Clean clothing for the Seoul

Dressing up in a “sleek” and polished manner is not always my forté as my taste in off-duty clothing veers towards the campy side. I sometimes loathe myself wearing things that I think too feminine, but keep cheating myself nonetheless thinking it is workable and man-able. Therefore there is a need to constantly remind myself that I NEED TO STOP buying women's stuff!

Carven Redux

Sometimes a recurrent obsession towards a particular item can be a bit pervasive and such is the case with my fixation with Carven's school-boy charm. This time around I acquired a short-sleeved cotton shirt with a contrasting detail from Club 21 Pavilion's summer sale in Kuala Lumpur. However despite the discount I believe it is still more affordable to purchase something from this label online (recent perusing post Club 21 buy revealed that similar shirt on topic but with a different colour way actually cost much less. Oh, the trials and tribulations of a bargain hunter).

Either way I'm loving the cute little detail of the collar and the micro-gingham pattern of the shirt. At one glance the texture does look a bit leather-y which managed to fool a clinic staff or two. And even though the shirt is size 3 (my last Carven acquisition was a size 2) I think it's still wearable but perhaps some customisation is in order. Here's to a perennial summer of Malaysia and never-ending child clothing obsession in me!

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.

Two is as good

I'm having too much of festive food the past week and I suppose all the face stuffing is making me bloated a bit too much. And there goes the calories burnt during my jogging sessions (to be honest it's much easier to stack up on calories rather than shedding them, which I unfortunately learned to empathically understand recently). This weekend will be another round of 'open houses'  (a Malay/Malaysian tradition during the month of Syawal where friends and relatives come over for a visit, chat, and more importantly, an eating session) and my mum decided to host on this coming Saturday. Anyhow I had to churn out these not-so-new outfit photos from previous family/friend gatherings, which I find pointless to post given the fact that they're not that extraordinary. But somehow I think not publishing them will mean a waste of lugging the heavy DSLR all over to snap the images in the first place. Happy face stuffing!...

Adventure in tailoring: Uniqlo and Burberry Prosum blazers

You probably have known that I always lament the fact that living in a tropical country limits the possibility for layering clothes (unless one continuously stay in air-conditioned buildings), and to make things worse my profession is a unapologetically cruel one when it comes to dressing up. Wait, there's no such thing as dressing up being in healthcare. I'm forever in my white coat and sometimes I do wear some fashion-y things as a little pick-me-up and I'd Instagram the images (finally, I have Instagram as I bought an Iphone recently!).

Lacoste in action

Living in a country with tropical climate requires one the wear more often than not for comfortable, perspiration-friendly clothes. I do love me some artfully layered outfit combo and try to incorporate that but somehow it feels a bit too ambitious (and silly, frankly) to don a blazer/jacket, despite the thinness and breathability of the fabric in such unforgiving humidity. I certainly feel good about looking sharp in such look but the prospect of being drenched in sweat the moment I walk out of the overly air-conditioned malls/cinemas is, in fact, one of the pitfalls in fashion that I try to steer away from.

Dior Homme A/W 2013

Dior Homme presentation was our final few events in our itinerary before we enjoyed the city of Paris sans the feeling of being caught up rushing to fashion shows. After braving through the sloshes of snow (it was heel-deep) on a Sunday morning, and almost got lost in the midst of searching in between similar-looking weathered buildings, we finally found the presentation venue - tucked in between of unassuming office buildings...

Adventure in tailoring: the Barong Tagalog

Some moment ago my mother discovered an old fabric whilst organising her wardrobe. She immediately thought of me and consequently handed over the precious vintage gem. Mother claims that it was a fabric from the Philippines, acquired by one of her sisters during travelling back in the 80's. Much to my amazement I was instantaneously reminded of the barong Tagalog as soon as I studied the delicate fabric! If you could recall I had posted about the Philippines national costume a few years back and my intention to get hold of it, with an almost identical substitute following the entry.

Made With Love: 10A Suspender Trouser Company

My favorite pastime, if you haven't figured out already, is to trawl through online boutiques for the latest discounts. In that way I can even consider to buy the cheapest things there. For example, a pair of Ayame socks and a Balenciaga t-shirt from LN-CC exactly last year. Oh how time flies! (On an unrelated note, seriously disappointed with Nicolas Ghesquière's unprecedented leave from the Spanish design powerhouse, and even more shocked with the news of Alexander Wang taking over...)

Stalking LN-CC sales section sometimes yields unexpected things, like this colour-blocked shirt from Italian label 10A Suspender Trousers Company. The shirt is beautifully made with surprising details - the contrast placket at chest, the pleated collar with different lining.

Dries Van Noten sheerness

Dries Van Noten makes truly simple, understated shirts with a twist. That is the case with this sheer cotton shirt in blue-and-brown stripes that I got hold of recently. The hues and diaphanous fabric are bold but subtle enough to prevent overtly-curious onlookers from ogling. Or maybe not, judging from the dubious nipple display?

Dries Van Noten SS12 shirt, ebay blazer, Cheap Monday jeans, Clarks Wallabees, Uniqlo socks

Style Stalker: St Paul Hill, Malacca

It has been quite some time but a quick trip to the historical area in Malacca city is just warranted as this weekend I did not go back to KL. Managed to snap few interestingly dressed subjects (I miss the Style Stalker segment of DF). However it is literally impossible to find an impeccably dressed tourist but here it goes...

This Japanese man has a fun and quirky shirt on (when was the last time I used the word 'quirky'?) and the shirt print is just as adorable. What adds more to the 'fun' effect is even the shirt prints have prints on them! Not sure if you get me but here they are, up close...

Getting Shirty: reconnected with the yellow-stained shirt

I've had a bundle of shirts that I've been meaning to wear, but due to my clothes-hoarding obsession I tend to forget about all this pile in my closet. They just lie unworn and consequently, much to my dismay, some of them start to yellow due to under-usage. 

I strongly suspect the intense Malaysian humidity makes a conducive environment for this kind of discoloration process to occur. I'm not sure exactly how, although there are a few speculations on this issue, but I think you can compare it to a turf of moss slowly growing on a dark, moist surface. What's even worse is keeping your clothes in a crowded space, that makes them prone to be savaged by moths/cockraches (shuddering at the thought of my hole-y Christopher Kane t-shirt...)

A Carven Virgin

Recently I've been reading the blogs about the French label Carven, that is recently revived to its former glory. Reading its history timeline is quite fascinating and, being reminded of the Russian History lectures during my former student days, these are the points that I'm highlighting:

images via Carven website

image via vintagefashionguild.org

 In May 1945 Carven (the name derived from the creator Carmen and her aunt Boyriven) opened their first shop selling Haute Couture at Rond-Point des Champs-Elysées. Having reached the international audience in the 1960's, the brand expanded into creating uniforms for airline crews, most notably for Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport, dabbled in a successful ready-to-wear line and they even created signature perfumes.

Raf Simons' second to last

Being inconsistent in blogging frequency has been a part of Dunia Fashyon but trust me, this time around it was all due to the festive season - staying at my parents' hometowns where the locations are quite remote meant no stable internet connection, thus the lack of posts for the past two weeks or so.

Being apologetic and all, I'd like to make do with the absence of posts with this beautifully embroidered t-shirt style top by Jil Sander from Spring Summer 2012. The fact that this is Raf Simons' penultimate collection for Jil Sander raised the collector-wannabe in me and made it feel a bit more special (well, in addition to the fact that it was heftily discounted). This basically means that I have added the only piece of clothing to my minuscule Raf-for-Jil archive (the other two are both shoes).

photo credit: style.com

And, in case you're like me who's oblivious to sheer obviousness Raf's final collection for Jil is AW12/13, so for those with the financial means, go on and grab for yourself something. All I know is the coveted lunch bag is now being a collector's item and has already been sold out at LN-CC.

 I initially planned to wear the top as a homage to the festivity of Eid Mubarak (notice the modern, geometric and slightly ethnic-inspired embroidery / the silhouette has a feel of 'baju kurung Kedah' to it). Alas, in view of the thickness (the shirt is lined with a sheath of silky polyamide) it was quite impossible to be worn where the location of festivity lacks air-conditioning. Or was it just the typical Malaysian me whose life depends on perennial comfort?

But I might be wearing this anyway and might be traipsing to open houses with a self-assurance that there will be air-conditioning, or else, the host will readily be fanning me continuously to ensure me werking this top...

Another reason of wearing this top other than its ethnic feel: anyone with a bloated tummy to hide? Too much rendang and ketupat? The boxy cut will conveniently hide that excess baggage, that muffin top, so you can eat away the same cycle of foods from one open house to another, over and over again - a much more effective solution than a sachet of ENO!

I'm wearing Jil Sander top with Levi's jeans, Marni at H&M sandals, bag from a Korean shop, eBay sunglasses

written by Hafidzudin
twitter: @naboonies

Batik-ed

I have been slightly crazy over prints (this is not a new occurrence at Dunia Fashyon - I just dabbled in paisley prints recently), and, following my subsequent jaunt to the Jonker's Walk, I have acquired this batik print backpack from a store called Next KK.

It has never crossed my mind that this seemingly souvenir-laden shop which aims at the flocks of tourists offers something that I myself would really buy... the memories of backpacking days in the Europe crept in: I had history of falling into such tourist traps where buying overpriced Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts, town-specific fridge magnets, key chains and postcards was the objective proof that you have been in, say, Paris or Berlin.

 

First look: H&M Autumn 2012 (Part One)

I think most of Kuala Lumpur citizen are well informed regarding the news of H&M's inaugural opening in Lot 10 this September, thanks to the vast online spread. And obviously I'm lagging behind the coverage of its Autumn Winter 2012, which is all about metallics/ maximalism for women and tailored goodness for the men. Nevertheless I'm feeling elated over the opportunity to visit their showroom recently, which certainly gave me the chance to closely inspect the merchandises in person, and in effect, delved in to the details of the tailoring quality and tactilely stimulated by the fabrics. And of course, I get to compare the prices internationally.

In view of the possible lengthy commentary and image-laden entry (quite a rare occasion at Dunia Fashyon these days), I think it will be wise if I divided this post into two halves - both menswear and womenswear respectively.

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.

Men's style icons

I wished that they have published this book earlier so it could help me steer away from the misconceptions that I potentially have regarding menswear, as this book by Josh Sims simply contains concise information about the basic and fundamental pieces in a gentleman's wardrobe. It covers a range of history and development behind a whole lot of men's articles of clothing - from basics like underwear (boxers and briefs included) to the complexities of a three-piece suit, and even the minutiae of a Rolex. I'm simply amazed by how much I discovered about the trivial things behind the staples in a man's closet:  how Jockey underwear has gone a series of transitions to make it a key player in underwear business; why Barbour waxed jackets is still the top option for outerwear, and how Clarks desert boots made its way from being a military article of clothing to the go-to footwear for the Mods...

Marni-fied

The recent Marni at H&M acquisition has left a huge dent in my bank account but I still have few other significant purchases to be done (which is in some way related to both fashion and my current profession, I promise). Unfortunately some of the items that I saw in person were really a let down compared to what I perceived from the look book - the flimsy leather tote with saggy base immediately threw me off, the awkwardly-constructed striped short-sleeved cashmere does not really work with my height, and the gaudy printed shirts is a tad too much EVEN for me. However few of the items DID catch my attention namely the bright canary yellow shirt and a midnight blue shirt with subtle prints. I'm quite taken aback by the fact that the material used is 100% cotton as I would suspect some degree of artificial fabric to disgustingly cheapen the pieces (polyester, for example).

Apart from the shirts I also had an staggering interest in the accessories section (if you guessed that I purchased the plastic jewelries you're quite wrong - wearing necklaces and statement bangles is just not up my alley, even though I've tried it once). On the other hand I was more attracted to the sandals (yup, I'm that pathetic, being attracted to things instead of human beings). The winning combo that immediately made me like the sandals very much is the cut-out details AND they are in real leather, soles included. Plus, the clear green plastic as the shoe box, complete with a shoe bag has left my appreciating the footwear ever more. 

 

 Naturally, looking back at the pieces from this collection has ignited a styling spark in me and here we go... 

Marni for H&M launch!

 

Aren't you excited to hear that Marni, the pattern-frenzy and color-blocking label from Italy will be launching their collaboration with Swedish fashion giant H&M this eighth of March? Naturally for those whose appetite for artsy designer labels can never be whetted (that screams me!), this is the perfect chance to grab a similarly-looking runway collection at a fraction of the price.

Undoubtedly this is a bargain hunter's wet dream - for the guys the slightly odd patterned shirts (but artfully beautiful, of course) start from 34.99 GBP, and  outerwear like the strategically color-blocked jacket range around 100GBP. And of course in addition there are also accessories ranging from bags, sandals an silk scarves that are well-designed and perfectly understated. Will be surrendering my credit card in exchange of the colorblocked shirt, the drawstring bag thingy and the sandals...

 

And the select separates that have my eyes ogling just a bit more...

 

Clockwise from top: mishmash print, Lanvin-esque doodle t-shirt, cashmere jumper and cotton Bermuda pants

 

Clockwise from top: the beautiful night blue coat with contrasting sleeves, slightly kooky polka-dot print on the shirt and silk shorts, silk scarf 

 

The man bags are quite interesting - I'm drawn towards the drawstring detail on the right one. Would inspect the accessories in person to judge the quality and construction, of course. 

 

And a solo image of the sandals, just for your eyes only. Fully leather???

Many of you will say that high/low collabs are massively produced and hence there will be a significant reduction in cost and subsequently in the quality as well. But to me purchasing the 'real deal' from the mainline runway pieces is still far away from my financial grip, so I think this collection will suffice for the time being. Never mind the possible synthetic fabric attack that will dominate the pieces...