All cropped up

It feels refreshing when there's a feeling of getting hooked to a different kind of pants length and fit. I think I have outgrown my skinny jeans phase, but I still keep them in case skintight and ball-hugging bottoms subconsciously manage to influence me to re-wear them. My latest addition to my cropped, roomy trousers family (next to the Peter Jensen jodhpurs) are in the form of this tailored CK Calvin Klein goodness. Please don't worry guys as I did not overspend on this item - they were acquired part of my Johor Premium Outlet CK purchase besides a reversible jacket and a black dress(!). The frugal finds were totally unexpected as we just noticed the bargain rail right before we left the store. So we had to turn back and re-examined the whole length of that particular section. I left JPO a happy camper. Truly a bargain hunter bliss!

Not so summer kicks

Past-season fashion will always be in fashion (well, in my books at least), depending on how classic and relevant the design is. Due to the ever changing and rapid turnover of trends I find it too fleeting, and not to mention expensive to keep up with the latest styles of clothing. Hence buying last season items at a fraction of the original price is one of the ways for me to enjoy fashion without creating a huge dent in my bank account which is already burdened with monthly bill payment, etcetera.

Shattered platform dreams

I have always accepted the reality that I am vertically challenged, but to me there is nothing wrong to add a few extra inches to the height instantly. Ladies have the options to wear heels / platformed shoes like these ones from Chic Yamada.

 

But what about the guys? Any possible options without looking overtly feminine nor outlandish? No, I did not resort to undergo the dreadful leg-lengthening surgery, of course. Better, I thought that I might add thick layers of platform to the Calvin Klein booties (which were originally heel-less, with thin soles that I pretty much despise). I brought the booties to a guy who does wonders with shoes (he repairs and custom makes shoes at a very affordable price point) with an ambitious hope in mind to add up foam soles, despite that guy's skeptical opinion. Little did I know that such measure would not last me that long - in fact, it only took a few strides and a jump to break the platform away from the original soles...

Perhaps I should consider the bone-breaking procedure then?

Ann Demeulemeester goodness

I cannot help but, from time to time, to put on this hooded tunic from soft diaphanous cotton fabric. Without question the cult Belgian designer always knows how to produce a fine quality piece yet at the same time befitting the contemporary wearer. Personally I can wear this tunic with the loose linen Thai fisherman pants to echo the drapery effect of the top, or, pair it with a corduroy vest, also from Ann D. Talking about value for money, I have been wearing this tunic for quite a while now, tracking back my entry regarding my trip to Antwerp more than two years ago...

 

  

  

Here I am wearing the drapey + drapey combo, composed of Ann Demeulemeester tunic shirt, linen Thai fisherman pants from eBay, accessorised with Celine Bi-cabas lambskin bag and Comme des Garcons x Generic Man pebble leather brogues with Vibram soles.

Paris is Burning...part deux

One good thing about traveling to colder climate countries is the possibility of having fun with clothes and to layer up like nobody's business. But traveling on a budget only allows me to bring select items from home and leave it all to random creativity to take its own rein on my outfit.

Alas, I'm only dreaming of course. I'm not THAT creative, obviously. I don't have the ability (financially especially) to whip up jaw-dropping, brilliant pattern mixing or colour-blocking getup worthy of street fashion photography.

Thus I had to resort to an all-black ensemble in order to avoid looking like a fashion outcast (which I probably already am).

The result? A confusing mishmash of silhouette, textures and proportions... Tell me what influences you see here? I feel part Amish and  Depeche Mode in Personal Jesus video clip.

Hide the hole!

I just found these  images whilst cleaning up my 'outfit post' folder. It's been a while since I attempted a DIY and this shredded cardigan is the living proof that I don't know how to customise outfits other than shredding clothes HAHA!

The cardigan is from Mexx ( a Spanish high street label) that I got while studying in Russia. It was one of my favorite cardigans because of its relatively good quality and of course, its black color essentially goes with anything.

Why do I ruin the cardigan if I loved it I hear you ask? One day I found the cardigan hanging in my shared closet (i.e shared with 2 other housemates, that was the dark period for wardrobes  I dread to go back again) . It was hanging there with TWO large holes near the left shoulder area. I was devastated really, thinking the possibilities of:

A) It was a foul play (is it even possible haha)

B) The cockroach ate the fabric

C) Or worse, the RAT ate the fabric

So to preserve what's left of a holey black cardigan, I decided to 'camouflage' the holes by rampantly shredding the fabric even more....

I was in an almost all-black ensemble with this cardigan from Mexx, sleeveless tank top from Miu Miu (eBay), Topman trousers, Calvin Klein booties, socks from Happy Socks, Forever 21 hair clip as shoulder accessory

I rarely wear these Calvin Klein perforated booties anymore because of the thin soles and the awkward fit (they are ladies footwear after all). But I kind of smiled when I looked at the neon- tipped socks from Happy Socks. Yup I'm ready to compromise with the label's rather hefty price tag over their eccentric socks design...