This season's Aldo collection is pretty impressive. They just got the right splash of quirkiness to the design while still keeping the practicality (easy to match with simple outfits and still stands out), I already own the two black heels and I am currently rocking that peep toes with chunky glass heels at work!
Edit: I swapped the green Avariella to this blue Avariella which is the one I bought! It is slowing and surely coming to my home!!
Have been reading up a bit about consumer trend. It is apparent that consumers are much smarter and being more critical when buying products. They care about where the product is from (i.e. what kind of material they use to make the product? how do they obtain the material?), how it was produce (i.e. are they using child labor? are they giving a living wage to their labors and employees?) and whether they are potentially harmful to the environment (i.e. is the product biodegradable?). In a world that is overwhelmed with choices, a lot us are no longer satisfied with just the brand name goods or just the cheap knock offs or imitation of certain seasonal trends.
Etsy is one of the force that reckon this shifting trend. It is like the "Organic Ebay", except - it is actually much more advanced. There are many different search methods as well as innovative browsing engine, as a web design/developer I am totally impressed by the ease of use and features of this online marketplace! One of the feature is the "Time Machine" - this is a new concept that shows you the items that were sold, 1 min ago, 2 mins ago...etc. You can browse through this in three different visual display, watching items coming at you and passing out of the screen.
Another new way of browsing is through selecting a particular color. Once you selected the color, the items in that color will pops up on the same screen, and then you can keep picking different colors until the whole screen is full of colorful items!
There is also a geographical browsing method, where you click on a map and the seller from that area will pops up.
There are still tons of features there for you to play with. I am definitely considering opening my own store in there soon, so whenever i do, I will definitely let you guys know! :)
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!
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.
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Somebody please tell me if these pair of boots worth $200...I am really loving the design, it looks soo soo soo delicious and I can't wait to experiment with them (wearing them with a flowy dress, with color stockings, with minis...). Sigh...I don't know how long I could hold out for but please somebody help!
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| Please excuse my language...but gosh...these Hinfray Guillaume has converted me to a "flats" person! The patent leather front and trims, golden buckles, and velvety body with graphic prints made these flats so elegant and dressed up. And in my lovely shopping heaven HK...I managed to get these half priced at Harvey Nichols. |
I like garments with hand crafted details in them, I am definitely not from the nyc minimalist cult (Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang, Doo.Ri...etc.), not to say they are not absolutely talented designers, just not the style that I go for.
Being neither too minimalist nor crazily ornamental, Ingwa;Melero caught my eyes for awhile. This design team from small town Germany has definitely brought some handcrafted design over. I never thought crochet could be so chic and sexy. And to pump up the sexiness even more, the cutout leather is used as the accent for the soft, feminine jersey dresses.
I wish there is a good sample sale with some of the following Ingwa;Melero stuff (especially the second pic on the bottom and the one in the big picture on top!)...I am usually super lazy about going to sample sales, but if they could assure me with these beautiful garments in my size I will not hesitate to go all out for it.
Happy holiday! :) It has been such a blessed year for me, and somehow this year's holiday decor in stores seem to look prettier~ I still have a long list of friends and family I need to get/make gift for...going to be two weeks of long sewing hours~~
Plus, I just started to take another class for making "the holiday skirt", it will be done by next weekend so stay tuned! :)
After my shopping spree at the outlet, Susie Bubble got me into these cool looking pieces from All Saints, a British street wear label which hasn't really been advertising in the States at all (not like TopShop).
The red dress is simply stunning, it will definitely be a magnificant dress for xmas party! And this time I actually like the leggings although I am never too fond of leggings - I am a tights and stockings lover, but these has the tattoo like pattern on the legging which is really chic and toned down the whole outfit instantly. And I also really love the day outfit on the right, the jacket seems soft and comfortable but the big collar, the straps on the cuffs and the waist belt gives the jacket a lot more structure.
Very tempting...but I am still going to stick to my plan and save up some money until I go home!
It must have been the longest food coma ever on the blogging planet. It was a very very full, sleepy and satisfying weekend with some crazy shopping at the outlet! ;) yes, of course there has to be some retail therapy involved in the process of holiday celebration. Although I am saving up most of my money for x'mas and new year shopping when I go back to my beloved homeland - Hong Kong, but I can't possibly pass on those devilishly deep discounts in the Woodbury Outlet...can I?
So I spent most of my money at the Off 5th Saks Fifth store and Max Studio.com. They are both great bargins, and not like Dolce & Gabbana, YSL, Celine, Prada and Miu Miu, where prices are still too high for my budget, style are either straight off the funkway or the dullway and size small or petite are rarely in sight. Well I almost gave in to this white trousers from Dolce & Gabbana (they are just the right looseness and make my legs looks like miles long!)but they are quite high maintenance to wear and cost almost 200 bucks...humm ok...I need to just tell myself I don't regret not buying it!
Back to what I got:
-Leopard print v-neck top from Laundry by Shelli Segal (~$45, org. ~$180)
-Green silk top with jewel embellishment on the halter neckline by YA-YA ($46, org. $268)
-Black silk skirt with unique flowery pattern stitch work by Cynthia Steffe ( $31, org. $305)
-Khaki knit tan top from Max Studio.com ($25, org. $78)
-Nylon tunic with velvet trimmings on neckline, sleeves finishing and waistline from Max Studio.com ($35, org. $98)
-Lace tunic from Max Studio.com-my fav. piece! ($35, org. $98)
Even though stores close at 10pm at the outlet, I was unable to finish going through all the stores. I quickly went in Diane Von Furstenburg, Juicy, Miss Sixty, Barney's, Theory, but maybe I just didn't have enough time to flip through everything and try on anything, I came out empty handed in those places. But then again, I am really saving for the big and crazy shopping time in HK which is 2 and a half weeks away!
P.S. Can someone guess where I was in the picture? This very very very delicious chocolate place...heehee...if you have heard of this place then you should know by now. :p
The reason I love grey might have something to do with the fact that I am a libra, and I love a median, something in between black and white, something that is moderate and gentle but yet beautiful. Grey also reminds me of the school days, when I was in boarding school in Hong Kong. Back then, I used to wear uniforms to school, and now I realized that a lot of girls were using their sweater to make their own fashion statement. It was interesting that I remember how I used to think how come the same old uniform sweater look so much cooler on one girl than the other? And I also remember seeing some über skinny girl wearing this XL sweater to school - which I didn't realize it actually is cool.
Anyways, I suspect this might be one of the inspiration for Stella McCartney's 2006 fall collection. I love the navy grey she is using to match with different shades of grey - or simply different shades of grey together.
I recently found this grey sweater at Charlotte Russe (yes, I do shop at budget girlie store like this!) I was attracted by the puffed bat shaped sleeves on the upper arm and fitted on the lower arm, and the big v neck and loose fit on the body. I couldn't find a small or even a medium, but to my surprise I loved the fit in a size large! And on top of that it was half priced and cost a lovely 11 bucks...11 bucks!!! I couldn't even take the train to get home for $11! So there it is, I was wearing this with a demin mini skirt, black tights and boots from Target by Isaac Mizrahi. (see Shoes Shoes Shoes...)
The hot new jeans brands come and go - seven, earnest, j brand, paper denim, hudson, siwy, sass and bide...whatever it is, they have their moment for awhile but still there are always the next hot thing coming up. The more brands there are, that just means we have to spend on time at the Barney's jeans section to try them on. So anyways, aren't we all just looking for the one that is the most flattering to our body?
There is currently a company called Bodymetrics, which pioneers the use of body-scanning and virtual reality technologies in fashion. At Selfridges, in Oxford Street, and in Harrods, Knightsbridge (yes they are all in europe!), customers can get their body-scanned and order perfect-fitting designer jeans and women’s luxury suits. Customers would have to be naked (or in nude color underwear) when inside the bodymetrics "pod"(see pic), which make it easy when light scan through the body to gather accurate data. In 5 secs the computer will have about 200 measurements which creates a virtual replica of your body.
Sounds cool, isn't it? Imagine the whole fashion market will be adapted to this technology where they can customize your clothes with the data from Bodymetrics. Or, another cool idea would be a super tailor store that would make alteration to your clothes base on that data. That would be so sweet.
Updates: Apparently Vivienne Westwood has joined force with Bodymetrics to make custom fit VW signature hour glass "Amphora suit" (figure-hugging jacket cinched in at the waist, with oversize lapels and a single button, and a gloriously curvy pencil skirt). The whole process takes about 6 weeks and the starting prices is a handsome fee of £1,500. So basically this is just something that's "cool to know about".
I know that was a cheesy title...hehee, I tried. I like the Pringles logo by the way, so I just want to throw that in here for the fun factor. :)
Well, what I really want to talk about, is this equally saliva inducing grey baby doll cable sweater made by Pringle of Scottland. This is a prestigious luxury brand that just got revamped and heavily advertised on fashion magazines. It was the royal, romantic, and cozy prints that got me interested a few months back. I think this is a successful campaign.
Recently I found that H&M has came up with an imitation of this beautiful knitwear in light turquoise. I hope they have other colors to choose from as well, and altho I wouldn't prefer a turtle neck, I will be sure to try this one on. I like that white cable knitted scarf as well...
Ever since the Issac Mizrahi ankle boot (see my other post "Shoes Shoes Shoes..."), I have been eagerly waiting for the new target + designer collaboration goodies to come out. This November on the Go International is Behnaz Sarafpour, which is not a surprise when I read further on this Parson alumna who has Issac as her mentor. She was praised and raved by fashion authorities like Anna Wintour and Barney's VP, putting her on the same place as hot fresh new york designers like Zac Posen, Derek Lam, and Proenza Schouler.
I think I did go a little crazy on buying the stuff. I initially planned to only get the duffel bag that was shown on Instyle, style.com...etc.
But when I went on the Target site on Nov 1st (the date when Behnaz stuff is launched), I found myself clicking on "add to cart" like I was being hypnotized. How could one possibly resist $40 brocade bubble skirt in silver, $30 stretch velvet berm pant, $17 brocade clutch and mere $8 lace headband (well I never wear headband but that one was just so cute...). And, to my surprise, the duffel bag was on back order (I will get it in Jan 2007) even on the first day and it's gone within a week. I got the rest of the stuff two days ago and I am really satisfied with the quality - especially the silver brocade bubble skirt and the clutch which is the same fabric, it is sooo high street and expensive looking.
See, I think Target is right on target (no pun intended) with this mass targeting strategy. Once you tried - you are hooked.
