Marni metallic sandals and oriental feel

I initially had qualms about things too shiny and metallic, especially when it comes to clothing items. The mentality embedded in my mind, it seems, is that it is either too flashy for day wear, or too tacky for evening wear (for guys, at least). But somehow I have changed my perception over the years, thanks to a barrage of runway images and look books styled to incorporate such glistening material.

In effect, I have mustered some bravery to style the metallic silver sandals acquired at the recent Marni at H&M shopping frenzy, and somehow felt rather experimental donning the ever so oriental-infused T-shirt from Christopher Kane. But in this case, the powerful print need not be clashing against the gleam of the footwear, hence the sweater cover-up...

 

Uniqlo sweater, Christopher Kane SS12 T-shirt, H&M jeans, Peter Pilotto for Kipling bag, Marni at H&M sandals

 

The green lives on...

Are you sensing that lately my entries are about colours? Good. Green has been another shade that I have been keen to try on lately. Previously a hue that I find a bit too tricky to manipulate now I might safely say it is quite a colour that surprisingly can be quite easy on the eyes. Yes, if you think there are too many colours in one outfit feel free to dissect one greenish tint at a time, and wear a piece one by one at your own discretion!

 

On me are several pieces, in addition, that I think have a slight military feel - those green khaki pants from Topman, the Sanders shoes, the Peter Pilotto x Kipling bucket bag; and a tinge of sea foam green in the Balenciaga t-shirt. And the look is completed with a light brown blazer from Zara and socks from Uniqlo.

Brothel ceepers virgin

My annual jaunt to the Lion City is for the purpose of unwinding and a little bit of retail therapy. A much superior shopping destination than the capitals of Malaysia combined, Singapore's Orchard Road never ceases to entice my already submissive consciousness to spend a wee bit more. 

It's even enticing when luxury retail big guns like Club 21 bring all the good labels - we all know they are the only ones who stock Jil Sander and Dries Van Noten in the region, and their Comme des Garcons outlet is up and running since January this year (more on that later)...

On a much affordable side the Swedish retail giant H&M is already in its full force at Orchard Road since September. The vast white facade was silently persuading us to enter the premise, even though from afar the place is packed up to the brim... But in we went nonetheless.

As I have expected I couldn't find anything great fitting for me. I almost walked away from the counter when I saw a guy getting ready to pay for his items. He was holding these brothel creepers, which apparently were taken from the girls' department, and, ironically, made a last minute decision to let go of them. I knew that that was my calling and we exchanged looks (mine was a drooling / amazed / greedy kind). He generously offered me these shoes, and the inner shoe fetishist in me was more than happy to accept them. Well, don't get me wrong, I have to pay them myself of course...

Whimsical trends: Cosmic prints

This has a high potential to be my next blog header image!

You might notice cosmic/galactic/universal prints have seen a great surge these past two seasons, all thanks to designers like Christopher Kane who pretty much takes the responsibility in propelling beautiful galactic prints on the runway. I honestly do not know if he stole those gorgeous universe prints from NASA's archive of space images. Ha!

I for one am a big fan of prints, especially the (vaguely) painterly ones. When I saw Mr Kane's famed cosmic collection both for men and women some time last season, my childhood ambition to be an astronomer was suddenly re-triggered and was very tempted to grab a hold of one of the pieces. Oki-ni had a great selection of men's t-shirts, however the exorbitant (pun intended) price was a HUGE let down.

This is a unisex resort 2011 collection from Christopher Kane (kidding haha)

Come spring summer sales I happily noted that the t-shirts are sold half price at SSense.com, a Canadian-based e-boutique. Never mind that it's a women's t-shirt (isn't that old news?), the thought of the lower cost compared to Oki-ni made me joyous already.

Staring all day long at the mesmerizing vivid print...

The fabric is breezy, semi-sheer modal. The tag says 'dry cleaning only'. This shirt better be worth the dry cleaning fees which I only allocate to garments that I love. This is garment number thirty four.

No wonder people say e-window shopping is addictive. For those who have a weak will power like me can easily succumb to the temptations of sales. Who's to be blamed? (okay stop it I know I can see fingers pointing at me now). But the journey to the galaxy did not end here. I figured the more cosmic themes in an outfit the better...

The cosmic theme resonates perfectly in the Kipling x Peter Pilotto SS2011 collaboration. This Milky Way bag boasts a roomy space where I can stuff all my garbage when I'm in a hurry. The bag is also on a heavy discount at Kiplings outlet in One Utama.

We love matchy matchy hues...

Aren't you amazed by Lady Gaga's equally famous galactic-inspired Born This Way video?

Or Katy Perry's alleged copycat E.T video...

Well, thumbs up for Ssense for having a fairly good range of sizes. The negative part was the extortionate fixed postage fee! Imagine paying 50USD for such a light item. It was a rather foolish/wise decision to purchase it anyway, as the cost that I saved post discount is more beneficial than the shipping fee. (yes I hired an accountant to calculate that 'value-for-money shopping' for me).

Worn with Zara blazer, Cheap Monday jeans, vintage woven leather shoes

A 90's song that would be apt for all things cosmic is of course 'Intergalactic' by Beastie Boys...

Hopefully it's not too late to wish Happy Ramadan al-Mubarak for Muslims out there!

Paris is Burning... part quatre

The final day in Paris has got me bawling my eyes out over the fact that I am leaving the wonderful city and will be returning to the dreadful routine life in Malaysia.

All in all it was a great short trip filled with fun and new exposure fashion-wise, especially to big labels that I could only previously gawk over from the screen of my laptop, or pushed my greasy nose onto the shop vitrine salivating over the window displays.

The outfit that I wore prior to bidding adieu to the city is thematically pale and earthy (perhaps it reflected my sombre mood for packing and leaving that day?)...

I was wearing eBay blazer, thrifted cashmere sweater, Topman denim shirt, Zara woolen pants and belt, bow-tie thrifted in Antwerp, Johnson desert boots and Peter Pilotto x Kipling bag

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...

Hanger Magazine AW 2010 Launch Party

Last night saw the launching party of biannual streetwear fashion magazine Hanger  for their AW 2010/2011 issue. It was hosted by none other than the boisterous  PR extraordinaire Amri Rahim. A magazine under the JUICE publication, currently this is the third issue of Hanger. Its main focus is street fashion;  the current issue boasts editorials by local stylists with majority of clothing curated by Malaysian designers.

It is such a rare occasion that I attend such launch parties (thanks to my day job of course). I was honestly excited by how the attendees were fashionably dressed - we're talking about all sorts of styles imaginable here; from the preppy and dandy  downright to androgynous and experimental. It was such an eclectic mix of crowd!

Look at that b***h in heels - fabulosity I'm smelling here!

The jovial Amri Rahim in his equally adorable Supremebeing sweater and sunglasses by Walter Van Beirendonck, which are both available at MUSA Avenue K

The party was set at the fabulous Hex Sensory Room, in Menara Mustapa Kamal - I can't stop gushing at the minimalistic / eco-friendly aesthetics of the building in general

Outfit-wise, I did not really oblige to the 'Hot in the City' theme that night. My outfit was basically a random mishmash of things that I gathered for the past 2 years.

I was wearing a thrifted patchwork shirt (customised from a very baggy woman's size), Beyond Retro Stockholm bow tie, Topman khaki pants, vintage shoes from Paris, socks from Happy Socks by Wong Wong, Muji cotton kimono/cape and Kipling x Peter Pilotto bag.

And the new addition to the bag family is the Kipling x Peter Pilotto messenger, which is a recent find that I acquired at 60% off the retail price. Officially I'm quite a satisfied consumer after purchasing it - the plastic bangles print and the vibrant colors just made me hooked to using it everyday HAHA.

We ended the night by dancing away to techno and the occasional R&B. Here's hoping to attending more fashion-related events, if my day job permits that is...