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?

My Outfit Today

Today I'm wearing an old denim shirt as an asymmetrical skirt, paired with a black top with purple lace from Bangkok and my pink Miu Miu patent leather slingbacks. I like how the skirt is different all around, both left and right and both front and back. Kept the accesssories to a minimum today, just with a chunky bling ring to avoid overcrowding.

Vintage Mini Dress

Aha, I won this navy blue vintage mini yesterday! I love the white point dolly collar and matching cuffs. Although the bottom hem is unfinished, and I will have to do a bit of stitching, I'm glad that I finally found something I liked in size M. Ha ha

Just to let you know, I'm also lusting after the vintage YSL wrap dress below. The print and color are just gorgeous. Apparently, there are many others like me, since the price has gone from $9.99 to $102.50 and there are 6 more days to go.

YSL Gold-tone Cuff

Besides the address clutch , YSL has created a gold-tone cuff as well (also available in silver-tone). This could either be a on-time novelty item or a classic, since it is teetering on a fine line. What's your view on this?

Vintage Tuxedo Minis

I was so inspired by Suzy's finds on ebay that I went back to it again today to search for goodies. I do have a on-again, off-again love affair with ebay. It gets frustrating sometimes, as most of the nice stuff seem to be available only in the extra small or small sizes! Arghh!

I just adore tuxedo-front dresses which are great for smart-casual dressing, cute and sexy all in a package. After trawling through ebay, I found a few adorable vintage mini dresses online but they came only in tiny sizes:

My Outfit Today

After meeting our designer yesterday, we went around looking at furniture to understand more on what the other wants for our new place. There are so many different types of stylish furniture around, that we are having a hard time deciding. Happy problems, I guess.

Going out again to source for furniture after our gym session today. Here's what I will be wearing: I found the multi-color silk bubble skirt on a 50% discount rack in IP! Super great buy! Toned down the skirt with a dark grey knitted top with floral-capped sleeves. The brown elastic belt was bought at People's Park Complex. I wanted to wear this outfit with ankle socks but decided against it and settled for a simple pair of black sandals from VNC.

The grey knitted top came with a grey knitted flower. I removed that and wore the top with 3 necklaces instead for a more interesting look. The red and the blue necklace are vintage finds; you can't see them in the photo but they are actually small little hearts. The locket necklace is handmade by me at Purple Anemone. I think these necklaces go very nicely with the skirt:
My favourite super chunky bling ring from Robinsons (bought this a few years back) and red hearts Pilgrim ring from Takashimaya:

My Outfit Today

For work today, I wore my asymmetrial jacket (from a small boutique in International Plaza). It has different collars (one black and one blue striped), zippered pockets in front (my fave). I paired it with my Agnes B. green patent belt (I love colors!), G-star jeans, Prada watch and shoes from yet another small shop in International Plaza. I experimented with wearing the green waist belt at the hips, with the buckle at the side and unbuckled in another statement of asymmetry. Liked the look and glad that the unbuckled belt could amazingly stay in place the whole day!

I love the details at the back of the jacket: woody buttons in a curved line.

My favourite sneakers:

Fuchsia Pink Bubble Dress

I'm so obsessed with fuchsia pink accessories and clothing now! This pink belted bubble dress from Theory is so lovely! On the prowl now......

Rainbow Brite Corset

Do you remember Rainbow Brite from the 80s? A secret part of me just love this Rainbow Brite corset! Just ignore the red tutu skirt and see the corset for what it is! I love the sweet-heart shaped bustline and the lace-up detail at the back! Although the ribbons in front are a bit over-doing it, the rainbow panels at the back are just lovely!

Agnes B. Spring/ Summer 2008

Got this charming ball chain necklace with graphics designed by Nathalie Gilles as a gift at the Agnes B. Spring/ Summer 2008 preview yesterday. Great party! This lovely red dress with Gilles' graphics was modelled there as a signature piece of the Spring/ Summer collection too! Can't wait for the dress to arrive in the shops!

agnes b. Dresses

Love these 2 agnes b. asymmetrical dresses, especially the sketches printed in front. Simple yet interesting all at once.

Qualify to be an agnes b. Ami member with purchase and get a lovely limited edition 3 rings and silver chain set! Conditions apply.

Rainbow Dress

Found this old photo online....wow love this rainbow dress! Someone found this in a thrift shop for only US$0.20 and turned it into a beautiful dress. You have to check out the "before" photo here.

Terry Cloth Skirt

It's green and it's made from terry cloth, what more can I ask for in a skirt. I have this thing for terry cloth apparel since my first white terry cloth top bought at a obscure little shop in Jalan Sultan, many years ago while waiting for my A'level results. Bought it with my first pay check from a temporary job.

My Outfit Today

Happy Lunar New Year to everyone! It's a tee-shirt and jeans day for me today. I love my pink Local Celebrity tee, especially with the Shopasaurus Rex growling "Out of my way - you lightweights!" Call me childish if you like, but that's how I feel sometimes. :p

In my previous entry, I blogged about a colleauge who advised that red shoes are great for good luck in this Rat year. Being kiasu and not one to let any opportunity for good luck pass, I had to follow her advice right? The photo below shows my take on red shoes, complete with red and white striped socks (bought last night for just $10 for 3 pairs at the Chinatown New Year Bazaar).

G-Star Jeans

For this year's CNY, I bought a pair of G-Star Midge Custom jeans yesterday and I just love it! It fits beautifully and is so comfy! I love too the olive green reusable shopping bag that it came in!

I love the first pair so much that I went to buy another pair of G-Star Medin Pants in a greenish-brown shade today! This pair is even more comfortable!

These will look great with my Local Celebrity tee, Tan Tan top, and last but not least my $8 t-shirt from International Plaza!

By the way, I heard from a colleague that red patent leather shoes (no peep-toes ones though) for ladies will bring good luck this year! Try it! :D