Lace Gloves

While blog-surfing, I was captivated by the McQueen and Zucca runways shots where the models were wearing sheer nude tone leggings with beautiful lace patterns on them (I saw the photos from one blog but cannot remember the blog name; if you are the one, please let me know! Thanks.)

Of course, there's nothing similar in the stores yet, but I found this pair of lace gloves from Takashimaya instead. It's beautiful, very comfy to wear and can glam up any outfit instantly!

I bought the olive green pair, but there are white, pink, purple and blue ones available in the shop too. Beautiful colors!

(Photo: Alexander McQueen SS 2008, Zucca SS 2008)

Wear Palettes

I've been reading about Wear Palettes and it seems like everyone is raving about it. WP has painstakingly complied the colors of photos from the Sartorialist. The colors on the site, looks great and everything, but I genuinely don't get it. I've been puzzled for a while and finally I pluck up my courage to blog about this today. I'm not trying to be offensive, just curious.

Why would anyone want to refer to a palette for? Is it more as a resource for the professionals? I thought the fun about dressing up is to mix and match my own colors. The process of thinking through whether the colors match is part of the fun of fashion for me.

Then again, I'm a layman, and not a graphic designer for that matter. If anyone could enlighten me on Wear Palettes, I would be most happy to hear from you.

Post-script on 24 Apr AM: I found the words to describe another puzzling thought when I woke up this morning - there are millions of wonderful permutations with colors, so by limiting ourselves to a palette, we are missing out on a lot more?

Hot Pink Dr Martens

I read about these colorful punk-inspired Dr Martens in the latest issue of STYLE magazine last Thursday and had to get them. I had in mind the pink ones which are in such a lovely hue. The very next day, I telephoned Front Row to reserve a pair so that I could get them after work on Friday evening. Only one pair of pink Drs left and it's in a size 39, they said.

Had to work a wee bit late on Friday and could only walk over to Front Row late in the evening. The boutique closes on Friday at 8pm but, Chin, the store manager was so nice to wait for me as I speed-walk over with a colleague (who was very nice to rush with me too) and arrived at 810pm.

The pink Drs fitted perfectly but the red ones caught my eye too! The red ones were in a most delicious shade of crimson. Dilemma, schilemma. Having to decide in 5 minutes, I choose the hot pink ones as they were the last pair (only 12 pairs of pink ones in Singapore at the moment).

My colleague and I went to Front Row during lunchtime again today and she bought a black pair of boots too. They look great and make me wonder just a tiny little bit if I should have bought the more versatile black ones instead. Too many colors to choose from. :)

Black and Sequined Cheong Sum

I went to the thrift shop again today, to see if the gold and black puffy-sleeved top was still there. It wasn't but I found this black silk-like cheong sum instead. It had beaded and sequined detailing in rainbow colors (double wow from me). It even had a Singapore tailor's address on its label, I simply love this!

Wonderful detailing with the different colored sequins on the Mandarin collar:

I'm not sure if this dress is vintage and not clear what's at the address now (will check it out soon though). The label with the Singapore tailor's address:

FlowerByKenzo

The only fragrance that I never get tired of is Kenzo's FlowerByKenzo. I get irritated by other perfumes just a few hours after wearing them. My nose is super sensitive and I can't stand smelling the same smell the whole time. On the other hand, FlowerByKenzo is light, breezy and somehow reminds me of a baby's sweet breath.

Kenzo has organised a photography competition; just take any photo of a poppy (get one from the Kenzo counters if you don't have one; I definitely don't) in whatever way you fancy. Plant the poppy photograph in a virtual field at FlowerByYou and wait for the contest result in July 2008! Check out the digital poppy field! It's quite surreal.

I even found a FlowerByKenzo fan website here! Apparently, there are 5 members in Singapore according to the listing. I wonder......

Ze-Ze-Zebra Prints

I've always liked animal prints (even through the days when it was deemed unfashionable), I'm glad that they are a timeless classic, always guaranted to be in vogue during the next trend cycle. Even though I own a tiger print mini skirt, a long-sleeved black top with just a hint of tiger print, my favourite is the zebra fabric. The print is classic and what could possibly go wrong with black and white?

I saw this lovely dress from Neiman Marcus with such a flattering yoked neckline and cut-in shoulders:There's this flirty-pretty zebra print skirt from ebay too for a reasonable price:
For added allure in a small package, a sexy zebra print bikini will be just stunning!

Thrift Shop Visit

As planned, I made my way to Something Old, Something New yesterday. It was raining heavity late morning but luckily the sky cleared by noon. My Dad dropped my off at the thrift shop with me carrying 3 bags of donations and a pair of old clutches (the walking aid, not the purse haha).

The thrift shop was brightly lit, well-ventilated and it was definitely a comfortable shopping experience. I met Anna Tsang, one of the 3 ladies who set up the thrift shop. Anna was wearing a deconstructed red and black top which she designed! I would have requested to take a photo of her, if my camera battery has not given way! Did I want to kick myself in the butt then!

Before I went to the thrift shop, I promised myself that I would only buy 1 item there. I found quite a number of lovely items in the shop and it was a struggle deciding what to buy. Take a look at the pictures and guess which one I bought in the end? :)

Struggle #1: A purplish pink wrap around top with green and light brown straps. The fabulous color caught my eye and I think this would be great for the boho look.
Struggle #2: A black tank with lace embellishments strategically sewn on. This is made of stretch material and the shape is rather good. Quite a steal at only S$2. Great for layering.

Struggle #3: This black suit with gold buttons and white lace all over it. I don't fancy the jacket but the skirt is really pretty.

The skirt with white lace at the bottom that caught my eye, underneath the jacket-that-has-too-much-detailing:

Struggle #4: I found this beautiful turquoise blue jacket in a corner, at the end of the jackets rack. This fitted jacket has fat round buttons, and black and gold detailing around the round collar (I like this kind of collars) and sleeves.

Struggle #5 and #6: A Laura Ashley fuchsia pink corduroy shirt with ruffles. My camera battery gave in at this moment and I could not take a picture! Right next to it, I found a classy black and gold striped blouse with puffy sleeves (imagine that!). Just when I was thinking about it, another girl took it to the fitting room (if she didn't buy it, I'm going back next week to get it ).

I had fun and it was a good shopping experience. I'm also impressed that the shop assistants were very efficient: by the time I left, I already see the things that I brought neatly tagged and displayed on the shelves.

I'm definitely going back there again. For your information, the shop is opened daily from 11am to 430pm (closed on Sundays).

Rakku Shoes Wheel in Singapore

Read about this some time ago and I've been wanting to get this from LA. The Shoe Wheel is an amazing mobile shoe storage unit that can hold up to 30 pairs of shoes. I like it that the shoes can be seen at a glance and that the shoes can be stored so neatly! I hope though that it offers enough ventiliation so that the shoes will not spoil easily.

Just realised that the Rakku Shoe Wheel is now available in Singapore too for S$129 from Whoa-ho! It is also available at the following shops in Singapore:

1. Ameba (Parkway Parade Shopping Centre)
2. Anthropology (Raffles City Shopping Centre and Scarlet Hotel)
3. fourskin (The Hereen)
4. Kendo Lifestyle (Bukit Timah Plaza)
5. Molecule (Great World City and Marina Square)
6. Mono Yono Lifestyle (Suntec City Mall)
7. Wembley Gifts and Lifestyle (Hitachi Towers)

Rakku has also created the Shoe Pod which can hold 12 pairs of mens' shoes, up to size 14-plus. I think it will be neat to get 2, one for each of us, or should that be 2 for each of us, considering the number of shoes that we have?

Thrift Shopping vs Thift Donations

These are 4 of the belts we cleared out, now that we are preparing for renovation. I still like them, especially the top-most one with the shiny buckle but they are too small now since these were most likely bought when we were teenagers (excuses, excuses).

Read about this thrift shop, Something Old, Something New, from Fashion Nation who read it from Cherry Magazine (yeah, it's a long list of references). Since I live in the East, which is near to this shop, I'm planning to bring these belts and other hair accessories among others, there this Saturday. I hope that someone who is slim enough will love them!

When I'm there at the shop, I really have to restrain myself so that I don't buy more things back than what I bring there. In the meantime until Saturday, I'm going to continue with the packing and fish out more goodies.

Here's the location of Something New, Something Old for easy reference:

Beautiful Finds at Home

There are lots of renovation going around in our household at the moment. I'm not the only one who is renovating my new place. My parents are going to renovate the old house as well and all of us are now busy packing our rooms.

This morning, I found a bag of these in the backyard: These are actually handmade by my mum in the 1970s to be assembled into household decorative items. She found them today in her closet and was going to throw them away! No way, will I let that happen, these are so pretty! I quickly took 2 pieces and made them into necklaces:

These are definitely Born Again jewelry, with a piece of the past! A lot of fun for me too! :D

My Outfit Today

Today, I'm trying out the tie-dyed and layered skirt (cue Miu Miu) look. My black dress is from Hereen. I've layered it with a tie-dyed mini skirt (from This Fashion, yeah, don't shoot me) and a brown elastic belt (have been wearing this belt like forever). Paired this outfit with denim Gucci slides.

I like the green and black mini layered skirt from This Fashion so much (~ US$15) that I bought another one that was dyed brown and pink. I fell in love with the colors of this green/black skirt and would not dream of wearing it as a skirt since it is too short so I have worn it here as a top instead. I love too the tiered skirt as it gives a tiered look near the hips ala petticoats.

(For those not from Singapore, This Fashion is a chain that sells economical clothes where if you spend time to look, there are good things to be found. Almost like thrift-shopping.)

Skin-colored Tights

It's stylish to wear colored tights especially when they are as nice as these lavender ones above.

Sometimes, however, I am faced with the dilemma of wearing skin-toned stockings. For example: for some outfits, I feel that bare legs will match the outfit better yet I know the shoes will be more comfortable to wear when worn with tights/ stockings (especially when it is a long day). On the other hand, I have this mindset that nude-tone stockings are only for old ladies (without the granny-chic). Hence, I'm caught in this catch-22 situation.

What will you have done? What are your thoughts on skin-tone stockings?