My First Online-Buy

Hmm, how to start? OK, to begin with, I am extremely cautious shopper. I analyse over every little detail of item -like the colour, the cut, the weight, the practicality, how often will I wear it, when will I get sick of it etc., until even my parents get fed up with me and tell me to just buy whatever it is. Also, even though I spend an abnormally large amount of my line window-shopping online all the time, I have never been brave enough to actually buy anything online -that was until a few weeks ago.

So a few weeks ago at the end of my Christmas break, I was looking through the net-a-porter sale. I looked at clutches first, since I figured if I was ever to buy anything online, it would be a bag, and clutches are usually cheaper than other types of bags. Plus I haven't bought an evening bag in almost two years and I'm terribly picky. So imagine my surprise when the first 'sale' page that I looked, there was a Miu Miu clutch that I actually liked and most importantly, it was affordable! So after imagining myself using it for a few days, encouragement from my sister and mum, and knowing that net-a-porter is extremely trust-worthy, I clicked the buy button.
The package arrived one day later than estimated, but it was all good. The clutch turned out a tiny bit smaller than I thought -it could just fit my already-tiny Samsung mobile phone. But I have come to accept that it is one of those little lipstick clutches. I love the velvet, which makes it look so classy. It's small, chic and girl-looking without being too cutsey. All in all, it was a fantastic experience. Now I really feel like I'm living in the twenty-first century!

Tell me about your online-shopping (or online-window shopping) experiences! Are you as obsessed as I am?

Chloe Bags SS07

Since the Paddington, Chloe bags have been on everyone's radar. Well, it has been on mine anyway (although I've always liked the style of their clothes as well). I especially liked the Betty bag. But now, its time to look forward to their newest offerings in SS07. Here are the two I like best.
The Bay Bag. Isn't it a little reminiscent of the Balenciaga Motorcycle bag? But I quite like this version of it. It still fits everything and its more rounded, cute, feminine and just different. I find the two huge zips on the pocket really adorable too! This is a really fun and classic bag.
Then there is the Ava. Although similarly rounded, this bag is less structured and I think more elegant, ladylike and feminie. Definitely more sophisticated.

I can't quite decide which one I like better, they are so similar and at the same time so different! I adore them both. Et toi?

SAG Awards 2007 Fashion

Award show again, but this time it's the SAG Awards. The winners of the SAG are pretty much the same as the Golden Globes so I'm not going to bother much with who got the awards. Actually, this award seemed so similar to the Golden Globes I wasn't even going to blog about it, but some dresses were so pretty that I couldn't resist.

OK, wow. Katherine Heigl's outfit was pretty disappointing at the Globes, but this dress just looks stunning on her. Plus she carries that old Hollywood look really well. Look at how gorgeous that hair and makeup are...

Sandra Oh (and her stylist) seem much better at selecting the right dresses for her now. She looked elegant in this Armani dress. One thing worth mentioning, Armani (or Armani Prive) totally upped the fashion-meter at the SAG yesterday. A few of the stylishly classic dresses were by Armani -more below:

I love Cate Blanchett's whole look here, from the dress to necklace to the earrings. The dress is such a great fit and cool look on her.

Anne Hathaway in Marchesa -uh, so-and-so I guess. Teri Hatcher -I usually hate Hatcher's fashion, but this dress looks really nice on her, (thanks Armani). At the very least, she doesn't look her usual tacky self.

Sara Ramirez -not bad. The green silk suits her skin tone really nicely. Diane Kruger in Dior -ahh, what can I say? Diane K practically looks pretty in everything.

Ellen Pompeo in Lanvin -I appreciate that she's got her own sense of style, but I'm really not liking the neckline bit of this dress. Kate Walsh -So summery and happy! It's not an amazing dress or anything, but she looks great in it, which at the end of the day is the most important thing.

Helen Mirren -I'm usually not interested what the older actresses wear to award shows, but Mirren looked so lovely and the dress was so suitable for her that I had to post about her.

The Ugly Betty ladies! Becki Newton -She's so gorgeous! Love the hair and makeup. And that dress looks amazing on her. This is definitely an improvement from that ill-fitted dress at the Globes. America Ferrera -Oddly, I don't like her as much as Becki, but she does look elegant in this dress.

Rachel McAdams -Ooo, I've been obsessed with her pink highlights for awhile. As much as the dress is young and cool, I'm not sure this super mini dress was the right choice for the red carpet, but she looks so cute that I'm going to ignore it and just declare her mega-cute!

Whose dress and whole look did you like the most?

Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow Palettes

On the first day I arrived back in London last week, I went on a oh-so-important beauty shopping trip with two friends. My friend, uh hum, not me, desperately wanted new makeup. (Oh wait, I think I ended up buying a skincare product too. Anyways...) A little tip to you: If you know you're going to buy a certain makeup product, you might as well get the makeup/ saleslady to put it on you so you learn how to use the product professionally. So, we went to the Dior counter at Selfridges and my friend got a little makeover.

The makeup lady applied concealer over her eyelids and undereye area first. Then she spent a long time layering the different shades of shimmery pink and purple onto her eyelids. To complete the look, the makeup lady put on eyeliner and mascara. Tada. The effect is super super pretty, like the looks you see in magazines.

As we know, the smoky eyes look were very 'in' for FW06, and smoky eyes are just so useful for nighttime looks. But the key to this season's smoky eyes is to use many shades of the same colour. (According to a magazine I read, using only one dark colour to create smoky eyes is like, so last decade.) For example, if you use this Dior palette, you would use the dark purple and brownish colour on the outer corners and the light pink on the inner corners of your eyes.

A Dior palette costs US$49.50 in the US and 32 pounds in the UK. Of course, there are other cheaper or more expensive eye shadow palettes, but I do think these Dior palettes have great colour selections.

The Queen

In the light of all these nominee's for The Queen, I felt like I should comment on it as well. I watched this movie back in Paris, because they weren't showing Marie Antoinette in the cinema. So I didn't have much expectations for it and honestly, I had no idea what it was about.

So I was pleasantly surprised when the movie turned out to be so good. I've never thought of Diana's death from such an angle. I just remember feeling sad that she died and we all watched the tele when they showed her funeral procession and Elton John sang Candle in the Wind. It was interesting to see how the Queen struggled to cope with the situation.
And Helen Mirren played Queen Elizabeth so well too! All the inner struggle, the pride and the dignity was so powerfully conveyed- and she didn't even do it with words! Plus, she LOOKS like Queen Elizabeth! The make-up and hair and everything is just amazing.
Even her co-star Michael Sheen looked like Tony Blair. And I really liked his character too, he was funny yet compassionate and supportive of the Queen's plight while everyone else just didn't understand. Plus, I thought the bond between the Queen and Tony established at the end by Diana's death was really touching. I also liked that the theme of the movie was different from all the usual genre of movie, romance, comedy, save the world etc.

Who would've thought that such a touching movie could be made of a few short days?

Haute Couture SS07 III

The final wrapup of the SS07 Haute Couture shows; the last dazzle.

Armani Prive

The most obvious thing about this show was that everything was silver, or at least some part of the couture was silver. The second most obvious thing is the Indian theme -Indian influenced cuts and turbans.

Other than that, it really is just a dazzling show of gorgeous, elegant dresses and suits.

That's such a pretty, cute cocktail dress (on the left), which sort of reminded me of Marchesa, although this dress is obviously fancier. And the dress on the right is the Armani-chic take on the Indian dress.

Ahhh... the simple, beautiful flowing wedding dress.

Jean Paul Gaultier
While the Armani Prive collection was certainly lovely to look at, I personally found the Gaultier collection somewhat more fun to look at. Maybe because I'm not of the age to wear businesswear yet, and am more into the haute-casual-couture, if that makes sense. Anyways, I'm just going to state the obvious: this collection is very religion-inspired. Not a particularly inspiring topic to me, but Gaultier pulled together quite a lot of fascinating pieces.

First there are the halos. I love Stam's whole look (most right) -it's so beautiful and haunting.

Then there are the slightly darker looks. It's so cool how the halo on the left and the dress on the right look like the windows seen in churches.

Then there are the couture that are so artistic that I don't quite understand. Oh well, this is haute couture.

And finally, though not my style, it is a really pretty dress, with the cape and sheer material. And of course, that crazy hair and halo!

Alas, we'll have to wait another six months to see the next round of Haute Couture collections. Or perhaps we'll see a few of these dresses at the award shows? We'll see.
Photo credit: Marcio Madiera @ style.com.

Single or Double Eye Lids?

I can't say I personally have this problem, but from friends who do have single eye lids, they've always had a problem with applying the current eye make-up trends or just eye make-up in general because they don't have the crease. I guess I can see why and that is probably one of the reasons why double eye lid surgerys have become so common nowadays. For those of you who want double eye lids but think that a surgery is a bit too scary (and it IS!), here is a little contraption the japanese came up with to give you temporary double eye lids.
The Koji Technical Eye Tape is basically a clever thin tape in the shape of the contours of your eyes. You stick it on the top of your lids, look up, let it stick and *viola* double eye lids! Thats the theory anyway. The application, like that of fake eye lashes, is not as easy as it sounds. The effect is also probably not as perfect as one would hope, because from the side you can totally see the tape. And even from front on, it looks slightly unnatural. But still, for all intents, you have double eye lids for the day. Isn't this such a clever idea? I never even knew such a thing existed until this weekend when my friend came in with suddenly double eye lids!

Haute Couture SS07 I

Be prepared to be dazzled. Oh, and excuse my squealing in this post!

Christian Dior
It wasn't until I started reading The Beautiful Fall (the book) recently that I realised how important and meaningful haute couture is to old Parisian couture houses like Dior. This show was A-freaking-MAZING. I have never been as awed by a haute couture show as by this one. Galliano revived haute couture with this collection. The theme was Japanese, and you'll be absolutely amazed by all the intricate details put into each piece of couture -from the accessories down to the material and little beads.

Left: Typical Dior silhouette with the Japanese flower details and origami. Right: A very spring-feeling dress.

Left: I LOVE this dress. I saw a HQ photo of this dress, and the flowers are SO detailed. I literally stared at this dress for 5 mins. Right: You see that square in the front? It is imitating one of those paper-folded games. And there are actually branches on her head.

Left: Such craftsmenship -look at the way the ruffles swirl around her. Right: SO pretty. It's like she's wearing white dress and has a pink printed cloth artistically wrapped around her.

There two dresses are much darker. Left: A somewhat realistic outfit. Right: The dress makes the model look like one of those evil flowers you see in anime cartoons. Seriously, how do they make the shape actually stay?

These dresses are every girly girls' fantasies. The beadings, sequins, tails and puffed-up bottom -sigh... Btw, you MUST go look at HQ photos of these dresses. You seriously can't appreciate the dresses until you've seen them blown up large.

The last dress -wow wow wow. This dress is like a combination of a huge typical wedding dress and origami design. On the chiffon, there are a lot of beads and sequins to make the dress shine. And the origami part -you can even see how it imitates every fold of origami. Can you say genius? She looks sort of like a swan, a very exquisite swan of course.

Even the accessories and makeup were Japanese-inspired. Talk about serious art here!

Ahh, and the show of course ends with Galliano himself all madeup and dressed-up.

Valentino
There were some elegant dresses, but to be honest, it was really just a typical Valentino couture show.

Elie Saab
Lots of shimmer and glamorous dresses. Most of them are actually very wearable -perhaps we'll be seeing some on the red carpet at the Oscars?

All credits of the photography goes to Don Ashby and Marcio Madeira.

Papierdoll hosts Zula Khramov

One of our fellow online mag/ blogs, Papierdoll is having a fashion show/afterparty today with a 1 hour openbar for indie designer Zula Khramov. If you're interested in attending, check out the invitation and rsvp here: http://www.papierdoll.net/rsvp/

Dolce &Gabbana Menswear Ads

Back in the days when Dior first came out with their gorgeous Vintage Flower collection I remember all the guys coveting Harrod Girl's poster of that ad because they thought the model in it was really hot (we just thought the ad and the bags were gorgeous). I didn't really get what they meant back then, but now I think I do.
Ever since spotting this D&G FW06 ad at the Milan train station (Welcome to Milan!) and then spotting it again at the metro station at Port Royal (its everywhere!), I've been wanting one of these posters for my room. Dolce & Gabbana really know how to pick their models. I don't know who this model is (anyone know?), but he's just so fine (the one on the left that is). Their SS07 ads for Dolce and Gabanna are not too bad either. Like this one here, I love the blazer and denim look on guys. Put together, yet casual. I especially like the model in the middle ;). Admittedly though a lot of other Dolce and Gabbanna menswear ads look really gay (well considering their audience it makes sense), but there are always a few for us girls, that are so hot that all we want to do is stare at it all day.

So yes, just wanted to share these fashionable eye candies with you girls out there :D

Dream Girls

So today I watched the much raved about Dream Girls. Although frankly, I'd wanted to watch Happily n'ever After or the Holidays (still haven't watched that yet) but somehow we managed to miss them both.
Well anyway, Dream Girls was about three girls who have sang together since they were 12 trying to make it in the industry. In comes an ambitious manager Curtis (Jamie Foxx) and after much hardship they shoot off into stardom. On the way they lost themselves in their stardom and friendships started to fall apart blah blah blah. . . this is basically the gist of it, but you can read more about it in the synopsis.
Overall I thought they looked really cute, young and back in the days at the beginning when they were starting out. Their wigs are so quaint and their dances were really so upbeat and fun.Its amazing how make-up, hair and clothes can change people. As the movie proceeded one can actually tell how they've matured from the young hopeful dreamettes to the dream girls.
Throughout the play Beyonce was just amazingly gorgeous. Well except that scene when she was leaving and she had on no make-up, but thats all part of the character right?I thought her outfit when she went from her mansion to see Curtis at the office was especially striking. She looked so put together and stylish.
Jennifer Hudson also had a really great voice and sang with a lot of feeling. Unfortunately, sometimes I felt that she dragged it out a bit too long and wasn't upbeat enough. Like in the scene above when she insisted that she was staying, I kept on thinking the song was ending whenever she took a breath, but it just went on and on and on. . . .
Eddie Murphy was also in it playing the guy who indirectly gave them their big break and went on as one of the love interest of one of the girls and was one of the stars under Curtis's payroll at the end. I thought he was quite amusing and I felt really sorry for him in the end.

Overall, Dream Girls was not a bad movie, although for a musical movie, I didn't think it compared to movies like Chicago, because usually after such a show I'd be motivated to go home and listen to their soundtrack over and over again and relive the musical. But this time around, I feel no desire to do so and honestly, cannot remember any of the songs. Also, I wished it had more of a happy ending.

Cute, Cozy n Comfortable Boots

I don't remember Chicago EVER being this cold in the last few years that I've been here. The days and nights have been absolutely chilling and all I want to do is just bury myself in layers and layers of cashmere and down. In the spirit of keeping my feet warm and stylish, I went on a search for cute, cozy and comfortable boots (if I'm going to look like a fluffed up ball, I might as well be a cute fluffed up ball).
The first thing that actually came to mind was UGG! As Uggly as they are, they DO look oh-so-warm and cozy. And some of their other selections this season are really not that bad. I REALLY like these Uptown II boots (left). It doesn't look too much look a tree stump and the lace with the shearling coming out makes it look feminine and cute. I'm definitely keeping an eye out for these this weekend. And these Locarno look positively un-UGG-like, with its simple sleek shape. Well except for the shearling lining, but thats a GOOD thing.
More classics that you can walk around all winter in. There are these simple brown boots from KORS (left) with the cute buckle (they are definitely growing on me- I WANT it!) and these almost white boots from Adidas(right). And just so we can be even more cutesy, there are these adorable pom pom embellished boots from Report (left) and Juicy Couture (right). The wedges also gives you some extra height.

Even though they are probably not the most comfortable things in the world, I couldn't resist throwing these in because they just look so cute and cozy from Calvin Klein (left) and Steve Madden (right)! And who knows, for some people they may be comfortable!

64th Golden Globes Awards Fashion: The Uglies

After all the ooh and ahhing yesterday, its time for the 'uglies'! In Hollywood, or at least all these female stars, none of them can be classified as ugly. They're all prettier than any of us. But when I call them 'uglies' here, I mean that their dresses are either really ugly or doesn't suit them, or they could have easily looked prettier. First comes the ugly dresses:

Venessa Williams -Oh my. She usually looks so fabulous on Ugly Betty. What the heck happened? The hair! The uncomplimenting fur coat. And that dress and skin tone makes her body look like Victoria Beckham's! She looks way more evil here than on Ugly Betty!

Jennifer Love Hewitt -I've never really been a fan of her dress choices, but this dress is just terrible and old-looking. It would be nice to see her wear some flattering colours for a change.

Beyonce -Again, I've never been a fan of her clothes. But eek! That Ellie Saab dress is so gold, so shiny and SO tacky. This is the Golden Globes, not Showgirl.

Courtney Cox -She is so gorgeous, especially for her age. Which is why it is such a pity she chose such an unpleasant dress. The black lace material on top has a weird pattern on it.

Nicollette Sheridan -I usually love black and white, but this is dress is just wrong.

Becki Newton -My favourite newcomer this tv season. She's absolutely hilarious and gorgeous on Ugly Betty. One of the reasons why I watch Ugly Betty is for her performance and all those cute office outfits she wears. Anyways, not that she looks terrible in this green dress, it's just that there's something not quite perfect about it. I reckon it's the cutting -the bottom half of the dress could be better.

Heidi Klum -The dress just looks like a white sheet wrapped around her. Simple in an unstylish way. A dress is bad when even a top model couldn't carry it off.

Angelina Jolie -She is so gorgeous, so maybe that's why she looked decent enough in this unflattering dress, or why no one dared to make a comment about that dress. I've read so many reports on how the grey dress matches her grey eyes, or something like that. But I've also read that Angelina wasn't happy about the dresses St. John made for her and St. John had to rush-make new ones for her. All I can say is, this dress was made by St. John. Period.