The Wearing of the Green

Friends conclude my style as "retro". Think that's pretty accurate; I do love old stuff.

Another rainy and cold Friday comes. People start wondering if spring is ever going to come this year (actually pretty much just like any other years for the past five).

Wearing of the Green (color in this context) always reminds me of Ireland, the vast open landscape, Guinness beers, and those jigs accompanied by Fiddles and Flutes.


J.crew Flair Skirt in Double serge wool


Yes, I am wearing a hat. :)

Space Age

1960s, sometimes is referred as "Space Age" in both cultural and social terms. Guess it might have something to do with the important events associated with space, such as the "Soviet Space Program", and the Landing on the Moon by Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin via Apollo 11 in 1969.
Fashion Design during this period is very characterized by its futuristic and architechtural presentation.

Pierre Cardin made his way to the Fashion Hall of Fame during the 1960s with his unique geometric Avand-Guard design.


While Space is no longer the last frontier in many ways, space age in fashion faded away throughout the later years. However once in a while we can still see the influence in current haute fashion. Balenciaga is also known by its futurism.

Balenciaga 2009 Spring collection



As much as I would like to share more on the subject, I am afraid I went too far already. :) All in all, what I wanted to say was I found this Jason Wu for Target dress very intriguing because of its somewhat Space Age like pattern and silhouette. :)


I stopped shopping for these "XXX" for "XX" as I have found the pieces with the big names on the tage didn't make them with as good quality as their original ones and the price tag was somehow awkward: less expensive but not cheap either.


This season, I only picked up this dress at a 30% discount.

"Hello Gorgeous"

(opening quote in "Funny Girl" starring Barbara Streisand 1968)

Today's outfit is inspired by






Dolce and Gabbana 2012 Fall


source:style.com

And powered by Forever21 (leopard print coat), Tory Burch (tweed dress), and Club Monaco (striped wool tee).

Fashion-ology

1. "Fashion is made to become unfashionable" - Coco Chanel

2. “Fashion is what you're offered four times a year. Style is what you pick out of that fashion.” - Lauren Hutton


3. Women can discuss about fashion for ever, but when it comes to style, it's either yours or mine with no middle ground

4. Trends indicate what's in current circulation; Style often is influenced and changed by trends.

5. (Fashion) rules are created to be broken.

6. There is no good or bad style; It's all in the eyes of beholder.

7. Chic is an overloaded word in the fashion world. There is no perfect explanation or translation in languages other than French, so everyone interprets it in their own way.


Fashion then (1920s)



Fashion Now (Current)



Fashion Then (1940s)



Fashion Now (The Duchess of Cambridge)


Fashion Then (1980s)



Fashion Now (2012 Spring Trend)

Monday Mumble

After so many years of "living in " low resolution and insuffiently light, we finally got a new camera. It might not be as sound as an "upgrade" but to me it's a giant leap. LOL

It was a Canon Powershot S100. :)

So here are some test run results. Given that I am pretty much a photography retard, I only used whatever it was in the default settings. So suggestions are welcome and appeicated; but please don't criticize too harsh.

The sweater is from Crewcut Boys collection which I had blogged about a while ago.

The skirt is from Express, a few years back. I believe it's a knock off or should we say "influenced" by Prada 2008 Resort Collection

I am wearing a pin. It was a thrift store find a few months ago. I can see some Spanish Modern Art influence in this little metal piece. Miro, anyone? However, I don't pretent I understand abstract drawings. I could easily stair at one without realizing it's upside down. So I always leave them alone. There is no right or wrong side. :) However, I just realized I used the wrong setting and it went blurry.

A print of art work by Joan Miro

Last but not least, here is one of the pictures I snapped with the old camera when we were on the road. Our hotel room is superb: a top floor, corner room with full frontal occean view.

GTS: Princess on Colorful Jean Trend

In CBS news this morning, a short video of The Duchess of Cambrigde Catherine showed off her skills on the hockey ground. She was wearing a pair of JBrand bright coral skinny jeans.



source: hollywoodreporter.com

Update: After reading around, there seems some debate on the brand of the jeans. Mirror and Hollywoodreporter said it's JBrand 811 slim fit, and it sounds very true to me: http://www.shopbop.com/811-ankle-skinny-jeans-j/vp/v=1/845524441931559.htm?fm=search-shopbysize

Color blocking trend will continue in this spring, with some tweaking from the previous season. Instead of bold almost jewel tone colors, this spring you should see more softer pastels and neon colors, especially on jeans.







source: fashionhippo.com

Of course, like any trend, color jeans don't suit everybody's taste and body types. When wearing them, try to tone down and balance top and bottom by pairing more neutral patterns, such as nautical stripes and neutral gray. If you want to go with color blocking, try softer colors in the same color hues or complimentary side of the color wheel.



source: ashley-ringmybell.blogspot.com

All in all, personally I would not go too ga-ga on this trend. Buying a pair or 2 to play and update your wardrobe might be a good idea but no need to stock up every color in the rainbow. I feel it's just another FAD trend and will diminish quickly. :)

"Good Artists Copy; Great Artists Steal" - Part II

Continued from "Good Artists Copy; Great Artists Steal" - Part I

Today I am putting my copy skill into test. I probably will never be a great fashionista, but at least I can try to be a good copycat. :)

My target is Jennifer Lopez. Lady JLO has come a long way to be in today's position as far as fashion tastes goes. Nowadays she always looks polish, up to trend, yet with her own personality. The famous "celebrity-bashing" comedienne Joan Rivers once commented on her saying "She (Jennifer Lopez) always looks like a movie start except in her movies". It's actually a compliment if you really understand the meaning behind the seemingly harsh comment. :)

Flipping through a new magazine, I found this look and I am in the awe.
It's a yellow coat from The Row 2011 Fall/Winter collection, which JLo paired up with milly wide leg pants and basic black T.



I am so excited because now I find another way to wear my J.crew Symphony Coat.



So how did I do? :)

PS. pants seem requiring some hemming work. :(

"Good Artists Copy; Great Artists Steal" - Part I

It's the awful truth. Mr Jobs never sugar coated the facts but expressed them in his own unique and insightful ways. :) This time he quoted from Picasso, who stole from his colleague and became one for the greatest artists ever.

Fashion is one sub set of the visual arts so there is no exception. Let's take a look at some of the greatest fashion labels and see what they have done: copy or steal.

Louis Vuitton came up their famous lengendary monogram design more than a century ago. Was their original idea? Probably not, but they made it their own and other brands started copying. Monogram is supposed to be based on some trendy design strongly influenced by Japanese art back to the Victorian Era.



Coco Chanel single handed pioneered the image of "Flapper Girl" back the roaring 1920s and "stole" or should we say "inspired by" the tweed desgin originated from Scotland. Chanel tweed became the most coveted and probably one of the most copied fashion piece since.



In 1947, Christian Dior launched his "New Look", which combined an old silhouette prior to the Great War and smaller waist. It has been influencing the entire fashion world throughout the 50s and 60s. For the past couple of seasons, the New Look silhouette made its comeback with a strong power.



Now we see who are just good, but probably not great. It's hard to pinpoint who copies whom since really everything old is new again. :)

Stella McCartney


Milly


Louis Vuitton Daisy Design from 2012 Spring Collection


J.crew Crystal Daisy Blouse from their own 2012 Spring Collection

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I am afraid that this entry become too long so I will write a separate one on how I try to be a good copy cat. LOL.

See "Good Artists Copy; Great Artists Steal" - Part II

DIY: Hooded Scarf

Living in the Great Northwest, I have learned to be prepared for 2 kinds of weather: wet and sunny (unexpectedly).

I didn't know there were so many words for just those little dewdrops: mist, marine air, drizzle, shower, rain...oh lord!

Fleece hoodie jackets are sold really well here. However, I absolutely hate the bulkness and the discomfort of statics. So I rather "sacrifice" my dignity by holding an umbrella. (Yeah, you hear me right: locals do think it's undignified to use umbrellas). But I have to admit that hoodies do seem more convenient.

A look from Rag & Bone 2012 Spring runway

source: style.com

I came up with this idea of adding a hood to a scarf and made one of my own. Despite all the disclaimer above, I still chose to use fleece. After all it's super easy to sew with: no run nor snag and super low maintenance is required.

I didn't take pictures by step as it was late night when I was working on it. But it's pretty simple: find a hoodie you like, cut the fleece tracing the hoodie, sew up the 2 sides, and attach a long piece fabric as the scarf part. Glue or sew the raw edge along the hood to give a finish touch.

Here you go:

Wearing it as a scarf

it as a hoodie under a jacket

Not All Animal Prints Are Created Equal

Animal prints..mayby have never left the fashion center stage but somehow they are even more haut than ever for the past a few seasons. From runway premium brands to massive retailers, everyone has tried to come up with their own interpretation of this mother nature's creation.

Just like the difference among leopards, tigers, cheetah...not all the animal prints are created the same. To be honest, some look quite tacky.

J.Crew has some sort of animal print every year but this past Holiday's wildcat print is one of my favorites. It almost has a polka dot sweet effect yet still wild and interesting.

It comes in dress, sweater, tops and camis.

I'm not one of those who can easily pull off any funky style, so I am very skeptical about animal prints. Scarves and accents on belt and shoes are OK for me but a large dimention of spots intimadates me a lot. So I only picked up this talia top in wildcat. It's a pretty neutral tone so it can easily be paired up with any rich bold color.



Some fashion bloggers use the hot red to contrast

source: http://pompandcircumstance.wordpress.com/tag/j-crew-jules-dress-in-wildcat/

I decided to go with neutral today. Here is the drawing-board-concept of my today's outfit.

Last but not the least, a peach coral and light blue bead necklace completes the outfit.