Milan Fashion Week F/W08 Wrapup II

As always when we're in the midst of Fashion Weeks, all the clothes shown just look like a bunch of clothes with no direction to me. (It's why magazines like Vogue and Elle exist, and why they publish runway guides at the beginning of every season.)

Prada

THE show of Milan. I'm always half in awe and half in annoyance that Miuccia Prada shows collections with completely different themes every season. Half in annoyance because it hurts to spend the money to update our wardrobe so much, (although it's not like I buy any Prada clothes anyway,); Half in awe because Prada's shows are always so... thought-provoking. I've read many online reviews on the Prada shows and the key words seem to be: perverse, erotic/ seudctive/ fetish, Switzerland and lace. The interesting thing is that while most reviewers seemed to love the creative aspect of the collection, (no one dared to not like the collection,) everyone managed to come up with their own interpretation of the clothes. The clothes were impractical as always, but I think we're all so used to seeing artsy, unwearable clothes from Prada shows now that it's not mentioning.

The show started off with nun-looking dresses, then the clothes moved onto lacy, see-through skirts.

Lots of lacy dresses. It's very hard to decide whether the dresses are prim or erotic isn't it?

Collars and turtlenecks were there throughout the show. The collars seem reminiscence of Miu Miu S/S08.

Out of the collection, I think the LBD in the middle is my favourite. Hey, at least it's a bit more wearable than the lacy trouser (on the left).

And since we're looking at Prada, we must take a look at the shoes. The shoes sort of remind me of Miu Miu, and something Japanese anime girls would wear after they transform into their ever-impractical outfits to fight against evil.

Miuccia explained that females wear lace in all ages, from babies to marriage to widowed. Maybe it's the I grew up in a non-lacy period of time, but I really don't see lace featuring as a big part of a young, contemporary wardrobe. (I may just be brainwashed by the pictures from ShopBop, Barneys and Neiman Marcus.)

Jil Sander

While Jil Sander has always been all about minimalism and simply cut clothes, it's always bordered on being boring. But I can honestly say I like this collection.

I LOVE the coats. The coat Vlada is wearing -I can't stop staring at it! I love those artistic folds and the fabric wrapped around her shoulders. SO stylish and modern.

And the jackets look way cool too. Though as style.com mentioned, the suits looked a bit crinkly.

And the simple, work-women-type of looking dresses in all shades of grey.

Image credits: www.style.com

Milan F/W 08 Fashion Week Wrap Up I

Alberta Ferretti
Usually I just skim pass Alerta Ferretti, because the styles are always so similar. Very delicate, feminine and girly.
But this time, when I glanced at the first shots, I was surprised to find them to be Jill Sander-esque minimalistic! Albeit in a more styled and flattering way. The jeweled tones of blue and green were also refreshing to see on a FW runway.
On the other extreme, they also have printed dresses fashioned in a more flowing and draping material, reminiscent of the past seasons.
Example of the two extremes. The flowy, girly, delicate design and the more structured prim look. I want them both!
The cocktail dresses were a pleasant mixture of the more structured elements and the more feminine styles i.e. flowing pleated skirts.
I thought there was more variety in the evening wear as well. For example, this one on the left looks like they hired Laure Bennet from Project Runway to do it. I'm not much for feathers, but this is not too bad. The one on the right on the other hand is more structured and somehow reminds me a little of the pieces Zac Posen did a few seasons back. Still, very gorgeous and elegant.

Burberry Prorsum
This season, Bailey definitely went for a different direction. This collection is more fun, wearable and relaxed- and I LOVE it.
Don't you just love these chilled, wearable yet incredibly stylish looks?
The big overcoat is genius. And those huge chunky jeweled necklaces are TO DIE FOR. I bet they are going to be sold out, HUGE hits next season.
A little reminiscent of the cute shift dresses from last season. These are adorable.
The subtly vibrant hues are gorgeous. Though I'm not too sure what to make of what I THINK is the scarf detail....
LOVE LOVE LOVE gold dress here. I'm positive we will be seeing a LOT of celebs wearing this soon enough! And as for the feathered confection on the right....she looks like a bird. No matter how they put it, feather is simply NOT my thing!

Image Source: Elle

Grammy Fashion 2008

I realize that this review may come as a bit late, since the Grammy was last week and I almost skipped it this year, because honestly, the Grammy's fashion simply do not compare to the fashion of the other awards. But then, I thought: this was something we do every year (almost like a tradition!) and since we've had a bit of an awards drought this year..... I should really do it anyway. Better late then never is not a cliche for no reason. Anyway, here goes:
The clear winner for me at first glance was Alicia Keys in this GORGEOUS gown by Armani Prive. I just LOVE the vibrant rich royal blue color and the elegant design. This look is Oscar Worthy- except for the pink egg shaped clutch she's holding. Or is that a clutch? Maybe its a sidekick? In any case, a nice beaded satin even bag would've completed the look.
Sharp electric blue is clearly THE color on the red carpet this year. Witness Rihanna in this adorable creation by Zac Posen. Though obviously color is not the only factor to a winning look. Corinne Bailey Rae's Luella dress is just a whee bit too show girl-esque for my taste.

Another winning blue that night was Nelly Furtado in an Arthur Mendonca draping dress. It is simple and goddess-like. Natasha Bedingfield's purple drape dress by Reem Arca is also very pretty. She even shows off the intricate three fold design here in this pose! I'm on the edge with Beyonce's dress from Elie Saab. Its very.... fantasy, Cinderella-like with an edgy twist, what with the darking bodice piece. I can't decide if its a daring success or a beauty pageant dress gone wrong. The pale blue color doesn't help. And Carrie Underwood's floral dress from Murad is...nice. Its not a bad dress, but not fabulous either. The floral pattern just doesn't seem to go well with the red carpet.
Maybe the guys would appreciate this more, but for me, Fergie near bursting from her Calvin Klein dress is not attractive to me. Furthermore while the yellow dress is simply designed and elegantly tailored, its just.....boring. And as for Miley Cyrus, from what I can see of the white Celine dress, it looks very cute and suits her. Unfortunately her hair and shoes drags the whole look down.

Image Source: Yahoo News

I Dream of a Lifestyle Involving Many Cocktail Dresses VII: Top Shop's Designer Collaborations

Originally I was going to do a second wrapup post for London Fashion Week, but I feel sort of indifferent towards the shows, even Luella's collection, which I had been looking foward to. With all the young and tredy prom dresses, Luella's S/S08 collection was so cute. The new F/W08 collection is cute too, in a darker way, but I'm just not that into some of the more bohemian-looking dresses.

Yes, I am still obsessed with looking at young, wearable dresses. And one thing that I have been obsessively staring on my computer screen this week has been the Designer collaboration collections with Top Shop Boutique. The designers involved are the 'it' British designers of the moment, including Preen, Peter Jensen, Christopher Kane, Marios Schwab, Todd Lynn, Richard Nicoll, Jonathan Saunders and Louise Goldin. From what I've seen online, some of the collaberations seem to be limited to shoes. But the majority of them have a small, but decent range of clothes available. The thing I like about these Top Shop collections is that the clothes have mostly been very nice -decent quality and designer-level designs at (mostly) reasonable prices.

The collection that I had been looking foward to most was the Richard Nicholl collection. The clothes just seem so simple, nicely cut and practical. Take this ruffle dress and peach blazer for example, it would make a great fancy dinner outfit. It could even pass as a work outfit if your workplace is dressy (but not business formal.)

After seeing this Jonathan Saunders dress in stores and online, I thought it was a good imitation of the original dress from his F/W07 collection (left), but tight jersey dresses don't usually look good on people. However, just a few days ago, I saw a girl wearing this out (without a jacket so she was probably freezing) in Leister Square, and she looked amazing in it! She made it look so young, fun and trendy, and it's really those fashion moments that you love the idea of designer-highstreet collaborations.

Another dress that I saw in store and actually liked is this Louise Goldin dress. The colours and pattern is quite pretty. The problem is, since it is a sleeveless dress, it's clearly much more suited for summer than winter. But it's made of knitted material (50% cotton, 50% viscose,) it felt too thick to wear in summer and not washing machine-friendly. Too bad.

The collection that I wasn't expecting to like but ended up liking the most is Marios Schwab's. Last season when Marios Schwab designed a few things for Top Shop, all I saw were black dresses, so I wasn't quite impressed. But this time, there are some young, casual clothes with unique-but-not-weird-looking designs. Take this block-coloured dress -it would be perfect for a fun night out, and it's colourful without looking tacky.

The Marios Schwab dress that really caught my eye was this knotted dress. I am worried that it would make one look like she was wearing a picnic cloth, but it's hard to tell until I see it in real life. I just really like the knotted detail and the combination of two seemingly-mismatched prints. Sort of fun and funky without me actually putting in the effort to mismatch clothes and end up looking like a mess. Unfortunately, they've run out of this dress online. I wonder if they still have it in stores. What do you think of this dress? Opinion please!

What really irritates me about these collections is that they ALWAYS run out of the smallest sizes within 12 hours of release online. Would it hurt for them to actually stock up on the clearly popular smaller sizes? Seriously. Hmm, I wonder if the actaul shops would still have all the sizes available.

Image credits: www.vogue.co.uk, www.topshop.com

Final Sale

Its finally FINAL sales time! And I admit, I've been struggling with the the-sales-are-so-good-I-simply-MUST-buy-something syndrome. Thus, lately I've spent a LOT of time online window shopping desperately looking for something to buy in order to take advantage of the bargains. So here are some of my finds. After seeing on TV this local celeb wearing this Balenciaga-esque blazer (yes, I recognized the whole look as J Crew- and indeed it was) with an argyle sweater looking really cool, I've been wanting this white blazer (and preferably the argyle sweater too). I just LOVE the simple yellow lining of the blazer. I'd never have thought that yellow lining would look nice- but this one works! And the BEST thing is, it is on sale from $250 to $99!!!! I think that is a fair price considering that it is made of wool, but I'm still hesitant to fork out $100 for J Crew, especially when free shipping is not available.
I've also been dying to get a dress from Shopbop since the sales are up to 70% off and there is free delivery. I even narrowed it down to these two above (left: AKA, right: Karen Zambos), each around $120, which I think is a good deal because they ARE silk dresses and both used to be in the $400 price range- but alas, many of my friends disagree. Maybe my sense of value is going wonky? Anyway, I LOVE these two dresses because one is simple, modern and fun (the pink strip is also detachable making it that much more versatile), while the other is classic, ladylike, very pretty and just very me. I struggled between buying the two at the beginning and was leaning towards the AKA one since its more lively, but alas, its hard to imagine whether it'll look nice on me when I haven't tried it. My friends pointed out that the horizontal partings on the AKA dress may make me look shorter. And I worry that the blue dress is too prim and old looking. Sigh, thats the thing about final sale items- no return!!
Other things that caught my eye. I thought this dress (left) from Joie is the CUTEST thing. At $88.50 down from $295, it sounds pretty good. Though it occurred to me that it might not so good on me in person. I can't quite put a finger as to why though. Then there was this silk dress (right) from Thayer, which can double as a skirt as well. I don't particularly like the style of the strapless dress, but I love the versatility. Down to around $80 as well, it seems like a good buy.
I adore the black dress with the chiffon sleeves (left) from Sweetface, the mixture of material makes the all black that much more interesting. And its only around $70! And the black metallic Mint Jodi Arnold dress (right) looks so much like this black dress I tried on at Barneys by Alice Ritter, which I fell in love with but was waaay too expensive, that I want it. I love the black metallic texture. If only I didn't already have too many black dresses already.
Another dress I was considering was this pink backless dress from T Bags, because I LOVE the print! From the front it looks nice and its only around $50. But I'm not too hot about the back. The cheap jersey material and bright colors in combination with a big backless hole, borders too much on skanky and slutty for my comfort. Besides, I'm not sure that a cheap looking jersey dress should be worth $50 at all!
We mustn't forget about shoes. I think these two from Ernesto Exposito mary janes are so cute. It has the perfect balance of texture, chunkiness and finesse. PLUS, its a bargain at $150, down from the $500's. And yes, I know, I have a thing for tall, chunky heeled, gently rounded pumps. These ones from Joie are exactly the way I like them. Down to $105 from $210, its not bad. These are SHOES after all. But alas, they ran out of my size.

So in the end, after all this over analysis, I finally didn't end up buying anything. So what do you guys think? Did I make the right decision not to get any of this, or am I missing out on some great deals?

Image Source: J Crew and Shopbop

London Fashion Week F/W08 Wrapup I

It's time to take a look at London Fashion Week. As usual, a lot of the clothes are very artsy in a fashion-school-project way. The clothes aren't entirely practical, but I think these collections are cute:

Christopher Kane
Since he debuted a few seasons ago, Kane's show has possibly been each of London season's most anticipated catwalk to watch. I usually like looking at his collections, even though I really am not a fan of tight clothes. But this season, his clothes are loose, yet this creative-looking.
Lots of big, long, wool sweaters. Finally some clothes that look more like daywear than costume-wear.
Most of the clothes were covered with paillettes, (which I think are basically huge sequins.) As per London's usual style, the pailette-covered clothes did not look simply minimal and sparkly, but had lots of artsy details.
I like the fusion of the pailettes and sheer fabric. I especially like the grey dress in the middle -it actually looks wearable for cocktail functions and parties.

Biba
I admit I have no idea how the original Biba (from the 60's) looked like, so when I look at the current collection, I look at it as if they were just any other new collection whose brand has a strong 60's influence. While I'm not sure how practical these clothes are to most of us in real life, I really liked a lot of the individuals pieces. The clothes really give off a cool, girly, glamorous vibe.
As from Biba's origin, there were a lot of mini-dresses. I love these dresses because they look so young and the colours are so vibrant.
Imagine glamorous girls walking in cities in these outfits. Way too cool. I love all those details on the purple dress. (The details are on some of the other dresses, which are just as pretty!)
And for those who don't like colourful clothes, there were a good range of grey and black dresses and skirts. Sigh, if only we had the money and the life to sit around in bars in these gorgeous mini-dresses!

PPQ
I haven't noticed PPQ until recently. PPQ is apparently a favourite among young British 'socialites'. The dresses are SO cute! Admittedly, many of these dresses are not entirely cocktail-party-cool or the modern effortless-dresses, but they're so darling that I can't help but adore them!
The collection started off with some FW-looking clothes -dark-coloured dresses and coats.
And then the fun began -prom dress time! Usually I hate tie-dyed looking clothes, but I really like the way the colours blend and the cut of the tie-dye dress in the middle. And the bright yellow dress on the right is my favourite dress out of this collection. I think I just really like how the black legnth of chiffon wraps around the dress. Again, cute!
And even more cute, young dresses! The dress on the left would be so fantastic if you have cool events to go to.

It's a pity it's not often I manage to find clothes by Biba and PPQ in stores. I think I have only ever seen a dress (a rather unimpressive one at that,) or two in a department store once. What are your thoughts on London Fashion Week so far?

Image credit: www.vogue.co.uk

Valentine's for Friends!

Valentine's day is just around the corner! Over the years, I feel like we've quite exhausted the topic of Valentine's, from what to get for her, for him to what to wear. So this year, I've decided to take on a different angle and do Valentine's for friends. As someone reminded me lately, Valentine's day is the day to show people we love that we love them, and that is not exclusive for lovers.
A very good idea is to make personalized Vday cards for all your friends, like the ones above (left) from Shutterfly. Its simple and sweet. Other ideas. I quite like this "All About Me" book from UO where they can fill in their life's tale. What better gift than to give them a perspective on themselves?
Classic pink Vday trinkets like this rose ring and compact heart shaped mirror from UO is also a nice touch. Lovey dovey presents don't always have to come from your lover after all.
But of course, amongst us girls, we know that the true path into our hearts is not through heart shaped trinkets, but through lots of pampering and primping. So might I suggest these darling lip shines from Philosophy (left) or nail varnishes in fun colors (right: OPI)?
You can even throw in some Spa sets (left: Bliss, right: Cosmedicene) and have a girl's night in, giving each other spa treatments and painting each other's nails....
...while watching this season's most girl power tv show, Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle. So far, I like Cashmere Mafia more.
And last but not least, sweets! More specifically, I have a craving for cupcakes. These are from Sprinkle's, but I've never tried them. So my heart is with the Magnolia bakery cupcakes from NYC.....yum! I keep on thinking about them, I fear that I've placed it on a pedestal and it is only in my imagination that they are so good. But yes, these will be the perfect thing to share with your friends and show them you love them (also think of Blair's super sleepover in GG- they had cupcake fountains too!). I know I'd feel loved :)

Happy early Valentine's Day everyone!

Image Source: IMBD, Sephora, Urban Outfitters, Shutterfly and Sprinkles