps too! The actual plot is about how Jane (Katherine Heigl) is a professional bridesmaid, who has willingly donned on some pretty horrible dresses in order to "be there" for her friends on their special day.
In fact, she has 27 of them. Usually I'm quite envious of people's overflowing wardrobes in movies (think Clueless), but I think I'll make an exception in this case.... The story revolves around how Jane's sister, Tess (Malin Akerman) comes into town and falls in love with Jane's boss George- who Jane happens to be in love with for a loooong time! I thought it was quite amazing how they managed to make Katherine Heigl (whom I always thought looked quite pretty in Grey's Anatomy) look like the "plain Jane" in this movie compared to Tess.
During that time, Jane also meets Kevin (James Marsden!) the wedding journalist for the New York Journal- and the chick flick romance begins.
I've loved James Marsden since his appearance in Ally McBeal many years ago (where he sang Frank Sinatra...sigh!) and his recent Prince charming role in Enchanted was not bad either (if a bit dumbed down). But I LOVE LOVE LOVE his look here. While in his other roles, he'd always had that clean, preppy pretty boy look, his role in this movie as a journalist is ruggedly handsome and charming...sigh............ :)

Over all I liked the movie. I love weddings. I love chick flick happy endings. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE James Marsden. It was just the light hearted fun movie I was looking for. I know that many reviews have found this movie to be sexist because it portrays getting married as the life goal of women, but personally I think that is just the opinion of the female lead here and everyone is entitled to their own opinions and so its not reflective of a whole gender. What did everyone else think?

Image Source: Yahoo Movies

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

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Valentino's Swansong

~ "Business is ruining fashion"~

Tears rolled as the rumor from last July became reality on wednesday.

White goddess gowns, sherbet-shaded suits, signature red hue dresses, were all the highlights of the swansong catwalk.

Jason Schmidt, NY Times

Celebrities, socialites and fashion editors were all jostling for the first (and last) view of the final collection from Italian grandfather of fashion, Valentino Garavani, after a tremendous 45 years of contribution to the fashion world.


One of the few surviving haute couture labels around these days, Valentino was one I research extensively during my days as a fashion student alongside Paul Poiret and Jean Patou from the 1900s.

His intricate beadings, and flattering cuts for the body-conscious are far and above today's couture lines. The very reason why he is very much sought after on red carpets by stars like Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, and Halle Berry.

The infamous vintage gown that won him free publicity
The Oscar, 2003
Source: www.smh.com.au

Valentino's signature lipstick red from 1960 donned by America's sweetheart, Jennifer Aniston
Premiere of Along Came Polly, February 2004
Source: www.instyle.co.uk

Anne Hathaway, 79th Oscar 2007

Though he is parting in happiness (I would too if I were him), yet, the entire fashion world is in mourning, even his seamstresses from his couture workshop in Rome had to wipe away tears, as decades of close collaboration came to an end.


Valentino may not be around in the design studio anymore, but he is scheduled to hit the big screen in a documentary directed by Vanity Fair's ediotr-at-large Matt Tyrnauer.

Retrospective, Ara Pacis in Rome
Source: NY Times

You can watch a short clip of his finale here

Ciao!

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• Oprah goes to Paris: The stars and Valentino
• Guru Valentino retires in true exuberant fashion
• Valentino's Last Show - Gallery