Filed under: - Jo, Desirables, Off the Racks | Tags: Fashion, online shopping, Proenza Schouler, Shopping, Style, Tie Dye
Proenza Schouler recently gained a special place in my heart, only to be crushed into smithereens a few weeks later. (More on that later..)
However, they have partially redeemed themselves with their latest exclusive items offering in their online store – the tie-dye racer-back tank. It’s their first piece of clothing on their exclusive items list, and the prospect of more clothing items popping up in that space kinda excites me!
Not sure about you, but I’m gonna give this a pass since this Spring-Summer 2010 spin-off does cost a whopping US$175 for a jersey tank, and I think Forever21 would do a good rendition of it. (Plus I’m not sure if I’ll ever fully acclimatize to tie-dye.)
So, moving on to the pieces that I’d love to add call my own: fish-print jacquard tote bag and wallet.
Fish. And jacquard. Like fiber/thread/weave/loom jacquard? And leather. Seriously?
Uh-huh. Come to mama.
Picture credits to here.
As the Jak & Jil phenomenon goes, if you’ve got a killer/crazy shoe, you win.
Well if you’ve got YSLs, Louboutins, Alaias, and Balenciagas, we’ll save those for another post. We got another kinda of crazy going on – the cartoon kind. I don’t really own anything crazy/cartoon, but my irises turn a poufy heart shape when I look at them. <3
Lulu, Muse, Kicki, Jodie
I came across Minna Parikka in Helsinki, Finland where I spent about five hours in as a lay-over on a cruise from Stockholm. And like most Finnish designs, her stuff manages to look a kooky cute but lady-like sleek at the same time, just like Marimekko, Alessi and Georg Jensen in their lifestyle/homeware products.
And here are some that talk, lace-up like corsets, and blend in with your stockings.
Minna Parikka also does knitwear, bags, gloves and masks. All just as sweet, but not saccharine – tolerably accented with heart-shapes and bows. Sadly for newly-graduated-and-without-sufficient-financial-support-to-aid-mindless-spending me, everything is priced a scary €200 and upwards.
An aside: Irregular Choice might be what comes to mind for most when I mention crazy shoes, but well.. it is a too much of an uhhh, irregular choice.
Picture credits to here.
Filed under: - Jo, Inspirables, People-watching | Tags: Fashion, Shopping, Stockholm, Street Style, Vintage
When my boyfriend showed me these photos he took while walking around Stockholm Central, we (or rather, I) gushed over the cute girl on the right – from her rounded bob, oversized collar, high-waist pants, how she rolled up her cuff and hems, the feather in her hair, her peep-toe slingback sandals that kinda remind me of my childhood pair…
When I was uploading and reviewing our photos, I was thinking.. all she’s wearing is brown! wow. And she doesn’t look like soil. She’s kinda like a vintage pocahontas, if that makes any sense.
Then I was editing the pictures and piecing them together for this post, and it just occurred to me that the lady beside her is drowning in blue. Top-to-toe. Neck-to-shin. Her kid. His stroller. I like her scarf, the length of her sleeves, her blunt bangs and blunt locks, her A-line skirt and her matchy-matchy son.
Isn’t the mark of wearing an all-over single colour well, the fact that people don’t notice it?
Alright you may say, vary tone, vary shade, vary texture, but I feel like I need guidance and tuition to pull off whole non-black looks like those two. I fear looking like a dirty fox beside a pool of muddy water in soil.
Photos by my boyfriend.
Filed under: - Jo, Exhibit WC:, Off the Racks | Tags: Clothes, Edinburgh, Fashion, Outfit, Shopping
Uh yes, you can always count on us to give tips on appropriate gear to scale a mountain hill.
Here am I, walking up the treacherous terrain of Holyrood Park that leads to Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Choose leggings for maximum comfort and ease of movement. Wear shiny ones like mine, just in case you get lost and need emergency rescue – shininess aids visibility. Was still chilly in the morning so I had my boyfriend’s trench coat on. Useful to have since you can take it off after walking uphill for like two minutes cos you’ll start to perspire and then you can take it off, as per Exhibit B.
Washed denim oversized shirt-dress with cut-out shoulders (tied at hips), from Cheap Monday at Weekday. Hooded sports trench, from Giordano Concepts. Leggings, from Topshop. Boat shoes, from Sperry Top Sider. Bag, from Charles & Keith.
Remember to wear something that exposes your shoulders so you cool down quickly after a tiring climb.
Actuallyyyyyyy, I wanted to show you the blue sky (check!) and my cute shirt dress that I bought from Weekday in Copenhagen (though originally from Sweden), but just figured the photos are kinda too small and the shirt too light-coloured to see the details. O well.
I hope you have found this episode of What to wear to ascend a hill.
Photos by my boyfriend.
Filed under: - Jo, Off the Racks | Tags: Ebay, Etsy, Fashion, Shopping, Stripes, Style, Trends, Vintage
Long-sleeved button-down blouse, US$9.99, from VolenskaVintage/etsy.
When I was young I’m usually up early (even during the school holidays) and wait for the children’s programme to start showing at 9am. But before that, I’d be staring at the television colour bars with the radio broadcast over it, followed by the Majulah Singapura. And that signalled that Sesame Street was gonna be aired in right about………………. now!
High-waist long skirt, US$24, from momodeluxevintage/etsy. Button-back long-sleeved blouse, US$13, from theappleseed/etsy. Wooden platforms with canvas stripe trim, US$42.50, from Spelfenmeisje/etsy. Double-breasted blazer, US$25, from joannaknowsomethin/etsy.
Pretty nostalgic stuff, eh? Maybe that’s why I love these multi-coloured stripes so much. To look at. Not to wear. It’d probably look nicer on you than me.
Best thing? They’re all silk.
Me and my unadventurous self – I’ll be sticking with these: ( Yes! Silk too!)
High-waist bermudas, US$24, from theprivateparty/etsy. Striped belted shirt-dress, US$38, from maxandchichi/etsy.
Picture credits to here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Filed under: - Jo, Off the Racks | Tags: Ebay, Etsy, Fashion, Leather dresses, Leather shorts, Leather skirts, Shopping, Style
Button-down high-waist skirt with pockets, US$45, from moonshinehill/etsy. Panelled long pencil skirt, US$119, from Spelfenmeisje/etsy.
A few clicks round serial time-wasters – etsy and ebay led me to some wholesome mustard/buttery-soft babies that is yellow leather.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m not at all adventurous with colours. My wardrobe has been for a few years, decidedly monotone with hints of navy and peaches. But when I got more comfortable with colours, the part of the wheel that sat best with me was yellow. Like shriek! omg! you-picked-the-highlighter! sunshiney-hue! yellow.
Something about suede and leather just brings out this viscosity (can I actually say that?) in yellow.
Cargo shorts, US$49, from Spelfenmeisje/etsy. Buckle-side pencil skirt, US$18, from borrowedtimevintage/etsy.
Suede kinda gives it more of an egg-yolk/dirty mustard feel which I loveeee too.
Dolman-sleeved pintuck dress with zip-front, AU$29.99, from repeataftermeshop/ebay. Bomber jacket, US$49.90, from beauty-queen/ebay.
That said, proceed with caution and watch the black (black and yellow = bee = not human = not halloween either) you wear with it!
Picture credits to here, here, here, here and here.
Filed under: - Jo, People-watching | Tags: Copenhagen, Cycling, Fashion, Photography, Street Style
Is there anyone else out there who is over 20 years of age and unable to ride on a bicycle without letting out a yelp every seemingly meandering 20m on a straight path?
Ah I see there are tons of you out there.. Maybe we should all form a fraternity.
I’ve figured out – if you have a collarless jacket, smashingly tailored pants, studded cuff, aviators, some wicked heels, and wanna look like a cycling chick, just start pushing one alongside you on the pedestrian walkways around town, since there are no proper bicycle lanes yet anyway. This way, no haters for you being a cyclist on the pedestrian walkways, and only admirers for how awesomely cool you look.
Together we’ll be legen – wait for it – dary!
Just sayin’… Trying to make myself feel better about my cycling (in)abilities.
Photo by my boyfriend.
Filed under: - Jo, Exhibit WC: | Tags: Fashion, Stockholm, Stockholm Syndrome, Street Photography, Style
Multi-wear top/dress/tunic, from Baylene. Asymmetrical draped cardigan, from COS. Leggings, from Topshop.
I rarely had outfits nice enough to warrant any attention while I was travelling. This was one of those days I decided to look a little more than drab… cos I was in Stockholm. Isn’t that reason enough? Can’t look like a sartorial fail beyond-repair with everyone else looking like they were a post ripped off The Sartorialist or Face Hunter.
For those of you who might have come across the title of this post before – yes it’s a song by Muse, but also a real paradoxical psychological phenomenon that you can read up on wiki. No, it doesn’t actually refer to the psychological phenomenon of wanting to dress better when in Stockholm.
Photo by my boyfriend.
Filed under: - Jo | Tags: Great Singapore Sale, Sample sales, Shopping, Singapore
Three things to note:
1)
2)
Front Row Studio‘s first sample sale
Venue: Front Row Studio, 25 Seah Street #03-01
Date: 21st to 23rd July 2010
Time: 11am to 7pm
Cash terms only, brands include Frank, Chai Red Label, Second Issue, FLYNOW, Nsha, Utt’er, We Love and more – mostly womenswear.
3)
Wellll you hardly see any hansel pieces with two-digit pricing! Need I say more?
—
Okay now scurry along and get ready for the last leg of the Great Singapore Sale.
Filed under: - Jo, People-watching | Tags: Alexander Wang, Copenhagen, Street Photography
I betcha some of you got excited at the title cos people-watching’s become your favourite past-time now, right?
My boyfriend and I honed extra-elite people-watching and paparazzi photo-taking skillz (okay the latter belonged more to him) during our two-month trip around Europe. (Oh yes, hello!! It’s been a while! 
) It kinda peaked in Copenhagen and Stockholm.
We were wearing the same clothes every other day and was stopping ourselves from going crazy at the sales cos our backpacks only hold that much real estate.
These two people were everything I wish we looked like and wore then: Stick-out-like-a-sore thumb tourists in ratty tatty shirt worn in rotation with six other tops to last two months, jeans – worn almost every other day, plus crummy boat shoes VS Important-looking duo in a cute dress without creases, freshly pressed shirt, black leather heels, chinos with upturned hems, and Alexander Wang’s Rocco studded bag, of course.
Photo by my boyfriend.
