Flared Jeans

For the past year, I've been imagining myself in a pair of plain, black, flared jeans and a simple top. For one thing, flared jeans, in my mind, form part of the going-to-college image. Another thing is, even though I've been favouring the long top and straight/ skinny jeans look in the last year or two, I've got short tops that just don't go well with skinny jeans.

But apparently, finding a pair of such simple jeans was a lot harder than I thought. I visited Barney's, Saks and Neiman Marcus near Rodeo Drive and hardly found any bootcut jeans available -All they had were skinny or high waisted, wide-legged jeans.

So I lowered my expectations and decided that I would even settle for a pair of washed, boot-cut jeans (like the Citizens of Humanity ones above.) In San Francisco, even though the new Bloomingdale's offered a wider selection of jeans, I still couldn't find my dream pair. Luckily, one of you readers suggested I go to the Blues Jean Bar -I loved it there! (Thanks for suggesting I go there btw.) You tell the saleslady what you're looking for and the size and they just pull out a few choices from their shelves. Normally I would hate a store that doesn't organise its clothes by brand names, but this is one exception.

One of the saleslady's recommendation was the new J Brand's Lovestory jeans, (technically, low-rise bell-bottom jeans.) The saleslady wasn't sure about them since they looked more like pants than jeans, but I tried them on and love them! The material is really elastic and they're tight on top and flares out at the knees, so they're comfortable, fits well and look good. If you haven't worn a pair of flared jeans in a while, go try a pair on! It's such a refreshing feeling, (and perhaps slightly odd since it's been awhile.) (I found out later that Kate Moss supposedly wore them in blue recently.)

The truth is, finding jeans that match what you want isn't actually that difficult -just go onto www.shopbop.com. But I'm one of those careful people and I wouldn't buy jeans unless I've tried them on, meaning that I'm limited to the choices sold in shops. Anyways, anyone else been trying on flared jeans again recently? And I don't mean bootcut, I mean flared!

Image credit: www.eluxury.com, http://www.shopbop.com/

Halloween on the Runway

I've never been much of a dress up for Halloween kind of girl. The last time I did it, I bought a witch hat and put it with the outfit I was wearing- which was a black dress and a denim jacket. Not very inspiring. But since this is my last year of college, I feel like this is my last chance to go all out for Halloween and dress up crazy and everything. With that, I've started to think of what I want to dress up as for Halloween. I don't want to be boring Halloween cliche after all and go as a playboy bunny or anything (not that I know where I am going, but thats beside the point). And so, I've decided to draw inspiration from the most creative and trendy of them all- the fashion designers. After all, there is not reason not to be fashionable on Halloween! The first designer I thought of was naturally John Galliano who loves to dress up so much himself. And luckily for us, his FW07 collection was all about costumes (isn't it always?). Here are two I pulled out: the viking look and what I would like to call, dressing up like a rose look. The viking look here is all about the hair and the rose look is pretty much just one big layered dress- oh and the make-up. Don't forget the scary red make-up. For the most part, there are lots of room for you to also look pretty in. And remember to have fun with the color of your stockings! Halloween is THE time you are allowed to be mismatched! For something more feminine and sophisticated, draw from the Dior Haute Couture show, which to me looks Venetian inspired (first two anyway). Love the cute clowns outfit. And I LOVE the askewed masks. I am currently kicking myself for leaving my Venetian mask at home sitting on my Koala bear..... Oh and there is also this blue look, which for me is in between statue of liberty (the hat, one shoulder strap and pose) and a water nymph (blue flowy skirt). Next on my list for creative talents is Alexander MacQueen. From his FW07 collection, we have the supposedly witch look (left) though to me its more like a vampire look, and the Egyptian Cleopatra look (right). Hmm... I may consider the vampire look.... that would give me a good excuse for very fun make up :P Inspirations from the latest SS08 runway. We have MacQueen again with this bird look. If you must be an animal, at least do so fashionably right? And then there is Gorgio Armani. This is actually my favourite look so far. With those pants, its an almost gypsy/genie look. And probably this is the most economical and fashionable to achieve too! Anything gypsy pants you buy may be considered an investment for next season! Back onto the Haute Coutures, Jean Paul Gaultier has the royalty look. Now all you got to decide is whether to be an western royalty or sultan. A chance to buy something rich, gold and shiny. More from the FW07 runway, we have Balenciaga with the folk people look and Dior with the farming/peasant in expensive clothes look. Any attempt at folk can be considered an investment this season (nice scarf?). And as for the farming/peasant in expensive clothes look- its all in the hat. These two looks can really be considered just looking fashionable. And lastly, try the space age neon look. This is your chance to wear bright colors all over without people wondering what you are thinking!

Image Source: Style.com

Velvet Torch

All summer long, HG and I have been wondering- where does one go to buy nice cheap but chic dresses to go with all the dress trends that have been so popular recently. I mean, dresses aren't quite the cheapest thing on the menu.
So the other day when I was shopping at Nordstrom on my way to pick up a baby gift, I passed by the Juniors section and saw a number of cute dresses. Intrigued I took a closer look- and found some more really cute looking dresses at a REALLY cheap price ($50's)! Now I know the quality and cutting might not be the same, but since I have a slight frame anyway, I picked up a bunch and gave them a try- and was impressed to find that the fit was quite good- better than Forever 21! After much debating and taking photos of myself in the changing room (the lighting is so bad though), I finally settled on this silver shift dress. I thought it was simple and chic, perfect for dinner and a night out! I spent the longest time trying to decide between silver and gold too. I finally decided on silver because I thought it contrasted with my pale skin tone better and would match my grey boot, but now that I'm home I'm not too sure.....thoughts?
Anyway, that dress was by this brand called Velvet Torch. With a little googling, I found the rest of the collection on the Nordstrom website and thought- wow, not bad at all! These two are my favourite for fall. The black one with the bell sleeves is super cute. And the grey check one is prim and ladylike, with the neckline adding some fun to it.
Cute eyelet dresses. Though these were probably better for summer.
I love the simple cutting of the plain black dress (left). Its great for....all day. And the grey/black dress (right) is just the thing to wear going out during the day.
And then there are these adorable printed dresses.

Sigh, these are so cute! I can't wait to go back when it goes on sale and buy some more. Who knew shopping in the Juniors section could be so fruitful?

Image Source: Nordstrom