Friday, December 31, 2010

.... is ready for new year & new season

First of all, I want to say Happy New Year 2011 to all my readers. I feel very blessed in many ways in 2010 and hope that the coming year can be better for all of us.

I have prepared for this coming season and want to use this opportunity to preview some of my new clothes. These clothes are not purchased from the named designers. They are either tailor made for me or purchased from other sources. The reason I want to show you these is because I want to demonstrate to you that to remain fabulous, you do not need to spend a lot of money. In fact, I spent less than 100 dollars for each of these clothes. You just need to be creative and to keep looking.

1. Gucci
 2. Dior Homme
3. Givenchy
This is the only one I bought. It was from Zara.

Take a bow

Alexis Mabille - couturelab.com

Alexis Mabille - couturelab.com

Alexis Mabille - couturelab.com
Alexis Mabille Clutch at Colette.fr 650 Euro
Alexis Mabille X DC Comic bow tie
Alexis Mabille Fall Winter 2009 Couture
Alexis Mabille - Spring Summer 2011 - Ready-to-Wear
Alexis Mabille - Spring Summer 2011 Men
Valentino Fall Winter 2010 Couture
Valentino bags at Net-a-porter.com
Lanvin Cuff Links at Brownsfashion.com
From top to bottom - Dior Homme, Franck Boclet, and John Galliano from Luisaviaroma.com
Albert Elbaz of Lanvin

Spring 2011 bags: floral print

1. Longchamp


2. Jil Sander

3. Dries Van Noten
4. Oscar de la Renta

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Menswear trend #1: painted shirt

First of all, I want to apologise for not posting as often as you might like me to do these past couple of days. I have been holidaying in Jakarta and it has been hard to find time to post. I promise in 2 days time when I come back to Sydney, this will change and I can once again post more regularly.

This post is my first post about menswear trend. I have been in love with the hand painted effect shirt ever since I set my eyes upon the McQueen shirt in Spring Summer 2010. It gives a very nice twist to a rather conservative looking shirt. It is a piece that guarantees you to stand out without looking like you are trying hard to do so and invites people to have a conversation with you.


In Spring Summer 2011, Dries Van Noten did something similar. Instead of using a rather thick looking paint however, Dries opted with a more lighter alternative. I think he used ink in his collections. The result is just equally amazing.


I have been wanting to get one of these shirts, but with my current budget, they seem out of reach. This limitation motivated me to look for a fabric that looked like it was painted and tailor make the shirt. Below is the result. What do you think?

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Bottega Veneta Cruise 2010/2011: bags for men and women

I absolutely love Bottega Veneta accessories collection for Cruise 2010/ 2011. The appeal comes from the colours. They colours are bright and unusual and make anyone who wears it look younger. In addition, they are very versatile. You can take them to work or for casual occasions. The shapes are classic, which means that other people can easily recognise what they are.

For women:





For men:




Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Evening Dresses

I am writing this post from Jakarta. I am in Jakarta to attend my cousin's engagement party. During this trip, I have been asked quite frequently to accompany my relatives to various fashion designers and tailors and give opinion about their evening dresses. As can be seen from my most recent post, designers in Jakarta have this tendency to do more than necessary. Personally, I think less is more when it comes to looking elegant. Details can be good but too much will be distracting and tacky. I agree with Tim Gun from Project Runway, who always says that designers should "cast their editing eyes".

Here are some designers who have cast their editing eyes and successfully produced elegant pieces this season.

1. Carlos Miele

2. Zac Posen - even just black and white can be amazing

3. Dennis Basso
4. J. Mendel

 5. Marchesa

 

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Indonesian Fashion: confused



Whenever I see Indonesian fashion I always have trouble focusing my attention. Sure the workmanship is top of the range and the material is amazing but the details are just too much. As you can see, in one outfit there are details on the bottom, top, back, shoulders, etc. I think great fashion should feel effortless. There is nothing effortless about these clothes. They look heavy and uncomfortable. Editting! Editting! Editting!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Fabric shopping: Jakarta

Fabric shopping in Jakarta is so much fun. You can easily get fabric from Paris, Switzerland, Italy for relatively low price (Japanese fabric is always the cheapest - about 10 dollars a meter; fabric from Switzerland is slightly more expensive - about 15 dollars; Italian fabric is the most expensive - about 25 dollars) . All you must do is haggle. In Jakarta, you haggle everywhere, even for food. The key is to not sound desperate and look around. Do no be afraid to go and come back later even if the person tells you that the item is so popular that it will not likely to last.

This is not to say that you cannot get really expensive fabric in Jakarta. For instance, brocade is quite expensive (about 200 dollars a meter).