Personal outfit 20

Camwhored abit with Wan Keat

Also did alittle camwhoring of myself, though I still have a long way to go, I still have no idea how to take good pics of myself

Outfit for the day:
Straw fedora: Net
Plaid shirt: Uniqlo
Tank top: Giordano
Boho skirt: flea market find
Brown cowboy boots: bought in China
Weave bag: gift from mom

Went out with Wan Keat yesterday, and we ended up shopping for abit, well technically I did the shopping and poor Wan Keat was dragged around by me.

I ended up with some goodies including a leopard print dress (though I'm contemplating whether I ought to snip off the belt detailing), a black tunic from Uniqlo (for "fat" and lazy days) and a bunch of foot pads, a bottle of nail polish top coat, a tube of nail polish remover (the kind where you simply stick your finger into the sponge and the nail polish comes right off) and a toy all for my dog, all from Daiso.

I just love Daiso, it's a 100 yen or in my country's case, $2 shop. They have tons of amazing stuff there but sometimes their stuff aren't worth the $2 price tag because of the amount within the packaging so you do have to be careful not to get sucked in by the cheap factor.

Wan Keat's leaving on Thursday... so I'm pretty bummed out by it now, but I did promise to send her off, so that's one consoling factor I guess. I'm also feeling it down about my cosplay plans, I get the feeling that I may no longer get the sponsorship because I might have ticked off the lady boss for giving me the wrong hairstyle during the previous event and forcing her to change it there and then, I'm already planning to order my own costume, however, its getting bit lonely to do events on my own, so I am hoping for a team, but to organize one is a big thing, so I'm too at a dilemma about that... sigh....

Domino Records X Uniqlo T-Shirts

The UT (Unique T-shirt) store in Harajuku has een really busily promoting a new collection fo shirts that are the result of a collaboration between Uniqlo and the popular UK record label, Domino Records. Domino reocrds is the lael that has signed or released alums for numerous popular ands such as The Kills, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and Mouse on Mars. Aspart of the promotion, the entire front of the store has been plastered with Domino Records band posters and artwork.

However, not every band under Domino Records is part of the Uniqlo collaboration, though some of the more popular ands are part of it. The abdns that are part of this project are, The Kills, Mouse on Mars, Four Tet, Wild Beasts, Clinic, Max Tundra, Fridge, Junior Boys, Palace Music and Quasi. Other than the band t-shirts, the collection also includes Domino Records shirts in several different colours.

The UT X Domino Records t-shirts are priced at 1500 yen (roughly US$20) each, not a pricey sum. However, with most UT collaborations, stocks are limited in quantity, so it'll be best if you can grab them fast. No news, if these shirts will make it out of Japan, though you could keep your fingers crossed.

Information & images from http://tokyofashion.com/domino-records-x-uniqlo-t-shirt-collection/

Unusual Shoes

The newest member of the weird shoes club...

My personal favourite amongst the weird shoes club, Miu Miu's Teacup heels. I'm still praying that somehow, I could one day get my hands on a pair.... they'll be the perfect whimsical touch to a Lolita or Alice in Wonderland inspired outfit.

I don't know if it's just me or something, but lately it seems to me that there has to be at least one designer out there creating some really unusual pairs of shoes every season. I'm not talking bout bringing some old trend back a la the clog, but more on the level, where they're so unusual that people's opinions are split between them where some consider works of art, worthy of having a museum exhibition created around them, or in some cases, just plain weird.

My personal opinion depends very much on the said shoes, and with the melting stilettos of the Nicholas Kirkwood for Rodarte heels, I do like the idea, but the sporty, trainers-like front doesn't appeal much to me.... hmm....

Spring Bag & Shoe Trends

The boots for spring are mostly cowboy boots in mostly brown or tan with a few blac exceptions, some include studs, mesh or fringe detailing.

Trends for sandals include clogs, wedges soles, flower patterns in the fabric, ribbon detailing and the new gladiator which is less romanesque.

For pumos, you should look out for studs, ribbon details, patent materials and animal prints.

Even the humble and comfy ballet flats have trends which are studs, ribbon, spangles and Bijoux (or bejewelled)

Straw bags are big this season especially, Ethnic desings, knitted versions, spangles and bags with plenty of colour.

The shoulder bags is still popular (which is good news for people who randomly dump their stuff into their bags, like me), important factors include, large sizes, chain straps, studs and fringe detailing.

If you prefer a smaller handbag, details to look for include, bags made from canvas and leather materials and flower and stripe designs.

Sweet Magazine created a special feature that higlighted some of the key bag and shoe trends for this Spring/Summer season, so if you're planning to buy that new bag or pair of shoes for this season, the pictures show some of the key trends that you need to look out for.

Rinka's Wedding in Sweet Magazine

The full page poster, I'm tempted to put it up but at the same time, the idea of anything happening to it such as fading from the sun is giving me second opinions...

Anotehr full page feature of Rinka in her lovely Vera Wang wedding dress, with the sweets and cakes that were created for her wedding in the background

Pictures of the decor for her wedding, lots of peach and pink colours, candles, fat ribbons tied to the back of the guests chairs, a pair of lovebirds, Wedgewood tableware, macaroons and even a mirror with a message scrawled across it in her dressing room...

Rinka's tiara which she wore as her headpiece, along with her veil

Don't you just love her wedding invitations? So whimsical and delightful...

I found the wedding gift for their guests extrememly thoughtful, I mean how many times have we gotten wedding favours such as stuff toys and such that we toss out after a few months or years? The bowls are such a useful and sweet gift that'll remind their wedding guests of the wedding for years to come

The four things that every superstitious bride needs for a wedding, a hairclip (or was it a brooch) to represent something borrowed, her lucky pouch for something old, her wedding shoes for soemthing new and a hair ribbon and the sole of the shoes for something blue.

May Rinka have a beautiful future ahead of her, and it looks like despite her marriage, she's still busy with her career, so we can still loo forward to more appearances from her.

Rinka's wedding was recently featured in Sweet magazine in a wondeful seperate pullout, and the pullout covered everything leading up to her amazing wedding. This included pictures of her trip to Paris to get her Christian Louboutin wedding shoes done before jetting off to New York to choose her wedding gown and the side holiday which she had while in the search for her wedding stuffs. It even showed her preparing herself for her wedding and infomration of the wedding and the location itself.

The pullout had me totally glued to it, and I kept drooling over the gorgeous decor, her dress amongst other things. There was even a special makeup section for would-be brides with suggestions of wedding dresses to go with the makeup and even a feature for wedding guests on suitable attire for a wedding, all modelled by Rinka herself of course!

After such a beautiful wedding, I just wanna wish Rinka and her lucky man a happy and wonderful marriage.

Uniqlo's New DI Collection

Once again, Uniqlo has teamed up with numerous high fashion brands and made it more accesible to us lower-budget consumers to beable to get our hands on some of their stuffs through the Uniqlo Designers Invitation (DI) project.

This year's line-up of Designers include zechia, Han Ahn Soon, suzuki takayuki, G.V.G.V., mintdesigns, mother and fur fur.

First up is zechia with a quirky space-age take on Bohemianism, this is the latest brand to come from old-school Harajuku avant garde brand, 20741120 designers LICA and NAKA. Their collection shows lots of nautical stripes with one even forming the stripes into a sort of psychedelic multi-patterned arrangement and another featuring bolder stripes with a cute ribbon detailing, reminds me soo much of Sonia Rykiel's H&M Collection.

Every month will see the debut of a new designer's DI collection. Next collection will be the cutesy high-waisted tunic dresses from Han Ahn Soon that are closest in aesthetics to majority of the Japanese girl's fashions.

Zechia's DI collection will be available from late February onwards in selected Uniqlo outlets. Guess that's the cue for me to check whether any Uniqlo outlet here will be stocking them!

Sonia Rykiel X H&M Collection

We all saw Sonia Ryiel's Lingerie collection for H&M last december, and with the cute rose detailings and comfortable knickers, it wasn't very surprising that the collection sold pretty well. So well, in fact that H&M deicded to have another go at another collection with the designer again!

This time, Sonia Rykiel is offering us what she does best, knits! The Sonia Rykiel for H&M Collection is due to hit the stores on February 20th, 2010 and the collection consists of plenty of dresses, sweaters, leggings, scarves and accesories in colourful stripes or ribbon detailing, which moi is a total sucker for.

When buyign a piece from this collection, you'll also be happy to know that part of the proceeds will benefit the UNICEF's "ALL For Children" project and there's even a limited edition UNICEF bag that's been specially created for the Sonia Rykiel for H&M collection to support the cause. Now who says fashion doesn't have a heart?

Once again, I'm gonna gripe about being one the last few shopping cities in the world that still doesn't have a H&M store.... this collection is yet another stab to my poor, aching heart. I thought I'd suffered enough with the Jimmy Choo For H&M collection already.... pls someone bring in H&M to Singapore already!!! I can no longer bear the torture!

Valentine's Day/ Chinese New Year

Hey all, this is a rather late post, but I wanna wish anyone who reads/visits this blog a happy Valentine's and Chinese new year!

Personally I celebrated Valentine's Day with my Bf the day earlier, because the Eve of Chinese new year fell on Valentine's day itself, which means Reunion dinner with the family and one can't miss it unless you're dead, really sick or overseas.

I also wore 2 new outfits for the 2 following days but since I was busy running around, greeting people, getting red packets and stuffing my face silly. I totally forgot to take any pictures of my new outfits, so they'll have to wait till the next time.

Now the only problem I'm facing is avoiding the temptation of spending all the money I got during the new year celebrations immediately.... however, there's just too many pretty clothes and shoes that I wanna buy... somebody shoot me already....

RIP Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen dared to go where no designer went, never seeking fame or glory and always shying away from the limelight. A quiet man who would hide from the press not to maintain his privacy, but simply because he was never interested in being a public figure....

Maybe he's up there laughing it up with Isabella Blow and his mum, who knows....

But what I do know is that there's one less person out there who marches to his own beat....

RIP Alexander McQueen

A Bathing Ape X Daiwa Sports Collaboration

Fishing jacket and pants, the least surprising and most expected of the collaboration

Sunglasses, these are actually pretty cool...

A Bathing Ape fanny pack/floatation device? Kindda weird....

A Bathing Ape fishing reel and bag... now this is really weird

A Bathing Ape fishing tackle, not sure if the fish will bite more often, but I do like the yellow, blue and pink colours incorporated into the camouflage design... My dad commented that the fish will probably laugh at the fancy colours and might not even notice the normal camouflage version, because its been "camouflaged" into the background of the murky sea/river

A Bathing Ape fishing rods, with the logo at the end of the rods...Weirdest of the whole lot, a gentleman fishing hat! Who would wear a bowler hat whilst fishing?! The people I know who fish, wear rotten baseball caps because pretty soon, the caps start to smell because of all the sweat and fishiness....

Its not uncommon for many fashion brands to collaborate with sports brands to produce outfits that not only are functional but make you look good at the same time, that way, you won't ever have to be caught dead wearing some raggedly-stained awful sweats everytime u hit the gym.

However, this collaboration takes the cake in my opinion, Bape has created a line of clothes and products with Japanese fishing brand, Daiwa. And when I say products, I literally mean fishing tackle, rods and even 2 different fishing reels!

I mean, I can understand why there's clothes, not every fisherman wants to looks like some fat, middle-aged stout with unfashionable clothes that emphasises one's flaws, but why would anyone want a tackle that's specially created by Bape? Do the fish bite more if they realise its a special tackle that's been created by A Bathing Ape?

Well whatever the reasons are, this collection is definitely an eye-opener and makes me wonder, just what are the other things fashion labels can stick their names to? Hmm.... How about a Prada handphone? Oh wait, they already have that? Hmm....

Check out more of the products in this collection at the offical A Bathing Ape X Daiwa page http://daiwa.globeride.co.jp/afishingape/index.html

Personal outfit 19

My outfit for the day consisted of:

Straw Fedora: Net

Cropped Denim Jacket: second-hand from a friend

Dress: Flea market (Its actually a skirt and was at a steal for only $5)

Cher Bag: Freebie from a magazine

Nude pumps: DMK

Brown woven belt: This Fashion

Went out with some of my friends last saturday, because one my my frineds, Wan Keat aka Hamtaro aka Mushroom head etc. has finally come back after running off to Australia for the last 6 months due to studies.

We ended up watching Avatar (which is the third time for me now) as Wan keat hasn't had the chance to watch it yet. This time, I ended up looking more at the backgrounds and such as I've already focused on the main points more than enough times already. I ended up noticing that the native Na'vi people have actually only 4 fingers, whilst the Avatars still have 5, and after reading the artbook that Esther bought, it seems that Omaticaya (the clan's name) means Blue Flute. That's because they have a huge Blue Flute stored somewhere that only the male clan leader can play (perhaps its a hint to what's gonna happen in the next movie?).

Did plenty of window-shopping and I've finally gotten my new year clothes, now I just need for new year to come soon so that I can get some moolah to spend.... which would also mean that I'm closer to my University application deadline... shoot....

Nail Colour

Pretty glittery blue nails with a dash of gold glitter... I'm in love...

Been awhile since I've last written a post about my nail colours, and its pretty weird considering I polish my nails every week. It could be because I've been circling round and round between 4 or 5 of my favourite nail colours so its become abit of a bore, in a way...

So whilst on the lookout for new nail colours, I had a super lucky find at my school's recent flea market! Whilst randomly sifting through cheap clothes and tacky costume jewellry, I found a little store that was selling OPI nail polishes, and even better still was the fatc that they were selling those that were no longer in production! I kept sifting through the displays, praying for a chance to get my favourite nail colour of all time (its called Kinki in Helsinki, if anyone's curious) when the salegirl told me that she had a special set of colours, and proudly showed me the "Alice in Wonderland" nail polish collection!

I was literally squealing in delight, as I had given up hope on getting the colour which I had wanted from this collection, but here it was, right in front of me, begging me to buy it and paint it on immediately!

So now, I'm happily typing away on my lappy whilst staring non-stop at my glittery blue nails.... who knew one could get such happiness simply from having pretty nails?

P.S. the nail colour is called Absolutely Alice, and I get the feeling it was inspired from her blue dress, though I could be wrong....

SOY 2010 Event

Once again, moi was kindly loaned a cosplay outfit for the recent SOY event held at Ngee Ann Polytechnic last saturday, 30th Jan.

Wty Studio once again kindly let me choose any character I wanted to cosplay as for the event, and I'm really grateful for that, I mean it'll be so much easier for them if they simply threw me a costume which they had already prepared instead of going through the trouble of creating the costume just for moi. So I decided to cosplay Taiga from the anime Toradora! I adore her character! Oh ya, in case you're wondering why I look so grouchy and fierce in both pictures, that's because Taiga is supposed to be really fierce, hence her nickname the "palmtop tiger" because of her height, fierceness and name (Taiga = tiger, geddit?)

This time instead of simply getting dressed for the event, I was actually part of a live demonstration at the studio's booth as the lady-in-charge aka Yasuka, actually styled my wig right there and then, this allowed people at the event, the opportunity to learn abit of wig styling because if you think it's as easy as styling your own hair, you're dead wrong! Wigs actually require special shampoo, conditioner and comb and even more care is required when you actually cut it because different wigs use different materials for the hair and the "hair" is stuck onto the "scalp" differently for different wigs.

After the demonstration, I was once again free to run off and do anything I wanted the rest of the day, so long as I returned the costume and wig before leaving the event. I enjoyed the rest of the day with friends and meeting other cosplayers at the event, and this event was waaay better then the last because there was better management (though a little birdie did tell me that it wasn't this good previously). Not to mention, one of the sponsors for the event, SG Photography, was actually offering free professional photoshoots that day, imagine the combination of anime lover, professional photographer and all the professional photography equipment and you get a super cameko (camera person) that is the dream of all cosplayers!

Once again, I'm really glad to have been given this cosplay opportunity by Wty Studios and I truly recommend using their services, its a small studio so its really personal and you won't have the trouble of having miscommunication. Oh, and one more thing (I can't believe I've failed to mention this in my last advert for them), they're costumes,shoes and wigs are all imported from Taiwan or custom made to the customer's preferences, so quality is no issue at all!

So make sure you check them out at http://blog.wtystudio.com.sg/ or contact them at:

Email:Wty.studio@gmail.com
Msn:yasuka110@hotmail.com
Mobile:+(65) 9170-8557

They also have a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/WTY-Fashion-Studio-Design/125770301707?v=wall

P.S. My camera memory card so convieniently decided to become corrupted whilst I was attempting to retrieve my pictures, so these photos are from Hexlord, a cameko at the event. So I apologise if I'm technically not supposed to be using them... sorry...

Mori Gal Subculture

Lots of layering and textures in their outfits...

Somehow the look is toned down despite the numerous layering which usually overwhelms the person wearing it...

Loved the layered skirt, and the stockings with the brown mary-janes look so girly and innocent...

Queen of Mori Girls is the actress Yuu Aoi, her personal style has always been soft and simple with minimal make up, plus her movies tend to be the artsy, low-key type ...

The fictional queen of Mori is Hagumi Hanamoto from the manga Honey & Clover, in fact in the live-action drama and film, Yuu Aoi played this character... such a match made in heaven...

Lately due to stress, extreme lethargy of trudging to school (or in local terms, simply sian) and bloating up lately due to my horrid PMS, I've been toning down lots in my daily dressing to school and been favouring lots of loose dresses with jeans, paired with ballet flats or my mom's clogs.

Thanks to this new direction in dressing, I've accidentally stumbled on a fast spreading culture in Japan, called the Mori Girls. "Mori" means forest in Japanese and that's the most basic description of this subculture, because the girls look like they live in forests!

Mori girls are often clad in loose dresses or smocks, vintage blouses, puffed sleeves, leggings and are often layered with an A-line silhouette. They take pleasure in beautiful fabrics and textures such as lace and are partial to autumnal shades such as dark green and maroon. Knits and furs and boleros are often used to keep warm in the colder months.

Heels are often shunned in place of flat shoes such as clogs or ballet flats or simple brown boots. They also keep their nails short and adore fair skin and often wear zero makeup with the exception of pink blush on their cheeks to emphasis their dolly look. Mori girls also have a soft spot for vintage items such as pocket watches and old cameras such as Holga cameras.

Besides simply being a dressing style, its also a lifestyle and attitude which they adopt such as slowing down their pace of life and love to explore old neighbourhoods and sit in cafes.

In a quiet way, the Mori girls go against the grain by buying things based on how she feels, instead of whether its in fashion or expensive or its brand. She also doesn't dress to attract the opposite sex (on the contrary, it may be a turn off in some way due to the many layers), she also loves her own company and tends to go off wandering on her own.

When I was sifting through images of this unusual subculture, I was immediately drawn to it, was it the light pastel colours, or the fact that I also love to do many things that the Mori gals love such as cycling on vintage bicycles and sipping tea in cafes while watching the world go by? Who knows.... but what I do know, is that in some way, deep in my heart, I am not just a Gyaru gal, but also a Mori gal in certain aspects.

I guess that's the beauty of being a Japanese girl, one day you're a Mori Gal, and the next who knows?

For more information on Mori girls, check out this website => http://aliceetpeterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/01/mori-girl-60-rules.html

Its the 60 rules to being a mori girl by the founder of the subculture herself... pretty interesting...