Nanette Lepore

As all the wonderfully dedicated readers of this column should know, I have been quite inspired by Rory Gilmore's wardrobe this season. So for all those who don't watch Gilmore Girls, Rory (the main young character,) goes to her rich grandparents' house for semi-formal dinners every Friday night. So she gets to wear pretty dresses for those dinners! Once, there was a house party and Rory turned up in this simple but really pretty black dress that I absolutely adored:

Isn't it so perfect for a stylish classical girl? And then in the last episode of this season, Rory wore another outfit that has since been imprinted in my brain:

The flowery top underneath matches the white cardigan so perfectly. Even though at that moment, Rory was telling her mum Lorelai that she was going to quit Yale, I can't help but admire how she can still be wearing such a pretty outfit in that outfit for such a not-pretty situation.

So I did some research and found out that all three items mentioned above were from the same brand: Nanette Lepore. Some of you may already be familiar with this brand since they sell it in quite a few department stores. But I must gush over how pretty their Spring/Summer o5 collection is. The whole theme is so girlish and feminine. It makes one look stylishly pretty without looking like one had tried hard. Take a look at my fav outfits from the collection:

(Left) Such a beeautiful dress. I love the patterns and the cutting. And the colors? Absolutely marvelous. (Right) This dress is perfect for this season since such prints is ever so trendy.

(Left) Even for such a simple dress, that single mesh layer at the bottom makes the colors more alive. Notice the African tribal influenced necklace. (Right) I love the way the dress blends a black & white print with a colorful print so well. And the way is swishes and swashes when it moves is just splendid.

(Left) A relatively normal outfit (considering that it is not a fancy dress.) But still so stylishly put together. Striped blazer and skirt on top and bohemian shirt underneath. (Right) Another ethnic influenced dress. This dress can be worn casually or formally -all depends on how you match the accessories and your makeup.

Nanette Lepore does actually sell a lot of casual clothes like that second last outfit shown. To see more, go to the Nanette Lepore website or visit your local department stores, (such as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom.)

Harrods Girl Shops the Harrods 05 Summer Sale

So Monday was the first day of the Harrods Summer Sale. This time, Brittany Murphy launched the sale. She arrived in true royal English style -sitting daintily in a horse-drawn carriage led by bagpipers and shielded herself from the sun with a matching parasol.

The Harrods Sale is a bi-annual national event which all Londoners race to Harrods in hope of snagging that precious brand-named item they have been eyeing on finally on sale. The first day was horrendous -my friends who attended reported that you had to line up to get into specific boutiques such as Dior. Gucci's mega-long queue extended from the store to around the corner, and out of Harrods. There was so many people one could hardly move.

So being the smart and slightly claustrophobic shopper that I am, I went to the Harrods sale on its second day, (yesterday.) I was amazed that there wasn't actually too many people there and I was able to breathe in fresh air and walk around quite freely. The sale was absolutely fabulous and had so much more to offer than I originally guessed.

First stop was the ground floor Dior boutique. But since I didn't need a new bag, I moved onto the second floor Prada boutique where I fell in love with a Prada shirt. It was black, with ribbons and beads all over it like a neckalce design. But alas, it was 198pounds. After much consideration, sensibility won over sense and I heartbrokenly put down the shirt.

I moved swiftly though many other brand named apperal sections, not finding anything interesting. Then I arrived at the shoe section, and boy was there lots of shoe-loving women there. After trying on many pairs of shoes and not particularly falling in love with any pair, I left and finally found the "international designer casual wear" section.

Yay! I FINALLY bought something.

First item is this Marc by Marc Jacobs T-shirt. It looks fantastic when being worn on a person, as opposed to just being folded. And most amazingly, they still had XS so I quickly snatched it up.

The second item was a white summer dress also by Marc by Marc Jacobs. (I love this brand too much.) Its fabric and design was quite sophisticated, and there is a row of buttons at the left-hand side to install the typical MJ-funkiness. (Unfortunately I could not find a photo to show you guys and the dress is already packed into my luggage so I could not take a photo of it.)

Lastly, I went back to the ground floor, where were baskets of Dior jewelery. I've wanted Dior jewelery for so long as they are great to wear to parties and clubs. I chose this necklace because it could be worn elegantly to posh places or worn not-so-elegantly to night events like clubbing. (Not to mention that it was a rare Dior jewelery that didn't look all too tacky.)

I was smiling the whole way home on the tube. A heart-felt productive day always has that effect on me.

The Overrated Juicy Tube

I know, the Lancome Juicy Tube has been around for AGES now. I was not enamored of it and had not been struck with an incredible need to own it unlike some people I know, when it first came out. But after so many raving reviews from everyone around me (both online and in real life) I finally gave into the urge and bought the new Juicy Tubes: Mood in Glamorous. My reason is either THAT or the prettiness of the tube and their new summer color ad. I'm not sure if they have it in the US, because I found this on the Lancome Japan site, so it might just be a Asia thing (like their Lancome Homme). Anyhow, its part of their Summer 2005 collection and it has a bit of a sweet cherry taste to it.

But anyway, I'm sure all Juicy Tubes are the same with slight variations. My verdict? I am not impressed. There is a little color, it gives my lips a bit of shine, is slightly less sticky then my Mac lipgloss and the slanted applicator idea is a stroke of marketing genius. I guess its good for everyday use. But overall its not all what everyone is making it out to be. I mean, I can definitely do without it and still be happy with my MAC clear lipglass.

Its just SO shiny and glossy! I adore it. Although it IS a bit sticky at times, but no ones perfect right?

The Relaunch of the Paddington

All the rich and fashionables rejoice! The Spring/Summer 05 'it' bag, THE Chloe Paddington, will be relaunched in three different colors for the Fall/Winter 05 season.

The Chloe Paddington is this season's all-hailed bag. It's become such a cult sensational item that if you see someone carrying it, then that someone must be truly significant, or a mega client of Chloe, because this fabulous bag had been sold out since... well, since it hit the stores.

Let's be honest, most of you probably haven't even seen the bag in real life before, let alone touch it. It actually sounds like some kind of mystical holy thing that only those blessed (with money and connections,) are able to trot them around. In some ways it is true. A Chloe saleslady had told Barneys Girl's disappointed mum that each Chloe boutique only stocked up to SIX Paddingtons! And obviously, it was an item that would not be restocked. Heck, even I have only just very recently seen the bag -a woman was carrying it in the lift after work.

Following this amazing sucess, Chloe is relaunching the bag in three new colors for next season: red, chocolate brown and khaki. Available at US$1380 or 762 pounds.

Red
Khaki
Chocolate brown

It is amazing that Chloe is not raising its price, considering that demand is high and supply is low. *Gasp* Could it be the people at Chloe had decided to not exploit the laws of supply and demand and did not increase prices? I don't know if I should call them kind or dumb.

Paddingtons, although still look super fantastic and beautiful, is starting to loose their to-die-for appeal on me. Maybe gushing over them over this post and staring at the images too long is making me feel jaded towards them. I'm sure I'll feel better about them tomorrow.

Let's just hope I actually get to see the new Paddingtons in real life this time.

Buy one get one free!

Remember some time ago I wrote about how one should always wear no panty line skin colored panties when wearing white pants? Well to ensure that everyone DOES wear no panty line panties and save the rest of us from knowing what you're wearing underneath -cause we REALLY don't want to know- the lovely people at Jockey has offered us a buy one pair of "No Panty Line Promise® panties" get one free special!! That basically translates to HALF PRICE! This offer is good from now through July 30 2005 only at jockey.com®. All you have to do is enter the coupon code: NOLINES at check out. So STOCK UP everyone!

Offer good only at Jockey.com operated by Jockey International Global, Inc. Qualifying styles 1200, 1207, 1208, 1330, 1338, 1370, 1371, 1372, 1200, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1206, 1207, 1291, 1292 and 1293. Excludes No Panty Line Promise® camisoles, tanks, and crop tops. Offer expires July 30, 2005. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Valid while supplies last. Selection from available stock only. No rain checks. Void where prohibited. Jockey®, jockey.com®, No Panty Line Promise® are trademarks of Jockey International, Inc.

Yes, I do mean MARNI, not Armani!

The brand Marni is still relatively unknown to a lot of people. Usually when I say Marni, people go 'huh? You mean Armani?' No! I mean MARNI. And if you still don't know which brand Marni is, after I mentioned it so many times in this blog, then you really need to pay more attention.

Marni's style admittingly does not appeal to a lot of people. It leans towards the crafty, quirky style. And I'll even admit that the Marni clothes are in general hard to wear, (unless you have a supermodel figure.) And the prices are definately high. But still, the Marni style manages to blend creativity and the lady style so well that its always worth the time just to have a look.

Spring/Summer 05:

Fall/Winter 05:

Marni's shop decore is absolutely FABULOUS and very unique. It usually consists of bent silver rails with items hung sparsely, and there are also a few special selected items which hang from the ceiling. Marni clothes and accessories are very lovely -funky and lady-like; casual and still stylish.

Let's take a global Marni trip:

Japan

Milan

New York

PS. Mary Kate was just seen shopping at Marni in Paris and New York a few weeks ago.

How to Wear This Season's Nautical Influences

So I was talking about the nautical look yesterday. Remember that is it not Halloween so don't dress like a navy form head to toe. To help you out, here are some tips:

- This year it's all about mixing the trends: Mix the goddess look with the nautical look, or match a boho piece with blue shorts. Striped blazer with a bow is great for outerwear.
- To look extra stylish, focus on white, gold and blue. Gold is only for accessories or small details on the clothes.

- The aim is to look YOUNG and even sophisticated, so use light-colored makeup. For example, pale pink lip gloss with very light eyeshadow (such as shimmery white,) OR light layer of dark eyeshadow (such as blackish bronze color.)

Here are a few nautical-influenced picks:

(L) This Lux white crochet tank is great as it blends the crochet trend with the nautical look. It can be worn loose, or tie a belt around it. (R) Then, wear a striped blazer on top, like this Marc Jacobs pinstrips rosette blazer. The stripes on this blazer is quite well designed, if you notice the directions of the stripes.

(L) Perhaps if you live in a place where the summer is hot, this white Larok cap sleeve jacket is more suitable. The slightly puffed up sleeves give it a more tailored look. (R) One of my top nautical pick's this summer is this pair of Cacharel striped shorts. It's absolutely perfect for this summer's feel.

Many times, only an experienced fashion eye, (or in my case, spending lots of time finding these items,) these two pairs of navy pants look the same. If you look carefully, the Marc Jacobs cropped pants (L) is more tailored for a more polished look, white the Vanessa Bruno cropped pants (R) is more suitable when you want to appear super casual.

(L) Another good choice is white cropped pants, such as this Susana Monaco one. (R) As mentioned before, gold accessories go best this season. Try long gold necklaces, such as a charm necklace. The one shown is from Intuition.

This Chloe vanity case bag is soooo pretty and perfect for the nautical-influenced look, with the gold and brown leather parts. Of course, most of us can't actually afford it, but use it as an inspiration!

For your feet, wear flat sandals, such as this one from Intuition. (Does this not remind you of the Prada design?) Or wear...

wedged sandals such as this leather wooden sandal from Urban Outfitters. This style is seen in the high end brands like Miu Miu and Marni. And the best thing is that it not only goes with the nautical look, but also all the other look this season!

Spring/Summer 2005 Nautical Look

It seems like every summer when you flick through magazines there will be at least one feature or fashion shoot that centres around the nautical look. This season, yes, the nautical look is 'in', again. But luckily, for once, there is actually a wide variety of selection which won't make you look like a cheesy sailor or navy, (thank goodness!)

Important:
The point is NOT to look totally nautical. The point this season is the nautical influences blending into some of this season's trends. I know that a lot of you probably still don't exactly get how to wear the look, especially how to mix it with this season's little quirks. So I dug out a few inspiration photos for you all from the S/S05 catwalks.

(All) Alexander McQueen is definately one of the unique stars in the fashion scene nowadays. He does the trend in a way like no other designers. Here, it is a nautical-infleunced school girl look. All the clothes are cut so precisely and stylishly. On the third image, the model is wearing a boho sort of white short dress underneath the blazer. The boots are stylish, but not quite suitable for the hot summer.

(L) Whenever magazines mention the nautical look for this season, this dress shows up. And of course, which magazine can resist the oppurtunity to mention a Chloe dress this season? This dress really is so pretty and casual.(R) The Chloe nautical jacket in this image is actually really nice, (but the photo doesn't zoom in enough for you to see it.) It's got blue stripes in different directions on it. Try to check out a nearby Chloe boutique, or in the Jan issue of American Vogue if you have it.

Both of these show you how to make use of the belt to make the nautical look appear more sophisticated and lady-like. This is more suitable for those who like to dress more mature. (L) Dries van Noten. (R) Stella McCartney.

These two images show how different the nautical influenced looks can be. (L) This mix-matched look is by Marc by Marc Jacobs. Learn from the Accessories Designer of the Year how to use accessories to make this nearly blue look more interesting. Even not-totally-nautical-influenced accessories are allowed! (R) All American take on the nautical look by Tommy Hilfiger. That skirt is so obviously nautical-influenced. This is a good look if you have dinner at your country club or to wear to work.