Attainable or Unattainable Fashion

Hi my dear blog readers, today I am posting a bit of a serious thought on Fashion. I think this is what everyone who enjoy fashion, love shopping, and aspiring to be a fashion designer, editor or any other profession in the industry should read.

Yesterday I came across this amazing article - "fashion (versus) style" by Bits and Bobbins, all her thoughts are really well put, extremely reflective of my own thoughts on current phenomenon in the fashion industry.

I agree with her on how "Fashion is bad, Style is good" in the sense of being an individual who dresses to express themselves and makes their own statement; and how fashion keeps on creating false and unattainable "beauty" and tell us what is the most "attractive" at the moment. And I can't help but notice how most fashion business runs: giving away swags to celebrities, spending big bucks on ads, runway shows, trying to hit a perfume deal (according to "Fashion Babylon" this seems to be a major savior in all fashion business), and last but not least - trying to reach the mass market by collaborating with target, H&M, Adidas...etc.

The phenomenon leads me to think that fashion business IS responsible for global warming - the pollution from the factory production process and the disposal of clothing at a rapid rate due to the insane trend changes (which H&M, Mango, Forever 21 will then replicate and mass produce). Also, it has created a major problem in our society - when is enough really enough? Maxing out on credit card(s) isn't all the uncommon among the young working force or even some teenagers who somehow got a hold of it. Even more saddening is that I just read another article from Hong Kong there are a bunch of teenagers who would use their body to trade for money, in order to get the newest and latest brand name goods. This happens in many other cities, because the media gave us the message that fashion is directly associated with glamor, social status, the attractive factor.

I enjoy shopping as well as making my own creation, mixing and matching old and new. I give in too easily sometimes on things that I tried on and looked good on me. But I think it is important to give a second thought on the environmental issue as well as being more responsible with ones own finance when being exposed to all the attractions while shopping.

And in the perspective of a fashion designer, I think it is very important to keep in mind that which fabric are more environmental friendly, what kind of production process will not cause pollution, and how to mix in used elements (like vintage items) into the design. I also think that it is important to educate consumer on what kind of fabric are used on the garment and how to take care of the garment so they would last longer.

Another great lesson for me. :)

Outfit de jour

Today I found my silver Vivienne Tam sweater from highschool...all the sudden I got an idea for an outfit...so here it is.

1. Lace headband (not shown in pic) - Behnaz Sarafpour for Target (you can see the headband from my previous post)
2. Teddy Bear silver necklace - gift from bf (HK)
3. Skinny black chained belt with small bow in middle - Mango (HK)
4. Silk victorian style prints pleated skirt - Anna Sui
5. Silver-grey tights - HK
6. White Patent Shoes - Nine West (seems to appears alot...)

Love these shoes...

Eley Kishimoto A/W 06/07

Edie Sedgwick

Going to see the Factory Girl next week...seeing the real Edie I am wondering if Kiera Knightly would be a better fit? She does look like her!

LibraStar's Journal: SF shopping (cont.)

Just wanna share on stuff I got during the SF shopping trip.
Correction the Tee that I was talking about previously - they are called "Boy*Girl Tees" . I got the neon pink and green stripes at Mingle. The accessories are all from Jest Jewels you can find these items online too. Lastly the shoulder (messenger) bag I got from Eve on Haights st. really great quality and it was only $40!

So Marc is doing it too?!

Wow...so back to French, back to hats and gloves, back to covering the knee hemline, back to "long, long, long" silhouette...is this all tributes to the early YSL? oh my...
what I have to say to this though => fabulous stage design, beautiful color schemes, very polish which is more to my liking, but not sure if it would look good on a petite person.

LibraStar's Journal: SF shopping

Here are some of the shops I went to in San Francisco last week, which are a little different from the downtown SF union sq shopping where all the main brands and dept stores are(like 5th ave and soho combined).
The first two pics are taken around an area called "Cow Hollow" (on Union st. around Fillmore to Laguna st.) there are tons of nice brunch places separated by little boutiques. Jest Jewels has tons of cute accessories and fun girlie stuff, Mingle is run by a very friendly owner who picks out alot of local designer stuff (I love the Boys and Girls t-shirts!).
The last two pics taken around an area on Haight st. which is a hippie area full of unique characters, vintage shops, piercing and tattoos parlors. We saw that S&M style 6 inches heels boots with open strips on the calf which we must take a pic of, then in the nice boutique called Eve I managed to find this really really cute shoulder bag! (pics later)

All in all, it was a nice little shopping experience, of course I am not saying it beats nyc shopping but at least the weather was nice!! Thats a big shopping factor - as I always retreat to online shopping in my room when I get back to the freezing cold ny.

LibraStar's Journal: Heart of Gold-fish

It's a really late "Thank You" for my friend Kerri who gave me this gorgeous goldfish (and also a handmade notebook) for xmas/new year gift. She is one of the most thoughtful and artistic girl I know! :) I saw that little gold fish and immediately attached it to a gold chain to make it a necklace. So very adorable!

Seeing double...the enigmatic legend

wow...maybe I am getting too engrossed into the book about YSL, but the more I search online about YSL I found this startling resemblance between Bruno Pieters and the Legend himself.
This new fashion star has just been awarded the Swiss Textiles prize in Zurich November of last year...

Here are some Bruno Pieters's 2007 collection, which also captured some essence of the YSL women - extremely sexy, strong, with a dominating pose, dark and defined lips, with hair impeccably held back. Although the muse has some very similar quality, Bruno's work is definitely delicate, modern and sophisticated.

One Shoulder Wonder

Continue with my selection of one shoulder pieces, its interesting to see how each designer handle a single style of dress.

Balenciaga, Balmain, Carolina Herrera, Christian Lacroix, Costello Tagliapietra, Costello Tagliapietra, Audrey Tautou in Balmain, Derek Lam, Emanuel Ungaro, Emanuel Ungaro, Gile, Gile, Anna Sui, Kenzo, Kenzo, Kenzo, Marchesa, Marchesa, Michael Kors

Gorgeous one shoulder!

I am really on a quest to find the perfect one shoulder dress for myself. I already jogged down a few items that are "must have for spring":

1. One shoulder dress
2. Clutch with Big Jewels on it
3. T-Straps Shoes
4. Loose Fit Short Sleeves Grey Overall
5. All the Brightest color liquid eyeliners from M.A.C.

I am thinking for my next sewing project I should invest some time on the one shoulder dress...will update u all on that! :)

Fall 2007: Some favorites II

Continuing with the Euro-vibe, these are some Luella stuff I like - the long coats, leather flock, the combination of big bow, velvet jacket, poker dots mini.

Fall 2007: Some favorites I

Was over on the west coast this past weekend - really happy that I avoided the dreadful cold at least for a few days, as well as not really touching a computer for a change. Will follow up with my little SF boutique shopping and vintage shopping on the next posts, here I will be sharing some of my fav on the runway so far.

Alexander Wang - I think it is also because I am currently reading "The Beautiful Fall - Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris", I am really mesmerized by Yves Saint Laurent, the genius, whom was described as "le nouvel enfant trist"(meaing the "new sad child", that peculiarly French perception of 1950s youth), his early reign (at age 21!) in the house of Dior, and his depression and electrical treatment during war, and then the glorious year designing under his own name and being the last French classic couturier closing his couture house, thus ending an era of the history of fashion. Anyways, what I perceived is that Wang is also quite inspired by the sensibility of YSL's work this time, there is an old euro-youth vibes here. Not just have clean lines and a fitted silhouette, there is the gold sparkling trims on the short sleeves, the tight leather pants, the classic "bra and coat" and then the obvious one is the makeup.