Punggol: the LBD

Back in the 20s Coco Chanel made LBD (little black dress) a classic. In the 60s, Audrey Hepburn's Givency LBD in Breakfast at Tiffany's sealed the LBD's legendary status.

Simple, flattering and forgiving. The LBD became the weapon of choice for woman's deceit of men for decades.

Of all places, I chance across a cute LBD in action at Punggol Beach.

Perfect volume and length. Coupled with a the square neck and a longish sleeve. Simple yet flirty. She can go from Punggol Beach to Ritz Carlton with this number.

walk walk

Keep on walking.




Let the missus flag off the walking with a pose.

shuyi was inspired by the cam hos and reckon you're never too old to learn

And in Zara, I saw this jacket that reminds me of that jacket.

so in love

mommy? Can i?

I practiced incredible (colossal. ok maybe herculean even) restrain on my part and peeled off the jacket and walked out. Got... to... wait for the... sale...

But a part of me is telling myself that this jacket won't be put on sale cos it is so damn nice. The battles I have to fight...

the walls in the LVER shop

Bottega Veneta Intrecciato

While other brands got their monograms and patterns, this brand got the intrecciato.





The valuable trademark that Botteha Veneta built for themselves came as an innovation. A solution to a problem. Here is how it came about.

The technique was created by Bottega Veneta in the late 1960’s. Historically, the Veneto region specialized in producing ready-to-wear, not accessories. When Bottega Veneta began manufacturing, the sewing machines in the workshops were designed to work with cloth not leather. The artisans had to use super fine leather to get under the needle. The leather they used was then woven into the intrecciato pattern to make the material stronger and more durable for accessories.

"The pattern is at the heart of the product but by no means defines or limits what we do." So says the Bottega people. We really don't mind if you did everything in weaving leather.

Prada 09 Fall/Winter Campaign by Hedi Slimane

Studded shirts. Who wudda thunk?





But the real winner is the shots by Hedi Slimane. I'm no photo critic but if it feels good, it's can't be bad right?

i was chosen for the campaign
all i got was half a face?

now i am in the shadows?!

this is bullcrap!

pre 女王 day

2 Jul is pre 女王 day.

We went Orchard to get some stuff done and we saw this.

Some snotty invite-only event at LV Ion.

snotty

I'm sure the shop is impeccably furnished. But the half built exterior of the Ion kind makes it look strange. And I just read that the glass facade of the shop is kinda like a big deal. It's like this huge glass curtain hanging from the roof. Wavy some more. ohhhhh. Urban said something to the effect of 'LV paris also don't have ok!'

yea. they don't have. so?

But you've gotta admit: LV got the prime spot here. LVMH don't play play ok.

Here is how it looks at night. Do you know what this means? The people queueing up for LV have to queue up in the open! Like some goddamn hello kitty queues. Are we still talking about ultra branded products here?

them metal sculptures are really nice
you bring one home and put a glass top on it to make this super pimp coffee table

Prada got a crap spot. Still outside with a huge facade but with this sore thumb of a pillar smack in the face. The irony is, the sweet spot (LV) and the sore location (Prada) is a mere 10 metres apart.

Miuccia Prada 0 - Bernard Arnault 1

I placed a dude there to let you understand how big that pain in the ass pillar is.

winner

We picked up some 1/2 priced sushi at Isetan and proceed to the McCafe outside for supper. Shuyi was dressed very sombre today as one of our ex-college mate passed away.

She was a the girl everyone made fun off. I did not personally know her but she was quite infamous so I know who she was. I shouldn't feel much for her passing but I did. It makes you realise that life is very unpredictable. One more thing to learn from this is, don't have fun at the expense of others just because everybody else does it. If they deserve it, then ok la. At times like this, you'll be glad that you were kind to them. If you were terrible to them for no reason other than just being evil and still don't feel any regret, maybe you really ARE evil. Rest in peace.

Back at home, we packed up for 女王 day. The whole thing was meant as a surprise but I made shuyi pack her cheongsum telling her that we're going some place porsh for dinner. I packed my suit.

Lies! I didn't even wear a suit for our dinner at Iggy's. I honestly don't think I'll ever eat a more expensive meal ever.

The suit was meant for...

stay tuned

LV 'hard times' cruise collection

Times are bad. Remember when I spoke of how companies try to save on costs by exploring new ways to showcase their collections? Chanel did it in Venice. But LV went digital.


Here you go.

Yup. That's it. We're done.
no runway, no after parties
go home

The first dress was gorgeous. Not ground breaking (cruise collections aren't suppose to break anything) but so nice.

The 4th dress in navy is divine. If you watch Project Runway enough, you'll know that nobody have anything bad to say about navy. It is the safest color to go without the risk of being boring. Satin in navy? Winner!

One more thing. How long are those legs?! She can kick you before you can see her over the horizon.

Michael Jackson: the controversies & influences

Michael Jackson passed away and kids worldwide heave a collected sigh of relief.

I kid, I kid!

The world has more good things to say bout him than bad. Here is how I remembered MJ.

First I must say that I am no fan of his. I don't really idolize any stars. But this is a man who turned from black to white. The one who made walking backwards so goddamn cool. He who made grabbing your crotch ok-able. And who thought that standing on your toes like a ballerina could be so damn stylo? How did he do the 45 degrees tilt thing?

awwww!

He was big when I was really young. All I could remember were his MTVs I saw back then. The one where he walks on the streets and whichever tiles he walked on will light up. omg coolness.


Anyone remember Moonwalker in 1990? A game on the Sega Genesis platform. In short MJ goes around defeating baddies by dancing and spraying pixie dust on 'em.

And get this: he replenishes health by collecting blonde-haired children. A mega irony considering MJ would be involved in various scandals regarding children a few years later. But seriously... collecting children to gain health?!

rainbow + children + MJ should NEVER be in the same picture

What about his fashion influences? How many youths back then wore the white singlet + unbuttoned shirt combo? HOW MANY!?! That red thriller jacket? The glove? Check out this handbag inspired by that jacket.

Matinee bag, Rebecca Minkoff

He might look and behave gangsta and all in his mtvs but when it comes to interviews, he talks in a polite, almost shy manner. Kind of like a kid. Some may find it kinda creepy, I thought that it was pretty charming.

Anyway, as with all things current, South Park made fun of MJ back in 2004.

hilarious

If you turn on MTV these few days, every program is about MJ. The next time this kind of tribute frenzy takes place, it would be Madonna. But by the way that lady works out, I think we'll have to wait a few more decades.

As poorly he was reported to be with money, he actually owns most of the rights to the Beatles' songs. That is like the one single stroke of financial genius from way back in 1985. Lucky Lenon wasn't around long to see this. Paul was pissed off the charts. He fought with Michael Jackson over this for years. According to this article, it was his fault actually.

all your musik is belong to me

But apart from that MJ is like the brick in Super Mario where you can hit it repeatedly to get coins until it dies out.

ding ding ding ding ding!

Here is MJ with Britney Spheres back in 2001. Man Britney was kinda hot back then.

tee hee hee

Surely the Elvis Presley of our times, Micheal Jackson. He will be missed.

Equestrianism what?

What is equestrianism and how is it related to fashion?

ok la... more like this:



Equestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving horses. This broad description includes both use of horses for practical, working purposes as well as recreational activities and competitive sports.ok. So?

Look at how it have influenced so many brands today.

the Hermès horse had a flat horseshoe

My guess is that horse riding (for competition) has always been an expensive sport reserved mainly for the rich. As such, it conjures an image of the good life. The upper crust of the society who, most of the time, dresses impeccably. Thus the whole luxe image come into fruition.
If you know the true reason, do let me know.

On another note, here is another horse related brand logo.

carrot drawn horse. terrible discipline

birdcage bags

Birdcages should not be used to house birds! Here is a better application for them.

milan based collective carnovsky comprised of francesco rugi and silvia quintanilla have sent in the images of their new bag collection named 'artificialia' birdcage bag. hand made in italy by artisans, 'artificialia' bags are made of natural materials such as wood, rattan, silk, velvet, leather and tagua seeds from south america. bags are lacquered with bright colors.

the bird never made it

have the japanese lacquered wood bento box feel

my favorite of the lot. this could actually work

another good use of birdcages from the wedding

Bottega Veneta Spring 2010

Check out Bottega Veneta's 2010 Spring collection.

We wanted to offer clothes that are particularly individualistic. Changing the shape of the pants and breaking the silhouette with color add an energy, even a brashness, that feels invigorating

says the Bottega dude. Fine.




Man totes are not cool. Besides, it is too stressful to maintain a full leather manbag.


Dude. I can see your nipples. Not cool. Not cool at all.

but I cannot take my eyes off of it

you're just too good to be true... can't take my eyes off of you you'll be like heaven to touch. I wanna hold you so much

ok. Getting too gay.

I'm referring to this classic hit from Lauryn Hill. I liked it so much that I wrote down the lyrics on the wrapper of a gift for shuyi years back. I don't do the whole lyrics thing you see very commonly in blogs (emo AND lame), but yea I did that. Shuyi (who never throws stuff away) still have that wrapper somewhere.

Anyway, on with the program.

I particularly like the jacket of the left. A fantastic take on the varsity jacket with a play on the silhouette. Brown is a safe colour and it appears to be the theme for BV this season but this design can do well in other colours as well.

picnic basket + strap + model = win

You can replace the scarf (BV scarves should be pretty rape-ass expensive) with something that have a local vibe. How about a good morning towel?

local flava

With some confidence, you ca surely pull it off and get some approving nods along the way. Either that or mocking sniggers, which with some ego, brush off and view as ignorance.

And the no-socks loafers look i'm trying to pull off since my italy trip is so cool.

damn i need to get them loafers