When was the last time I got excited saying this? Excited about getting a step ahead to my dream, I got this new styling idea -
Top - H&M black and metallic stripy t-shirt dress
Trouser - Giorgio Armani (got it from a mad sale in Hong Kong about 10 years ago, never worn it once) light gray see through pants.
Heels - Nine West white patent heels
Belt - (No brand) Thick black leather belt
Bag - (No brand) Orange soft leather bag from Hong Kong
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.
  |
  |
It was one crazy cold winter day when I decided that it might be a good exercise to go to the chelsea flea market to snick and pick thru junk/treasures. Well, I got there and I thought I must be out of my mind to have thought of this activity (felt awfully sorry for my sweet bf).
It wasn't alot of people around, but I was still surprised that there were some seller with truck full of old stuff scattered all over big tables or on the floor. My fingers were numb by the metals of the jeweleries as I scrutinize them carefully, then for $3 a piece I quickly picked out 2 colorful gold metal necklaces, and one multi-color jewel brooches. The seller then gave me a $1 discount...awesome.
After about 20 mins at the flea market we decided to find a place indoor to save our life. We then went to the vintage market place just opposite of the flea market, which is a 3 stories vintage markets full of vintage jewelery/accessories shops, funiture shops, and some clothings. It was definitely alot of fun but at the same time these places are more organized, they usually have a carefully curated collections and prices are much much higher (I fell in love with a set of "hugh red gem" collection- ear rings, bracelet, necklace and a brooch at $800+). I am currently into big gem stones accessories which was very much inspired by Marni and Marc Jacobs accessory collection. Then I found this really great yellow belt with big clear gem in the front for $25, it
was probably one of the cheaper thing in the store which I could afford, this nice old lady who owns the store was probably a socialite or debutante. She has such a great collection of accessories, some of them are custom made for her (such as the belt that I have purchased), and alot of them from European designers which are all very daring and unique. As she was packing up the yellow belt for me using this darling
turquoise box with a bow she whispers, "you know, I see this as art." I immediately gained great respect for this old lady and my little cute belt because she put such care and passion into every single of the items she owns.
Despite the dreadful weather, this was all in all a great lesson for me, because this time I found new level of vintage shopping experience. I am definitely going to explore more next time around the area. stay tuned! :)
 |
| 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. |
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...)
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.
