Graduation Dresses I

Four years ago, I never thought 2008 would ever come, let alone June 2008 (my graduation!). I'm not ready for the real world yet (I may never be)! But now that it is fast looming ahead, I figured I should just try to concentrate on one thing for now- convocation! This four hour event (and the piece of paper I will receive at the end) is the culmination of four years of hard (most of the time anyway) work. This is the liminal event that will mark my entry into the real world! For such an important event, I think the PERFECT graduation dress is called for. I know, for most of the time it will be covered by the gown (that is what my mom said anyway), but come on, the gown is NOT exactly very flattering. These days, I've noticed that a lot of people like to take a few pictures with AND without their gowns on during graduation. The thought process began when the SS08 collections started filtering into the stores. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I figured that I'd just KNOW once I see it (kind of the same theory I have for men :P). The "moment" came back in March when a friend, HG and I decided to check out the new Marc by Marc Jacobs collection in the store. We ooh-ed and ahh-ed (very discretely of course) over the new collection and then I saw this dress and said, "Ooh, this dress is cute! Hey, maybe I can wear it for graduation!" It was just an offhanded comment, but the idea took root and when I went home, I thought more about it. I certainly didn't want to wear black to graduation- I'd be black enough in my completely black gown and black cap, with my black hair. Purple is not very conventional, but it IS my favourite color and this will definitely stand out from the crowd. Its youthful and it compliments my skin tone perfectly. The style is a bit of retro. I thought I wanted to look classic for my graduation (so my pictures would look timeless), but then my friend said that the whole point of pictures is to remember the event, and therefore I should also remember the fashion during the time of the event too. She had a point. And so, HG and I went back the store and tried it on. It looks great on me! After mulling over this for another month, I finally got it. The only thing is that the chest area (again!) needs a bit of altering. Since the dress is in HK right now and I'm in Chicago though and there's barely any time in between..........that is going to be a problem. I'll figure something out.
At the back of my mind though, I keep wondering if I should stick with something more conventionally graduation like after all. Read: something with a more classic design with a more pastel like, floral or white pattern. Naturally I thought of BCBG. They are currently having excellent sales too! Unfortunately though, the pickings this season are thin- especially in the store! I thought about this dress (left) that so resembles dresses from Marc by MJ and Juicy Couture from seasons past. A friend of mine wore the Marc by MJ version for her graduation and looked cute. And I did absolutely LOVED the Juicy Couture version. Unfortunately though, I thought this one was a bit too short and not very appropriate for the occasion. And so, I turned to this elegant, black and white floral print dress. I actually really like it. It is very proper, classic, feminine and not too black. Unfortunately, it ran out of my sizes online (its on sale!) and it isn't even available in stores anymore.
Then I stopped by the dress floor at Bloomies and tried on a bunch of dresses. I am in LOVE with these two dresses. The strapless one (left: from BCBG, though not available in store or online!),is actually absolutely PERFECT as a graduation dress. It is very simple, elegant and just super pretty. The little bubbly bottom, is just so and adds a bit of the "now" in. It fits perfectly on me too, even though I'm flat. I was hesitant at first though because it doesn't look quite day time and can look a bit prom-like. But today, when I went to "visit" it at Bloomies again, it was GONE. It was such a good sell, that it is SOLD OUT after 2 weeks on the rack and not even on sale (at $300)!!!! Of course, now that it is sold out, it only looks more and more perfect to me!!!! I cannot stop staring at the picture now and mentally hitting myself for not just getting it when I saw it!

The other dress (right) is from Plenty and it is THE most perfectly fitted dress. It is the epitomes of elegance and style. It is feminine and pretty, without exposing too much skin. It looks absolutely GORGEOUS on too. My ONLY problem with it, is the high neck. Nothing against high necks in general- just that it would poke out from under the V neck of my graduation gown, which would not be pretty. This would be THE perfect dress if I had a wedding to go to. Anyone want to invite me to a wedding some time soon?

Image Source: Net a Porter and BCBG

Forever 21 Summer Dresses

Now that SS08 is upon us (or at least it SHOULD be- I don't understand why it is still so cold!), I really want a very bright and colorful summer dress. Nothing too fancy. Just a simple, colorful jersey dress that I can wear casually to class or whatnot. Preferably a cheap one. What better place to look for one then Forever 21? And so, the other day, I went into the new store on Mag Mile (the one that replaced Virgin Records) to look for one.
At first, I was thrilled. They had lots of simple jersey dresses in a range of super bright colors at really cheap prices (i.e. $10-20)- exactly what I was looking for! So I grabbed as many as my arms can support and went to try them on in the changing room.

NONE of the dresses I tried fit me. I am not by all means, looking for something that fits me perfectly- just something that fits me decently. But still, NOTHING did. I tried on the two dresses above. I know that its a bit low cut, but I figured I can adjust it and maybe wear a lacey spaghetti strap underneath. Unfortunately the chest bit was too loose.
Ok, I can accept that maybe those dresses won't fit me because I have no chest and it will probably fit others better. But then I tried these two above, which really shouldn't require too much of a chest, and they STILL didn't fit. For the yellow one (left), I think the back was too loose. And for the red one (right), it was the chest again. Is it too much to ask for a simple (spaghetti strapped perhaps?), bright, cheap jersey dress that fits ok? How hard can it be?

Maybe, I am just deformed.

Image Source: Forever 21

In Vogue Book Giveaway - the Winners

Congratulations to the winners (-you know who you are). Winners will all receive a copy of In Vogue: The Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Fashion Magazine!

A few of our favourite quotes:

"I love Vogue because it's continuously given me new ideas, new inspiration, new fashion fantasies. Vogue is a constant resource for new ideas for me."

"whenever I need ideas I pick up an old Vogue from my shelf....the interesting colors and shapes and mish-mashes that Vogue puts together get me fired up and excited"

"Vogue is also reflective of our times and world issues. It was in Vogue years ago that I read about the French Muslim girl who shaved her head because she was not allowed to wear her hijab."

"One of my favorite fashion photos was in the September 2004 Vogue issue where two models, clad in fur, cupcakes in tow are shot waking out of Magnolia Bakery. What I particularly liked about this photo is Vogue’s ability to capture glamour yet present some ironies; models eating cupcakes? wearing fur in environmentally conscious times? "

"The sheer allure and fantastical world of fashion that Vogue brings to me is unparalleled by many standards. Vogue is to me, a window into fantasies of beauty; a reason to be snobbishly proud of my love for fashion and the arts."

"bold FASHION yet veiled statements all the while visually encapsulating"

Too Much Skin

Now that the weather is finally warmer, everyone has been taking their summer dresses out for a stroll in the sun. And its nice. Adds a lot more color and shape to the monotonous winter hues in the streets.
Unfortunately for me though, I've also been seeing a lot of skin. Too much skin. Maybe I am just conservative, but it really is not a pretty sight. A girl in class the other day was wearing a thin cotton summer dress with a very low v, very similar to the one shown above from UO. And for the three hour duration of the class, I could NOT stop staring at her chest! I am not being perverted here, its more like how people are drawn to look at a car wreck even though they know its going to be gruesome. The dress was just so LOW, it looked like her chest was going to spill out any minute with one of her wild gestures- and I don't think she was wearing a bra!

Personally I don't really have this problem because a) my chest is non existent b) I don't have a dress like that because I think it is too low cut, it doesn't fit me well and there is not a bra I can think of that will work (and going bra-less feels weird) c) even if I DO have such a dress, I'd probably wear something like a laced spaghetti strap underneath. Not that I am saying there is anything wrong with a dress of this cut. It can be very flattering on the right body shape. What I AM trying to say is that should you be wearing one PLEASE be aware not to expose too much skin. I don't mean to be a prude, but it is just not sexy or in any way aesthetically pleasing. Take in the straps. Wear something underneath. Anything.

And while we are on the subject of over exposure, if your summer dress happens to be super sheer like the one above, please remember to wear a slip or under-skirt underneath. We don't need to know what underwear you are wearing or the shape of your legs under the dress.

Image Source: Urban Outfitters

ANTM Cycle 10- Spoiler!

Its hard to believe that it has already been 10 cycles, but it has. And frankly, I'm surprised I still watch it. It used to be exciting and fun. But after 10 cycles, it has become repetitive and tame. Its hard to keep it fresh. We all expect extreme makeovers, awesome custom designed houses, cool photo shoots, fabulous prizes and exotic destinations. I guess its just habit and for lack of anything better to watch. So yes, spoiler alert.
After ten rounds, the talent pool in America must be getting thin, because I swear the quality of the girls just seem to get worse. One girl, Kimberly, managed to make it into the house and ended up quitting during the first elimination because she doesn't get the whole designer thing and wasn't interested in fashion.... um hello, wrong industry? It was unbelievable. And really, how can ALL the girls screw up their Covergirl commercial in Italian when 9 seasons of girls before them have done it, if not perfectly, at least passably? Looking pass the comparison though, it was not a bad show. There was just enough drama between the girls to keep it interesting (with alarm clock episodes, passport dramas and lots of ganging up) and the photo shoots continue to be fun to watch. And Rome was nice. I want to go around in a segway too! But is it just me, or did they already go to Rome? Didn't they do a photoshoot at the Colosseum once, in the season where Shandi was in and she had that whole thing with the Italian guys?

They made an effort to spice things up though- and it was good. They got rid of the legendary style icon, Twiggy and replaced her with the legendary supermodel, Paulina Porizkova (even though I've not heard of her until now). It was a good move. She has Twiggy's grace and elegance but she also has Janice Dickenson's bluntness. It was hilarious (and so true) when she told Dominique that she looked like a transvestite. Plus, I was SUPER SUPER SUPER impressed that Versace deemed them worthy enough to sponsor. It is not quite an official Versace show, with dresses from last season, but its still quite a step up for ANTM.
Behold the newest America's Next Top Model- Whitney a *gasp* plus size model! I do think that it is about time a plus size model won and Whitney is not a bad choice. She is very gorgeous and well proportioned. And out of all the plus size models who have ever graced this show, she is the most confident about her full size figure and never had those rather annoying "oh no, I feel so depressed because I feel so fat compared to the other girls here" moments. Also, she did have the best Covergirl shot and did a good job on the runway (comparatively anyway, her walk was a bit too jaunty for my taste).
As much as I applaud them for finally choosing a plus size model to win though, I honestly didn't think Whitney deserved to win. Besides the last haul, she did not consistently do a good job. In fact, I thought she was quite mediocre and I really don't see any improvement in her photos. Does her model face not look the same towards the end of the competition (right) as she did at the beginning (left)? I also did not see how her personality got any less fake (one of the judges biggest criticism of her- and I agree) in the end either.
I thought Anya (who came in second) deserved to win much more. Her accent was a bit annoying at first, but in the end, I grew to really like her personality, its always very optimistic and infectious. She also consistently did a good job, winning loads of competitions, and taking really great model-y photos (very effortlessly too!). Her only downfall was her Covergirl photo and her runway walk, which was really not that great. Talk about bad timing.
Some of her more amazing shots. On a side note, I thought the idea to take photos underneath a plastic screen with water was really stupid. You can hardly see the model. They just look like blurry blobs. What's the point? And the photo shoot with the raw meat was just really disgusting. I'm not even going to post a picture of that.
Who goes into ANTM without a passport anyway, knowing that they will need to travel abroad? I was surprised she wasn't eliminated just for that. Fatima had her moments, and I do admire her for going through so much in her life (being a refuge and having underwent genital mutilation and all- talk about too much information!). But most of the time, I thought she played the victim a bit too much and she reminded me a bit of that very vacant looking model from last season (Ebony?). Admittedly, she does look remarkably like Iman and did improve in the competition. But looking at her last photo shoot, where she got extra frames (right), she didn't improve quite enough....
I was surprised Dominique (the transvestite), made it so far in the competition. That girl in the competition (remember Jade?), the only thing going for her is that she REALLY wanted to win and she tried REALLY hard. She really did improve a lot throughout the competition. This last photo of her (right) actually looks cool. But she really didn't have much talent. Even after the makeover, she looked old and unmodel-like. She can't dress for her life. And she is kind of strange with her alarm clock thing and habit of referring herself in the third person.
Some of my favourite girls were Katarzyna (left) and Lauren (right in green). I did not find Katarzyna boring and lacking in personality at all. I thought she was really likeable and really pretty! And as for Lauren, she really did take lovely photos. I kept on waiting for her to make a miraculous improvement on her absolutely tragic runway walk, but it just never happened. Doesn't she looks SO cute in that green coat in the jet setting photo shoot? She is the only one that pops out for me in this picture.

Amis was crazy. Aimee had a great makeover. She looked lovely with her straight bangs and auburn hair color. I don't usually comment negatively on people's looks because I know that beauty is supposed to be in the eye of the beholder and all that, but did anyone else thought Marvita looked really scary and wondered how she ever made it onto the show at all? No matter what angle I look at her, I just don't see it. As for the rest of the girls.... they were not terribly memorable. I think I have the show figured out now though. Up until the last four girls, it was really obvious at the beginning of each episode which girl is going to be eliminated, because they'd focus more on them at the start about their struggles and all. When Amiee got eliminated they focused on her struggled with being too young. When Katarzyna went off, they emphasized how she had no personality.

I wonder what they will do next time......they can have a competition for America's Next SUPER Model soon and have all the current "Top" models compete!

Image Source: CW

A Light Eye Cream

I started using eye moisturiser when I first started using skincare. It's always been an important part of my skincare regime since the eye area seems like the first area that aging can be seen obviously. I mention this because I know plenty of girls who don't use eye moisturiser. (Whenever I find out, I try to encourage them to start using eye moisturiser, sometimes even physically sampling and promoting eye creams at counters to them, but almost no one ever listens to me!) Since I have combination/ slightly oily skin, I always stick to oil-free eye gels. The two that I used a lot were by ~H2O+ and Laneige.

Anyways, ever since obvious fine lines have started to appear under my eyes last year, I have started to wonder whether my eye moisturiser wasn't enough. Logically, I know I am simply aging and have seriously bad sleeping habits. But it really hit home last summer, when the salesladies at various beauty counters stopped recommending me water-based eye moisturiser and started recommending me the slightly heavier creams. So it was definitely time for me to 'up' my eye moisturiser from eye gels to light eye creams.

Thankfully a year ago, BG and her friend gave me a thank you gift -Caudalie Contour Cream Eyes and Lips. They were spending a term in Paris back then and said Caudalie products are cheaper and worth it there. So last fall (07), I started to use it and I really liked it! It was a great eye cream in that it was just what I was looking for: it was not just another water-based moisturiser since it was not oil-free, but it was light -it didn't feel sticky or thick and most importantly, didn't clog up the pores around the eye area. To be honest, I have no idea whether it actually helped with fine lines or other eye are problems, but it's not like I can tell with other eye products either, so I've decided to be satisfied with any decent preventive eye cream.

My tube of Caudalie is about to be used up and now I'm in search for my next light eye cream. Notice that I keep on emphasising 'light'. There are simply too many eye creams out there that are too heavy for my combination skin.

The description of Clinique's All About Eyes sounds like it's just what I'm looking for. But the reviews over at Makeup Alley make it seem mediocre, and All About Eyes Rich sounds too heavy. Plus I'm hesistent with Clinique products because I've tried a few out (like Moisture Surge) two years back, but I have to say I wasn't impressed with any of the products.

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avacado is another candidate. I've already tried it out from samples and well, I'm not too sure what to think about it. It's certainly not a very heavy eye cream so in that aspect, it should fit my criteria, but I think it's just slightly too heavy. And after testing it out for a few weeks, it didn't seem very moisturising.

If you know any good ones, please recommend me a light eye cream! I need to buy a new one really soon!

Image Credits: http://www.h2oplus.com/, http://www.laneige.com/, http://www.kiehls.com/, http://www.clinique.com/, http://www.caudalie.com/

Cravat Shirt

The other week during the Bloomies sale, I was struck by a need to buy something- anything- just to take advantage of the "40% on top of sale price" discount. Late for dinner and pressed for time, I randomly grabbed the first thing that caught my eye in my size: this black top with a white cravat from the Bloomies house brand, Aqua (below left). I figured if I really didn't like it I can always return it later.
Ever since I have been wavering between love and hate. On the love side, the cravat detail is really cute and very retro French chic (as HG describes it). And I imagine it would look really cute peeking from under a blazer. It doesn't look too flattering on the hanger, but it doesn't look to bad on me. On the hate side, the contrast is a bit too sharp and on first impression, the cravat looks a little bib-like and over all looks a bit waitressy (at least, that was the first reaction of one of my friends upon seeing it). Though the cravat does seem to work on this Isaac Mizrahi dress (right) making it look feminine and sophisticated.........
Another thing is that I can't decide how I'd wear it. I know I said it'll look cute from under a blazer, but if I pair it with black pants, it will look work-like, like the Valentino Red dress shirt here (right), which is not entirely bad, but if I wore it with a black blazer, I'd look very black ....... Casually I could try it with jeans like with the Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt above (left). I actually tried it with my khaki skinny jeans the other day, but it looked a bit odd. Maybe blue jeans? A skirts? Maybe I just don't know how to rock the retro French look.........I should really stop thinking so much about a $40 top.

But what do you reckon? Is this a keeper or not?

Image Source: Saks and Net a Porter