Trend watch #1 - Dresses/Tunics

(note: all pieces featured in this entry is from topshop)

The truth is – we’re stuck in a fashion rut. Unless a genius is born and starts a new era of fashion; we’d be stuck in this constant repetition of old is good, vintage is cool, time travel is the now. The last originals were probably the 80s. Hmm…maybe that’s why people are keeping to the tried and tested creations. It seems that we never recovered from the shock of bad fashion sense/style from the 80s that since then we’ve been trying to stick to having re-runs of the fashion that was – from the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Occasionally, moving even backwards beyond those years – think corsets and court shoes.

So here in this entry, I’m going to reveal (ta-daa) what we have in store in this upcoming spring/summer. This doesn’t mean you have to ignore all the previous entries that I’ve written. You can say that this entry is more the trend that’s coming in, while the others were “my pick” of what I think is beautiful from the pile of fashion trends today. I will in this entry dish out some picks of the obvious trends and share my comments of what I think is hot and worth investing and what’s not. Of course, the wallet is yours and you should always express yourself and not some other person’s opinion.

The first pick for the day is Tunic Dresses, because I llluuurrrvvveeee dresses and these tunic dresses are rather cute.

Though shapeless they lend a rather girlie touch to the wearer, especially with those puffy or cap sleeves that they tend to come with. Usually made in soft or stretchable fabric, these dresses falls nicely on any body shapes. Though I will be honest and disclose to you that if you can see your tummy below your breasts, you should avoid these pieces. (A) You will look pregnant or (B) people congratulate you on your pregnancy or (C) it will emphasize that your tummy is protruding. Unless that’s the effect that you want (then congrats on your pregnancy), then do remember this note.







High neck backless dress with long cuffed sleeves. Conservative in front and naughty behind – always a sure win.

Plain blue dress with cotehardie like sleeves.

















This season will be a play of colour. Green dress with ribbed waist; does not completely disregard the waist line, which is good, adding some shape to the body.

Dresses with 60s inspired prints are also hot off the rack.

Ahh…a shocking yellow sun dress to ward off all evil and stay cheery and beautiful.

In Pursuit of Happyness

One of the best reasons to watch this film is that Will Smith is starring in it. Then there’s the fact that his own son, Jaden Smith (or Jaden Christopher Syre Smith), is also making his debut as Will’s character’s son. It’s quite obvious isn’t it? Great marketing stint. Then there’s also the lovely and ubertalented Thandie Newton as the wife who left. And finally, an all American feel good plot about how the ones who strive the hardest, gets the fattest reward. And it’s true – it’s practically inspired by a true story of Chris Gardner, self made millionaire and founder of Gardner Rich & Co.

After reading about the film and then watching the trailer, I knew that I had to watch it for all those reasons mentioned above. But mostly, I love watching anything with Will Smith in it – they’re either fantastically hilarious or a good effort to be meaningful – think Prince of Bel Air and Bagger Vance.

Besides, I needed another boost in my work motivation as I’ve pretty much used up the pack that I got from The Devil Wears Prada, where the super work slave gets some fashion bonuses. And Happyness, is definitely a great shot for putting you back in gear for more demanding and near-impossible jobs.

Chris Gardner is a struggling salesman selling the random-est thing of all – high density bone scanner – to doctors who are not smart enough to buy it. In other words, it takes shit loads of convincing and persistence to make any cents out of it. But his wife is not as patient or optimistic as he is and decides to leave the family, entrusting their son to Chris alone. Then Chris lands this ultimate internship with a competitive stockbrokerage firm where he of course is the only candidate who passes and snags the glamorous job as a stock broker, in which he will earn lots of money and live a relatively happier live with his son. (You can read more about the film or book online. Or just go watch the film)

Of course he leads a happier life; anyone would if you’ve been homeless and seriously against all odds – then getting a 6 figure salary (my assumption) out of the sudden will definitely make you happier. Unless you’re slightly “special”.

This film naturally carries lots of values and “moral of the story” elements. It’s a reality slap for all of us who can actually afford that little movie ticket and watch the film that we’re way better off than we think and we’re still very ungrateful little pigs (or cats if you’re a Muslim) as much as we try to count our blessings. We’ve so much in our lives but we’ll never be contented – unfortunately a natural human behavior in order to survive and multiply. Sure, Chris Gardner was not contented either with his former situation and that’s why he strived so hard to achieve something for himself and his son. The film reminded me of how much more effort we could’ve put into our daily lives and our work – and actually make that difference that we’ve always talked about or secretly dismissed. It gave me that much needed boost to be excited about my job again and explore my limits to see that there’s always space for improvement and that I can always be a bit better.

They’re all old values and things that we already know; but it’s still nice to be reminded about it and know that it can actually be done. Otherwise, just take a little time travel back to the prehistoric age and have a chat with the dinos. That will definitely cheer things up or atleast give you a new perspective.

Blood Diamonds

Diamonds are definitely not my best friends. They used too until I saw Blood Diamonds and instantly converted into pearl-enthusiast.

The Blood Diamond would probably be the first film entry that’s going to be positive. In fact, I will say it now that this film is a must-watch, a not to be missed – whatever you call it, you have to watch it.

I nearly didn’t make it to the cinema being a cynic for anything that sounded too ambitious – a story about diamond wars, unrest in an African country, Leonardo DiCaprio as a South African – yeah sure. I was definitely not prepared for what I was going to see, hear, and experience in the next two hours and eighteen minutes that I sat through in the cinema.

Sure I’ve read many stories, articles, and news about the diamond wars and civil wars in several African countries (I’m not generalizing here; I’m just not good in memorizing history details). I’ve seen many pictures of grief, pain, hopelessness, and disfigurements – all the results of this chaos that seized these countries.

And that’s how and why Blood Diamond should not only win the awards but should be watched by many as possible. It’s rare to come by a film that’s actually capable of capturing these details so real and unrefined.

Blood Diamond is a film that not only played out on a wonderfully written plot complete with excitement, suspense, and everything else that a good film needs. But it also played out many significant issues that grip the world today in that so call god forsaken region. Evidently were the diamond wars, child soldiers, conflict diamonds, and so forth. Then there were the underlying but still obvious notes that were laced in the film such as world aid, how people feel or think about the situations, whether to save one live or all, the constant greed and ignorance in the world outside, and how we always take our lives for granted.

All these elements were welded so effortlessly together in the hands of director, Edward Zwick, who did a relatively mediocre job with The Last Samurai. The actors in this film also deserve credits for living their roles so raw and convincing, especially Djimon Hounson. Djimon had a lot of strong emotions in his character (naturally, when you’re estranged from your family in Sierra Leone in 1999) and they were so powerfully expressed by him that you could almost feel the rage and total lost of all humane control when he was trying to protect his son from the rebels and the army.

Leonardo also deserves recognition for his role as a diamond smuggler with a conscience and its fair enough that he should have troubled past (boo-hoo. An easy excuse for the film maker to make him bad? Yes. Although it is quite an overused plot in many films for the bad guy who has a conscience, but this time I will accept it as Leonardo was simply flawless in his role). This is however not the first time I’ve been wow-ed by this wonder boy who emerged from his Titanic days and not being beached. His first wow-ing performance came in the role of Howard Hughes in an overlooked epic film, The Aviator. But that’s another film.

Anyway, instead of wasting more of your time here in this brilliant blog, I think you should grab your wallet now and head out to catch that film. If not, book the tickets online and make a date. It’s time to reduce that ignorance and challenge yourself to see what you’ll probably never witness in your wonderfully blessed life.

Romance me…yes, with soft, light flowy fabrics.

Be it a hot short summer dress or just a simple dress spiced up with the unexpected color yellow or just conventionally put together into a shirt with puff sleeve details. Either way, think romantic thoughts and be swept away along with the flows of the weightless fabric and create the illusion that you’re floating as you walk.

Salvatore Ferragamo, Sophia Kosalaki, Ralph Lauren

Next, take a heavier focus on satin. The material itself that speaks volume and elegance at the same time. It accentuates and softens the curves of a woman – heightening both the visual and the touch.

Alberta Ferretti

Badgley Mischka

How can you deny such fabric on your body? Only be careful that the dress, top, pants, or skirt has a certain shape though. For example, wearing a satin shirt that’s shapeless is a NO-NO. Wearing a satin shirt that fits accordingly with definite lines is recommended. Dresses however are allowed a greater leniency. It can look anyway as long that it creates a “wow” effect and not a “granny” effect. Tsk tsk…tread with care and you will look like a princess.

Oscar de la Renta, Renee Zellweger in a vintage Christian Dior, Alberta Ferretti

And last but not least, the Waist look has received its acceptance to have a longer appeal in the fashion scene.

Michael Kors

Not that you have to wear waist pincher, but it does a lot of wonders. You look slimmer, it brings back the waist in women that we seemed to have lost somewhere in the waif fashion when slim fit long tees were fabulous.

Cameron Diaz at Rag & Bone ready-to-wear, Forties Flair

Plus, it spice up nearly everything, a shapeless shirt, a boring t-shirt, a plain dress, as long as you can name it, you can slap on a belt. Just be aware of what material the belt of yours is – it should complement your top/dress of have an interesting but appealing contrast to bring out the snazziness in you.

In my current fashion directory – being a woman is timeless.

And so here are a few selections which I deem simply beautiful for the person who wants to be woman. Though trends have change and morphed for the better or worst, there will always be something nice to be found somewhere.

For example, the forecast for a sporty spring to return yet again despite a disastrous stint in the late 90’s, serving up a few rather tasteless sportswear that are ambiguous I-can’t-decide-what-I-want-to-be pieces of dresses, tops, and other unmentionables. But somehow among these dismay were a handful of relatively gorgeous dresses and trends.

Following the previous entry about belts and balloon skirts, the fashion scene is still continuing its steady and graceful stride down the 40’s lane.

Carolina Herrera

Same Carolina Herrera dress as defined by Angelina Jolie

Pencil skirts
Every woman should own atleast one pencil skirt, simply because all women should own atleast one skirt and pencil skirts denotes women while flare skirts denotes I’m-too-young-to-have-a-derriere. A pencil skirt is best either reaching just to the knees, showing a little bit of womanly knees that are cleanly scrubbed and evenly colored. Too short and it turns into slutty bitch or bimbo-secretary wannabe. Yes, it’s a thin line but I believe most dignified women would be able to point out where their knees are, unless their breasts are too huge and overshadowed by their blonde hair.

Miu Miu

However, my personal favorite is the calf length pencil skirt. These wonderful skirts have three advantageous – (1) they shape your derriere into a lovely roundness (2) they could also cover those ugly knees that you forgot to scrub AND (3) create a sensuous sleek line over your calves leading the gazer’ view towards your dainty ankles and then heels. Naturally, your feet should be slipped into a killer stiletto or just a skinny heel. Clog heels are discouraged wear if you must...then you should stop reading this blog right now.

Moschino

Both skirts can be worn with nearly everything except for t-shirts. Satin tops are wonderful - stay tune for more updates on the splendid world of SATIN. No silly, they don't make you look old.

A Season of Crap

OK. I have also watched Déjà vu, The Holiday, The Prestige (boy, they’re getting more creative aren’t they?), and unfortunately Eragon too. Nooo…Yes, I did. And I lived through it.

Déjà Vu was better than I thought/expected. Honestly, the only film that I had any speckle of expectation was The Prestige and I will talk about that later. Focus. Denzel Washington has always been good to watch on screen. He has this laid back and very natural way of delivering his lines – like some other great actors do as well. It’s like ballet, the more effortless it is the more mastery it takes and more brilliance you bring to you performance and your audience.

Unfortunately, tsk tsk…the plot was transparent. A plastic bag plot is useless with brilliant actors. Oh yes, Val Kilmer is still great eventhough he was probably only there for a couple of mins. But who can forget his dazzling performance as Gay Perry in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang?

Don’t watch if you like excitement and intrigue. Watch if you like time traveling in your panties. Oops, that was a spoiler.

The Holiday. Right. First of all, I need to explain that I’m not really a sucker for romantic comedy. Unless it’s a truly deeply romantic kind and has good wholesome humor in it like Love Actually and The Sweetest Thing. Though The Holiday does carry a little bit of elements from those two mentioned films (hint: Cameron Diaz + Brits), it still didn’t impress me much.

It was one of those predictable film though the ending was rather unresolved. It seems that there just isn’t any answer for those long distance relationship hopefuls. My advice: doesn’t work, unless both of you are lying to yourselves and each other. Anyway, back to Holiday. I must give it some credits though since I did have that whoo-fuzzy feeling in my impressionable tummy.

Camern Diaz is undeniably a, in my case, Lovable character. You can’t help but love her in her intentionally ditzy roles with her beautiful blonde hair (made me consider cutting my hair short) and blessed figures – which reminds me – was wonderfully draped in exquisite clothing throughout the film! Yes, she plays a rich woman who owns her self-established trailer production company, and is supposed to be so consumed by her passion that she thinks, or rather, reflects in trailer motions – complete with The Voice. That gets a cool point.

But yes, the point was, her character was able to afford those beautiful clothes. The jacket she wore when she arrived in England, the top and skirt she wore when she visited Jude Law’s character aka love object.

Jude Law was – Jude Law. I’m glad to say that I discovered this gorgeous gem when I was only 14. Had a little poster of him in my sister’s closet labeled as “the next prince” or something like that. His accent is just incredibly – meltitious. He could talk all night if he wants and be as good as sex. Maybe not as good as with him.

OK, I would love to divulge and dish out more points for this relatively good effort film, but I must limit myself to max. three paragraphs of blabs for each of these films that I have watched. So, the verdict is – it’s too late to watch The Holiday anyway. I mean, it’s call that for a reason right? Saving it up for next Holiday season might be a bit silly, and there might be a Holiday 2: Burn the Turkey or something similar coming out.


Now this is easy: DO NOT WATCH ERAGON. DO NOT EVEN FANTASIZE ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF WATCHING IT.



Ahh…The Prestige.


Despite carrying a plastic bag plot, Hugh Jackman was amazing (and incredibly handsome); Christian Bale was delectably evil and fragile at the same time; Scarlett Johansson IS overused. I share your concern but have to affirm the suspicion that she DOES act the same in all her movies. Blame it on the producers for picking her for similar roles, or blame her agent, but also blame her for not being able to improvise. This ugly truth just had to be played out evident in this season of lets-overused-Scarlett. It’s just a natural human behavior – to keep using nice new things over and over again until you get tired of it.

Same reason why women shop too. Though the expiry date for their fancy runs out faster.

Otherwise, a really noteworthy say goes to the everlasting and forever ingenious David Bowie. No one, and I repeat, no one will ever play that unique role as exceptional as he did. Sure, George Clooney might have been able to convey the same sort of unwaivering confidence, but he definitely can’t exude the same kind of out-of-the-world charm or whatever it is that David does.

And of course, he has to be this wizardy scientist in the film. Is it worth your DVD rack? Not really. Unless you’re into collection. Of who? I’m not sure…David Bowie?

Bobby

This was one film that I really wanted to watch during the holiday season. In fact, I got so excited over the trailer that I was nearly asked to leave the theaters. It was just such an inspiring moment – to see so many great actors in one film all together! It would have been the most economical movie ticket you’ll ever come by! I was even more surprised when I found out who the director was.

Emilio Estevez did a great job by pulling in all these power stars…but reflecting upon that, one would wonder if it’s actually because of the subject matter: Bobby himself. What he fought for, and much more that you can read on wiki. He was a great man no doubt, from a great family too no doubt, with a suspected dark cloud hovering over as speculated by many – all of which you can read as well on wiki. Before I start ranting away on the theory of the Kennedy Curse and dropping more than 5 cents worth of thoughts, I would like to say that Bobby has turned out to be a rather nice but not outstanding film.

Sure all the stars did their best in their 10mins of “I’m-famous-but-still-do-small-roles” fame. It was great. It was almost like watching a charity unfolding throughout the film. I mean, how bad can you go with Anthony Hopkins? Or Helen Hunt? Or Lindsay Lohan? Hah! Trick question, last one.

But yes, there were some memorable moments in the film. Listening to Laurence Fishburne dish out some black philosophy; or how Emilio’s dad Martin Sheen (yes, I believe there’s some family business going on in the film as well) displayed unconditional love to his materialistic eaten wife, played wonderfully by Helen Hunt.


There were also few surprises such as seeing Elijah Wood in a rather “physically attractive” role. He definitely won some drool factor there, and yes, his intensely blue eyes are finally being used to its full power in hypnotizing weak women. I mean, give him a break – no one can come out sexy after playing a hobbit for few years; a rumouredly gay one too.

Another surprise came in the form of Ashton Kutcher. If I knew he was in the movie, I would have immediately sniffed him out as the powder man that believes marijuana is the passage to god. I mean, who else could have made that convincible? And why not, might as well throw him a role as a hippie from the 60’s. But yes, I was not aware of the fact that he was actually in the movie and even more unbelievable was the fact that I actually could NOT recognize him just because he was wearing glasses.

Right. And I thought the people who created superman was stupid. Glasses, yeah.

Watching two great icons sharing a scene was also quite momentous, especially if they are for the same era, same genre, and same iconic figures – sex symbols. But in the case of Bobby, both Sharon Stone and Demi Moore were portrayed as older women facing the realities of age. One was a beautician, surprise surprise, and the other was a singer, surprise surprise. Both with elements of beauty, glamour, and something that doesn’t go well with age. It was just beautiful hearing them discussed about those subjects on screen as well. It probably sounded sincere and true, because it was familiar grounds they were on.

Well, Bobby is a good film, with many “ahh” and “whoo” moments. Also those that makes your stomach all fuzzy and creamy. Mm, yum. No, not really like that but yeah. I wouldn’t say it’s one of those outstanding films that you can’t get our of your head even after years, like American Beauty; yet it was a good effort. It made me learn more about history, American history. It made me learned more about the Kenney’s their ill fates.

So watch it. Watch it because of the stars; watch it because it’s good; or just watch it to learn about the brother who has always been overshadowed by his siblings.

The Illusionist

Hey, not everyone was born to blog! This is a miracle – me coming out of dormancy to give you more logorrhea. This time it’s about films, since I got an overdosed of that during the holiday season thanks to my beloved. And when I mean overdosed, it is overdosed – by numbers and the amount of bad crap that Hollywood has been churning out.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been funded by any organization or parties to watch more meaningful indie films to comment on. So this is all I have to share.


The first waste of time came in the form of The Illusionist starring one my favorites, Edward Norton; someone I don’t know, Jessica Biel; and a another favorite, Paul Giamatti. I was never tempted to watch the film in the first place as I wanted to keep my eyes and soul pure to be filled with another rather similar but probably better film call The Prestige. Nonetheless, I was convinced to give Edward Norton his 5 bucks and to relish in my current popcorn fad. Thank god for me, I walked in without any expectations and walked out with a slight “wow…that was ok” smile on my face. My film partner, who insisted that we catch this film, was somewhat disappointed.

So boys and girls, what you can derived from the above is that if you want to watch this film, watch it without any expectations, as Buddha says – and you will be rewarded.
Spoilers ahead: read on.

Edward Norton plays an illusionist (can’t help it…DUH) who has fallen in love with someone he’s not supposed to (stop me…DUH) and they try their best against all odds to be together (your turn…). This time, the hero has superpowers...Yay! ...to deceive people...Yay! Yes, he has no magic skills at all – please read the title of the film again. So yes, in the end they live happily ever after. Because they eat chick peas and bath with mineral water.

No. Go watch the film and find out how.

Good points for seeing Edward Norton – acting. Anytime Eddie, anytime. Another merit points for seeing Paul Giamatti fitting in yet another very different role. No point for the film makers or the casting person for picking Jessica Biel just because they can’t get Scarlett Johansson. Consolation points to Jessica Biel for looking splendid in those period dresses.


Yes, it’s worth to obtain the DVD of the movie and if you’re a fan of Norton you should definitely get it for the sake of having something different from him.

Zac Posen

Finally, a fashion piece.

This is probably not news as you might have already noticed that the common themes on the sreets (no not that one...the fashionable end) seem to be inspired by umbrellas and the late 40's and the 50's. If you haven't, then how fortunate of you to stumble across this entry.

Although the umbrella inspiration is most definitely not call umbrellas on the fashion stage, but rather the "bubble" or what I tend to refer to as the balloon. The balloon is a design (mostly seen on skirts) that is with slightly more fabric around the waist and hips to create a "lift" at the waistline. This is especially lucky for most women as it's one of those multi-complementary trends. It helps remove the attention from the derriere; so if you don't have a perky one, or is missing one, or have a perfectly normal one, this skirt is just going to make you beautiful regardless.

6267

Bill Blass

Meanwhile, the balloon skirts are mostly accompanied with a belt or some sort of waist definer; which brings me to another current trend. The Belt.

Phi

Gone is the trend when an empire waist was cute and made you look pregnant. Now we want to look like the women from the 40's and 50's who had slim waist down to the 18'. The belt could be of any material and it's up to your imagination and creativity...and maybe a bit of originality. Most that have been spotted are in leather or ribbons.

Size matters too in this case. A wider belt is a must if you want to create an illusion of a slimmer waist. The wideness of it also goes well if you are wearing something plain, like a shirt or something loose, like a shirt. On the other hand, the thinner counterpart is only recommended for the thin and young. The light feeling of a thin belt is great with most tops such as cardigans, shirts (again), blouse, or even a plain dress. However, becareful that the thinner it is, the more it will reveal - both body mass and age.

Donna Karan

Donna Karan

To complete this ultra-feminine yet smart look, is a top with puffy sleeves.

Brian Reyes