Adequately affordable?

Everybody loves it when it comes to substantially good-looking items of clothing, especially if they come with wallet-friendly pricing. Speaking about affordable clothing I cannot veer away from the fact that my clothes hoarding tendency stemmed from bargain hunting, especially during the end-of-seasons sales throughout the malls of Kuala Lumpur. 

My own definition of 'affordable' things is when they're at a fraction off retail. Personally I've set my own rule: no purchase can be made unless the item sought is 50% off, at least. Ultimately I have set upon myself a rigid setting for my relentless shopping endeavor, in order to be able to afford things that are normally too rich for my blood.

Team spirit

I'm sure you guys are among the one billion people worldwide who watched the recent Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony in London. And having a fashion-centric mind I could not help but to fuss about the uniforms of various contingents...

Too bad that a lot of the European contingents opted to stick to their usual nine-to-five business casual look, which I think is very sad. I mean, bring your nations' identity for the world to see, people! But of course a sporty look that is both smart and can represent your country, colour-wise. Case in point: the American team. Never mind the furor over the "made in China" controversy and the French-inspired berets, I think Ralph Lauren did a good job designing the teams outfits. "American preppy look" is what I was reminded of instantly.

 The American team Olympics Opening Ceremony uniform, designed by Ralph Lauren

Despite the classic sportswear look I do love team Netherlands' clever use of colour-blocking. Orange and navy blue looks pretty good in this case. VERY Jil Sander SS2011.

 Team Japan's striking red-and-white, on the other hand, can be mistaken for Chinese/ Canadian/ Singaporean teams' outfits.

Team Russia looks cool in this ensemble. Are those linen jackets? I'm dying to see a close-up of their uniform - look at the dark purplish pattern on the guy's shirt! And The Romanian team's choice of colour also caught my eyes - the mustard-grey combo is visually fetching.

The Swedish, on the other hand, can be way too practical sometimes. I like IKEA but rugby shirts and sneakers with colours that match the flag and grey cotton trousers? Come on, I think you guys are more creative than that. But on a lighter note, this is what I used to wear to the mall during my high school years. Ha! 

Harping on about creativity, the Germans evidently has proven be the creative lot with their reversible sports jacket. ( I know, the "pink for girls and blue for boys" idea is a bit off). But it the versatility of the jacket (which has a more formal inside layer) that is important.

Czech Republic is among, if not the most unique teams that night. This team was absolutely ready for the grey and rainy London with their umbrellas and wellies. 

Talking about national identity, there are a few teams which really went all out in portraying what their country is generally all about. My firm favorites are Mexico, Gambia and the Philippines. And a couple of images of female Muslim athletes modestly covered in hijab - simply beautiful.

The Philippines team in the Barong Tagalog-esque uniform.

Interesting latex-like fabric on Gambian athletes.

 Iranian athletes in modest hijabs.

 Leave it to the Mexicans when it comes to colour and personality. I absolutely adore all the combinations of hues, patterns and embroideries on the ponchos. Liking the fact that they look as if there was no uniform at all - just a colourful parade of mariachi band.

How about Malaysia, the country that always tries hard to expose their nation's identity, I hear you say? Obviously everything is too literal in this contingent - that all-too-familiar tiger stripes; yellow-orange and the red, which unmistakably represents courage and speed? And is that even Malaysian batik? Or just a cheap generic print on cheap polyester fabric? I refuse to comment further. Well, at least I do see some traditional garb here (tengkolok aka the headpiece and the sampin/ sarong).

Anyhow, feel free to laugh at my measly attempt on re-interpreting the casual/sporty sports event opening ceremony look:

Thrifted Tesco blazer, Cheap Monday jeans, Jil Sander shoes, Uniqlo hat, eBay sunglasses, U2 t-shirt, fourskin belt

*Images of Olympics contingents courtesy of adkinsrin.blogspot.com, yahoo.com, google.com

Private Stitch

 Recently while perusing the sales ongoing  at Isetan Lot 10 Kuala Lumpur I stumbled upon a label that seems like it hailed from Japan / Korea. But I believe this brand is a local one instead. 

"Private Stitch has earned its sartorial stripes with an unswerving and energetic approach to producing truly exciting Japan and Korean high-street men's fashion" - Private Stitch.

For Spring Summer 2011 their collection is called "Summer Opulence". But personally I think it is a rather casual take on the clothes itself, and the term 'opulence' is somehow misleading. Price-wise I think the label is quite affordable with a shirt tagged at about RM130.

One of the things that excite me most upon discovering this label is its sizing, which caters to smaller frames like me. I have frequently harped upon my vertically-challenged physique on Dunia Fashyon and how tough it is to find me clothes that fit me without prior alterations.

Now I could easily find my size whilst browsing their clothing, much to the contrary when it comes to bigger brands (the European / American ones especially). In fact I am slightly relieved that now I have better options for better-fitting shirts, rather than going to the same high street labels over and over again (i.e the likes of Topman or Seed).

Besides I  was actually drawn to a chambray shirt which has a very interesting fabric detail, which looks like the threads have been woven in a specific way creating such patterns...

It also seems the Italian cuff with an unexpected surprise beneath draws my attention a little bit more.

They also have a well-stocked collection of affordable accessories including faux leather skinny weave belts, bow ties, straw hats and studded faux leather cuffs.

Browsing further I also noticed a shirt with tiny floral prints which is rather casual and subdued. Given the fact that my wardrobe is lacking this kind of shirt I made a decision to purchase it...

I'm wearing a Private Stitch floral shirt with Topman Limited khaki trousers, PS Paul Smith loafers, Paul and Joe tote with a brooch commemorating 4Oth anniversary of victory at World War II I bought in Russia.

For the time being the label's website is still under construction. Currently they have a Facebook page instead...

Margiela home decor

Whilst perusing the Margiela x Opening Ceremony capsule collection for AW 2011 - which I will be posting next, the friendly Margiela staff (both of whom are Russians - it was good to be able to communicate in Russian, albeit mine was a little rusty) brought us to the ground level of the headquarter and showed us the label's pilot home decor collection which are in-line for production, though the date for its debut is still indefinite.

Thinking too hard...

As I went through my dusty old hard drive I noticed there were so many pictures that I took in the spirit of publishing them on Dunia Fashyon. But somehow the idea of posting them online was not materialised because I contemplated so much. I always ponder at the back of my mind would this be appropriate for the blog or the outfits are ''fashion'' enough?

Back along the way it reminded me of why I started Dunia Fashyon in the first place - to have fun with clothes and experimenting different styles /looks. If you looked back at one of my previous entries I'd pretty much harped that style is an evolving entity and I for one am a believer of that notion. Thus I scratched the procrastinator's thoughts off my mind and started on an uploading spree on Photobucket...

Look One

Could you actually believe me when I say this collared tee was bought when I was 12 years old? I found it in my closet and I am quite fond of the Navajo- inspired print, which saw a rise in popularity at high street shops like ZARA and Topman currently evident by the abundance of the above-said print on sale...

I was wearing shirt by Snails Original, H&M pants, SEED sandals and eBay glasses

Look Two

Another experimentation with silhouettes/ proportions. The theme was revolved around the Gustav Klimt print tote ( this is an artsy farsty look of you ask me). Please excuse my chubby angry tired face - blame the chubbiness on the delish Russian breads and sour cream and the tiredness is because of, well, I'm not so sure because it was a Sunday I think :)

I was wearing Levi's denim jacket (superrr girl's small), Marimekko T-shirt, thrifted pants, VSV socks and vintage shoes with Gustav Klimt print tote from Innsbruck, Austria.

Look Three 

Remember when everybody was in the DIY acid wash jeans bandwagon? I was trying to catch up a bit and started blindly bleaching my ZARA jean, yielding an amateurish result my I say... Now the jean sadly lies in the bottom of my wardrobe waiting for another surge of trend-led inspirations in order to get it worn again HAHAHA!

I was wearing Benetton wool jumper (my favorite of all warm clothings I had), ZARA jeans, H&M socks and vintage shoes.

Look Four

Easy breezy summer wear is one of my favorite go-to outfits, and may I say neutral tones have a special place in my heart. Now the cords from Benetton in this image sadly became the victim of my rampant DIY bleach (in the spirit of trend, alas) - the result of which was disastrous!

I was wearing thrifted shirt, Benetton corduroy pants, random PLASTIC fedora hat, SEED sandals, thrifted tote.

HAVE A GOOD DAY DEAR READERS!

Style stalker- the pastel obsession goes on...

Here's another sparse addition of the 'Style Stalker' section into Dunia Fashyon.

The pastel obsession still resonates in my mind and my previous post just reminded me of the unpublished images when I was still in Russia last summer. I had been keeping them in my MotoRAZR microSD card (such a lovely phone, but now the speaker had gone kaput so I had to use a modest Sony Ericsson instead). Once again I had this paparazzi moment capturing bystanders' outfits (a guilty pleasure I tell thee).

I particularly love this lady's non-chalant pairing of cute pastel tones . I bet she does not even think for a split second to conjure that combination. This easily can crop up in any runway I believe! (okay the material or silhouette may be a bit questionable but we're talking real-life people with no access to the internet let alone to buy designer goods here). The texture, prints and colours are such feast to the eyes...Everyday is such an inspiring moment in any part of Europe stylistically! Even the shabbest elderly man crossing the street has the potential to intrigue me...

Coincidentally the knapsack is quite a big thing here in Volgograd.. This is another shot that I managed to get. I've seen in other colors as well (khaki, army print etc). Quite stylish may I say.

That is all. Have great weekend!