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!

Cut me out

My affection towards unconventional shoes has been going on since the old Dunia Fashyon days, and you know I'm always on the look for unique, wearable shoes. But unfortunately the nature of my work only allows me to wear such footwear outside of working hours - hence the onslaught of conservative/classic-looking shoes on Dunia Fashyon Instagram as they are snapped during the odd few minutes of break in-between patient appointment.

Sometime by Asian designers

My mission attending last November's Urbanscapes was to finally feel what it was like to be a festival-goer, and of course it was not supposed to involve shopping at all. But it was hard to be firm on my principles if there's something wonderful enticing me, especially when it comes in the form of good-looking and affordable bags. I stumbled upon Sometime booth right in the middle of the field, quite separated from all the music action that was going on.

What is luxury?

The fashion world has been always too comfortable with the definition of luxury and the connotation it brings. Soft silk and cashmere, supple lambskin or ostrich, exotic alligator, 24-carat gold or ideal-cut diamond jewelry: these items are luxury in their own terms. It's undeniable that fashion is a business-based sphere and to steer away from overt use, or sometimes, misuse of the L word is somehow too farfetched an expectation - luxury is the pinnacle of fashion and it's understandable why consumers easily fall into the perceived luxury, all thanks to many brands' marketing strategy that succeed in creating that illusion of exclusivity.

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!

Crisp white shirt is the answer

Sometimes I switch from my rather 'busy' outfit to having a simple one whilst window shopping. I think this helps a lot, especially in our tropical climate which does not really allow for multiple layering and such.

It is also rather convenient to have basic clothing on so to facilitate a trip to the dressing room...

 

Mexx mandarin-collared white shirt, Topman khaki trousers, Lacoste plimsolls, Celine Bi-cabas bag

On another unrelated note I thank Syazwan Rosman for diligently taking my outfit photos, and have that bit of patience with a rather fussy me. Loving that Peter Jensen SS2010 Watermelon Bag on you!

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...

Orange blazer + drop crotch + tribal jewelry = ?

Going to the Comme des Garcons presentation just made my day. But figuring out what to wear to my first 'real' fashion show was a headache. I did imagine that the attendees would show up in their best CdG getup, and most probably in an authentic one as well.

Paris is burning... part trois

Day three in Paris was an exciting one as we planned to visit more and more shops and, later that day, attending a business appointment with Christopher Kane and Gareth Pugh (a much more elaborate entry to come).

The day started with a walk around Le Marais and we ended up in the historical Place des Vosges, where a moderately sized park was. It was time for photography, naturally...