5 Great Coats/Jackets

Credit: brownsfashion.com

1. The first coat is by Marni, is collarless and has got a fabulous little skinny belt that adds some sparkle to the coat. Doesn’t this look fabulous? I think this will work so well over your little sweater-jeans combo that you just know you want to wear. Alternatively, this looks so beautiful as a dress on its own too.

2. This second coat is also by Marni, and features a collarless round neck, shearling cuffs and a buckle belt that pulls it in. What a great coat to be running around town with! This would look so fabulous over those super skinny Acne jeans and your Stella McCartney cashmere sweater tunic and those Lanvin heels you’ve kept at the bottom of your wardrobe, no?

3. This third navy coat is by one of my favourite designers – none other than Marc Jacobs (although we don’t know what was going through his mind when he came up with THOSE Louis Vuitton atrocities last year). This has got a large collar and lapels, and leads to a single button fastening. It’s called a Shadow Coat, and deserves its name as this is a fabulous 3-D coat. It’s a work of art! The sleeves are short and capped, making it so major over a simple dress of any bright neon colour that was featured heavily in Prada Spring/Summer 07 – you see, it’s good to mix and match along the seasons!

4. Be the centre of attraction with this red Lanvin jacket and a belt and bell shaped sleeves. It’s so difficult to carry these sleeve-shape off. Here’s a tip. Those who are tall and of a slimmer build will have a much easier time carrying this off. The skinny black patent belt sits high on the waist and and bell sleeves reach the elbow. How do you wear this, otherwise, difficult to wear jacket? Simple, I say. Wear it with a simple T-shirt inside – by The Row, super skinny jeans by Ksubi and those Christian Louboutin black patent pumps to match the red soles to your new jacket.

5. Less is more with Derek Lam’s Hounds tooth trim bolero. An easy way to keep a little warmer when wearing your super chic party Alaia dress with those fabulous black Jimmy Choos still tucked away in its purple box.

Stay tuned as I bring to you more ideas and ways to spice up your holiday wardrobe. Up next, probably a beauty count-down to Christmas!!

Lanvin – Military Cap

Credit: style.com

I love Lanvin. Alber Elbaz does all these beautiful clothes that’s often popping up in magazines, and sometimes, I just wonder where he gets all his ideas from. Magazine editors love his understated glamour and his clothes are always sold out, although they do seem under the radar.

While I was holidaying in Melbourne, I popped by Marais (a quaint little boutique in the city) and spotted a Lanvin military cap. I tried it on, and it fit perfectly, although it might be a tad too big. It’s made of silk and linen, so the finish of the cap is slightly shiny – in the most subtle way possible. Worn with oversized aviators, the combination exude that mysterious air.

I must admit that I love military caps, and have had quite a difficult time finding good and nice ones. This Lanvin one is both of superb quality and is right on trend. If you view Lanvin’s Fall 2007 Men’s collection, you’ll see that Alber put almost all his models in the military cap; also, the picture on the right features Lanvin’s Spring 2007 collection’s key look- with the military cap as well. Worn either slouchy or twisted (in an eccentric way) or plain upright, they just look so right. Look at the picture above..doesn’t the model exude that eccentric and glamourous air? I would totally wear that look, minus that hot pink high tops, obviously..but I’ll subsitute those high tops with my gorgeous new black calfskin Pierre Hardy boots.

The Lanvin cap that I bought is the navy one that the smiling model is wearing with the suit. Although I probably won’t be wearing a suit any time soon yet, I’ve integrated this cap into some outfits that will work nicely for summer. Just remind me that it’s NOT a good idea to wear such an expensive cap to the clubs.

Browns Fashion – Summer is here!

Credit: Browns

While browsing the Browns site, the picture that greeted me was the picture above. The first thing that came to mind was that “Wow, this girl’s quite pretty, but at the same time, looks very very familar.”. Guess what? Actually, this girl’s one of the SAs in Browns at South Molton Street!! For the outfit on the left, she’s wearing a Grevi hat, carrying a Chloe bag and in flat Golden Goose boots. Those are Chloe high-waisted shorts in the middle, and that’s Diane Von Furstenberg green dress on the left.

I like Browns very much in that they bring in the most unusual designers and they’ve got such interesting pieces that come in from time to time. This applies to the men’s collections as well. I remember seeing this most peculiar suit from Lanvin that had a chain link in place of a button, and that was just outstanding.

For those who don’t take fashion too seriously, love to be unique, unusual and find a different selection of designers, head over to brownsfashion.com to shop. That said, they’ve got so much more stuff in-store than online, as always…

Then and now.

I was at a fabulous English inspired furniture shop today and spotted a September 2002 Vogue on an eucalyptus wood coffee table. I was flipping through it, and what I saw in the editorials were the striking similarities with the current trends right now – with the only difference that the trends now are a little more polished and sleeker. Like the whole volume look that rocked fashion world for A/W 06/07. An article I saw was pretty interesting, and seeing that how current it actually looked, I thought that it might be worth a mention here.

3 looks that were rocked in 2002, and can be definitely be done today as well.

1. Glam
The look is revolved around the pencil skirt or fitted trousers, dramatically high heels, structured jackets, lush leather totes, and the overall look should be polished.
Think: Timeless croc heels, structured jackets, fitted bottoms, large bling-y jewellery (but not too many as you’ll look like a christmas tree), croc totes, large totes, Chanel 2.55s, Hermes Birkins, Hermes Kellys, Lanvin Kentucky totes, etc.
Look: Flawless complexion, lip liner + lipstick + lip gloss, full bronzer+blush sculpturing, mascara-ed lashes, clean eyeliner.

2. Grunge
It’s a little Olsen twins on a very good day, a little Lohan, a little Zoe-bot.
Think: Rick Owens leather jackets, premium hoodies from Puma (not the generic kind..the ones like from 96hours), too-cool-for-school T-shirts, skull/pistol charm necklaces, kitten heels, those Balenciaga boots, Rolling Stones T-shirts, giant YSL Muse bag in patent black, Balenciaga Weekender with gold studs.
Look: Natural complexion (tinted moisturizer with concealer where needed), mascara, lip gloss.

3. Goth
Think: Black black black. Lots of strong lines, play with volume, play with textures and fabrics. Black shirts with a super tight pair of black jeans, black pantent heels, etc.. For bags, think Marc Jacobs Stam, YSL Double bag, Miu Miu ruffled leather bags, Prada Gauffres.
Look: Smoky smoky smoky eye, natural lips (just a dab of lip balm), loads of attitude.

Some fashion trends keep resurfacing after a while… Let’s just hope stuff like too-short footless leggings will get out of fashion. And push that scruffy, no-effort-put-into-dressing look off the table.

P.S Feel free to leave comments! =)

Lanvin – Kentucky tote

Lush leather, minimal hardware and a huge celeb following. Does this make a good bag to tote around and to be seen carrying? I think so. The good thing about Lanvin bags is that it isn’t designer designer…meaning that it doesn’t exactly scream to the world that you’re carrying an expensive designer bag. Chances are that those with a good eye can tell if the bag is designer or not. With the super soft, supple leather and the brass hardware, this bag will be wonderful for everyday use and travel as well. Also, what isn’t seen here is actually a chain strap a la Marc’s Stam bag. Get it from departmental stores for US$1545.