Falling head of heels with Karen

I've always had this on going crush on Karen Millen. When I first met her, it was love at first sight. Every time I pass by her, my heart flutters, I feel a subtle hint of euphoria and sigh deeply with a sense of longing as my eyes linger lovingly on every detail. And when she’s on me, I feel loved like no other has ever loved me before.

Karen Millen's clothes understand exactly what a woman wants – they create shapes and lines that you never thought was possible. In Karen’s world, you can be both modern and sharp or soft and feminine, which cannot be more essential for any sophisticated and elegant woman.

Today I decided to pay her a visit since we have not touch base for a while and was utterly swept of my feet – literally.

There they were calling to me lovingly while flaunting their fatale allure, three sirens standing at 10cm tall, wrapped in delicate lace and ruffles. They each had a character of their own but all will only give the greatest pleasure one will ever know.

These white satin courts stand at 10cm tall with contrasting, delicate black lace print. The back of heel has a multiple bow with black lace again, simply lovely. And the heel, the black lacquered heel is the only sign that reveals any hint of the fatale allure veiled beneath the lace.


With coral as the “it” colour for this season, one needs to tread carefully to avoid having the “little mermaid” effect. First, being a staunch believer that ALL colours goes well with ALL skin colours (with the exception that ONLY Rihanna can carry off fluorescent pink lips and still look glamourous), I dismiss all excuses that coral is not for everyone – what a bucket of nonsense. However, coral being a bright, attention grabbing colour can be complementary when applied appropriately and catastrophic when not. Unless you have the hip width of an 11 year old boy, avoid wearing coral skirts or pants; or atleast keep it to the minimal. Coral tops, blouse, dresses, socks, accessories and SHOES are marvelous.

These coral laced courts immediately caught my eye and stood out like a beauty among the rest of the blacks and grey. It was beautiful and elegant – yet the candy colour and the ruffled corsage sitting daintily on the heel were just begging to be taken out dancing and partying!

Despite being the last, I wouldn’t quite say these pair of heels are my best of the three as they each had their own allure. These black on red courts with cut out detailing and scallop patterns were however the fiercest and sexiest among the three and I always had a soft spot for anything fierce and sexy.

Oh did I mention that the tiny black satin bow at the back of the heel is so sex kitten cute?


http://www.karenmillen.com/

Recessionista

A few good lines – in case you can’t remember the rest:

Living in denial is never the answer. Just because the world is having recession, your wardrobe doesn’t need to be in depression.

It can’t be said more clearly that you, me and the world are going through one of the worst recessions since – forever (1940s) – so it’s high time we buck up and grit our teeth through it. This also means smartening up our fashion sense and adapting our style to the wind of change - be a wise Recessionista.

The magic word is Sales.

Fashion may be fabulous but that doesn’t make it immune to reality and the retail industry is receiving just as hard a blow as the rest. Many shops are still continuing their “Christmas” sales and there’s no excuse that you shouldn’t take advantage of that. Clamp down your spending by looking out for sales items and warehouse clearance. Trust me, if you open your eyes and ears you will find many as everyone is doing whatever it takes just to create sales number.

Time to be picky.

Be conscious about what you buy and be sure that nothing was killed unnecessarily along the production process including your own future. Since you’re supposed to buy less and more meaningfully now, use the extra time and effort to learn more about your purchases. If you can afford, invest in those that are environmentally friendly and ecological. It sounds like a lot of hassles but there are brands and designers who dedicate their entire collections to the aspiration of making the world greener. It’s like finding your hairstylist – once you find them stick with them.

On the other hand, retail companies and designers should take this opportunity to review and plan their collections to produce more economy-environmental-friendly collections. This is probably the one time that where art clearly should reflect life. We cannot continue blinding ourselves with glittery sequins or hide beneath mountains of heavenly cashmere.

Get an overview.

Not just your life but your wardrobe. Book yourself a day to clean out your wardrobe to get a complete overview of everything you own. Put aside all the items that you’re absolutely sure that you don’t want to be caught wearing and let your creative imagination run wild on the rest. Make mental notes of items which can complement each other or pieces that could add chic contrasts to others – not everything have to match. You’d be surprised how much treasure you might just uncover; new styles and outfits to see you through the year. Don’t forget to include your shoes, accessories, bags, etc. Rearrange your clothes so that you can have a clear view of everything you have, this is especially useful in much needed situation such as when you’re about to make an impulse buy.

So the next time you're in shopping mood - be a wise and think twice.

Fashion by James Laver

I read this quotation by James Laver awhile ago and regretted not jotting it down before. I find that it truly captures the essence of the fashion cycle and thus how I always emphasize on finding our own style to anchor your - well, style. After months of search my efforts were kindly rewarded. Here it is I share with you:

The same costume will be
Indecent 10 years before its time,
Shameless 5 years before its time,
Outré (daring) 1 year before its time,
Smart,
Dowdy 1 year after its time,
Hideous 10 years after its time,
Ridiculous 20 years after its time,
Amusing 30 years after its time,
Quaint 50 years after its time,
Charming 70 years after its time,
Romantic 100 years after its time,
Beautiful 150 years after its time.

James Laver (1899-1975), British art critic, author. Taste and Fashion, ch. 18 (1937).

Laver also went on to write

The erogenous zone is always shifting, and it is the business of fashion to pursue it, without ever catching it up.

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I do.

Power of Facebook

As inspired by some of the "better" updates on Facebook, I've added a "Like" and "Dislike" button below each of my entries. This is mainly to get a very black and white feedback from my readers (you), on what kind of topics or subject you prefer to read. This will hopefully help me sharpen my contents for your reading pleasure.

Inspiration in recession

My seven line haiku to sum up my drought:

Black is still fail-safe.

Colour is back for spring and summer – woo hoo.

Coral is making a splash. Again.

Go chunky and over accessorized.

Jackets do what they do best – cover everything.

Contrast. Mix ‘n’ match. Right.

Use your own style to pull it altogether.

Vacation Shopping

Yes, it has been a long holiday break here. Speaking of which, my latest entry is somewhat inspired by my recent vacation in India.

India, first of all, is probably one of the most colorful, fabulous and flashy fashion cultures that I’ve come across yet. Though one of the leading fashion capital in Asia, the locals especially women, still favor their traditional wear over contemporary fashion. A local paper featured the launch of an international fashion house that has just opened their first men’s wear flagship store in India. Apparently, it was too competitive and not as lucrative to cater to women customers – who favor their saris and salwar kameez more than anything else.

A beautiful bride laden with precious stones and a heavily embellished sari.

Anyhow, back to my point. While I was thoroughly enthralled and fascinated by the blaze of colors and blings (read: infinite sparkling embellishments on saris and heavy layering of blinding jewellery), it occurred to me that this fashion style works wonderfully on Indian soil – but not outside.

And this is where many of us make a hideous mistake – shopping for clothes and accessories while vacationing. (Most) women have a weakness for shopping and buying things that catches their eyes and things that normally catch the eyes are usually colorful, dazzling and uncommon e.g. things that you see while vacationing in some exotic place. India for example is a good illustration.

Splendid color combination on a stylish gentleman no less.

It is absolutely fine to shop for exotic interior deco and furniture while on vacation – as long as you can get them home. However, shopping for your wardrobe is extremely risky. First of all, unless you’re shopping from an international brand, you’re most likely buying locally influenced styles, traditionally exotic clothing and accessories. Chunky bracelet, dangling earrings and the omnipresent sarongs are among the few common crimes. We are carried away by how gorgeous the locals look and get so inspired that we forget that their beautiful open toe sandals will probably not work well with the winter fashion back home. Layering yourself with tons of diamonds and precious stones may be a show of wealth in India, but doing the same thing in some other countries places you in gangsta categories or worst – gaudy.

It is fine to purchase a few pieces of item that you have thought through thoroughly that it definitely goes with several of your clothes back home and most importantly, go well with your personal style. Heck, you need to be able to carry off the look for quite a while.

The only exception is if you’re vacationing in a place where their local fashion flavors are currently delectable to the palates of fashion designers worldwide.

Walking Tall

After featuring endless pairs of sky-reaching pumps, it’s only fair (and considerate) of me to also address the art of wearing them.

You can always pick out women who are wearing pumps from a crowded street simply because they stand out (literally) – they walk taller and look more stylish and elegant. Heels are such wonderful creations* that it is awfully sad to see so many women forgo them just because they’re either not confident or capable of walking in them.

*Naturally, like all things in this world there are pros and cons to wearing heels. But that’s your responsibility to find out ;-)

Of course it takes effort to look good; otherwise everything will look good – and bland. It will require some work to look like you were born to wear those heavenly heels and walk gracefully in them. What you need is (1) to find the right muscles (2) to strengthen your body (3) in order to carry your own weight correctly.

Let’s take it from the top shall we?

Abs
Your abs is your center of strength, a philosophy used widely in Pilates and in all forms of dance. Your abs holds together and coordinates the movements of your lower body and upper body. Even when you’re walking you’re using your abs – or you should be. Basic crunches will do fine as long as you do them regularly – 15 crunches / 3 sets / 3 times a week. Feel free to push yourself further.

Back
Besides your abs, your back is almost just as important. Experience will tell you that it’s essential to have a strong back to have good posture. Do the Sphinx position for resilience and agility. For strength, lie on your stomach with your arms stretched out like Supergirl and then lift up both your legs and arms at the same time, similar to the Mermaid Back Extension. Easy-peasy. And again, do them regularly (15 times / 3 sets / 3 times a week) and you will have a supple back in no time.

Calves, Ankles, and Metatarsals
Some of the most sensual things about wearing heels are that they accentuate your calves and push your metatarsals into that irresistibly desirable arch. Images of tone legs and sexy arches have inspired many (in)famous desires from the pinup girls and Hollywood ladies of the 50s, to the Chinese women with bounded feet, to the sexy Wolford ads. Strengthen and tone your lower legs with simple rises – place your hands lightly on a wall and slowly lift your body up until you’re standing with just your toes – not entirely en point like ballet dancers. Feel your calves tightening and your arch taking shape instantly. Repeat them regularly.

Once you’re ready, choose a well-fitting pair of pumps that are not too tight in the front and if possible, with some cushioning inside the front of the shoes where the ball of your feet will be. Be careful if you’re going to wear them with hosieries or socks, you don’t want to reenact the Prada SS09 show where models tumbled for having socks in their heels. And here's a little haiku to get things moving:

Breathe deeply and exhale, think confident.
Relax those shoulders and chin, keep the neck long.
Remember to look ahead, watch where you’re going.

If you’ve done everything correctly, you will experience a new sense of confidence and see things at a new level – literally. And who said you can’t run in heels? It’s so easy to run in heels – you sprint exactly as sprinters do – with just the ball of your feet.

All I want for Christmas is...

It’s almost a month away to the season of exchanging gifts! Besides putting together the best outfits for all the parties and festivities that are to come, it's also time to put together a (fantasy) list of what would be nice to get during this holiday season.

All I want for Christmas is peace and happiness.

And if possible, I wouldn’t mind getting any (or all) of the following:

THE green Gucci dress that is sinfully elegant with its ruffle sleeves and luscious emerald color. But most of all, the front slit that oozes sexiness and reminds us of the time when Gucci was Tom Ford. Truly a timeless piece - something to make your granddaughters jealous because you're not passing it on to them!

It's time to hike up the fashion ante at work. Set the benchmark with jewel tone silk dresses and pumps and save wardrobe changes for that after work party. Fashion is also about being practical.

Lela Rose pleated dress.

One must have a one shoulder dress simply because they are too chic not to have. Their asymmetrical cut gives a refreshing and modern take on simple dresses. But the true magic lies in those that are cut just under the arms, covering that extra flesh that some of us have between the breast and armpit.

Jill Sander one shoulder white dress.

After a year of ogling over those overrated body hugging bandage dresses from Hervé Léger, it's time to get one yourself. These dresses fits snugly over the body and complements all womanly curves. Like true fashionistas, stay clear of the original McCoy and instead find inspirations elsewhere.

Aquascutum divine bodice dress.

Cardigan with front drapes are all the rage at the moment because they create the illusion of wearing a shawl, adding that extra edge to an otherwise boring cardi. Its versatility to go well with shorts and short skirts, making it a lasting item through all seasons.

Cardigan from H&M.

Heels, heels, heels! for reaching greater heights; it’s all about going higher and making those legs longer.

Alexander McQueen leather pumps.

Fendi suede pumps.

Simple ruched boots as an alternative to all the other black, tight, circulation-stopping boots on the streets.

Stella McCartney boots.

Some Mulberry wouldn’t hurt either.

All in all, always be happy with what we have and have a merry and fruitful holiday season!

Get the party started!

With the holiday season just around the corner, it’s all about getting invites to parties or throwing some yourself! It’s always good to plan early especially on what you are going to wear.

Just because the economy is having a crisis doesn’t mean that your wardrobe choices have to reflect similar sentiments. Let’s keep depressing to a minimum – damage control as they call it.

The wisest choice is still the undefeatable LBD. But the wiser ones will seek out alternative representations of the LBD. Here are two examples.

Update your classic LBD with odd shapes and asymmetrical lines giving the dress an edgy contemporary feel. Alexander McQueen shows us how it’s done with elegance and at the same time creating a dash of excitement using contrasting colors.

Try another color – like white. Go to the other extreme end of the color spectrum and stand out in a white ensemble among a sea of black dresses. Up the luxe ante with bold glittery embellishments. Azzaro’s Enee diamante cocktail dress is set to dazzle away all worries of any financial woes – and bring hope.

Don’t forget to pair your dresses with lovely shoes. Get inspired by the jewel tone trends and bring attention to your soles with these Christian Louboutin satin platforms.

You can also do it like Carrie and inject some edginess with fierce gladiator sandals such as these by ASOS.

Or go back to classics with these black patent platforms from KG by Kurt Geiger.

Style.com introduces iPhone app

Well, if Style.com is going to allow iPhone users to watch the latest runway shows and catch the latest couture reports using their new iPhone app, then I guess I will put my hands down and say - why not?

Hey Jude

When I first spoke with my wedding gown designer over the phone 2 years ago more than 7000 miles away, I knew right away that I found – the one. Despite the distance and the fact that we've never met each other before, we connected immediately and understood each other perfectly. We spoke the same (fashion) language, we appreciate the same styles, and we knew exactly what we both like in fashion.

Judith was then just a recent graduate from a prestigious design school and was hand picked by my wedding planner from a fashion design competition. Judith was the winner. Judith is a winner. Not only did this feisty (did I mention extremely stylish and elegant as well?) young lady continued to win many more fashion designing prizes (e.g. Lancôme Colour Design Awards 2006 in Paris); she also won my heart – fashionably.

Needless to say, I had the most gorgeous and personalized wedding gowns (yes, all three of them) that a fashionably demanding bride could ever ask for; and Judith got a never-ending line of new clients wanting their wedding gowns to be designed by her.

Judith now heads the design team of Sofira, a fashion brand known for its finer details and eye-catching prints. With her outstanding sketches and unique designs, Judith helped drive the three year old brand into an international hot item that is now being sold across Asia, Europe, India, South America, The Caribbean, and the Middle East.

(The following pictures are from Sofira's SS08 Collection)

White elegance with embroidery detail.


Simple georgetta dress in an eye-catching brilliant blue.



A chic one shoulder silk satin dress in olive that is oh-so-desirable now.


Breezy long white dress to bring out the goddess in you. Understated elegance for a formal occasion.

Judith is definitely a designer to watch – with her determination and talent, I bet she will be someone, somewhere within the next 5-8 years. Naturally, I want to be there when she does.

Driving Miss Elegance

Last winter I was sitting in a cozy café with a good friend, happily sipping our lattes when an old lady walked through the door. Our reactions were immediate though I believe I was more unsubtle – we stared. As rude as it may sound, I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the lady and willingly allowed my eyes to devour in every piece of clothing she had one and every move she made.

The lady exuded such a strong sense of elegance and style that was so captivating it was almost bewitching. Right there and then she inspired me to grow old and aspire to look like her when I do.

The lady wore a simple yet elegantly cut long black coat and a cloche hat. But it was her gloves that made the strongest impression.

They were turquoise driving gloves.

We’ve heard many times how shoes complete one’s look – in this case, a pair of gloves didn’t just complete the look but added the cherry on top. While most people at that age has given up on style and hide as much of themselves underneath shapeless earth tone layers, this wonderful lady was not a bit held back by the age that lined the back of her hands. The gloves just accentuated the slenderness of her hands and fingers; and how exquisitely she uses her fingers to flip through the menu and hold her coffee to her lips.

This lady appears to have lived through the roaring style of the 20s and managed to carry it with her through the decades and transforming it so wonderfully into a style statement for the present day.

In homage to those turquoise driving gloves and the lady that embodies elegance, I dedicate my autumn/winter gloves style to colored bare backs.

Hats off to chocolate anything!

For those of you who are heading into colder seasons – you should still read this! And for those of you who are bastardly lucky enough to have summer all year round – this is for you!

Hats are finally taking the center stage when Diane Kruger, who by the way replaced Kate Bosworth as the new celebrity candy to the fashion world, spotted a boater hat sitting primly next to Ms. Wintour, front row at Cavalli’s resort 2009 show. Of course, you do not make fashion mistakes when sitting next to the queen of fashion and thus the ‘hat’ set itself to become a more widely acceptable statement.

Hats are great in many ways. Besides its aesthetic offerings, it was originally created with the intention to protect against harsh climates, most commonly from the sun (now known as UV rays). And it is with these intentions in mind that we should celebrate the return of hats again!

Sunglasses are simply just not sufficient to protect your face from the powerful sun rays. It’s a known fact that UV rays hastened the deterioration of your skin cells leaving you dry and wrinkled like a prune. Many smart ladies, Nicole Kidman for one, swear by the hat to keep their looks forever young.

So how to carry this trend?

Many people become hesitant when faced with the hat option. Most of us make the mistake of not even making it an option due to silly reasons like hat hair. Hat hairs are things of the past; you can easily brush out one with a big paddle brush with some light hairspray.

The favorite hat on the street at the moment is the Panama hat. Many celebrities and models alike are taking on the trend with much gusto.

Samanthat Ronson thinks it's still a secret.

Rachel Bilson working it.

But like all fashion trends, always remember to inject your own sense of style and personality by trying out other variations inspired by the Panama. Play around with the colors, the length of the brim, and hatbands. Try boaters, modernized cloches, or for a dramatic effect (with full sun protection), a big rimmed sun hat!

Blake Lively attempts the Cloche... or is that a bucket hat?

Boaters - Flat-brimmed and flat-topped straw hats for a casual European coolness. Goes well with casual dressing. Adds a playful note to your outfit.

Cloches - Popular bell-shaped ladies hat of the 1920s brings back some old elegance or decadence to our modern day dressing.

Carrie showing us how it can be done - with bags and heels!

Sun hats - large brims big enough to shade your face and shoulders, but also to shout drama queen! Or just wear it with shorts and be the Holly Golightly of the 21st century.

OK, this isn't the greatest picture. Will try and search for a better one and replace this.

No fedoras please.

Towering Heels

Many people wondered why I never wrote anything about SATC (the movie) since it’s practically the combination of what this blog embodies. Well, it's too obvious a movie to write about isn't it? Everyone knows it's 'the' fashion movie after Devil Wears Prada, all the clothes worn in the movie are gorgeous, the shoes were to die for, etc. So what else is there? True, women should be warned that the fashion in the film is strictly for the 'reel' life and not for real life. Even the stylist for SATC (also for the die-fast Cashmere Mafia) admits that the styles she uses for these fashion films are hiked up a few levels from what's normal so that it stands out in the big screen - read: not to be worn right off the screen onto the streets.

BUT there is one thing that I will write about the film – and maybe more down the road, who knows, nothing is absolute – and it’s not about the dresses but rather the shoes. Everyone knows that Manolo practically got famous from the series but this film sent out an even stronger message – HIGH HEELS. High heels according to Jimmy Choo mean anything that staggers over 8.5cm – not below.

High heels have always been part of every woman’s wardrobe diet. Some women swears by them and will not wear anything else but high heels. But why are they so appealing, overwhelming, desirable that both women and men can’t resist them? Well now let’s see. According to Wikipedia, the reasons why high-heels are so to-die-for are because:

• they change the angle of the foot with respect to the lower leg, which accentuates the appearance of calves
  
• they change the wearer's posture, requiring a more upright carriage and altering the gait in what is considered a seductive fashion (which translates to: seductive sway of the hip – not wobbly ankles)


• they make the wearer appear taller (and slimmer)


• they make the legs appear longer (and slimmer)


• they make the foot appear smaller (and narrower)


• they make the derriere more defined (especially if you want to wear something tight – or nothing)

And this is probably what the ladies in SATC know by heart and thus swear by heels throughout their everyday life – lunching, shopping, walking in the city. Heck, Carrie slipped into a pair of heels when she was woken up in the middle of the night by Miranda and skipped all the way across the bridge in her PJs, a fur coat, a sequined knitted cap, and those heels. And of course, there were those satin blue Manolos that sealed Carrie’s love with Big.

So what about us real life folks? Most designers are already offering a wide range of heavenly heels but Prada seem to have taken a bold step away from the rest and continued her streak for leading the field experimenting with loud, signature designs such as those seen from her Spring/Summer 2008 collection. In her Autumn/Winter 2008 collection, Prada offers us a new (yet not so new – I mean, fashion is always trying to be new right?) take on how heels can look like. Besides adding on outrageous details to the shoes, she also added an elastic strap commonly used by ballerinas to keep their pointe shoes on. Good thinking – you wouldn't want to start slipping out of your heels while you’re being elevated over four inches off the ground.

Think they're too over the top? Not at all, pair them down with something casual - a simple skirt - and you'll have a relaxed look that is still interesting.

Crunch it with a Blazer

Sorry for the blog-drought, many ideas were dried up and unharvestable but a few were saved. Here's one of them.

If you want to know the secret to a great looking day - looking chic and relaxed that is - Crunch it with a Blazer.

Yup, it's not really a secret anymore so you better hear it now and hear it well. And the best part is, this look works just as great with guys as well!

It's actually really simple. First you pick a nice looking blazer that fits you well. Blazers doesn't mean they have to make you look like you're from the 80's. Once you have blazer on, push the sleeves up until they're just below your elbow. And that's it. That's all there is too it.

One of the Olsens doing their usual trick of looking fashion forwardly chic.

Anne Hathaway shows us how one can be elegant and chic with a casual crunched blazer.

For some fun and excitement, try it with bright colored blazers. You know how blazers tend to be in boring dark shades - go for a change and some shock value. It'll be fun and you'll enjoy your day with the bright colors beaming off dark thoughts.

For the gentlemen

Due to the increasing requests (disgruntled mummers) that I've been receiving from my male readers on the lack of profiling male relevant post, I would like to contribute a post entirely for them.

After scourging through various gentlemen fashion & style sites, I came to find that the site that offers the most sensible and accurate style note is from The Sartorialist himself. Not that I do not want to do my homework myself, but the Sart just captures some of the most perfect, stylish gentlemen around, providing the ideal source of inspiration for any stylish men.

Sharp, Smart, and Sleek. It's always a trick to look business-smart yet fashionable. But with a well-cut suit and perfect pants length the look can easily be pulled off. Not to forget accessories such as the right bag and shoes.

Then there's the ever challenging cuffed pants ending just above the ankle. Most of you would immediately push this off as a difficult look and it is. But it's very classy while keeping it casual. A difficult combo that if executed correctly you will be immensely rewarded.

For a simpler option, opt for shorts and cardigans.

If you like these styles then don't forget to check out The Sartorialist's blog for your daily dose of style.