Cheery Backpack

I have not used a backpack in years; the last time I used one was during my Uni days. However, I bought a Yak Pak recently to carry my gym gear and shoes around. This limited edition Yak Pak (everything and anything can be limited edition these days haha) is so cheery that it brings a smile to my face whenever I see it! I'm not a fan of smiley faces but I just love this print! My favourite rainbow and flowers! I love the colors of this bag! I even feel younger carrying this. :)

I'm Thankful

I had too many complains and grouses. I flared up too fast and forgave too slowly. I got cynical too easily. Despite reading books about being grateful for the abundance in one's life, I became too unhappy too fast and too soon.

During my last holiday in China, we went up the Kanas mountains and the beautiful scenary was majestic. However, it was at this place in Xinjiang that I breathed in the fresh air and suddenly felt thankful for everything I have and resolved to be a better person. It was at this place where out of the blue I experienced an epiphany after climbing up the steps to reach the top of the hill:

Today, I remembered a couple of charms that my parents bought for me a few years ago. The charm was in the shape of a vaseful of flowers with the words "Thank You" engraved on it. Instead of being appreciative of the charms, I told my parents that I did not know what to do with them. Who would want to wear charms with the words "Thank You" on them?

Just inspired today, I made a necklace this evening with the floral "Thank You" charm to remind myself to be thankful for all I have. I am grateful for my family and boyfriend, friends, colleagues, and even basic things like shelter and food. I'm also thankful for everything that I can do.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity....It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." - Melodie Beattie

" I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life." - Og Mandino

My Outfit Today

I wore this black crystal skull dress from Shanghai yesterday. It's super comfy! Wore it with a pair of with black and grey wedges from Pedder Red.

Went for the SGX Bull Charge run yesterday and a primary school class gathering after that. It was our 2nd gathering in 20 years! It was hilarious that most of the girls wore black (we think that that's because we want to look slim for a class reunion after 2 decades! haha). Our conclusion was also that guys tend to age slower than girls - guys seem to look younger!

My Fantastic Xinjiang Trip

I loved my holiday trip to the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China, 2 weeks ago. Besides the beautiful scenary at Buerjin and Kanas River and making a lot of interesting new friends, I had quite a bit of fun, ridding a (very smart and tame) horse by myself up to a waterfall, a camel for the mandatory tourist photos and driving a 4-wheel terrain vehicle at the beautiful and scenic Ghost Town (so named because of the sand dunes that are naturally formed by wind movements - you need a lot of creativity to imagine the sand dunes as demons and ghosts).

At the Wuyi night bazaar in Urumqi, I ate mutton, grilled fish and other seafood from the road stalls and quite a fair bit of fried silk worm cocoons as well. That night I ended up with swollen eyes and a blocked nose as a result of a food allergy or food poisoning (I was very thankful that I could still breathe through my mouth otherwise there would be more adventures to the local hospital). As my mom was saying back home, why did I have to eat 8 pieces of the insect when 1 would do to try the taste (Ans: I did not want to waste so much food).

I bought dried raisins and walnuts but my favourite purchase is this brand new pair of velveteen mid-heeled Mary-Janes from a stall at the Wuyi night bazaar. The shoes are labelled as "gong yi bu xie" i.e. handcrafted fabric shoes. It's comfortable and so economically priced that I didn't have the heart to bargain for it (only S$3). This will look wonderful on its own or with a pair of colorful striped socks. I only regretted not buying a few more pairs since I've only seen them more commonly as flats.

Away on Holiday

I will be away in Urumqi from today onwards till next week! Blue skies and greenery! See you all when I'm back!

My New Hairstyle

It has been a long 3 weeks for me and finally the mad rush is over (sort of lah)! Hurray! Took time out to relax and got a new haircut. My hairdresser suggested a short hairstyle with a dark blue base and electric-blue highlights. He's the only guy I have never been able to say NO to and ta-da this is the result:

I'm still trying to get used to this!

Classic Accessories

My personal favourite accessory for dressing up any outfit is surely the classic pearl necklace. Swarovski pearls come in various sizes but I especially love the chunky big ones. Beige pearl necklaces are great for dressing up for important meetings and dates! This is truly timeless appeal in a small package. What is your favourite easy-to-wear accessory for dressing up?

Black and White Wingtips

It probably sounds like I'm making a monumental fuss over something as trivial as a pair of shoes but I've been looking around for a pair of black and white/grey wingtips (oxfords) for the longest time. I've searched for it online and in the shops but so far the search has been in vain. A perfect pair would be one with moderate-height heels in patent leather. Found this nice pair with the perfect shape on ebay but it's not fully covered: This men's pair looks good too, pity it doesn't come with heels:
I thought my search has come to fruition when I found this B Store by Buddhahood pair in black and grey at Sole 2 Sole months ago and was so excited! But alas, it was not to be as the pair in my size was sold out:

I also found wingtips either in all black or all white in other boutiques but nothing as chic as this 2-tone pair. If you know where to get duo-tone wingtips, please let me know!

My Outfit Today

For my cousin's wedding in July, I decided to try something different. Instead of wearing the obvious evening-glam dresses, I wore this Marc by Marc Jacobs dress which is more day-smart-casual than evening wear. I glam-ed it up with a gold chunky bracelet and other accessories instead. Love the contrast between the 2 fabrics and the row of big navy blue buttons down the front:Paired the dress with a chunky bracelet, polka dot sling (to contrast with the stripes on the dress) and pink patent Miu Miu slingbacks. These appear to be my favourite combination of shoes and bag at the moment!

My Outfit Today

I wore this to a dance performance last Thursday: Ruffle-sleeves white top and mustard yellow belt from People of Asia. Nestled among the ruffles are 2 fabric roses! Brown pants from Blum. Lime green Purple Anemone clutch with pink flower pin.

Romping

I love rompers and jumpsuits! I can't resist getting them when I see nice ones in the shops. They usually come with side pockets and I dig that. These are not the most convenient (think restroom) apparel to wear but they always look great. Found these lovely vintage pieces on ebay:

This black piece is so gorgeous with gold details and strategic criss-cross at the back:This nautical-inspired jumpsuit with flattering collars is simply irresistable: Cute Hawaii print romper in a fabulous color: Love this vintage high-waist jumpsuit with pastel rainbow stripes and puff sleeves:

All Onboard!

Although I can't tell the difference between starboard and port, a style that I've always liked are nautical-inspired dresses. There's something about the colors and the stripes that convey naughty and nice all at once. Some ebay sellers are selling vintage children's clothing as mini dresses for grown-ups too. If the dresses fit, why not? There are lots of lovely children's sailor inspired dresses!

Nothing beats this fabulous Bettie Page dress though:

The white and navy dress below looks similar to my Marc by Marc Jacobs dress. The only visible difference is the ribbon in front: the MJ dress does not have a real ribbon, instead it is a 2D sewed-on ribbon. This looks great too though:

This is a fantastic vintage navy-inspired jacket. According to the seller, it was once a little girl's jacket, great for petite girls:

Of Little Birds (and Chickens)

I saw the picture below from Little Bird and the little fabric bird in the photo immediately caught my eye! The Little Bird (pun intended) told me that it can be purchased from etsy here. The seller has made such lovely fabric birds! The fabrics are so pretty and I want them all! This pair of lovebirds is one of my favourite:

By coincidence, while doing research for work (for something totally unrelated to this) today, I found this green chicken rocking chair at Hayon Studio:

This is what the designer said about this piece: "The chicken, a rather unexplored shape, found its place amongst my green dreams. I wanted to portray this common bird as a sensational object by amplifying its characteristics and dimensions, turning it into a modern piece, one of great beauty and utility: a rocking chair. The movement, subtle and constant, would give the object a zoom-like trait, a sense of speed and dynamism. My green chicken had taken on a face, a shape, a place and a function."

This piece of work is like my dream furniture: it's green (my fave color), it's in one of my favourite shapes and it will fit perfectly with my new home decor (house decoration in progress). This is totally whimsical and absolutely rocks (pun intended again)! :)

Schoolboy Blazers

I'm in lust with the red schoolboy blazer from Topshop after seeing it featured in the latest issue of Seventeen Singapore. I didn't see it in the Suntec City boutique and hope that it is still in store elsewhere in Singapore although I'm quite sure it is not part of the latest collection.

While surfing the net, I found this Kate Moss for Topshop Boyfriend blazer too. Love how the sleeves are folded and the sober color is definitely more wearable than the red blazer.

Brown Heart Shades

I finally got these brown heart shades from ebay! I did not get the black heart shades, chic as they were, as I had too many sunglasses in black.

I love these! They are as great as promised! They are cute, but not overly so and definitely great fun to wear!

Ms Bag Charming

A rock-chic bag charm that I just made. It's chunky and sparkly, just the way I like it! :D

By the way, I have not worn the pink shutter shades yet. So far, I've been too chicken to wear it. I can see clearly through it, although it may look better perched on top of my head. :p

My Definitive Fashion Victim Moment

I was lusting after some neon pink shutter shades here on ebay and happened to see this pastel pink pair after lunch today at a Thai street fashion exhibition cum stall at Vivocity. It was definitely a fashion-victim moment for me when I bought it on impulse but I'm a happy victim. Haha

I Heart Sunglasses

I love this new pair of Marc Jacobs sunglasses with a yellow diamante on both sides of the frame; it's almost movie-star like. I imagine that I'm really glamorous when wearing it..hahaaSince then, I've been obsessed with more sunglasses. The obsession became stronger after I saw this Lolita movie poster: Heart-shaped sunglasses! It's kitschy but still I'm obsessed with getting a pair. Probably a pair in a more "serious" color so that I don't look like I'm pretending to be 18 (or 12 for that matter).

I love this oversized black pair on ebay:

More sunglasses that I like below, although I'm not sure if there will be occassions to wear them: A pair of white wayfarer sunglasses with colored hologram hearts on it.

A pair of pink (what a delicious shade of pink!) shutter shades ala Kayne West:

Diamond Ring Brooch

This "diamond" ring brooch which I bought from ebay, is something that I've been looking for in a long while. It arrived last week in great condition and I love it! It's quite a big pin and will be fun to pair with other pins for a cluster-of-pins look!

"New" Clutches

My mother found these 2 lovely clutches when clearing the study. These were kept in dust bags and are in great condition. I hate clearing things and this has got to be the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for me :P

The chain strap for this brown clutch can't be used as the loop at one of the ends is broken. It's a lovely clutch so I'm not too heartbroken that it can't be used as a sling.This green purse was bought in Changi Airport in the 1980s and my mother has never used it before. It has a brown strap and is lined with velventeen. Although this is not exactly every girl's type of bag, I love the emerald green shade!

What the Contents Say

This is an entry that is way overdue now that the Chanel Mobile Art exhibition has already moved from Hong Kong to Tokyo. Zaha Hadid's mobile pavilion is inspired by the Chanel 2.55 bag as are the art installations by 20 international artists.What interest me was the photo-literature style of French Artist Sophie Calle, one of the artists commissioned for this exhibition. She advertised in the Japanese media for an artist to carry out her concept of getting strangers to sell their bags together with the contents. Japanese artist Soju Tao signed up and the subsequent collaboration is exhibited in this pavilion. A statement of the fine line between art and life? Perhaps.

What is definite for me is that it has piqued my interest in "styling" the interior of my bag as well. No more old receipts and other useless stuff in the bag and absolutely no more embarassing moments digging for items in my big carrier. Everything is tucked neatly in little pouches, a wallet and a coin purse. :)

(Photos from International Herald Tribune)

Patricia Smith Moon Bag

Graphics on bags and purses are seeing a revival now (cue Prada, LV). For something a little different, I just love this 1980s Patricia Smith Moon Bag (Milwaukee, WI). Artist Patricia Smith designed the panels herself; each panel is covered in resin and is detachable for interchange with panels from other bags (not that I have any others in order to do that). I like motifs and this one has a irresistable graphic of a butterfly flying with the moon in the bacground. Love the soft maroon leather and how the strap can be kept for this to be used as a clutch.

(Photos: Vintage Instyle)