Merdeka Day like no other

When it comes to annual Merdeka (Independence) Day celebration I think I've seen it all - from the childhood/adolescent memory of attending the annual parade at Merdeka Square, watching Yasmin Ahmad's heart-wrenching Petronas merdeka adverts, to just lazing on the sofa listening to repetitive, pseudo-patriotic commentaries by TV presenters on TV1. But this time around there was something else in the book. I wasn't in Merdeka rut anymore, if you will.

Walking on cloud nine

The excitement has elevated once again in the ever mundane life of mine, as I will be in Milan and Paris for Men's Fashion Week AW13/14! I've never imagined this day will come (as you might have known I'm a fashion outsider with a contrasting day job which does not involve fashion/retail at all) and am eternally grateful for the chance to witness runway shows by globally successful designers. If previously I could only ogle at the images and videos on the Internet, now I will finally have the chance to enjoy them in-person and even partake in covering the shows/presentations for Dunia Fashyon, together with the ever-resourceful Arman.

We arrived in Milan on Friday morning at the comfortably spacious junior suite at Four Points by Sheraton which is conveniently located just a few blocks away from Milan Central Station (long gone are the days of backpacking, hopping on and off public transportation to reach my place of accommodation). Since the runway shows will only be commencing the next day, we took the opportunity to explore Milan's luxury retail center for people watching and of course, some serious (window) shopping…

Stripes and spots for the weekend

As the title suggests I have been wearing striped tees and spots quite often lately, evident in my previous outfit posts. Well, often is an understatement actually. More like on a daily basis. An abundance of Uniqlo stripes, that is. This time around I'm inclined to pair it with a loosely nautical-inspired hat from Uniqlo as well. I'm thinking whether I should post my looks at Uniqlooks because thus far the content of my wardrobe is gradually being replaced by more and more basics from the Japanese giant clothing label...

 

Uniqlo hat and top, Dockers pants, Miu Miu espadrilles, Ermenegildo Zegna reversible belt

Too purple to be true

Whenever I travel I always try to bring clothes that I rarely wear during 'normal' days (did you know I wear bland shirts and reworked old trousers to work?). The reason being I feel rather uneasy to attract unnecessary attention at my workplace, you know, like that bad impression kind of attention. I do not intend to take the risk and possibly further tarnish my somehow feeble reputation at the hospital.

 I believe that even a big city like Kuala Lumpur has its reservations towards 'unconventional' clothing, so much so that in order to be 'fashionable' you have to wear something very conformist, safe and ultimately unimaginative. Once I pull out that non-conservative rabbit from the hat and walk around the city's biggest malls, almost immediately I'd get that stare, or sometimes even a whistle or two (the reason being, er, I dress too flamboyantly I suppose?), which somehow demotivates me to further experiment with clothes. 

 So I have decided to live in my own fantasy world of ridiculous and so-called tacky clothing whenever the time and location permit, for example during the trip to Singapore, of course!

I visited the Universal Studios in an almost top-to-toe purple outfit. Even the fake Marilyn Monroe in that thick American accent gawked in disbelief at my too colourful getup. But ironically the phony Joker from Batman complimented my bright-hued trousers. I personally prefer a darker wash than the current purple, so, I'm thinking to maybe dye them in an indigo blue to make them, well, more blue...

I'm almost blending in with the background, no?

I am wearing cowl-collared shirt from Topman, Miu Miu sleeveless tank, vintage trousers (my father's), Celine Bi-cabas bag, Jil Sander shoes, socks from Happy Socks.

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...

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...