Hole-In-The-Shoulder Tops

During the Easter holidays, I started looking at spring/summer fashion in stores and for some unknown reason, I really got into what I call the 'hole-in-the-shoulder tops'. Maybe it's because I like the look with the sleeves sort of droopy and hanging. It gives the outfit a sort of effortless, casual chic feeling.

One brand which is doing these tops is Zucca.
These (Zucca) tops are so casual and easy to wear. Just throw them on with jeans or denim shorts.
Another brand which is doing this is Vanessa Bruno. The VB ones are of course, more elegant and feminine and less of the jeans-and-t-shirt look than Zucca's. Love the dress on the right.
I think this is the top that got me into this look. Don't the 'sleeves' look like wings? It's style can be casual or smart -makes it kind of suitable for different looks.
Daryl K's Doctored Dress is more of 'hole-in-the-sleeves' dress. I think the black and orange dress (right) is sort of cool, but I've tried it on and the dress is hard to pull off. (That's when I realised I should stop obsessing over this type of tops.)
Now this Ann Demeulemeester tunic is just simple and cool. It has a very effortless vibe. A similar top is the one on the right by Maria Bonita. It feels younger than the Demeulemeester tunic but just not as chic.
And here is how real life people (as opposed to mannequins) wear these tops. Isn't it so cute? And see what I mean by the sleeves dangling down?
Nicole Richie looking very casual chic in one of these tops and shorts. Loves it!

Alexander McQueen For Puma SS07

Hey people, my exams are over and I'm back! OK, now most days, I am all about being practical, walking fast and keeping my feet warm (during winter). And even though I love ogling at gorgeous, trendy shoes, the only footwear I have actually been wearing a lot are my tatty, 5 year old, Addidas-lookalike Sketcher sneakers. Said Sketchers are about to break apart any day now and I have started to take notice of the sneakers available around me.

To me, Nike sporty sneakers are my favourite for sports and I don't really like Nike's non-sporty sneakers. I had bad experience with Puma sneakers many years ago and I just couldn't find my ideal pair of Addidas yet. Converse is a bit too flimsy to keep my feet warm during winter and Sketchers are just too sugary for me nowadays.

Luckily on a shopping trip, my mum noticed this cool pair of sneakers and told me to try them on (mums seem to spot pretty things that we don't.) Tada... I finally found a new pair of sneakers! I love how they're sneakers with cool details and a bit of edge, (although I won't be wearing them in the rain until the novelty wears off!) I was slightly surprised because this pair is by Alexander McQueen for Puma and when the AMQ for Puma line first came out a season or two ago, I thought they were ugly.

OK, so ugly isn't the right word. It's just that the last few collections seemed a bit alien-ish. They had funny toe bits (as shown in the picture), which I'm sure is supposed to be avant-garde and all, but it just looked weird to me. Plus I didn't like the colours. (All the pictures in this post is from the SS07 collection.)

I don't like the toe bit here but leather sneakers are way cool and useful.

For those who understand this, McQueen's inspiration quoted from the site: 'For Spring/Summer 2007, the study of anatomy continues through the exploration of body ornamentation with references to the Masai tribe culture.'

This pair is quite pretty, and not as 'designed'-looking as the others too.

Photo credit:
http://alexandermcqueen.puma.com

Pirates of the Caribbean III

One of my most anticipated movies of the year, I very excitedly went to see it the first day it was out. And no, I was not one of those people who went to see it at midnight dressed in Pirate costumes. Although I must say, I did see a few on the streets and the effort put into these costumes is to be commended.
Anyways, onto the movie (and if you don't want to know what happens next- time to stop!). This time it talks about how the crew sails to the World's End to save Captain Jack Sparrow, who got eaten by Davy Jones in the last movie. First they sailed to Singapore to find the Chinese Pirate, Sao Feng (played by Chow Yun-Fat), to get a ship and to steal/get the map to go to the World's End. I'm not sure I like the portrayal of "Chinese" culture here, I've been there and in any century, Singapore is not like that and I don't think they speak Cantonese there. But then again, I guess this movie IS fictional and a lot of things (like immortal squid monster pirates) don't exist.
So they sail to the World's End and saves Jack, who in turn very cleverly leads them back into the real world, where they are accosted by Pirate Sao Feng and people from the East India Company and a whole lot of treachery occurs. So much that I couldn't even keep track. But everything just turns out so perfectly, that one wonders if they (esp Jack's many escapes) planned it or were just spontaneously clever and lucky.
But the basic idea is that Will Turner wants to fight the Flying Dutchman to save his father, who we discovered has gone mentally crazy and all, until the very end.
Meanwhile, Davy Jone's heart lands in the hands of the East India Company and he follows their command, threatening the power of the 9 pirate lords of the sea.
So they all convene to their private lair, Shipwreck something I think, and have a meeting. Here, Captain Barbossa comes back from the dead (first movie) and tries to convince everyone to free the Calipsa, to get the power of the sea back or something.
And Calipsa turns out to be the voodoo woman who seems to know everything from the last movie. Turns out, she's also the reason Davy Jones cut his heart out and everything. Eventually she does get set free, but I don't really see what use it was as she turned into a pile of crabs and created a storm.
Into all this is Elizabeth, who by pure chance, becomes the leader of the Chinese Pirates and the "King" of Pirates by vote. She then declares war to the East India Company and all the other pirates had to heed her. She actually played a really big role in this movie.
Oh and in the heat of battle, she and Will gets married, which I thought was really cute. But then again, marriage with Will (or whatever role Orli is playing) would be cute in any circumstances :PDoesn't he look so handsome and piratey? He SO does not look girly.... I was REALLY sad when he died. I was worried that he'd look like an ugly squid when he turned into the captain of the Flying Dutchman, but luckily he came back and looked handsomer than ever. Just one question, does that mean that after 10 years of doing his duty, he and Elizabeth can live happily ever after should they stick together? Or that they are just doomed to be forever seperated, and Will will remain young forever and Elizabeth will get old and die?
And then of course there is Captain Jack Sparrow himself. Whenever I see him, I can't help but admire the amazing make-up and Johnny Depp's acting. Johnny Depp just looks soooo unlike Captain Jack Sparrow!

Although what was with all the hullucinating of multiple Jack Sparrows? That was kind of weird. And at many points, I didn't know whether to like or hate him, because there were so many betrayals between all the characters that its hard to tell!

Overall the movie was.....very complex. For the whole 2 hr and 45 minutes, we all just sat there trying to follow and figure out what is happening. And to be honest, 3 hours after watching the movie, I still haven't quite figured everything out. Like, what is the point of freeing the Calipsa? And why do they even bother fighting against the Flying Dutchman? They're immortal! Their ship won't sink and their crew can't die. But I did so love all the little funny bits. Like the adorable monkey, the get up of the french and chinese woman pirate lord and everything that Jack said!

I'm surprised to hear that there may be a fourth one coming out.....I think its better to stop at three before it feels too much like they're trying to make a movie out of nothing.

SS07: Neon Bright Colors on the Runway

In case you've been in the dark this season, neon bright colors are back. My first reaction to this trend? Eww. . . Having been raised in the 90's, I was taught that neon colors were a fashion faux pas and I've always wondered what my mom was thinking when she bought that electric blue top now sitting in the back of her wardrobe.
Turns out, she just had incredible fashion foresight. Neon colors appeared everywhere on the runway this season in sync with the futuristic look also making a come back. It most prominently dominated Christopher Kane's collection. Electric blue, bright yellow...
...lime green, bright red, you name it!
Slightly less futuristic in design, Jil Sander has an equally vibrant collection in eletric blue, green..
and hot pink. It really adds a punch to the typically simple Jil Sander designs. And something a bit flirtier, we have this hot pink dress from Costume National.
Another funky yellow dress, this one is from Preen. And although not my favourite shade of green, I like how D Squared2 matched this bright green cropped blazer (?) with a sporty bottom.
Personally I am still having trouble adjusting to such glaring shades. Hence I prefer the tamer side of this color palette, such as this electric/royal blue shade on the Belstaff and Julien MacDonald runway.
And of course, there is my favourite color of all time, purple. Even electric purple. The color is just so rich, striking and flattering to most skin tones! I'm loving these two shades on the Gucci and Prada runway.
Photo Credit: Elle.com

ANTM Cycle 8- Spoiler!

So I know how annoying it is when you inadverdantly find out who the winner is before you watch the finale- this has happened to me in the past 2 seasons. Last time, my friend casually dropped the bomb in conversation. And this time, I caught a glimpse of it on yahoo.com! ARGH. Anyways- don't say I didn't warn you not to scroll down!
Admittedly, this show is getting old. One can only take so much overdramatic girl cat fights before starting to wonder if they're delibrately making up something out of nothing. And after all these seasons, the girls all start to seem similar to those from past seasons. And they must've ran out of countries, because really Tyra, Sydney Australia? AGAIN? I was expecting something more exotic and new. The only thing that keeps me watching are the makeovers (its crazy what a huge difference hair, make-up and styling tips can do), the ever innovative shoots (although there weren't too many really exciting ones this season) and the glimpses into the fashion industry.
Granted I didn't like any of the girls in particular at the beginning and wasn't really vouching for anyone, I was disappointed with the two finalists- Natasha and Jaslene. They not only looked awful when they're not doing a job (this is AFTER they've had their make overs and well into the season- they just look like two badly dressed girls on the streets. And someone should just tell Natasha that she looks bad in skinny jeans)..
..but they also looked awful in the final judging in these Sass & Bide creations, with that make-up and hair. On a side note, I thought that it was kind of cool that they got to do a Sass & Bide runway- I didn't even know that they were Australians! And that runway show they were doing with the view of the Opera house- I was just there 5 months ago!
Ultimately though, between the two, I was glad that Jaslene won even though she didn't even make it into the house the last season- although this kind of makes me wonder whether she really made a huge transformation or whether the quality of the girls this season is just really bad. I'm leaning towards the latter.
But anyway, I thought she rocked the runway and she took consistently good pictures. Also, I liked her character better. She was a bit more genuine and all.
Especially compared to Natasha. The other models are right, she did appear really fake and annoying. And yet the judges just seem to be blinded by her exuberant personality. Can't they see that the things she says are not cute but obnoxious? She always had to twist any criticism she got into a good thing- can't the girl just take the criticism as it is? Although one does have to give her points for improvement. I thought her cross dressing shoot as a guy was pretty well done.
The girl I most wanted to win though, was Renee. I thought she did really well in everything. She had a great personality, her photos were consistently good and most importantly, she totally rocked the Cover Girl commercial while the other two finalists completely flunked it- honestly, I just wanted to wince watching! The only reason I can see why she got eliminated was because she looked "old," which is unfair since she can't help it and she's only 20. And really, if make-up, hair and photoshop can make Jaslene and Natasha look so good in photos as opposed to real life, they can make Renee look younger. Perhaps ANTM can't have another winner who looked so much like the last winner? One criticism for Renee- what kind of name is "Nee Nee"?? It sounds so ridiculous and stupid.
The rest of the season...was mediocre. There weren't too many photoshoots that I remembered that made too much of an impression on me. Other models- I couldn't believe that Jael made it so far. She should've been eliminated way before, like when she made a fool of herself in that celeb party annoying 50 cent. And her image, I get that she's trying to be different, but to me, it was just as if that girl couldn't decide whether to be girl and nice or rock, punk and cool. Britney, I was sympathizing with her short term memory thing, but Dionne made a good point when she said she remembered all the lines in the acting challenge. Also, I thought she was getting too cocky about her photos in the end and was just a huge melodramtic whiner. Oh and I liked Whitney the Dartmouth student. I thought she was very eloquent and smart- too bad she never got her act together with the photos.
And lastly, I just wanted to make a comment about Tyra. I know she's retired and everything, but what is with the outfits she's been wearing on the show? They look awful. If I knew how to take screenshots from videos, I can go on and on for a whole post on her fashion mistakes.

Short Shorts in SS07

So it seems that the short shorts from last season have prevailed onto the SS07 catwalk.
They are crisper and sharper than ever paired with the softer tops this season. For something more girly, pair them with feminine, frilly, soft tops like above in left: Derek Lam and right: Zac Posen. I LOVE the Peter Som (whoops! thx, I got too lazy to check!) outfit here, the contrast of the pretty frilly top and cardigan with the crisp boxy shorts is stunning.
For something more casual, pair them with this season's just as boxy structured tops left: Pringle of Scotland or loose tops right: Paul Smith. Last season I was still floundering, but this season I think I REALLY want a pair of white short shorts- preferably a boxy pair, because I think the "boxiness" has more volume, making the legs look slimmer. Also, it doesn't look as skimpy as hot pants.
So I am starting to look again this season. I am definitely going for white, because I think it will match everything best. Something like these two above from left: Adam + Eve and right: Express. In fact, I think I'll go to Express this weekend and try them on and see if they fit as perfect as they look!
More cute shorts from Alice + Olivia. I love the cuff details on the grey shorts!
For a bit more interesting details, go for the rows of buttons like these two from left: Lauren Moffatt and right: Express. Although, the downside is that its going to be the devil to take off, so don't wear them when you're going shopping for bottoms!

Photo Credits: Elle, Express and Shopbop

MET Fashion II- Poiret: King of Fashion

More on the dresses from the Costume Institute Benefit gala , here are some of the dresses that I was unsure about or are just downright terrible.

I KNOW Anna Wintour is the queen of fashion and everything, but this is not a flattering dress on her. She looks weighed down. Especially with the metallic shoulders and feathers....it looks like part of a body armour.

I read that she is actually looking better in this dress, but Cate Blanchett still looks very scary and skeletal to me. Maybe its the spikey hairstyle, it makes her look even more gaut and edgy.

This one I'm on the edge. I love the drapery and the greek goddess concept behind this Marchesa dress and its also very classy and discrete for JLo. But then, its not exactly very complimentary to her figure.....

And this one. On one hand, this Bally dress is quite flattering, but on the other hand, the see through material of the bodice makes it look really trashy. Maybe if we just convince ourselves that its not really see through. . . ?

At first glance, I did not like this outfit. Shalom Harlow looked like some evil vampire. But then I found out it was from Viktor and Rolf and then it made much more sense why it looked so strange.

The cutting of this dress is actually very flattering to America Ferrara's figure. But i think i just don't like the stripes in the skirts.

What is with Renee Zellweger and fishtail dresses? And to make it worse, the pattern of the dress actually reminds me of a fish this time. The spotty, stoney looking ones.

Conceptually a simple white strapless dress should look elegant. But Christina Ricci just looks uncomfortable and awkward. Maybe Calvin Klein was too heavy on the starch.

I've always loved the way Liv Tyler looks. She's always so elegant and classy. This dress fell short of my expectations. The color is dull along with the cutting, while her make-up is waay too striking and pale.

You'd think this girl would look good in a haysack, but seems like she's human after all. This dress looks awful on her. The bodice is too tight. The dress too short. The color too dull. It looks like she's trying to fit into a little kid's fairy costume. And the fishnet stockings. . . . ugh.

I really don't think green is much of a red carpet color. Although this one on Chloe Sevigny is slightly more striking, the cutting looked a bit amatuer for something by Balenciaga.

Mary-Kate's tiny frame looks like it's being smothered by the overload of feathers. But minus the feathers it doesn't look too bad.


I usually love the way Ashley dresses, but this one looks like she hastily put it together last minute with some strings and tape. . . not very fitted. And WHO is that old man she's with? Please tell me that its strictly platonic (correction: the old man is indeed Christian Louboutin, so it is indeed strictly platonic).

Maybe Ashley and Claudia Schiffer (correction: Gisele Bundchen) made their dresses together?

And for a truly horrific sight, check out Jessice Simpson in Just Cavalli. *shudder*
And WHAT was Karolina Kurkova thinking? What is that THING around her shoulder?
Looks like Parker Posey had a bit of an accident with the laces....
And Claire Danes decided to wrap herself up in tin foil.....burnt in the middle tin foil at that.
And this looks like the tin foil version of something I drew in pre-school.

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