What are you wearing?

We have been extensively scouring for affordable bargains whilst in Paris and that includes WALKING from one department store to another, going to certain multilabel stores (not just Colette) and the high street is not spared either. But what would this blog be without a good old outfit post?

Whilst Arman has brought about six winter-appropriate jackets/coats or so I've been limiting myself with three outerwear (well, four including a reversible H&M x Margiela piece). It's always a bit of a conundrum when it comes to selecting proper winter clothing (the sizing and pricing issues, of course). But luckily those women's Undercover x Uniqlo quirky stuff came to the rescue. Anyhow I still did not manage to maximise the clothing part and I'm blaming this entirely to my not-so-spacious American Tourister suitcase which basically tilts to the side when packed full. I guess that is the peril of travelling on budget...

Arman is wearing something appropriate for the Burberry Prorsum show - he's wearing trench coat by Burberry Prorsum (obvs), Prada bag (in front of Prada Galleria Vittoria Emmanuele II, how appropriate x2), Raf Simons jeans, Carven boots

Adventure in tailoring - Burberry Prorsum jacket

 Personally I do not put outerwear first in my wardrobe list. However, it seems that lately I find myself searching for a good jacket - sometimes a man needs an outer shell to provide his body a structure. And more increasingly so I find myself in a position which requires me to wear such apparel from time to time again.

I am quite lucky to have found a reasonably good jacket from Burberry Prorsum from AW 2009/2010, a purchase acquired at the Johor Premium outlet (read the post about JPO here). The charcoal wool jacket is love at a first sight, and teamed with an affordable price, it was almost an impulse purchase. But I sat down for a while and figured that it was time step up to another level in my style searching endeavor - a tailored piece is deemed worthwhile.

   

The runway image (courtesy of vogue.co.uk)

The original jacket boasted fairly narrow lapels, working button sleeves, and lovely vents. But alas, my petit size could only mean that a bit of customising was in order. As a result of tailoring, the sleeves are chopped off (well, not literally, but you know what I mean) and sadly the buttons on the cuffs are now sitting there deceivingly for display only.

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.

A need rather than a want - Paul Smith Tri-tone Brogues

The footwear fever is hardly over, especially for yours truly who have to lug low-quality leather jazz shoes from Zara to work. I wish that one of these days I could muster some gut and insouciantly wear my Prada espadrille brogues to the rounds and miraculously get good remarks from the superiors...

 Such is hardly the case when it comes to these very work-friendly (especially in those extra-conservative environments like mine) Paul Smith brogues which have three, yes, THREE tones -black,burgundy and blue. Sounds and looks familiar? They do remind me of the Prada version but obviously sans the espadrille soles. Either way I'm quite confident that they would look good on anybody's feet and furthermore the pricing is much better compared to their Prada counterparts.

With the smart look and just the right amount chunky, these Made in Italy brogues might have the potential to find their way into my shoe cabinet...

 

   

Mourning the loss of Paul Smith

It's rather distasteful to put such a dreary post for a comeback entry (I apologize but OBGYN department is draining me physically and mentally I don't even have enough time for Facebook let alone blogging)...

But I could not help it but to mourn the loss of my Paul Smith leather loafers.

There are two possibilities of how they could get lost:

A) Somebody snatched them while I was busy entertaining guests at home during my brother's wedding. Did I mention 2 cell phones and a brand new digital camera were lost during that event? Must be careful next time if my family ever organised another big event...

B) Somebody snatched them when I forgot to keep the shoes inside the house. Yes, my neighbourhood is that typical dodgy place in Malaysia where people can enter the one's porch/ parking space to grab shoes and sell them to 'bundle' shops. The footwear that are highly susceptible to be stolen are men's leather loafers, but we had some funny incidences in the past back in the height of roller blading craze where even our roller blades and roller skates were gone!

I purchased them at a bargain at the London Heathrow Airport. I used these loafers almost on a daily basis at work. They were so comfortable I could walk in those shoes all day long from eight to five...

I still remember the images of the beautiful dragon-flies and dandelion etchings on the soles.

 And the snakeskin-like texture of the leather,  which was only beginning to mould according to the shape of my feet.

 May you rest in peace on somebody else's feet.

Al- fatihah....

Carolyn Massey sailor shirt, Paul Smith loafers

My attempt to acquire some affordable designer loot came to a fruition when I got hold of what seems to be a sailor shirt by London-based menswear designer Carolyn Massey for Topman Lens SS08. I just love the over-sized collar detail, complete with buttons along the hem and everything... but too bad was not able to purchase it online last year. The reason is Topman does not ship to Russia, out of many European countries that they serve. But thanks to the miraculous online market that is eBay my long wait has ended...

The shirt fits me rather perfectly, except for the long sleeves. My short extremities is unarguably the main reason why I find it hard to buy clothes that fit me well. No regrets in that however... it goes without saying that a trip to the tailor is necessary in this case. Hmmm... thinking of the amount of money that I spend on tailoring my clothes daunts me a little bit, but I believe the end result surely gives a positive impact on the fit of the clothing. The money is not spent in vain, or so I'd like to think.

Another self-gratifying purchase is these PS Paul Smith loafers that I got for myself at the Heathrow Airport Terminal 3. Another frivolous and extravagant purchase I hear you say? Can't say that I totally disagree with that but to my defense they were on sale, and they're tax-free, no less. Plus I had some extra Roubles lying around and it HAD to be converted to Euros (a sad-but-true fact is Russian Roubles are of no values outside its borders...) so with my new-found cash a graduation present was deemed necessary at that moment. (still waiting for my grad present Canon IXUS digi cam though :).


I fell in love instantly at the sight of the snaky texture on these cowhide loafers. And that quirky dragon-fly and dandelion detail on the soles- how adorable! They were the last pair, and fortunately were my size. I'm a dainty but wide size 6, the smallest size that Paul Smith have in store, not surprisingly. I was immediately excited to grab this last pair lest someone else with such small feet will, but I hesitantly paid the cash (it's been a while since my last wallet-thinning purchases). However I finally justified the moment realising I would not get such an offer in Malaysia . Yes, all these so-called 'luxury items' are annoyingly overpriced in Kuala Lumpur. Personally I prefer buying 'designer stuff' overseas because I know that the price are greatly reduced during sales and the abundance of choice is always welcome, of course.

Carolyn Massey sailor shirt, random street vendor striped tank, Veronique Branquinho trousers, PS Paul Smith loafers, eBay glasses, eBay belt

PS: I just realized that these items which are new to my wardrobe are both from British designers. This reminds me of one of my favorite English menswear blog Style Salvage, who not by any chance harp about Carolyn Massey so frequently.