Ruched florals and other printastic finds

Flowers. Prints. Patterns. These are the things in fashion that I have a love-hate relationship with. Why? Too much of them will make people look at me with 'what-the-f**k-are-you-wearing' look - personally experienced that when I decided to confidently wear the Christopher Kane galaxy print top at home (I said confident because my family members and close friends are all used to me in borderline gaudy and arguably effeminate outfits).

Margiela fever

I suppose you are getting pretty tired to see endless entries regarding THE Margiela, but we could not hide our excitement on their upcoming collaboration with H&M (another three days left, have you eyed on any specific pieces?). True, the designer has left his eponymous brand but the nostalgia definitely lingers. Doing re-editions at a mass scale is a pretty brilliant move to introduce the enigmatic brand to the more 'commercial' world, at least to me, personally...

I'm sooo excited to have acquired a few Margiela-related pieces previously (some are vintage from Labels Inc, and some are from their MM6 x Opening Ceremony line that I scored during the Musa sales). Regretfully I rarely wear them out. This might sound pathetic but the reason being I truly cherish the pieces and I fear ruining them from over-wearing!

Hopefully the impending H&M collaboration will provide me another Margiela piece (albeit not truly authentic I'm satisfied enough; to those MMM elitist/purist fans, go away to your regular MMM boutique, thanks). In fact the launch which is barely a few days left pushed me to style up and wear my personal pieces, that serve as a memento, just in case I could not get hold of the high street pieces come November 15th. The date will surely be anticipated with excessive palpitations...

MM6 x Opening Ceremony palazzo pants, worn with Zara blazer, Uniqlo striped tee, eBay belt

MMM Bag!

The title would falsely read as Hanson's MMMbop! (What ever happened to the boys? I remember the lead singer with that vaguely husky voice of his).

But really, the leather bag is another haul from, yes, I'm going to drag you to the dreadful phrase: MUSA sales. The shoulder bag bag first caught my eyes during my visit to Maison Martin Margiela showroom in Paris last year - an experience so good, it basically proves clothes look so much better in person. Screw internet fashion bloggers like me who steal other reputable fashion insiders' images and comment as if I was the one who dissected every fashion piece in-person. Magazine editors, stylists, buyers - you guys know I'm so green with jealousy right now...

I hope I'm not exaggerating when I say this bag is a design genius - say goodbye to misplaced clutches and coin wallets. Everything's attached to the main body, and they will become detachable as you wish.

Wearing MM6 Maison Martin Margiela x Opening Ceremony bag, Uniqlo cardigan, Christopher Kane t-shirt, et vous pleated trousers, Sanders shoes

written by Hafidzudin
twitter: @naboonies

Summer sales happiness

It's good to know that MUSA has managed to clear much of their inventory from SS2010 and beyond, in order to move on to their next project which is still in a hush hush mode. But it's sad the venture into independent European labels is rather short-lived though. I try not to toot my own horn here but dare I say I am among the lucky persons (but unlucky financially, if you'd like to think the other way) who managed to scoop a great bargain that this sale offers (offers, as in present tense. Yes, it's still ongoing). 

As I tweeted previously the Christopher Kane items at MUSA are so greatly discounted it surpasses the London sample sale calibre. I'm not exaggerating! Now the seemingly unattainable FW2011 tartan print shirt becomes my possession at a fraction of the original price...

I tried to pair the (here's my attempt to create a new colour vocabulary) dusty gold t-shirt with a nearly-matching jacket, tailored to my petit frame. Remember when the jacket was a tad too large? The pleated wool trousers are from Et Vous, a French label, acquired during a separate MUSA sale. I love the baggy yet tailored silhouette, the pleats, and the best thing is they're cropped at the ankles! They actually come together with a jacket but the Gaga-esque exaggerated shoulders made me think twice to wear it...

I'm wearing a custom-tailored jacket from eBay, Christopher Kane FW 2011 tartan print shirt, Et Vous pleated trousers, Comme des Garcons Shirt shoes, Ayame socks, brooch from a market in Sabah

It was not a coincidence as Arman and I decided to wear Kane's t-shirt from the same collection. The purple hue is a more vibrant option than my more subdued version. This is further augmented by a shiny clutch from Marc by Marc Jacobs. I guess outfit color-coordination speaks volumes in terms of reflection of the wearer's personality - perhaps the notion of bright colors equals to outgoingness and vice versa is indeed a tried-and-tested concept...

 

Arman's recent trip to Johor Premium Outlet has resulted in this interesting beaded sneakers from Adidas x Jeremy Scott commercially successful collab. Arman always gets amazing footwear on our jaunts to JPO but I, on the other hand, always come back empty-handed due to the lack of small boyish shoe size there.

P/S: By the way, if you haven't noticed we have joined forces at Dunia Fashyon and Arman has put on some wonderful news, e.g. all the Oroton updates. 

Have a great weekend!

written by Hafidzudin
twitter: @naboonies

Paisley-ed

It's so easy to give titles my outfits posts nowadays. Add an '-ed' suffix to any noun and bam, I'm ready to go. Batik-ed, paisley-ed. What's next? Baju Kurung-ed in Marc Jacobs Resort 2013 perhaps?

And I probably should have named this entry 'Unflatteringly Bulbous Silhouette with Hairy Chicken Legs' as well. But I simply can't. In fact, I am refraining myself to do so. It's all because of this dirt cheap haul from MUSA sale, currently ongoing. (I said dirt cheap as the dirt that my mother buys to supplement her bougainvilleas is in fact, priced a tad higher). Previous season's House of Holland and Peter Jensen at a very very competitive price made me cross my comfort zone of streamlined clothes to a rather experimental one:

Now you can see why I should've named this post 'Unflatteringly Bulbous Silhouette with Hairy Chicken Legs'  - the illusion of big beer belly by this House of Holland's shirt, only enhanced by the jodhpur shorts by Peter Jensen. Anyhow, this latest find further propagates my love of paisley motifs...

Paisley bandana prints played a major role in House of Holland's AW2011 collection. Heavily influenced by the Eighties, he managed to update the retro look with that certain sassiness, which translates into commercial success. 

House of Holland paisley shirt, Peter Jensen linen jodhpurs shorts, Tophop studded shoes, Comme des Garcons pouch

Runway image of Peter Jensen, the Laurie collection SS2010. It clearly shows that the jodhpur fits the model better than my grizzly, stunted legs. (The hip-bearing look is previously loved by me in this post.) But the linen material makes it a good pair of summer shorts, nevertheless!

The old Topshop studded shoes, which, in my feeble attempt to augment by adding customised foam soles, have caused them to be quite unwearable. I mean, I can't even walk straight without having them accidentally pulled off of my feet. Oh well...
Happy Sunday!

MUSA FOREVER

Musa Kuala Lumpur is embarking on a new project, and as a consequence they are having a warehouse sale - an effort to clear up their space. It's located at their office in Danau Kota. I'm not exaggerating when I say most of the items are discounted up to 90percent! Hence even the pricier labels like Gareth Pugh, Christopher and Margiela seemed much affordable now.

I should just shut up and let the pictures do the talking...

An unforgettable hue

I used to stray away from vivid colours when I was younger and mindless as the mindset that time was anything brighter than my colour pencils deem tacky, campy and tasteless. Blame it on the peer pressure from spending five years in an all-boys boarding school which made me stick to conformity. Little that I knew that I would soon change my mind on how a man could and should dress.

 

Image courtesy of thedandyproject.com via Tommy Ton on GQ.com

Now that I have seen a lot of gentlemen out here (over the Net to be more precise) wearing a good splash of colour to spruce up their outfit, it only seems natural that I follow suit. Events like Pitti Uomo and menswear fashion shows is the place of meeting for these new hybrid of masculine men who wear  colourful shades effortlessly and proudly flaunt their sartorial identity. 

The desire to look more vibrant sartorial-wise is also fueled by current season's menswear powerhouse Jil Sander. Under the creative director Raf Simons this minimalistic-driven label has breathed a lease of new life again on colourful clothing for men. Their SS 2011 collection, as many of you would have known, is very much talked about and has been flying off shelves (of both the real and online ones). Oki-ni, the notable London-based  online menswear retailer, for example, has sold out most of Mr Simons' brightly-hued shirts and trousers in electric blue, magenta and bright green, among others.

When I say I followed suit, please bear in mind that my attempt is ceaselessly feeble and there is always room for betterment, of course. And taking into account that half of my wardrobe is composed of that of women's, I apologise if that fact does not appeal to you guys who might hope I feature a gent's outfit for once. I'm sure there are gentleman readers who have their own take on colourful outfits done tastefully. So in the spirit of sharing I'll be waiting for your personal colour-injected outfit images. My e-mail is just at the sidebar over the right!

The latest addition to the clutches family is this tangerine orange Comme des Garcons leather clutch from MUSA Bangsar. (surprisingly affordable for such a cult label!). Worn with Peter Jensen crop blazer, Uniqlo pique tee, thrifted crop pants, Zara skinny belt, Lanvin A/W 2010 clogs.

And not forgetting this shiny and equally adorable moose brooch from Topman! The pique weave on this Uniqlo shirt looks more apparent...I'm basically have fallen in love with this Japanese label for its high quality cotton clothing...

Unleash the animal within...

Animal-related influences never cease to make their way into fashion. Fur, animal prints like leopard, zebra or giraffe, and even more tactile ones such as alligator or python leather is somehow mandatory every season. Even menswear is not spared from this trend, although its usage in this department is usually more subtle - as the risk for a collection with animal-print frenzy is usually too difficult for a gentleman to pull off, will get cringed upon and ultimately won't sell well.

I for one would like to brave this trend and would try one of the more popular prints of all - the leopard / cheetah...

First to go - a rather plain outfit comprising of a light shirt which my dad used to wear YEARS ago, Atmosphere linen blazer, Tophop pants and Johnson desert boots... all combined with the relatively louder leopard print fur bag from Topshop.

And the second attempt of wearing leopard print is in the form of this T-shirt which I acquired from Chic POP a few months back (the fact that Chic POP is running around 3 times annually is very encouraging for the blog-shoppers but I think the vendors need to think of other clothes and trinkets to sell instead of the usual 'vintage-inspired' theme that seem predominant there).

The T-shirt is paired with Cheap Monday leather patch denim, Peter Pilotto x Kipling bag and Miu Miu espadrilles.

Here am I jumping like a fool at one of the rare family vacations, this time it was in Port Dickson (yes, it's basically our vacation spot because of the proximity and low cost accommodation).

Talking about something fur-like I am reminded about this Cheap Monday sweater (currently available at Musa Bangsar), with stripes of different materials where faux fur and knits switches one and another... It was hard to prevent myself from rubbing my palms over the soft material and not to look like a pervert...

Christopher Kane's oriental motifs, Comme Des Garcons clutches

I'm jumping for joy as I typed this as Comme Des Garcons has finally landed in Kuala Lumpur! My cravings for CdG attains satiety in spite of only leather ware being featured here. A collection of blindingly loud neon-hued clutches and wallets of varying sizes awaits the adventurous lot. The urge of getting my hands on these babies intensifies ever more so after looking at this beautiful image by Tommy Ton, which actually gives the clutch more justice (you know my digital camera is shit so yes it's apples and oranges...).

                         

On the other hand those who'd rather stick to classic colours can opt for these demure card and coin holders or wallets which are suitably arranged next to their more kaleidoscopic counterparts...

For those looking for a bigger space to carry their belongings fret not, 'cause these embossed leather totes are ready to be someone's arm candy ( I know I'm starting to sound like somebody from PurseBlog or something)....

The saying 'save the best for last' cannot be more apt if we're talking about Christopher Kane, the uprising British designer who dazes fashion editors with his out-of-this-world prints and vibrant hues. For this season neon lace infused with oriental-inspired prints like dragons, tigers and exotic flora are chosen and finely placed on jersey t-shirts and dresses creating a breathtakingly beautiful collection. But I'm discreetly wishing if they can re-stock the wildly popular cosmic prints from his resort collection... because that's what I truly need!

                                    

                               

Christopher Kane and Comme Des Garcons leather accessories are exclusively available at Musa, No 34, Jalan Telawi 5, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.