fashion food culture life*

Bye

2007-07-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

I wanted to tell everyone that this will probably be the end of my blog for a while. I'm starting law school in a few weeks and I don't think I will have the time I would like to keep this up. I've had the best time writing this and will definitely keep reading and commenting on everyone else's blogs (law school could never stop me from doing that. Plus a girl still needs her procrastination tools).

Thank you so much to everyone who read my blog and commented, I really did have so much fun writing, sharing and communicating with everyone.

-Lisa

I've been tagged!

2007-06-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

I dearly dearly apologize my dear readers for not having written a blog in SO long. I promise I'll be better, I've just been very busy after coming home from Taiwan and getting ready for law school, cleaning up my room, getting rid of loads of clothes to make room for the new ones, etc. Who knew things like that take FOREVER.

So the lovely Felice at Genuine Inspiration tagged me. Here are the rules.

Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to then report this on their own blog with their 7 things as well as these rules. They then need to tag 7 others and list their names on their blog. They are also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog.

Here it goes...

7 Things you wish you didn't know about me.

1. I don't play sports but I love sports movies.
2. I read cheesy romance novels. Not ones with Fabio on the cover but Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, Suzanne Brockmann types. They're so fun. Okay, I've read a couple with Fabio on the cover.
3. I always ask for my birthday present/x-mas presents months ahead of time because I find something I just have to have.
4. I only learned how to ride a bike a year ago. I'm still pretty bad at it.
5. I like sci-fi movies/tv shows.
6. I have a tattoo of my last name in Chinese on my left inner ankle.
7. My older sisters are twins.

and I taaggg . .
Shopping Nerd
Hungry in Taipei
Poetic and Chic
discotheque confusion
That's Chic

I can't think of anyone else since so many lovely bloggers have already been tagged. This thing sure has gotten around fast!

I love you google

2007-05-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

The geniuses at google came up with something that is perfect for blog readers. When I'm procrastinating I have a tendency to check blogs all the time to see if my favorite bloggers have updated their blogs. But now, the wonderful people at google have taken care of that for me. They have created Google Reader. All of you have to do is input your favorite blog sites and it'll tell you when they have new entries. It doesn't e-mail you and fill up your mailbox, you have to have gmail (best e-mail service ever!) and specifically click the reader to check. Then this window pops up and has all the blogs you subscribe to on the left with the blogs that have updated in bold, with the number of new entries as well. In the middle it has the name of the blogs and the first couple lines of the new entry. This is what it looks like.

You can also look at the entry directly through Google Reader (you can't comment though). It does makes it easier but you don't get to see the fancy background. If you want to go directly to the blog just click on the title on top.

Part VIII of Travels: Stores

2007-05-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

Of course there are hundreds of stores in Japan but these two caught my eye and they're pretty opposite ends of the spectrum. Hirofu and Uniqlo.

The first is called Hirofu which basically looks like an Hermes copycat. They even stamp a big H (in the same font as Hermes) on the bottom of their bags. I really like the layout of the store with all the colors arranged together (notice the orange, Hermes' signature color). The items are actually pretty plain but the leather quality is fantastic. I think the purses run from $500 and above, mostly $1000 and up.

Now on to my FAVORITE store I found in Japan, Uniqlo. It was hard for me to shop in Japan because the women there are TINY and I am, um, not. When I say tiny I mean Nicole Richie size. For example, stores carry a lot of size 20-22 jeans because that's what people wear there. I've never even seen a size 20 -22 in the US. But anyways, Uniqlo had lots of different sizes so it was easier to shop. They're like a way cooler version of Gap. Their clothes are stylish, really good quality and very reasonably priced. Their cashmere sweaters are under $100 and fantastic quality. They also have high fashion designers design lines for them. When I was there it was Lutz and Patmos but Phillip Lim had a line there in April and Alice Roi has a line there right now. I'm so jealous I can't check out the Phillip Lim line.

Here's a picture of the Lutz and Patmos line.

Uniqlo just opened a store in New York City on Broadway, hopefully they'll come to LA soon!

Only in Asia?

2007-05-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

So I'm in Taipei right now and I've started noticing this commercial that is always playing for new contacts called Acuvue Define. I'm pretty sure that they are only on sale in Asia because when I looked online they weren't on the American Acuvue website. Here is Acuvue's description:

"Acuvue Define is the 1st daily disposable designed to enhance the beauty of the eyes in a subtle and natural way. It makes the eyes look bigger, brighter and more beautiful so naturally that nobody will know your secret. It features a unique and defined circular ring that enhances and darkens the iris (the coloured part of the eye) thereby making the eyes bigger, brighter, and better defined. Its every woman's secret to having more beautiful eyes naturally."

Here are the example pictures and descriptions from the website. Do you think the women look better with the contacts?
"Dark limbal ring enhances and defines the iris for an elegant look"

"Delicate brown spokes enhance the natural pattern of the iris for a livelier look"

On the bottom of the website it says:

With the average Asian Horizontal Visible Iris Diameter being 11.2mm*, hence the outer diameter of 1•DAY ACUVUE® DEFINE™ was designed to enlarge the eyes.

*Average diameter of Asian Eye (Horizontal Visible Iris Diameter) Data file, J&J Vision Care, 2005

I really don't know how I feel about this. In Asia, eyelid surgery to create double eyelids to make your eyes look bigger is very popular. I think that is why Acuvue makes a point to say that these contacts make your eyes look bigger "naturally." Eyelid tape is also very popular because it creates a fold and has the same effect. Even though Asian people naturally have smaller eyes, is it the Western ideal of beauty that is making them (and me also, since I'm Asian American) feel that we need our eyes to be bigger? I'm not gonna lie, when I get my make up done I always ask what can I do to make my eyes look bigger. It's also one of the things I'm most self-conscious about.

These contacts are only sold in Asia, is that because Acuvue thinks that Asian woman are the only ones who want their eyes to look bigger? Also, I always thought that if your irises look really big, won't that end up making your eyes look smaller because the irises are too big for your eyes? These are mostly rhetorical questions, do any of you wear these contacts, do they work? This is a very controversial subject and I still don't really know how I feel about it. However, for some reason I find these contacts kind of disturbing. What are your thoughts on the eyelid surgery issue?

Part VII of Travels: East vs. West

2007-05-07T05:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, I didn't even realize it until I checked my stats and realized it's been a while! Anyways, back to my travels. One of the greatest things about Japan is how diverse it is. Tokyo is a modern crazy busy city while there are other rural areas that are still very traditional and old school. My hotel experience is a perfect example of that.

"West" (even though Asia is west of Los Angeles and not the East, we'll call the more Americanized modern hotel "West")

In Kyoto I stayed at the Hyatt Regency, a beautiful, new and pretty modern hotel (especially for a city like Kyoto which is more historical and less modern than Tokyo).

I loved this room, it has beautiful amenities and also a hint of the "east" with the Japanese cloth above the headboard.

"East"/Traditional

On the way from Kyoto to Tokyo we stopped by an Onsen for a day and night. Onsens are Japanese hot springs and are very popular in Japan. Many hotels are are built around these hot springs where the entire experience is centered around soaking in the natural hot spring which is supposed to be very good for you (something about opening the pores and sulfur, etc . .). The hotel I stayed out was very beautiful and relaxing.

The hotel room does not have a bed, it's a large room where during the day there is a table a few chairs and at night they move everything and put down futons. You also eat in the same room on the table. We had this very cute lovely lady who took care of us and brought in the food, changed the beds etc . . (In Japan you don't tip either, we gave her a tip and she used it to buy me a present).

This is what it looked like when we slept.

You also eat in the room (food is included in the price) and it is a wonderful meal that is several courses. This is only dinner!

Here's breakfast

Pretty different from Western hotels huh?

Here is a picture of one of the hot springs, most hotels have more than one pool. The hot springs are HOT, hence the name, and yes, you don't wear any clothes in them. I could only soak for about 15 minutes at time before I had to go rinse off with some cold water.

At the Onsen you also don't wear regular clothes, they provide you with Japanese style robes which is what you wear all the time. They are very comfortable and it's pretty awesome to basically spend 2 days in your robe. You even get a little jacket (right).

Here is the outfit for men.

Instead of shoes they give you slippers with special socks to fit specially into them .

Pretty cool huh?

Shopaholic and Baby

2007-04-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella is a fun entertaining read, especially for anyone who loves to shop or is interested in fashion (I also liked her book Can You Keep a Secret?) I really loved the first three and i thought the forth one was okay. I was excited to see the fifth installment of the book, Shopaholic and Baby. Honestly, I have to say I was pretty disappointed. Amazon.com reviewers have given it 4.5 stars and both Publisher's Weekly and Booklist gave it a good review, so maybe I'm in the minority here but I thought the main character, Becki Brandon (nee Bloomwood as she says) has gotten incredibly annoying. While the ridiculous situations she gets herself into used to be funny and endearing, this time they just seem embarrassing. Maybe it's because I've grown out of my chick-lit phase or maybe by the 5th book a character can start to get on your nerves. I just feel like she hasn't grown whatsoever, especially now with a baby on the way. Also, I wish Kinsella would have made her a little more intelligent. It would make it more believable that her husband, Luke Brandon, who is a PR executive and educated, intelligent, etc . . would marry her. At one point (spoiler alert!) a character asks Brandon why he married this airhead and for a second the character is stumped and honestly, so was I. Nevertheless, the book is funny at times and a very very fast read so even though I didn't like it, maybe you'll agree with the rest of the amazon.com reviewers. If you have read it, what did you think?

On a separate note, I just read The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and absolutely loved it. I would try to read it before the movie comes out next year with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams.

Gap Update

2007-04-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite blogs, iamfashion just did an entry about the May 2006 issue of Vogue where the feature is "The World's Next Top Models" who are Lily Donaldson, Hilary Rhoda, Doutzen Kroes, Sasha Pivovarova, Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Jessica Stam, Chanel Iman, Coco Rocha and Agyness Deyn. But look what they're all wearing, Gap's limited edition shirts that I just posted on. I must say, I'm very impressed by how fashionable these shirts look on the models, but of course, it's Vogue (who really could make a plastic bag look like couture, wait, have they done that?) and the shirts are on incredible models. They made the styles I thought looked plain seem like couture. Either way, I think it's pretty cool to see something from Gap on the cover of Vogue. I'll bet Gap paid an arm and a leg for the publicity.

Whoa Gap!

2007-04-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

Darn I wish i was in the US right now to check out these collections by Gap. Gap has decided to jump on the designer train (like Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld for Gap, Paul and Joe, Proenza Schouler, Luella Bartley etc . . for Target) and they have chosen this year's winners of the 2006 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Doo.Ri, Rodarte and Thakoon to design a few pieces ranging only from $66-$88. I was upset that when Gap had Roland Mouret design a collection it was only available in London but I think we Americans are getting a good deal with 3 awesome designers here. You can buy the collection in stores or online here. Looking at the items more closely I like them, but I'm not in love with them. I don't have that OH MY GOD I MUST OWN THIS feeling for any of them. Maybe because they're a little plain and while very cool takes on the plain white shirt Gap is so well known for, they're not as unique as I thought they would be. However, that could just be the pictures, maybe when you try them on they look really cool and different. Sizes are going quick online so hurry and buy them if you want some! Here's are all the pieces that are available online (and I'm assuming the entire collection in general).

Doo Ri

On the left we have the Belted Shirtdress for $88 which I like but I think it's wee bit plain, looks like something the regular Gap designers would have done. On the right is the Scarf Shirt for $68.00. Again, it's cute but looks likes something I've seen before.

I like this Pleated Shirt for $68.00 much more. I think the back is really cool. There's only Large in this left online as well.
Surprisingly her stuff was my least favorite of the group even though I love her other clothes I've seen. I just think they don't look all the special.

Thakoon

Here is the Tie Shirt for $88. I think one is actually really cool, If you look more closetly there's a lot of detailing on the front. I also love the bell sleeves and the pleating in the back.

On the left is the Tied Shirt Dress for $78.00. I like how it's loose fitting and looks like you threw on your significant other's dress shirt, makes it a little sexy. I bet it would look good over a pair of jeans too (yes i still love the dresses/long shirts over jeans look). On the right is the Petal Shirt Dress for $88.00. Definitely much riskier and more what I expected from the collections. Would look like crap on me but I can imagine it look great on others.

Rodarte

On the left is the Trapeze Top for $68.00. I like it, but I have a feeling it might not look great on. On the right is the Bow Blouse for $78. I really like this shirt and the detailing. I would probably look pregnant though if I wore it. There's only Larges and XL's left online for these two.

What do you think of the collection? Are you gonna go out and buy some? If any of you go and try these on please comment, I'd love to know what they look like on.

All photos from gap.com

Part VI of Travels: Architecture of Shopping

2007-04-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

Someone told me that the Prada building in Tokyo was pretty cool so I made a special point to go. Prada has started this thing where the architecture of their flagship stores are just as important as the clothes. I know that the LA and New York City stores are pretty cool and so is the Tokyo store. The Tokyo location was designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron. The store is like 6 stores high and pretty insane.

This looks like a shower head but there's actually a TV in there. They're all over the store too.

Next to the Prada store there is this complex that has Cartier, Omega, Chloe and a couple other stores. It's pretty cool with all the wood and glass.
You also can't tell how many floors and stores there are in the place which I like.

The Christian Dior store was really pretty too, especially at night.

I don't think you can tell but there's a giant TV playing Dior's runway shows when you first walk into the store.

These buildings make shopping so much more interesting.

Part V of Travels: Celebrity Endorsements

2007-04-08T05:28:00.000-07:00

Celebrity endorsements are nothing new to us in America but in Japan it's a whole other ballgame. I've heard how many celebrities endorse products in Japan but when I went I was still pretty surprised by how many "A-list" celebrities are selling stuff there. What are your opinions on celebrity endorsements? I don't mind them, although having my favorite celebrity be a spokesmodel for something doesn't make me want to buy it anymore. We all know they probably didn't use that product before they were being paid millions of dollars to pretend they do. Cough, P. Diddy/Jessica Simpson/Lindsay Lohan for Proactiv, cough.

I'm used to seeing Scarlett Johansson as the face of Louis Vuitton and I think she does a fantastic job at it. However, I was pretty surprised to see her as the spokesperson for this random Japanese coffee brand. Sorry the pictures aren't great, can you tell this is her in the commercial?

Here is Jennifer Lopez selling some shampoo.

I know of Samantha Thavasa only because I heard how Nicky Hilton designed a line of purses for her (ugh, I hate the Hiltons, but I digress). It says Samantha Thavasa New York but have you ever seen her purses in the US? SOOO many brands in Asia, Europe, etc . .put New York or Los Angeles in their names but they don't sell them in the US!! But that's a topic for a different entry. Anyways, apparently a bunch of celebrities design purses for this brand and are on their billboards. If you check out their website you can see better pictures and the products. Honestly, I didn't really like their products very much, it was a little too Clarie's/Forever 21 at 10 times the price. They wouldn't let me take pictures of the store inside so I did my best.

Here's the Hilton sisters and Penelope Cruz and her sister.

We also have Victoria Beckham and Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova.

Here's the outside of the store.

Here we have Brad Pitt and Cameran Diaz selling cell phones for a company called SoftBank. This place really loves Cameran Diaz, she's all over their buildings.

This is a kind of cool and creative way to do it. It looks like a bunch of skateboards.

They're also in commercials. I couldn't find Brad Pitt's but here's Cameran Diaz's for your viewing pleasure. It's weird how they made her a suburban mom since that is not her movie or celebrity image at all.

SoftBank does have some pretty cool phones in SO many different colors. This was my favorite, the screen goes from horizontal to vertical!

Part IV of Travels: Cool Sites

2007-04-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

I went to so many different sites that there's no way to write about them all. So here are a few of my favorite sites.

I'd been to France before but never got a chance to go to Versailles. This time I made a point to go and was not disappointed. After seeing Marie Antoinette I knew that I could not miss out on seeing this absolutely beautiful place. Just for fun I've taken some stills from the film and put them next to my own pictures.

This is the front of the castle where the scene at the beginning of the movie where she first comes to court is filmed. Also, the screencap below is towards the end where the people are protesting and she comes outside and lays her head down. This front of the castle is so beautiful.

The gardens are beautiful, and huge! The sheer massive amount of land Versailles is on is pretty crazy.

After I left Versailles I thought, "I really want to watch Marie Antoinette again." Guess what was playing on the plane ride home? Marie Antoinette, I think it was fate.

One of the coolest places (or weirdest/scariest, depends on your taste) was the Kostnice Ossuary (aka Bone Church) in Kutna Hora, about 40 minutes outside of Prague. I had no idea this was even here until I met some Australians who told me about it and I'm so glad I did. It's a room in a church made out of over 40,000 human bones, yup, HUMAN FREAKING BONES. In 1278 the Cistercian abbot of Sedlec, Henry, traveled to Palestine and the ‘Holy Land’, bringing home a sample of earth which he sprinkled on the grounds. This caused the grounds to be considered sacred and as a result, lots of people wanted to be buried there. After the Black Death spread throughout Europe, there were 30,000 bodies that all wanted to be placed on these sacred grounds, so they um, got creative.

The chandelier is made out of every human bone in the body.

The Park Hyatt in Tokyo is where Lost in Translation was filmed. Even though it's just a hotel I absolutely loved it. I didn't stay there but made a point to go see it. Sofia Coppola said she chose to film the movie there because it felt like a floating sanctuary in an incredibly chaotic city, and I couldn't agree more. The reason it seems so serene is because the hotel begins on the 41st floor. The lobby, etc . . are all 40 stories above Tokyo and every room has a fantastic view of the city. The combination of black granite everywhere, incredible sweeping views of Toyko and quiet atmosphere, combine creating this odd feeling of calm.

My stupid camera ran out of battery so i couldn't take pictures of the incredible view but check out the website to see more. If you're even in Tokyo and can afford, definitely stay here! Funny enough, Lost in Translation was playing at on TV when i was in Tokyo. It's been a trip of Sofia Coppola movies.

Next up: Japan! Get ready for lots and lots of posts about it.

Part III of Travels: Museums

2007-03-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

I promise I'm getting to the coolest part of my travels (at least blogwise) Japan soon, but I'm doing things chrnologically so here's some more London. I absolutely LOVE going to museums and London has some of the best of them.

The Victoria and Albert Museum is a wonderful museum that is pretty unique. It has sculptures and paintings like all muesums but it also has a lot of textiles and different exhibits about objects used in everyday life. The V and A is actually where the Kylie Minogue clothing exhibit is, it was sold out though. It also does not focus on eastern or western culture, it has everything from Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Middle Eastern items to English, French and European items. Apparently it has one of the largest collections of Indian art outside of India. The museum is HUGE, miles long apparently so there's so much to see. They were having an exhibit on fashion when I was there and here are some of the highlights.

They have an exhibit on the clothing which i just had to share. Here is a part of the exhibit on the history of dresses. I really like the last 2, they're so pretty.

Yes, a Juicy sweatsuit is in a museum. A pink one of of course.

This is a dress made out of 20some bras which is pretty cool. When I first saw it I couldn't even tell what it was made out of. I like the dress to the right of it too.

They had a special exhibit on '60s clothing which was pretty cool.

Of course fashion of the '60s is not complete without hats!

The Tate Modern is one of the coolest museums I've ever been to. Instead of the regular old audio guides you get a mini computer (for only 1 pound, 2 US dollars) which totally made the musuem tour for me. For each piece it features it tells you different things. In this Miro painting it circles certain aspets of it and explains them.

The computer will also show pictures of other works that artist was inspired by, historial photos and other things, like this lobster phone thing by Dali and other artistic things that were part of the surrealist movement.

It even has some artistic games you can play, there was a create your own surrealist painting one.

Right now the Tate has this artistic installation by Carsten Höller that are giant slides which are really fun (and free). They start at every floor, all the way to the 5th floor. All the tickets for the high ones were sold out though so I did the lower ones which was awesome. You can even watch live webcam video of people sliding down.

From the Tate's website:

For Carsten Höller, the experience of sliding is best summed up in a phrase by the French writer Roger Caillois as a 'voluptuous panic upon an otherwise lucid mind'. The slides are impressive sculptures in their own right, and you don't have to hurtle down them to appreciate this artwork. What interests Höller, however, is both the visual spectacle of watching people sliding and the 'inner spectacle' experienced by the sliders themselves, the state of simultaneous delight and anxiety that you enter as you descend.

To date Höller has installed six smaller slides in other galleries and museums, but the cavernous space of the Turbine Hall offers a unique setting in which to extend his vision. Yet, as the title implies, he sees it as a prototype for an even larger enterprise, in which slides could be introduced across London, or indeed, in any city. How might a daily dose of sliding affect the way we perceive the world? Can slides become part of our experiential and architectural life?

Part II of Travels: London Shopping

2007-03-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

Shopping in London is amazing (minus the whole pound to the dollar exchange rate that makes everything double for me, but if you make money in pounds it's a great deal). Of course, my favorite store there is Top Shop. If you haven't heard of Top Shop then you're missing out on the best store ever. The quality is better than H and M and so is the style. I asked about a jacket I saw someone wearing and they told me it was two weeks old so I should check in the "Last Chance" section where all the "old" stuff is. That means they change most of their inventory every 2 weeks as opposed to every month like American stores. So if you see something you like at Top Shop, buy it before it's gone! Plus if you're a student you get 10% off your purchases, a lot of stores there have that deal. The Top Shop at Oxford Circus is HUGE (3 floors) and is also connected to another cute store called Miss Selfridges. Selfridges is kind of like the younger hipper version of Harrods, and is a fantastic department store. Miss Selfridges is basically an extension of Top Shop. In London, I also like this store called Oasis
which is kind of like a cheaper not as cute version of Top Shop but they still have pretty good stuff.

Whistles is also a store with really beautiful stuff. It's more classy, sophisticated while still being trendy. Like a nicer version of Anthropologie. It's more expensive than Top Shop though since it's customer base is different.

I went to King's Road, a really cute shopping area that is less busy than Oxford Circus and very cute with a lot of preppy families and nice shops. I saw this fancy perfume shop called Penhaligons. My sister told me that they can make custom scents for you based on your own odor and what scents would compliment it. Pretty cool.

What do you think?

2007-03-09T03:57:00.000-08:00

So I've decided to treat myself to a new everyday wallet since the one I have is not big enough to hold my stuff. I have some Chinese new Year money left so I'm going to buy something nice. My only requirement is that it is long so it will fit all my stuff. I'm not quite sure what's out there along the wallet category, but here's some stuff I found online that I kinda of like.

This is the Prada Saffiano Wallet. So far this is my favorite since it has the zipper closure. It's classic and will never go out of style. Hopefully.

Here is the foldover version, the Prada Saffiano Metal Oro Flap Wallet. The zipper one looks like it would be able to hold more though.

This is the Chloe Paddington Leather Wallet. I think the little lock is really cute. However, it's a little more rough than the Prada ones.

Here's the Bottega Venetta Intrecciato Continental Wallet, I love Bottega Venetta stuff and this wallet is very classy. It might be too old though, maybe in a few years this will be the next one.

I really like these Gucci wallets, but I don't know if I can bring myself to spend over $400 on something that isn't leather. They are SO very pretty though.

Here's are Gucci wallets with all leather. I really like these but they're a little out of my price range.

The Tod's Kate Long Wallet is nice, I love Tod's too, they're such a classy and elegant brand. For some reason it doesn't really have that same "I want it factor"as the other ones do though.

One of my friends has this Lodis Credit Card Case which is the niftiest wallet ever. It's superthin and holds a lot of stuff. It's only $38.00 too at Nordstrom. I'm going to buy one of these for travelling and putting all my stuff into a smaller purse.

Which ones do you like? Do you have any other suggestions or brands that I should look at?

Part 1 of Travels: I Heart Paris

2007-03-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

After a month of living out of suitcases and travelling I'm settled in Taipei for the next few months. Travelling was phenomenal and I have SO SO much to blog about, especially the fashion in Japan, it was pretty, um, interesting. However, I'm going to do things chronologically and begin with Europe. Where else would I start with my favorite city and fashion capital: Paris!!

I've done the whole Champs Elysee Paris shopping before and I'm sure most of you know about it so I'm not going to post about it. Instead, I want to tell you about the cutest shopping area called Marais. I only knew about it because I asked one of my best friends where to go and she told me about how great it is, thanks Martha! Marais is not as touristy as the Champs which was nice. The best part about it was the many many boutiques lining the streets. I wanted to stop by almost every store but alas, I didn't have that much time. It's also a very old part of Paris so the buildings are beautiful and many of the streets are still cobblestone. Marais also has the Picasso Museum and another museum called Museé Carnivalet about the history of Paris with whole rooms made up like they would have been in the old times.
I guess if i were to compare it to something I'd say it's like Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles and the Champs is like Rodeo (well, like Robertson Blvd. before Kitson and Paris Hilton made it trashy). The street you must walk on is rue des Francs Bourgeois.

There are also many cute cafe's lining the street as well.

There's also an amazing gelato shop called Amorino (they have Nutella gelato, yumm) where they make your gelato looks like a flower. It's very busy with long lines but totally worth it. It's worth it just to see them making the gelato all pretty on the cone.

I love going to bookstores and browsing and Paris has the most interesting bookstore I've ever been to called Shakespeare and Company. Even if you don't want need to buy books it's worth checking out, and it's just a couple blocks away from Notre Dame. It sells mostly English books actually. Apparently some famous writers wrote and visited there but the inside of the store just piled with books one on top of the other. it's very old and very quaint.

I could do a 100 posts on the stores in Paris and that still wouldn't be enough. The ones I really liked were called Comptoir des cottonoiers and Zadig and Voltaire. They actually have a Zadig and Volatire in Los Angeles but it is much more expensive than it is in Europe. Comptoir is also in London and sells simple but stylish clothing, that's where i got my beret from. Zadig and Voltaire is more funky and has beautiful leather and cashmere sweaters. Check out their websites for more info.

Part 2 of my travels will be coming soon!

Rachel vs. Kirsten

2007-03-06T05:26:00.000-08:00

Kirsten Dunst's Chanel dress at the Oscars was not popular at all and honestly, I didn't hate it but I certainly didn't like it. I was browsing through my favorite celebrity website, Just Jared (it's better than Perez Hilton because he scans a lot of magazine articles from fashion magazines and puts up more pics of celebrities in great clothes at events instead of paparazzi shots which I don't really care about, but I digress). Just Jared put up some scans of Rachel McAdams from Elle Magazine and she wore the dress Kirsten Dunst wore to the Oscars. Even though the dress isn't great, I think Rachel McAdams looks SO much better in it. Maybe it's the lighting or the fact you can't see the bottom of the dress. What are your thoughts?

Oscar Fashion Wrap Up

2007-02-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

It's Oscar time!! The mother of all awards show is here and while the show itself is usually pretty boring the fashion is always fun to dissect. However, since the Oscars are such a big deal, usually the fashion is less risky and a bit more plain than the Golden Globes or SAG Awards. I think this year followed that rule.

I didn't notice any huge trends but here are some women who chose to wear beigish/creamish colors. From left to right: Helen Mirren wore Christian Lacroix and while I liked the dress I thought it made her look kind of matronly, especially compared to the Golden Globes. Jennifer Lopez chose the Greek Goddess look again with Marchesa. Gwyneth Paltrow is wearing Zac Posen. At first I didn't like the dress but after looking at it for a bit it's growing on me.

There were also some women who chose very light colors. Kate Winslet is wearing this light green Valentino dress. I think she looks okay, the dress is a little plain and the color isn't very flattering on her. She's looked better. Beyonce is wearing Armani Prive. I don't like her that much and even though the dress is nice I just don't think it looks that great on her, I think it's just my bias against her.

Bold colors still make a statement. As much as I don't really like Jessica Biel (she went to the same college as me and I don't think she's a very good actress) her Oscar de la Renta dress was approrpiately young and fun but still classy. Although I think she should have worn a bra or something. I thought Nicole Kidman looked absolutely stunning in Balenciaga. The red is gorgeous and matches perfectly with her blond hair and skin tone. For someone who is so fair that can be difficult. Naomi Watts in Escada looked good too, although I think the yellow doesn't quite match perfectly with her skin tone. Apparently the rep for Escada said how they designed the dress around her pregnancy even though she hasn't announced it herself yet, oops!! She's probably not so happy about that. Reese Witherspoon in Nina Ricci looks simple and elegant, even though her hair is the same as the Golden Globes.

I think feathers are tough to pull off and very fashion forward. Penelope Cruz in Atelier Versace, Maggie Gyllenhaal in Prouenza Schouler and Kirsten Dunst in Chanel Couture all went with feathers. I'm not a huge fan of feathers so with every one of these dresses at first I didn't love them but after seeing a few pictures I've decided they're not bad.

I really liked Cameran Diaz's Valentino dress. I think it's kinda cool and I really like how the white contrasts with her darker hair and the 2.9 million dollars worth of Cartier jewelry she's wearing including ncluding a 9-carat cabochon emerald and 65-carat diamond earrings. That's a lot of money on jewels, but those earrings are gorgeous.

My best dressed this year goes to Cate Blanchett in Giorgio Armani Prive and Rachel Weisz in Vera Wang. Both their hair, make-up and outfits look fantastic. I think Cate's dress is beautiful and very outstanding while still being classy. Really sparkly dresses are hard to pull off (see Beyonce, Golden Globes) but she does it well.

I love how silky and gorgeous Rachel's dress is. The train also has really cool detailing on it. I'm surprised how nice that necklace and pin look on a strapless dress, that might look like overkill on someone less elegant.

Now time for my worst dressed. I thought Kelly Preston's Dolce and Gabbana dress was kind of overkill. I know leopard print is in and all but it is a lot and looks a little too young for her. It's also not very flattering on her great figure. Anne Hathaway's Valentino dress looks like a grandma's doiley with a big bow on top.
Eva Green is so beautiful and a great actress (she looks fantastic in Casino Royale my new fav movie) but at events she always looks terrible. The Oscars were no exception. That dress is just ugly, and so is her hair.

I thought the show itself was kinda boring, I miss Jon Stewart as the host. I was kind of annoyed when the announcer that The Deaprted was based on the JAPANESE film Infernal Affairs (one of my top 10 favorite movies of all time, that is from Hong Kong in CHINA), oh well. For a complete list of winners click here.

My goodies

2007-02-25T14:41:00.000-08:00

Greetings from abroad everyone!! I'm in Taiwan right before I go to Japan for a week. I have a couple extra hours so I thought I'd do a quick post on my trip. I have many many posts planned about the fashion, food, culture and life (haha, yes what a pun)that I experienced on my trip. You'll be sick of hearing about Paris, London and Prague by the time I'm done. I decided I'd start with the most important aspect of my trip, what i bought of course. I tried not to spend loads of money or time on shopping but I managed to do some damage. I love European shopping.

I noticed a few really big trends in Paris and London. Many of the women there, like in America, are tucking their jeans into high boots. The most popular boot I saw was a kind of pointy but flat boot that went up to the mid calf. I can't find a picture online but I'll keep looking. I was at a tube stop in London and out of about 20 women waiting I'd say about 15 of them were wearing tall boots. Also, cool hats and toggle coats were super popular. Cheaper stores like H and M, Oasis, Zara and Top Shop have very stylish coats for much lower prices than the American stores do so it's easier for them to be fashionable.

Let me begin with my absolute LOVE of Topshop. I'm going to do a longer post on London shopping so they'll be lots more talk of Topshop there. I bought the 2 jackets you can see below. The Fitted Jacket on the left and the Double Breasted Jacket on the right. I saw Jennifer Meyer there (Toby Maguire's wife and fantastic jewelry designer who I've posted about) and she bought the Fitted Jacket, don't i feel special.

When I was Paris it was Soldes (sale) month. Twice a year literally EVERYTHING (Prada, Gucci, etc . . included) in Paris goes on sale, the sales are actually regulated by the government. Apparently everyone takes the first day of the sale off from to shop. Oh to be french and have your job cater to your shopping habit. It took some hardcore self-control but I only bought one thing in Paris. These boots from this shoe store Andre which used to be 150 euros but were on super sale for 50 euros. They're perfect for tucking skinny jeans into. This shoe store was great, I just happened to walk by and go in.

I also bought this simple long sweater at a store in London called Oasis. I really like long sweaters and shirts because they're slimming.

Since I was in Paris I could not help but buy a beret from one of my new favorite stores Comptoir des Cottonniers. They have very simple but cute things. Hopefully it won't be a "what was i thinking" travel purchase. I think it looks cute!

I'm going to wake up early to watch the Academy Awards here and hopefully I'll have a chance to post on my favorite fashions before I leave. I love movies and fashion so Oscar night is always fun for me. Usually I start sit through all the preshows and everything but this year I can only watch the show itself.

Oh yeah, Happy Chinese New Year!! I hope everyone has a wonderful year of the boar. Even though it's the last day, better late than never. I love all the gorgeous decorations for the holiday in Taiwan.

One last post before I go

2007-02-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

As I was surfing the web I came upon these pictures of American Ferrera at the Directors Guild of American awards and I must say I think she looks phenomenal. The beautiful lace dress, the fantastic red shoes, the casual but great hair and the classy and understated jewelry are perfect. I think she's gorgeous (and actually looks like a normal sized person) and she is definitely not the ugly girl she plays in Ugly Betty. She has a great stylist and has looked wonderful at the Golden Globes and SAG awards. She told Hello Magazine, "I didn't know how fat and ugly I was until I started going on auditions." Oh Hollywood, get with reality!

Be back kinda of shortly

2007-02-04T03:02:00.000-08:00

You won't be reading anything new on this blog for the next month because I will be off and travelling. On the itinerary is London, Paris, Prague and then in March I will be in Taiwan until June. I'll have my computer in Taiwan so I will keep updating the blog, probably with some tid bits about Asian fashion. I'm excited for the fantastic sights, chic European people watching and hopefully some good food.

It's going to be COLD in Europe but my best friend told me that the Parisians would laugh at me if i wore Mr. Puffy (my huge down jacket I would wear at school in Boston) so I will do my best to be fashionable and warm, I might have to settle for sort of stylish and sort of warm.

Be sure to check back in March!!

-Lisa

SAG Awards Fashion

2007-01-28T22:39:00.000-08:00

I think the SAG awards is the middle child between the Oscars and Golden Globes. It's an awards show that everyone goes to but it doesn't get much attention (even though it's a much better predictor of the Oscars than the Golden Globes, and it's a bigger honor since it's fellow actors and not the press who votes). Nevertheless, it's another reason for the stars to get dressed up in fancy dresses I wish I could wear. This year no dresses really wowed me or stood out, but I think everyone looked pretty decent, nothing too bad, nothing fantastic though.

While the theme of the Golden Globes was winter white, I think the trend of the SAG awards was bright colors, golds/cremes/beiges, and grays. How come no one wears black anymore?

Apparently bright colors (especially red, yellow and cobalt blue) are very in for spring, I didn't realize they were out. Anyways, lots of stars wore bright colors (and funny enough, almost no one wore white) and I think they looked great. In red we have Katherine Heigl who looks gorgeous, Demi Moore in Alberta Ferretti (love the dress), Kate Walsh in Kevan Hall (I'm on the fence about the dress, looks good with her hair though)

There's also Becki Newton (from Ugly Betty) in Reem Acra, Julia Louis Dreyfuss in Carolina Herrerra (beautiful dress) and Jada Pinkett Smith in Bob Mackie Couture (VERY bright!).

There were also some lovely ladies in gray. A very pregnant Jamie Pressley in Badgely Mischka (I wish I could look like that normally let alone pregnant), Mariska Hargitay in Carolina Herrera, and Eva Longoria in Vera Wang (I don't love this dress, it's pretty but I think it looks too big and too long on her).

Reese Witherspoon in Nina Ricci (she's going for the shorter dresses at these awards shows which is refreshing and very different) and Jordana Spiro (star of the TBS show My Boys, which is really fun show.)

Beige/Creme/Goldish colored dresses were also popular. Armani Prive must be loving this color since they dressed Cate Blanchett and Diane Kruger in it. I like Cate Blanchett's dress (although doesn't it look a little short?) and Diane Kruger's just looks kind of off, maybe because it's weirdly asymmetrical, still she pulls it off. Sandra Oh chose an Armani frock in this color as well. I'm not a huge fan of it though, or any of these Armani dresses.

Kyra Sedgewick looks great in Herve Leger. Nicolette Sheridan (her dress looks like it's been done before) and Helen Hunt also went with beige.

I really don't know how I feel about Ellen Pompeo's Lanvin dress. On one hand, I really want to like it because it's very different and unique from anything else on the red carpet. The neck thing is kinda cool and would have looked great on a dress that wasn't so ill fitted. The dress as a whole looks strange and doesn't seem to fit well. The body part of it looks like she draped a big bag over herself. Her hair also looks very severe. What do you think?

My pick for best dressed is Sara Ramirez from Grey's Anatomy. I couldn't find who designed the dress but I think she looks fantastic. She's a more full figured woman especially compared to all the typical Hollywood actresses and this dress plays up her curves and uses them to her advantage. The color is great on her skin tone and her hair looks great with the strapless.

My worst dressed is going to have to go to Mary Louise Parker and Patricia Arquette. They're not too too horrible though, I think my least favorite is a more appropriate term. Mary Louise Parker is so talented and so gorgeous but this dress just looks weird. I think if it was tailored better, especially the bust, then it would have looked much better. It kind of reminds me of Lara Flynn Boyle's ballerina debacle a while ago. The shoes invoke that image. I just don't think it fits right. Ditto for Patricia Arquette, she needs a new stylist STAT, I've never seen her look good at an awards show and she is so capable of it. That dress does not flatter her at all and doesn't fit right. It also kind of looks like aluminium foil.

Finally, congrats to my favorite comedy The Office for winning Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. It's is a well deserved award, that show is hilarious and the actors' facial expressions are half of what makes it so funny(plus i have a big crush on John Krasinski). The cast is supposed to be really nice and a lot of them have myspaces where they write blogs to give some backstage insight and communication with the fans. Jenna Fischer's is here.

For a complete list of the winners and nominees click here.

Fancy Charm Necklaces

2007-01-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

Ever since Sarah Jessica Parker wore a diamond horseshoe necklace on Sex and the City (a show I still miss), I've loved that style of diamondy charm necklaces. They're classy, beautiful, and even though they're small, they really pop and can make an outfit. Lots of designers make them, especially similar ones (horseshoes, letters, numbers, religious symbols, circles). They're also a celebrity favorite. You can also get most designs in gold and silver if you can't afford the diamond ones. Here are some of the ones I really like.

Jennifer Meyer is the queen of the charm necklace. Her website has a lot of them but I couldn't figure out how to post them because it's a slideshow, oh well. On the left is Jennifer Aniston wearing the feather necklace in The Break Up (her wardrobe was FANTASTIC in that movie). The Wish Bone Necklace on the right is the only oneI could find to buy online. It's at Barneys for $2,325.00.

Her necklaces have the charms with different colored gems like ruby, sapphire, and turquoise. She also has acorns, hearts, the star of david and this cool astrological one.

Alex Woo also has some really nice ones. I like her Little Faith line of religious symbols, the dove and lotus blossom are my favorites.

Her Eve necklace line is really pretty. Circle pendants are very popular but hers are thicker which makes them more unique. I really like the rose gold.

Alex Woo also makes the necklaces in Sterling Silver for 100some which is nice since the minimum price for lots of Jennifer Meyer's are 500some.

Lizzie Scheck also makes these types of necklaces. I like the Fan Necklace $835 (I think it would look better in silver though) and Snow Flake Necklace $2,200.00 is also very pretty.

And then there's always classic Tiffany, my favorite brand. They really know how to make a gorgeous necklace. I love this Tiffany Voile Necklace, too bad it's around $6,000.00.

I have this Tiffany Feathers Necklace which I love.

Tiffany also makes necklaces with the diamond charms that are letters of the alphabet and religious symbols.

Bebe and The OC

2007-01-23T20:42:00.000-08:00

I remember when The OC first came out and i wanted to own everything Marissa and Summer wore. I'm sad that just when the show is making a great comeback (thanks to Taylor Townsend/Autumn Reeser) it's being cancelled, last episode is February 22. Sad! Anyways, I was watching last week I recognized a shirt Taylor was wearing as something I saw in Bebe and really liked. I don't shop at that much, I think the quality isn't so great for the price you pay, but they do have some cute stuff. I was a little surprised to see Taylor in Bebe since Marissa was always dripping in Chanel but I think it is appropriate for their characters.

This is the Vested Vine Shirt that I saw in the store and I loved. I didn't buy it though because I really didn't like how the vest and the shirts are sewn together, it's really weird and makes it look cheap like something you'd get at Forever 21 (I like Forever 21 but at $80 for the Bebe shirt I think it should look like it cost that much). In fact, Forever 21 copied this and just uses different patterns. Everything in this print sold out so i wasn't the only one who liked it. i kind of regret not buying it actually.

They still have this Chain Button Shirt for $69.00 on the website. I also like the blue one that Taylor is wearing better.

Summer is still the fashion queen on the show though (so is Rachel Bilson in real life).

Great new Website: Seenon.com

2007-01-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I heard about a launch party for this website, www.seenon.com. Turns out this website is a fantastic idea. It basically compiles the information about the clothes you see on TV shows, movies, magazines, music, and your favorite celebrities. They have everything from soap operas to reality shows. It's organized by character too which makes it easier. They even have links to where you can buy the things for yourself. Whenever I watch anything I'm always looking at what the people are wearing and where I can get it so this is the perfect website for me. Of course they can't have every single little thing or every TV show yet, but I must say i was pretty impressed by what they've been able to do in the couple months since they launched. They also have some music things and a bunch of other stuff.

Oh Tim Gunn

2007-01-18T20:15:00.000-08:00

Most fashionistas love Project Runway but love Tim Gunn even more. I secretly wish I had my own Tim Gunn to tell me to "Carry on" and let me know when my outfits look like crap. On a side note, I saw him walking in LA once and he looks and walks exactly like he does on TV, so adorable, but I digress. As I was watching the Today Show he did a segment on Golden Globes fashion and I thought yay, I'd love to see his opinion. But who did he choose as his favorite dressed stars that night? None other than Beyonce in Elie Saab and Jennifer Love Hewitt in Georges Chakra. WHHAATT? I literally rewound my TiVo to make sure I didn't hear that wrong. He talked about how metallics are very in and they wore the trend blah blah blah, seriously though, I thought they were some of the two worst dressed of the night and people.com, eonline.com and others agree. They were examples of what can go wrong when you follow and trend and overdo it. I really don't think they "made it work." Yes i know, i made the cheesy joke.

Is it just me? Aren't these ugly dresses?

You can watch the aforementioned Tim Gunn Today Show clip here.

He has a new TV Show coming out on Bravo calleed Tim Gunn's Guide to Style which is a makeover show, should be fun.

Golden Globe Fashion

2007-01-15T21:23:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite things about awards season is seeing what all the stars are wearing. The awards shows are interesting and all but kinda boring. I thought people looked good at the Golden Globes but nothing really stood out at me at gorgeous. Also, was it just me or was everyone wearing white? Teri Hatcher, Ellen Pompeo, Hayden Paniterrie, Kate Winslet, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Garner, Annette Benning, Salma Hayek and some other ones.

In fact, white strapless dresses with detailing on the torso were super popular, check out these dresses which I think look remarkable similar. Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kate Winslet (in Azarro), and Drew Barrymore (in John Galliano for Christian Dior) below.

I absolutely loved Salma Hayek's Chanel Dress (which looked much better on stage than in the pictures), Jennifer Garner's Vintage Gaultier dress (the woman just had a baby too, she looks great) and I liked, not loved Ellen Pompeo's Versace dress (I think it would have looked better without that weirdo thing in back).

I also thought Toni Collette looked fabulous. She's always cast as the ugly girl (In Her Shoes, Muriel's Wedding) and while she's not your typical looking Hollywood beauty I think she's very classy and looks great here. The bright blue matches really well with her new hair color.

My favorite actress Cate Blanchett in Alexander McQueen was one of the few people who took a risk and I think it paid off. I'm mildly obsessed with lace so already I was inclined to like this dress. She always takes fashion risks and always manages to look very elegant.

Although I thought Angelina Jolie's St. John Dress was a little plain she couldn't look bad if she tried. Brad of course looks great, these two are so good looking, it's just not fair.

When I first Jennifer Lopez's Marchesa dress I thought it was fine, kind of similar to the dress on the left she wore in Italy, but then I saw the picture of the back of the dress which I think makes it really cool.

However, my pick for best dressed is none other than Helen Mirren in Donna Karen. At 62 years old she is gorgeous and this dress is a little risky and low-cut, but I don't look at it and go, that dress is 10 years too young for her. Her hair is gorgeous (the turquoise color of the dress matches well with her gray and probably undyed hair), necklace perfectly matched with the dress. She just looks incredibly classy. When she turned around on stage the back of the dress was great too, low and kind of square shaped. Plus she's super talented and won 2 of the 3 awards she was nominated for. I can only hope I look that great in my 60's.

Now for the worst dressed. I don't like Beyonce much and I think she looks like a Vegas showgirl in this tacky gold dress by Elie Saab. Cameran Diaz looks like cotton candy and as others have said, the dress seems like it came out of Bjork's closet. Wearing that is not going to make Justin jealous. I really like Gillian Anderson and she's making a good comeback after the X-Files but her dress looks terrible. It seems like something I would have worn when I was 10 years old or when I'm 80, and did she even do her hair?

What I'm wearing

2007-01-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

So one of my friends asked me why I don't put pictures of what I'm wearing on my blog so I thought what the hell, if I like what I'm wearing one day why not post it. So last night I went to dinner with friends and had gone shopping that day so I wanted to wear my new purchase.

Aqua Sweater Dress (my new purchase from Bloomingdales)
Bebe belt
Levis Skinny Jeans
Luella for Target bracelet
Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes
Banana Republic Coat
Red Pashmina with designs from some random Indian store
Prada Purse

This was an outfit where I kind of matched everything with the red shoes. I've never really worn red shoes before so I thought I would match the purse and pashmina to go with it. Of course I was all excited to wear my new sweater dress but since it's been freakishly cold in LA this past week I didn't take my coat off all night

The best show you're not watching: Friday Night Lights

2007-01-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

People I've been talking to lately will know that I'm mildly obsessed with my new favorite show Friday Night Lights. I never saw the movie (I heard it's good) but I've seen every episode of this show and I LOVE it. Now it's mostly women who read this blog and most of us aren't big football fans, myself included. However, you don't have to love football to watch this show, take it from me who never watches football and knows nothing about it. That's because this show really isn't about football, it's about the characters. There's fantastic writing, even better acting and realistic characters who are both hilarious (there are times when I laugh out loud while watching FNL) and heart wrenching at the same time It's kind of like The Office in that respect. The interactions between the characters are just so realistic, awkward, and fantastic.

Of course, you can always watch the show for its man candy, specifically Taylor Kitsch (who was also in The Covenant, another movie full of beautiful men).

I'm not the only one who loves this show, lots of TV critics love the show and it has been put on several best of tv lists. However, the ratings are not doing well so watch it!!

Sometimes I don't understand why great shows like FNL, Battlestar Galactica (yes, I swear it is a FANTASTIC show even if you hate scifi, just ask my sister who now loves it) and Veronica Mars have such a hard time getting an audience when shows like Two and A Half Men and According to Jim are so popular. What's up with that?

You can watch all of this season's episodes online for free at NBC's website by clicking here. My personal favorite episode is called Full Hearts but really, they're all good.

For more fashion posts just scroll down :)

More hats!

2007-01-10T22:07:00.000-08:00

Hats are a very personal thing because a hat that looks great on someone might look like crap on another. So I'm just going to post about some that look good online and hopefully look that good on. I've noticed whenever i wear a hat (of the non-baseball variety) I always get a lot of compliments, maybe because most people don't wear hats.

I have this Ripstop Cadet hat from Urban Outfitters for $24.00. I love it, it's really flattering and I've gotten several compliments on it. I've also seen some guys wearing it so i guess it's unisex.

My sister bought this Twill Cabbie hat with buckle from Urban Outfitters and it looks great on her. Last time she wore this going out on Sunset so many people complimented her. it's also on sale for $11.99!

I really like this Felt Bucket Hat with Button, also from Urban for $34.00. I love the big button, it's a nice detail. For some reason this hat conjures up the image of a girl wearing this type of hat with a pea coat skipping around in the rain in New York. Probably just my imagination though.

I saw a girl wearing a fedora once and it looked awesome on her, very tough look to pull off though. I really like this Eugenia Kim Max Fedora that is on sale for $155 from $235.

Even though it's February this hat would be great during summer. The straw hat on the left is really nice for the beach or if you feel like being a bit breezy while walking down the street in a summer dress. This one is from J.Crew and is called the Classic Straw hat for $49.50. I like it better than the straw cowboy hat trend (on the right, you probably can't tell but that's Teri Hatcher and bunch of other celebs wearing it) that was in style for a while. I thnk the floppy hat is a little classier.

Of course Americans don't even come close to being hat crazy compared to British people. I think when you dress up there you're required to wear a hat or else the outfit seems really casual. It also seems like the weirder the hat the better, what is the deal with that anyways. For example, these are pictures from Camilla and Charles' wedding I saw online, if you look closely, every single woman is wearing a hat, and totally ugly ones at that.

The two possible future queens of England, Camilla Parker Bowles and Kate Middleton are wearing some strange hats here.

Eugenia Kim Sale

2007-01-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

As I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Shopping Nerd, I saw that the fantastic hat designer Eugenia Kim was having a sale. She's a super popular hat designer and I love hats so I couldn't pass up this opporunity. I think her most popular design is the Muffy design that comes in different colors and designs.

Here's Jessica Simpson wearing the Muffy 5 in Black Velvet. It's also on sale at the website for $95 and comes in Black, chocolate, navy, and eggplant.

This is the Muffy 3 which is made out of cashmere. I kinda like the white one better actually. It's on sale for $95 from $225.

This is the Muffy 7, camel navy striped wool cap. That's Lindsay Lohan if you can't tell. Again $95 on sale from $175.

Here's the Muffy 1 in brown, I got the gray one you can see on Beyonce on the right. I got the gray instead of brown because I think it would look better with my jet black hair.

This Felt Cadet hat at Urban Outfitters kind of looks like the Eugenia Kim hats. It is $34 and comes in red, blue and gray.

Wow, I just realized that I really dislike every single celebrity who I just posted about (especially Paris Hilton, ugh). Hahaha, oh well, i can't hold it against the hat, I'm excited to get mine.

Another cool exhibition

2007-01-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

I went to Breaking the Mode at LACMA today and it was really great. I was surprised at how many Japanese designers were featured. Next week i'm going to go to the Skin and Bones exhibit here at the Museum of Contemporary Art, it sounds even cooler than the LACMA one. If you're in LA you should check it out.

SKIN + BONES: PARALLEL PRACTICES IN FASHION AND ARCHITECTURE
11.19.06 - 03.05.07

Testa & WeiserCarbon Beach House (left) Yoshiki Hishinuma,Inside Out 2way dress (right)

This exhibition explores the common visual and intellectual principles that underlie both fashion and architecture. Both disciplines start with the human body and expand on ideas of space and movement, serving as outward expressions of personal, political, and cultural identity. Architects and fashion designers produce environments defined through spatial awareness—the structures they create are based on volume, function, proportion, and material. Presenting the work of international fashion designers and architects, the exhibition examines themes such as shelter, identity, tectonic strategies, creative process, and parallel stylistic tendencies including deconstruction and minimalism. The exhibition is curated by MOCA Curator of Architecture & Design Brooke Hodge and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.

Architects and Designers in the Exhibition:
Shigeru Ban
Hussein Chalayan
Preston Scott Cohen
Comme des Garçons
Neil M. Denari Architects
Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Winka Dubbeldam / Archi-Tectonics
Eisenman Architects
Alber Elbaz for Lanvin
Enric Miralles Benedetta Tagliabue / EMBT
Foreign Office Architects
Future Systems
Frank Gehry
Tess Giberson
Zaha Hadid Architects
Herzog & de Meuron
Yoshiki Hishinuma
Toyo Ito
Greg Lynn FORM
Jakob + MacFarlane
Elena Manferdini
Maison Martin Margiela
Alexander McQueen
Miyake Issey
Morphosis
Narciso Rodriguez
Neutelings Riedijk Architecten
Jean Nouvel
Office dA
OMA / Rem Koolhaas
Ralph Rucci
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA
Nanni Strada
Yeohlee Teng
Testa & Weiser
Olivier Theyskens for Rochas
Isabel Toledo
Bernard Tschumi
Dries Van Noten
Viktor & Rolf
Junya Watanabe
Vivienne Westwood
Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Yohji Yamamoto
J. Meejin Yoon / MY Studio

Bi-annual Ron Herman Sale!!

2007-01-05T18:22:00.000-08:00

I saw this post over at one of my favorite blogs CaliforniaStyle and wanted to share. I don't think I'm going to go, I can't face the temptation, I must save money for europe. Damn.

RonHerman.com's Annual January Blowout Sale

Starting January 11th 2007, ALL Ron Herman and [mostly all] RonHerman.com merchandise will be marked down 50%. That includes top designers like Proenza Schouler, Dries Van Noten, Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Missoni, Karl Lagerfield, Jovovich-Hawk, Mayle, Wyeth and tons more. The last week of January, all remaining merchandise (as if there will be any) will be marked down to 75% off. This only happens twice a year (if you miss this one, the next one is not until September) and cannot be compared to any other sale in the nation.

This sale is a great way to start to the year as well as treat yourself after a month of buying gifts for everyone but yourself! Mark your calendars!

When: January 11-29
What: 50%-75% off ALL merchandise
Where: RonHerman.com and all Ron Herman locations except for Melrose

If you can't get to the LA store, you can still shop the site!
Happy shopping!

Right on Banana Republic

2007-01-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Banana Republic. From their sleek, sophisticated yet a little trendy clothes to their huge sales, I've become a big fan. Plus, if you sign up for their credit card you get extra coupons for your birthday and 25 dollar gift certificates when you accumulate a certain amount of points. Plus i love how almost everything in the store always ends up on sale, bad for them because i never buy anything when it fist comes out, good for me because i get a deal. As I was browsing through their store the other day I took a look at the jewelery section and saw some great, surprisingly trendy stuff for reasonable prices. From what I could see they looked like they were pretty good quality too.

A big trend this season was cocktail rings. They're classic and can be the centerpiece of any outfit, however, it's difficult to get one that doesn't look cheap if you don't want to spend a lot of money. Banana Republic has some that are really pretty in person and although they aren't real stones, they don't look like you got them at Claire's. The splurge cocktail ring on the left is by David Yurman (who i absolutely adore) for $1,025.00. It's smokey quartz with diamond but they also have it in Blue Topaz, mother of pearl, amethyst and a few others. The ring on the right is from Banana Republic for $48.00. It also comes in this canary yellow color but I think that one looks a little cheap.

They obviously look different but I think that they are the same type of style and have the same feeling, if that makes sense.

These 2 rings look kind of David Yurman like as well. The one on the left is the Genuine White Jade and CZ Cocktail Ring and is only sold online at Banana Republic for $42.00. The ring on the left is the Large CZ Deco Ring for $48.00.

i LOVE LOVE this Crystal Flower Ring from Banana Republic for $42.00. So pretty! Looks kinda like a Chanel one i saw in a magazine a while back.

Charm Bracelets and necklaces were also another popular trend this year. Juicy Couture started a jewelery line and they have this Heart Charm Bracelet for $128.00 (+ $60.00 for each additional charm) from Shopbop.com

Banana Republic also has charm bracelets which I actually think are a little classier than the Juicy ones without the juicy sayings on the charms. There's the Multi Charm Bracelet for $48.00. Or the other Multi Charm Bracelet for $38.00.

I also love charm necklaces. Shopbop.com has a bunch of cute ones from this jewelry designer named Gara Danielle. The one on the left, Farm Charms with Leaf Necklace, is $150.00 and the one on the right,the Small Tusk Necklace with Charms and Stone is $161.00.

Banana Republic has also made a few charm necklaces that you can find here. They range from $26.00-$48.00. These 2 below even have similar charms (the dove and the elephant) as the Gara Danielle necklace on the left.

I really like these ones with the charms around the circle pendant thing. That makes them a little different than the charm necklaces I've seen around.

Charm necklaces and bracelets are arguably very last season but I don't really dictate what I wear by that. My philosophy is if you still like it and think it looks good, wear it!

Last weekend!!

2007-01-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

If you live in Los Angeles this is your last weekend to check out this exhibit at LACMA. My mom told me it was great and I'm going this weekend, January 7 sure came up faster than I thought it would.

September 17, 2006– January 7, 2007

Hammer Building

Breaking the Mode: Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection

A-POC (A Piece of Cloth) Queen
Yohji Yamamoto (Japan, b. 1943), Woman's Two-Piece Suit (detail), autumn/winter 1993-94, wool gabardine with wool and goat hair canvas trim, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. H. Grant Theis, © Yohji Yamamoto.

Creating clothing, for protection, profession, or spectacle, has undergone dramatic change over the past twenty-five years. A number of designers have introduced subversive elements into the fashion system, examining and deconstructing its entrenched conventions and changing the rules about what is aesthetically pleasing and fashionable. Breaking the Mode: Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection will present designers who found traditional criteria and solutions obsolete – designers who challenged the canons of the body’s fashionable silhouette, revolutionized methods of garment construction, rejected the formulaic use of materials and techniques, and exploited new technology in textile production.

The recent dynamic changes in the forms and surfaces of fashionable dress will be featured in this comprehensive exhibition, which will include over 100 examples of contemporary dress drawn exclusively from LACMA’s collection. Among the contemporary designers whose work will be exhibited are Jean-Paul Gaultier, Rei Kawakubo, Martin Margiela, Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler, and Yohji Yamamoto, with historical examples by Gilbert Adrian, Christian Dior, and Charles James.

This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and was supported by the museum's Costume Council. In kind support was provided by Neiman Marcus.

Curators: Kaye Spilker and Sharon Takeda, Costume and Textiles.

Headbands

2007-01-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

If you're like me and don't have time to do your hair in the morning and make it look all fabulous, you can't go wrong with a headband. I literally wear a headband to work every day because it's so easy. When you're having a bad hair day, just throw on a headband, stick your hair in a bun or ponytail and voila, ready to go. I know practically every fashion blogger writes about headbands but here's another one anyways.

Headbands have been in for a while so that means there's a lot of options. Chains and chain prints were very popular this season, I don't know if they'll become a fad but I know I'll be wearing mine for a while.

I love Cara Couture headbands. My favorite is the double chain link headband which i have in gold with Brown and Ivory ribbons. It's comfortable and more importantly, stays on to your head like it's glued to it.

I like these Cara Accessories headbands with the chain print $38.00 (left)

There's also the ol'faithful way of wrapping a scarf around your head and then bobby pinning it so it doesn't slip off. Sometimes that still slips off and is annoying so there's some headbands that just looks like scarves tied around the head but are headbands so they stay. Amici Accessories has some really cute options. There's the one on the left, the Black Silk, Chain Reaction headband, the same pattern as the clutch i posted about before if you want to match. It is $32.00. I really really like Pink Swirl Headband because it looks very much like a Pucci scarf $32.00.

Amici also has some other headbands that are really cute. The Brown Herringbone headband(18.00, left) is perfect for wintertime. Black and White headbands are great and spruce up any outfit with black, white or gray in it. I have a couple of them and wear them all the time. The one on the right is cute, it's the Revamp Radius headband $20.00.

If you want something without print then I really like tortoise shell headbands. Franceluxe has a great website with lots and lots of options, and also some scarf/printed ones too. I have the Hollywood Links headband ($40.00 , left). It's handmade in France and is really good quality but doesn't quite go down as long below my ears as I would like, mabye i just have a long head. The Seven Circles headband is another nice alternative ($40.00, right). These headbands come in a lot of different patterns that are really pretty. Mine is the black and white one with little squares, I think it's called Opera Silver.

I also got a thin black headband to wear when I put my hair up like Sarah Michelle Gellar did here. I got the one on the right for $20.00 from France Luxe. This one is great, it's very tight and sticks on my head and is the right size.

J. Crew also has some great headbands with more pretty prints, but I couldn't find any pictures online. Forever 21 also has some great really cheap options ($3-$5) but I couldn't figure out how to save and upload the pictures from their website onto Imageshack. If anyone knows how to do that please let me know :)

DSW is the best!

2006-12-29T17:27:00.000-08:00

So I had drinks with a friend yesterday and she was telling me about how the fabulous boots she was wearing were bought from Designer Shoe Warehouse for only $33. I wanted a pair of flat boots so I thought what the hell, I'll go and check it out. I went to the new DSW in Westwood Village and although I didn't find the boots I found a pair of fantastic Marc Jacobs shoes. I was surprised to see that not only does DSW have regular brands like Steve Madden, Chinese Laundry, Rocket Dog, etc. . But they also have fancy ones like Marc Jacobs, Prada, Miu Miu, Cole Haan, etc . .Anyways, I saw these Marc Jacobs shoes when they first came out at Cusp and loved them but I couldn't pay 300some for a pair of shoes. At DSW it was 50% off the original price and then they're having a winter special where it's another 50% off that price. So 50% off 50% = $87.00!! (+tax of course). I'm a happy girl. I was choosing between black and red and went with red, i have so many black shoes anyways.

They're really high but surprisingly really comfortable and feel balanced. Probably because the shoe is platform and not stiletto.

Now here's something I don't get about DSW. I don't know if they inflate the original prices of shoes so it looks like they're discounting more. They said that these shoes were $470 originally, then $330 when they were selling them then more discounted. But online they're listed at $320. However, I remember when i saw these at Cusp they were definitely over $400, maybe there was some kind of markdown on these specific shoes or something because wouldn't DSW get caught inflating original prices by savvy shoppers? Either way I feel like I got a great deal, everyone go to DSW before this extra 50% off clearance ends. (Plus you get coupons for money off when you join their rewards program). Haha, can you tell how excited I am?

My new favorite purse brand: Goldenbleu

2006-12-29T10:35:00.000-08:00

While I was at the Billion Dollar Babes sample sale last year (a FANTASTIC sample sale with really unique designers) I stumbled upon a purse brand called Goldenbleu and absolutely loved it. Shopbop's designer bio says:

"Goldenbleu was born of San Francisco-based designer Rene Huber's desire for something more exciting and original than mass-produced, designer label handbags and footwear. Rene set out to create accessories that exude the quality and sophistication of designer labels while also embodying a fresh design perspective. Celebrity loyalists of the line include Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Rachel Bilson, and Heidi Klum."

I ended up buying a purse from them (at wholesale price!!) and I absolutely love it. I wear it every single day and the leather is fantastic quality and is soft like butter. It is also huge and fits everything I need and more. I have my wallet, phone, ipod, airbourne, scarf, nalgene water bottle, make-up bag, planner, notepad, apple, bag of almonds in there right now with room to spare. As you'll see, a lot of their purses are really big and fit a crapload of stuff, but they don't look bulky and gigantic.

Here are a few of my favorite things from Goldenbleu.

This is the purse I bought. It's called the Delia bag and I got it in Navy. I was inspired to get a odd colored purse (instead of the typical black and brown purses that I usually buy) by a friend of mine who had this great purple bag. I saw an exact copy of this purse at Target made out of this fake leather plastic material, you know you've made it when the knock-offs start emerging.

The Delia and the Jordan bags are Goldenbleu's 2 most popular styles. I almost got the Jordan one but I liked the braiding of the Delia more. The Jordan is really nice though and has zipper closure on top unlike mine. Shopbop has 2 versions which i think vary in size a little. The Jordan Small Travel Bag (left) and the Jordan Satchel (right). Both are $656.00

The Katherine bag has Goldenbleu's trademark basketing detail. I really like this saddle color too. It is on sale for $545.00 from $649.00 at Pinkmascara.

This is the Sophie Bag in midnight. It is $768.00 from Active Endeavors.

Again with the angry models!

Goldenbleu doesn't only make huge purses, they also make cute clutches. Here is the Virginia Clutch. The cream one on the left is from Active Endeavors for $506.00 and the black one on the right is from Pink Mascara for $484.00. I have no idea why there is a price difference, they're the exact same purse. Personally, I like the black one better, it looks so chick and pretty.

The (really nice) ladies who were working the Goldenbleu booth at Billion Dollar Babes told me the brand had just gotten picked up by Neiman Marcus and the was starting to get pretty popular. In fact, while I was flipping through January 2007's issue of In Style, I saw the Goldenbleu Delia bag (the one I have) under one of the top 10 things to get that month. Now Goldenbleu's bags are not cheap but if you're willing to spend the cash they're still cheaper than the Chloe's, Prada's and Marc Jacob's out there and I can 100% vouch for the quality. They also come in very unique colors such as eggplant (a very pretty purple), mushroom (a gorgeous grayish color), saddle (a very rich and deep red hue), Moss (this green color that I don't love but is nice), cognac (brown that is lighter than the typical dark espresso brown), black, and cream. A few examples of the colors are above. There's some other ones too I'm sure. The inside of all Goldenbleu bags is suede also which is a nice touch.

I love it

2006-12-29T10:02:00.000-08:00

So if you can't tell already, I love dresses, they're so flattering and comfy. My favorite dress designer is Rachel Pally because her jersey material is so comfy and her stuff can be worn in many different ways. I also buy everything of hers at her sample sale where the prices are 70% off. As i was browsing through People.com I saw the Convertible Halter Dress by Karanina (On sale for $173 from $345 at girlshop) and I think I'm in love.

This dress is jersey silk and can also be worn at least 5 different ways and there's a reversible one too. so it's like you're getting 10 dresses for the price of one right?

Shopbop.com also has it 2 other really pretty grey and bluish colors here, but it's not on sale.

I love the color contrast of the grey and blue in that dress on the left and the blue and the taupe of the one on the right.

Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johannson, Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson all have this dress too. Man i really want to buy this but I have to save money for my trip to Europe. Sigh.

Aqua at Bloomingdales

2006-12-27T15:15:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite stores to shop at is Bloomingdale's, they have great stuff and more importantly, even better sales. Right now they're having 30% off already reduced merchandise and an additional 15% off that. Bloomingdale's also has their in house brand called Aqua which is a slightly cheaper version of trendy fashions. Now, Aqua isn't cheap like Forever 21 or H&M, but I'd say it's the middle ground between those stores and the high end brands that Bloomingdale's carries. As with all clothing, the quality of Aqua can sometimes be hit or miss, but generally the stuff I've seen is pretty good.

Aqua cashmere sweaters are especially popular. I can vouch for the quality of these, I just bought one last night and I love it. I couldn't find a picture of it, but i got a dark grey round neck cable knit 2-ply sweater. It was originally $130 and with the discounts it ended up being about $80.00. When i went the Aqua cashmere sweaters had been really picked over and I was lucky to find exact what I wanted. A lot of the sweaters come in all sorts of different colors also, cream, black, brown, baby blue, light green, grey (both light and dark) so there's a lot of selection. My mom went in the morning and told me people were going crazy buying cashmere because of the discounts.
The sweater on the left used to be $110.00 and is now $62.30. The sweater on the right was $158.00 and is now $110.00. You should also get an extra 15% off for the next few days during the after x-mas sale.

Aqua really tries to keep up with the trends like this Jumper ($68.00, left). Personally, I think the jumper is cute but I'm not about to go out and buy one, some people can pull it off and others (like me) might look like they're 12. If you like them this is a great option that is better quality than Forever 21 or Wet Seal, but not as much as the original Katy Rodriguez that Ashlee Simpson is wearing that goes for about $550.00 (right).

Or you can get this jumper from Shopintution.com for $105.00 (right) It looks just like the one Jessica Biel is wearing and looks just like the Aqua one.

This red pleated dress from Aqua ($68.00) is really pretty in person. The material is very smooth and slightly shiny. You can't see in the picture but in person there are thin pleats on the shoulders and on the skirt. They also have a shirt version in the store. It's a very flattering color as well.

I think putting this skirt and shirt together would be a great work outfit. Both these items could also be worn separately and made more casual. I love the sleeves on the shirt, I think it would look great with some long necklaces and jeans with boots or heels. Although that model looks really really angry for some reason, maybe she's just hungry. The shirt is $48.00 and the skirt is $68.00

The Aqua stuff on the Bloomingdales website is hardly indicative of the merchandise they have in the store. Their clothing on their website is pretty terrible actually and they have MUCH more in store. Having just seen Aqua's new season myself yesterday I think they have some really nice stuff right now. Everything I've shown here can be bought online here.

The Getty Villa

2006-12-24T14:54:00.000-08:00

If you've ever been to LA, you've no doubt seen the Getty Museum on its mountain top while you're driving on the 405. The Getty apparently has over 5 billion in assets and to keep their tax benefits they must spend at least 5% of it, or something like that. Basically they are required to spend a crap load of money every year. Hence the Getty Museum on top of a mountain (they literally just chopped off the top of a mountain to build their facility and spent over 10 years building the museum/school. They also have a great internship program where they pay students to work at non-profits) and the renovation of the villa in Malibu. The original Getty Museum was actually in Malibu, it was J. Paul Getty's old house. After closing down for renovations the villa has recently re-opened and is spectacularly beautiful. It has a gorgeous view of the ocean and the museum building is modeled after a first-century Roman country house, the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, Italy. When you first get there it might seem a little gaudy with all its bright colors, but then you realize that an ancient Roman/Greek house would have actually looked like that. All the ruins and sculptures we see were originally brightly painted, not the natural stone color we see today. I especially love this museum because I am very interested in antiquities (the only type of art the museum has) and I've always enjoyed learning about ancient Roman, Egyptian, and Greek history. This post does involve fashion a bit, but we'll get back to that later.

Here is a birdseye view of the Villa.

This is the Greek theatre they have where for one month during the year they have live performances every night. They also have random live performances throughout the year.

The gardens in both Gettys are beautiful. This is the prettiest part of the Villa to me and it's calming to just walk along the pool and look at your surroundings.

The inner area (i believe it's called the Peristyle) has a water fountain and a small garden.

Also, the food at the Getty Villa cafe is AMAZING. It's reasonably priced, $8.00-$12.00 an entree, and tastes like gourmet food. I forgot to take pictures I was so anxious to start eating. I would suggest the Roma Burger and the Tuscan Soup (yummy soup with lots of seafood, big enough to be an entree). I had the ahi tuna salad with white beans, grapefruit and oranges which was awesome.

Their current exhibition (going on until April 2007) is called Stories in Stone and is a bunch of mosaics from Tunisia. The Getty website says: "This exhibition presents a selection of mosaics from the national museums of Tunisia. They are among the finest of the thousands of mosaics produced between the second and the sixth centuries A.D. in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis, a portion of which is known today as Tunisia." In person they're pretty amazing.

The Getty is also giving back many pieces (I think over 26) to Greece whose ownership has been contested for years. So you should visit the museum and look at them before they go back to Greece forever. Apparently the former Getty curator Marion True bought several items either illegally or with knowledge that the ownership is disputed. She's currently awaiting trial in Italy on other charges relating to smuggling and buying illegal antiquities. The LA Times wrote this interesting article on what's going on here.One of the pieces going back is this beautiful golden funeral wreath which i saw at the museum yesterday.

A Greek prosecutor wants to file charges against Marion True for her role in the purchase of this wreath. I had no idea there was so much drama and intrigue in the art world.

Now to fashion. I LOVE museum gift shops, especially their jewelry. The jewelery usually has something to do with the type of art carried in the museum and is often made by artists so they're very unique. The Getty Villa store is no exception. They have really cool necklaces and earring with pieces modeled after old Greek and Roman coins, just to name a couple things. I ended up buying this necklace.

It says "I love you" in hieroglyphics (I have always been fascinated by Egyptian art and history). I wish I had a better picture but oh well.

While the bigger Getty museum on the mountain does not require tickets and you can go up whenever, the Getty Villa is much smaller so you have to reserve tickets, but the tickets are free, you only have to reserve a time and pay for parking. You can reserve you tickets here. If you go let me know what you think!

Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!!

I heart Pinkberry

2006-12-20T21:35:00.000-08:00

People refer to their Blackberry's as Crackberry but to me, Crackberry means one thing: PINKBERRY!!! For those of you who don't live in LA, New York or Las Vegas, you are not lucky enough to know what I'm talking about. For those of you who do live in those cities and still don't know what I'm talking about, you're missing out!

Pinkberry is frozen yogurt, but calling it frozen yogurt is just such an understatement (yes, I know, I'm using very exaggerated language, but what can i say, i LOVE it). The best I can describe Pinkberry is it tastes like plain yogurt with a little something extra. It's a little tart and a little sweet. There are only 2 flavors, Plain and Green Tea. I heard it's actually copying a Korean company in Korea called Red Mango. Apparently the main ingredient in Pinkberry's frozen yogurt is this Asian stuff called Calpice (or Cowpiss as my mom accidentally pronounces it) that you can actually find in drink form in many Asian restaurants and supermarkets. Because it's made from this stuff it's all natural and you don't get that gross chemical taste you get from other frozen yogurts. It also only has 25 calories per ounce (which also means LA anorexic teens line up by the boatload to eat it as their meal).

There's this great LA Times article that talks more about it and its popularity. I'd say about 95% of the time I go to Pinkberry there's a line, unless it's a new location or during waayy off hours.

I think that the magic of Pinkberry is in its toppings. Instead of the gross canned syrupy fake fruit at most fro yo places you can choose from fresh mango, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, banana, pineapple, pomegranate, blackberry, or kiwi. There's also Oreo, chocolate chips, yogurt chips. mochi, captain crunch, almost, coconut and granola.

Every Pinkberry store is brightly decorated and looks like this:

Yummm . I'm getting hungry just looking at this. This is what i always get, a plain medium with mango, raspberry and pomegranate.

I remember taking my sister there after raving about Pinkberry. After the first couple bites she said, "It's alright, I don't get the big deal about it." Then after she'd eaten some she said, "I don't get it, why can't i stop eating this!" The next day i get a call from her saying, "I just went to Pinkberry again." What can i say, Pinkberry is addictive, hence the nickname, Crackberry.

In LA there are now locations in Koreatown, Larchmont, Beverly Hills, Studio City, Temecula, West Hollywood (the original), Westwood and Sawtelle. In New York they're on 32nd Street and in Chelsea. I don't think the Las Vegas location is open yet.

I've put a limit on myself, only one Pinkberry a week!

Clutches

2006-12-19T17:48:00.000-08:00

Last week a guy friend of mine pointed to the leather clutch i was holding (my favorite which i bought in Italy) and said, "I'll never understand these things." I responded with a tirade highlighting the amazing invention that is the clutch. After all, what other purse can fit your essentials while looking chic (and not taking the attention away from your outfit) and not prevent you from getting down on the dance floor by putting a lot of weight on your shoulders and making you all awkward, well more awkward than most of us look dancing. My favorite clutch fits my cell phone, tiny wallet with cash/credit cards, keys and my digital camera. Plus, I always feel so ladylike and classy carrying one around. It also proves the point that women can survive without purses that make us look like we just robbed a bank.

As with all pieces of clothing there is a diverse price range of clutches around.

For the woman with uh, no budget, there's this beautiful Bottega Venetta Gold Clutch with their signature leather braiding from www.net-a-porter.com that comes with a whopping price tag of $1100.00 (left). Or there's also this Tod's Marlene Clutch (right) made out of brown lizard skin (which might explain it's $1400 price tag)

Faithful Sex and the City watchers will know that Judith Leiber crystal studded clutches are apparently a must-have for any high society woman. But is it just me or are they kinda, I dunno, tacky and ugly? It's like rhinestone city pretty much only for a ridiculous amount of money. For example, this weirdo goldfish clutch which is $4495.00(left) She's got purses in the shapes of cats, birds and poodles too. To be fair, she does have some more understated purses which are more simple that aren't too bad. Like this Slender Curve Pave Crystal Clutch $1495.00 (right)

My favorite are the Lauren Merkin clutches. Her most famous shape is the Louise (left) which comes in over 30 colors, fabrics and designs. Her other famous design Eve (right) comes in over 40 different colors, fabrics and designs also. I can't really tell the big difference though, can you? They both range from $150-$450 depending on which design you choose.

Clutches also come in a lot of different fabrics with great patterns. AMICI Accessories has some great clutches, a few of them look like copies of the Lauren Merkin. I got a purse once from Amici and it was nice, however, the quality wasn't what I had hoped for. I especially like this Black Chain Reaction clutch $54.00 (left). It also comes in white and red. This Vintage Chocolate Clutch (right) is also nice.

Mango also has some great clutches. The one on the left is $35.00. The one on the right is $65.00 and I like how it has a detachable shoulder strap so it is a purse and a clutch. I like it in black better though.

Forever 21, Wetseal, H&M, Rampage and Target all have much more reasonably priced clutches. For example, Target has some great ones. Like this Sparkle Clutch $12.99 (left). Looks familiar doesn't it (cough, Judith Leiber, cough). I actually really like this, hmmm, maybe a new year's present to myself. There's also this Frame Clutch in the ever popular crocodile design for $16.99 (right). Or the Merona Wallet Clutch for $14.99 (bottom). Man i love Target.
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If a clutch still feels like you're dragging too much around then there's always coach wristlets $48-$128. It fits my keys, phone (granted my razr's pretty small), ID, cash and credit card, but that's about it.

Sweater Dresses

2006-12-17T23:11:00.000-08:00

One of the nice things about living in LA is that you can still wear something like a sweater dress and not be freezing in the winter time. The great thing about sweater dresses is that they're totally warm and stylish at the same time. It's always tough finding outfits that are both functional and stylish. However, if you're like me and very sensitive to wool, sweater dresses can be tough.

Sweater dresses are also really versatile. They can be dressed up with leggings andknee high boots/heels/ankle boots (although i'm not a big fan of the ankle boottrend). Or with skinny jeans and flats/heels/knee high boots. Of course, a big belt around your waist usually will work with them also.
I already posted about this KAROO Mark Eisen Sweater Dress $352.00 here it is again, so cute! The thing that's great about this dress is that it's a little looser so it doesn't show everything.

The turtleneck version (left) is also pretty and probably even warmer. It's on sale for $281.60 This Kimono dress $242.00 at Shopbop.com (right) is also gorgeous. I love the color and how the belt looks with it. All these KAROO dresses can be found at www.shopbop.com

For something a little funkier try this Diane Von Furstenberg Kody Sweater Dress $415.00 or this Victoria's Secret Cut Out silk and cashmere dress $75

For a sexy version of the sweater dress try Vince's Cashmere Halter Dress $265.00. You'll be sure to turn heads at any holiday party.

If you're on a budget or you don't feel like spending a lot of money on something that might only be around one season, there are also a lot of options.

I went into Wet Seal the other day (first time in at least 5 years) and found these sweater dresses. Not the best quality but still look great. The store had some fun and trendy stuff for really reasonable prices, I might be going back soon.
Scoop Neck Belted Sweater Dress $24,50 (left) I bought this one and am going to wear my own belt with it, it looks great on and doesn't itch). There's also this Mock Neck Sweater Dress also $22.50 (right)

I've never bought any clothing from Victoria's Secret but after seeing these 2 sweater dresses that might change.
Silk Sweater Dress $75.00 (left) or this Puff Sleeve Turtleneck Dress $78.00 (right)

For something with a little pattern there's always this Kimchee and Blue Dress at Urban Outfitters. On sale for $49.99 (left) Or this Free People Lambswood Fairisle Dress $98.00 at Urban Outfitters (right)

Sometimes sweater dresses can show all your imperfections because the material is clingy and the dresses are tight. But don't let that deter you from wearing them, that's what Spanx are for!

Lip Balm conspiracy?

2006-12-16T22:26:00.000-08:00

So I've heard musings of how lip balm is addictive and the more you use it the more you need it. There are some(crazy) people who believe it's a big conspiracy and that we don't need lip balm at all to keep our lips moist, it's just a false need created by the makers of lip balm. Um, i don't really believe that. However, after using Rosebud Lip Slave for a couple years i noticed it stopped working, especially once it started getting a little colder and dryer here. While talking to the sales girl at the Benefit counter I learned that lip balm is not addictive but the active ingredient in most of them, Petroleum (often listed as Petrolatum in the ingredients) is addictive. It's addictive in the sense that your lips need it to be moist so you have to keep using it and eventually it doesn't work as well. Sure enough, my rosebud Lipsalve is petroleum based. I went home and looked for new lip balms in my make up arsenal and it turns out ALL of them had petroleum in them. So I went to Sephora and bought 2 new petroleum-free lip balms which i LOVE.

After I stopped using Petroleum lip balms, i swear, my lips felt like they really wanted it. Even though I was wearing other lip balm, they felt unsatisfied. Maybe it was psychological or maybe those lip balm conspiracists are actually right.

Sugar Lip Treatment by Fresh $22.50
This was the first one i bought and it's fantastic. It has SPF 15 in it and although it's not cheap you don't need to use a lot of it and you get a lot in the tube. It also smells nice. Supposedly it also plumps up your lips a little bit.

Skin Care Lip Balm by Dr. Hauschka $14.50
I use this at night since it doesn't have SPF 15 in it. I really like it even though it's not as smooth as the Fresh lip balm.

If you don't want to spend a lot of money on lip balm than you can't go wrong with Burts Bees Beeswax Lip Balm $2.50. It's all natural, petroleum free and comes in a convenient little tube. You can also buy it at any drugstore.

If your lips are really really dry and you need something stronger I would suggest using Lipscription by Benefit $30. I've never bought a Benefit product that I didn't love, and their packaging is always pretty. (What can i say, I'm a sucker for packaging) They come up with the most creative products. The lipscription is a 2 step treatment. The first tube is buffing beads which you use to exfoliate your lips and get rid of the old skin. That way when you use the Silky Lip balm (the second tube), it will be more effective. However, the Silky Lip Balm does have petroleum in it so I would only do this process 2 or 3 times a week so your lips don't become addicted to the petroleum. I would also do it at night so it doesn't rub off while you eat, drink and talk throughout the day. Then you'll wake up with plump, soft lips and you can use the other products I mentioned to maintain.

Regina Spektor

2006-12-16T01:04:00.000-08:00

I am currently obsessed with Regina Spektor and i love this video for her great song Fidelity. This whole black/white thing infused with color has been done before but something about this video seems so fresh and new. It also matches the song so well. Makes me wish I still played piano and could carry a tune.

Merry Christmas to me

2006-12-16T00:56:00.000-08:00

So this past weekend I bought myself a couple things for christmas. Well, i bought a couple things and basically made up the excuse that it was for Christmas. Or it could be my post-LSAT gift to myself or it would be my weekend present to myself, i can always find some sort of excuse. Believe it or not, the whole learning self control while shopping thing is going well. There's about a bagillion more things that I wanted. Baby steps, baby steps.

So I've wanted these Tory Burch Reva flats for a lllooonngg time and heard how comfy they are. I decided just to fish out the cash and go for it. It's okay, i don't need to eat. They have them in leopard, black patent, blue patent, orange, green, brown, gold, silver python. I decided to get Navy Blue with the silver buckle, simple is always better with me.

I also bought this Joie "Think of Me" Dress (which is such a stupid name for a piece of clothing) from Bloomingdales. It was a great deal too, on sale plus 25% off then another 15% off that. I love a good deal. I have so many dresses now but i love them, plus i really wanted a red dress.

I definitely can't shop for a while after this little splurge since I have to save up for London and Paris where I can go to Top Shop and Zadig and Voltaire. Until then, I'll longingly look at the next couple things on my Christmas Wishlist.

Alex Woo Little Faith Lotus Blossom necklace. LOVE the diamond studded one, but probably going to get the silver one.

Even if i save all my paychecks i don't think i could afford this Mike & Chris Cropped Clark Jacket at its $835 price tag. Even when I go to the Mike & Chris sample sale it's still going to be over $400. Sigh.

I saw this sweater dress on Closet Therapy and loved it. It'd be so great with mom and dad's xmas present, knee high boots and leggings, but since I'm kind of allergic to wool i dont' think that's happening. Even though this KAROO dress is 100% cashmere, I know it would start to itch after a few hours. I'm getting itchy just looking at it. Oh well.

My job doesn't absolutely require office type clothing, but I like dressing up a little bit. Probably because the whole business casual thing is new to me. This Nanette Lepore top would be so cute under a black jacket for work and then with a pair of jeans, a clutch and a black shrug for going out.