Rock the Black Blazer

I love love love blazers. My very first staple outerwear was a black blazer. Although I now realise it was a bit too big on me, my love for blazers never died. I now own other blazers, like a washed-out yellow one and a purple velvet one. But the one I really want is THE perfect black blazer, so I'm on a hunt.

Meanwhile, I thought I would share my recent favourite way to wear it. Actually, it was the only outfit I wore during my last Christmas holidays: Skinny/straight leg jeans, a flowy long top with a blazer. It's simple yet looks so cool (love Sienna's outfit here). The blazer adds structure to the not-so-structured flowy top. And if you only wear black, grey and white, then you achieve a rock chick look like Lindsay here.

Blazers are also great for casual outfits, (for some reasons, people seem to be stuck with the idea that blazers are formal,) which is why I love it when Ashley wears it. Here are a few styling ideas from Ashley's outfits: you can try rolling up the sleeves and adding a colourful scarf to make the outfit look more casual (and warm). Blue jeans will of course, get you the more casual look, but black jeans feel cooler and edgier.

OK, I should stop blabbering about how much I love blazers and spend more time looking for my perfect black one, (or ideally many many ones).

Trying To Get Paris Hilton's Dior Sunglasses

My Brush With Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie

A couple of months ago, I received a call from a producer with Bunim/Murray Productions, the company known for creating The brand that has become MTV's Real World. At first , I was afraid, were they going to ask me to be on some sort of Real World: the Fashion Designer Edition? Well, I certainly would have said "No", especially if it would involve me taking my clothes off and jumping into a nasty hot tub with a bunch of useless 20 year old beer-loving kids! Next! Instead, the producer was asking me to be a Judge in an upcoming episode of Paris and Nicole's The Simple Life, another show produced by Bunim-Murray. For the new season, the girls were going to camp, and for this particular episode they were teaching little girls how to be beauty pageant winners. OK, my ears perked up. I was suddenly interested.

Then, he proceeded to tell me that there was a twist. The final pageant would NOT be for the daughters--but for their mothers instead. To coin Miss Paris Hilton: That's HOT! On several levels. I would get to meet THE Paris Hilton, and Miss Nicole Ritchie, all in one quick swoop. And judge a mommy-daughter beauty pageant. I had died and gone to Perez Hilton Heaven. We filmed in a Hilton Hotel(what a surprise) in Woodland Hills and had a fun time doing it. Paris and Nicole were a kick to say the least. When I was introduced to them, Nicole spoke up first and said "I love you, you were my favorite on the show", and Paris then added "You should have won..." This was all off camera so it was nice because they didn't have to say that. I was a bit distracted by the their over sized Dior sunglasses and brighter than bright ensembles, but somehow I still managed to say "Thank You". In fact, when the cameras finally went on, they asked us (the judges), what they could do for us to make their pageant girls have a winning edge? I quickly responded: "Can I have your Dior sunglasses and your Chanel bag?" (Think of the RECORD SCRATCHING SOUND right about now). They respectfully said "No". Divas to the end.

E! Entertainment is playing this "Beauty Pageant" episode currently as well as all the new season's episodes. Check your local listings or go online to E! Entertainment for times and dates. You can also click below or HERE and watch excerpts from my episode.

Chloe Shades SS07

Ever since I saw the latest Chloe shades at Nordstrom back in March, I've been in LOVE with them. They are flattering, girly, fun and most of all different from all the other shades on the streets. And it seems that the stars think so too, as many of them have been spotted wearing them.Ex-OC stars, Mischa Barton and Rachel Bilson wearing the Myrte. Ooo and I LOVE Mischa's jacket.
Lindsay Lohan and Cameron Diaz also sporting the Myrte.
And I must say, I agree with most of the stars here and prefer the second rounder one better, the design combined with the shape which is just so much more flattering, makes it perfect.The one Rachel has on is different, but definitely not as flattering. The aviator style sloping down thing makes it look more masculine and a bit sad- should shades have personalities that is.
For the longest time I was lusting after these hexagonal ones. Because I thought, well, I already have squarish ones, why not have a hexagon one? And these look great. And I also liked the off-white color too. But alas, after trying them on several times, I had to finally admit that they are not for me. Maybe I've become so accustomed to large frames now that I just can't accept smaller frames anymore...
Then at the store I tried on these ones (the lower rounder ones) in purple and it looked awesome. This shape is flattering and yet still different with its large round metal frame, half silver, half purple. Now THIS is fashion. But alas after MUCH debating, I finally decided that I'd like to wear them for more than one season and with that half silver and half purple rim thing, it was too trendy for me

In the end, I bought a similarly styled paired sans the dual colored rims, from Marc Jacobs in brown (I know, it doesn't quite look brown here, but it is. I considered the purple ones and they're much pinker than this). While the metal frames and round shape style is still the same, this design is much simpler, more feminine and much more classic. The only downside is that this design is not very condusive to sticking it on my head like a hairband cause the nose thing gets in the way. But I'll live ;)

Photo Credits: Chloe, Mischa Style, CoutureCandy and Life & Style.

Eye Lash Perming

Yesterday evening, BG and I went to do something really girly together -we got our eye lashes permed. For those of you who have never heard people getting their lashes, it's basically getting your eye lashes curled permenantly. Well, permenant for maybe a bit more than one month, but really, that's permenant enough since it's likely your lashes will fall off naturally around that time.

The procedure takes around forty-five minutes to an hour. Now I can't describe the whole, exact procedure because my eyes were closed the whole time but from what I understand, the facialist curled and glued the lashes around a small, round piece of plastic thing. The facialist also applied some perming chemicals onto the lashes. After 20 minutes, the facialist applied more chemicals. After another 20 minutes, the facialist used oil to remove the checials and glue and that plastic strip thing. Voila -you've got curled lashes.

OK, so the newly permed lashes look a bit clumped together (because not all the glue could be removed without the facialist scrubbing too hard,) but give it a few days and you'll look like you've got naturally curled lashes. This wasn't my first lash perm, but it was BG's. BG forgot to keep her eyes completely shut during the procedure so the chemicals stung her lashes a bit. So if you're planning to get your lashes permed, remember to keep your eyes shut tight!

Perming our lashes only cost us around HK$80 each, that's around US$10 each. It's totally worth it because curled lashes make one's eyes look so much more awake. Plus, now I don't have to curl my lashes or apply mascara on for my normal days. If anyone is trying to decide whether to get their lashes permed -do it! Anyone else had their lashes permed before?

SS07 Trend: Printed Shorts

I've never been much of a shorts fan growing up, but I'm currently LOVING my white shiny short shorts from Express. While it is easy to wear and looks awesome though, sometimes I do feel the urge to spice it up a bit. And therein comes the printed shorts!

My two favourite printed shorts look from Luella and Biba. These printed shorts adds just the perfect touch to the otherwise very standard tops.

Some more prints from Alice + Olivia (left), DVF (top right) and Forever 21 (bottom right). And the trick to making them not look like those printed beach surf shorts? Make sure they are of a structured cut and that you wear it with something of a simple style in a solid color that compliments the print of the short. Yes I know, its a very challenging thing to wear.

Something slightly more easier would be plaid prints, as on the Max Sports(left) and Luella (right)(well, its kind of plaid) runway. It makes an outfit instantly preppy and cute. Pair with slim sneakers for a more down to earth look.

Here are some selections from Abercrombie (top left), American Eagle (bottom left) and Juicy Couture (right). I daresay, you've probably seens a LOT of these about in the stores lately. One of my friends was also considering getting the ones from A&F, but alas it was $50 back then and didn't seem really worth it. Now its a very thin line between wearing these shorts and wearing your boyfriend's shrunken plaid boxers. Remember to wear something very clean cut and solid on top. You can even style it up with a pair of heels.For something a little more subtle (which I prefer more), try more subtly printed plaids, like this one from Abercrombie (left). But I am especially loving this one from Forever 21 (right) with its plaid cuffs.

Then there are the more or less classic striped shorts. The stripes from the D Squared (left) and Derek Lam (right) runway are more boldly and sharply contrasted than we are used to. Again match it with something simple and solid (like a white top). And for some extra oomph, throw on something of the same color as the colored stripes of your shorts. i.e. red striped shorts with the red bag (left).

To achieve the same casual look there are these striped shorts from Mulberry (left). And a bit less sharp, striped shorts from Abercrombie (right). Have fun with printed shorts!

Photo Credits: Elle.com, Net-a-Porter, Abercrombie, Forever 21 and American Eagle.

The Natural Look

I've always been into the natural look, you know, that made-up-natural-look that has been the trend in recent years (-or at least as long as I've paid attention to fashion and beauty anyways.) And I've always been excellent at applying this look, mainly because I always under-apply the makeup and think that I've applied too much, and also because it's actually quite hard to over-apply natural-coloured products. Just yesterday, my colleagues asked whether I actually had makeup on. So either I looked really worn out, or I am indeed an expert at the natural makeup look. I'll assume I'm the latter, naturally.

First I apply the oil free tinted moisturiser by Laura Mercier. It's excellent at making one's skin tone look even and it's seriously easy to apply -just use a tiny bit and use your fingers to spread a very thin layer on your face.

Then I apply blush. I usually use MAC's Pinch'O'Peach, which is a pale, orangey, mocha colour. But last Sunday, I just bought a blush named Well Dressed, which is pale pink. It really gives me the natural, prettily-blushed look.

Then I curl my lashes with my underused Shu Uemura eyelash curler. (But I'm way too lazy to apply mascara, or rather, to remove the mascara at the end of the night. Plus mascara makes my whole look feel made-up.)

Lastly, if I'm in a very good mood and have time left before leaving, I apply a teeny tiny bit of this brownish brown eye pencil (MAC's Bountiful Brown) on the outer eyelines (upper and lower eyelines).

All this takes me around 5 mintues. What is your daily makeup?

Photo credit: www.maccosmetics.com, www.shuuermura.com, www.lauramercier.com

Tony Party and 7th Annual Auction of 1000 Stars

Two weeks ago I was invited to The Actors Fund Tony Awards viewing Gala at the Skirball Center here in sunny Los Angeles. My bff, Louie Ancondo, who happens to be Director of Special Events for the Actors Fund was out here for this special occasion and he needed a date, I was available. I have to admit that besides being a "closet" Figure Skating fan, I also "loves me" a Broadway Show, (but don't tell anyone!). The night which included a silent auction and dinner was fabulously hosted by comedian/writer Bruce Vilanch who would drop in during commercials and give hilarious Paris Hilton updates. The highlight of my night was meeting (for the 2nd time) Grand Dame, Diva of all Diva's Carole Cook and I, of course, could not pass up this photo opportunity. What else could you ask for? Comedy, drama and lots of jazz hands!
And here is another special treat for Broadway fans. The Actors Fund is doing there 7th Annual Auction of 1000 Stars. I have donated 2 Fashion Sketches (one of my winning Project Runway Barbie and the other is a Nick Verreos interpreted sketch of Edie Beale from Grey Gardens). In addition, in this fun little package, you will get a signed headshot of Moi. You can check it all out HERE. Remember it goes to a great cause. You can read all about the Actors Fund HERE. Let the bidding begin!

Gwen Stefani Sweet Escape Concert 2007

After 6 months of waiting (yes, I bought the tickets as soon as it came out- and yet I still had less than ideal seats....) I FINALLY went to see the Gwen Stefani Sweet Escape concert a few weeks ago in Chicago. I was SOOOO looking forward to it, because after seeing the Cold Play and Maroon 5 concert- which were good but not really as exhilarating as I'd imagined, I decided that I most wanted to see Gwen Stefani because I love her and her music. Plus then at least I'd know and like most of her songs and from all her music videos, she seemed like a good performer. That turned out to be an understatement because Gwen is a BRILLIANT performer and the whole concert was just AWESOME.

First of all, the location was great. Even though we had to drive about 1.5 hours away from the city to get there and it was literally in the middle of nowhere (and I am not a fan of the middle of nowhere), going to a concert at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre was an experience in itself. I've probably just not been to my share of concerts, but the experience of being in a open stadium listening to a concert with 20,000 other excited people expanding far behind on the green lawn on such a beautiful spring night was just overwhelmingly brilliant.

Shopping wise, I must say, they had a pretty good selection. Tank tops, many really cute printed tees, posters, badges, beanies, scarves, dolls, toys and such. But what I was REALLY looking for, was a black cap that says "The Sweet Escape 2007" on in swirly handwriting with a small squigle of Gwen's signature on the corner in silver or black (this is purely from a figment of my imagination, but I think that it SHOULD exist!). I'm confident that I'd at least wear it once or twice. Whereas if I got a tshirt, it would end up rotting in my wardrobe (like my Corrs tank top) and me never wanting to ruin it by wearing it. So in the end, I got a booklet (above) on the show, and in the end I think that was a good investment.

We had seats at towards the center on the second pavilion (I don't understand why I couldn't buy tickets in the first pavilion when I started booking tickets the day it was out....) and had an ok view of the stage. The opening act of the opening act was Lady Sovereign, which I've kind of heard of. But not exactly my type of music.

Half an hour later, the actual opening act comes out- AKON! Personally I don't really know much of Akon's songs besides Lonely, but it was a brilliant opening act. He really got the crowd going and he has inspired me to listen to his music some more.

Another half an hour to an hour later (I never understand why they make you wait), Gwen FINALLY comes out in a golden cage that pops onto stage, singing the Sweet Escape and we all go wild. And the BEST thing I love about her is that she sang music from her last cd (which I liked better) too. She danced, she sang, there were matching themes according to her songs. (sidenote: don't you just love how the stage setting improves as you get along towards the "main" course?).Like when she sang Yummy, she changed into this apron outfit (right) along with her dancers and the background screen showed multicolored candies dancing around. And I think there were even a treadmill and two mini trampolines on the stage to help with some of the excellently chereographed and executed dance moves. Definitely a great performer.
Costume wise, there were some that really only Gwen can carry off. Like this kimino wrap thing...what IS it? From afar, it looked like a short pink bubble dress, but from the book......I have no idea. And the whole showing the midriff thing, I hope that remains in the 90s. But this whole thing made me realise the place for overdramatized clothes. Like this simple blue/white striped shirt for example. From afar it looked like a simple shirt with a slight twinkle, but on a closer look, it is actually made of sparkly blue/white sequins. The sequins really made her stand out from afar.
My favourite outfits in the whole show were these two. I love the preppy yet edgy look she has here. I am totally going to look into those prints next fall. Her long trench coats were just SOOOO pretty. I think towards the end at the encore, there was this other similar coat that was just as amazing. I bet these are all available from LAMB as part of her smart marketing technique. And her SHOES. Even from afar I could tell they were sexy gorgeous shoes
At one point, she even ran off stage and into the audience. Luckily we were on the right side of the pavilion, because she ran to our side and stopped just 3 meters away from us and started to sing, Cool (love that song)!!!! We were all kicking ourselves for not buying tickets a few rows backer! And WOW she has amazing abs for a mother (or anyone!). Its hard to remember that she looks pretty with all the make-up and costume thing Gwen wears all the time on her MV's.

So in case you haven't gotten the message yet, it was an AMAZING SHOW. I loved it sooooo much, that just writing about it now makes me excited all over again :D Even my friend who doesn't even like Gwen Stefani thought it was an awesome show. Sigh.... it was the one concert that left me happy and smiling for at least a weekend after. The PERFECT end to my school year :)

ps. Sorry, my scanner broke and I had to use my camera....

One Of My Random Outfits...

Just wanted to post an outfit I wore for a Friday night out a few weeks ago:

Simple black dress from Uniqlo, which I only discovered recently (yes I'm slow,) and visited because I wanted to check out the Phillip Lim for Uniqlo collection but didn't see any when I was there (-so disappointed!) Instead I picked this dress up. The best thing about it is that it's made of cotton, so it's machine-washable!

A belt from Kate Moss Top Shop. I love the studs and that it's wraps around the waist two times. What I'm not too big on is the suade because it's such an easy-to-get-dirty material. Yes it's over-priced but I was in desperate need for a belt and it's hard for me to find a belt I actually like.

Gold shoes to add a bit of nighttime glam to the outfit. And I wore a bright emerald green-coloured wrap on top. I figure when I get sick of wearing this outfit at night, I can just wear it with gladiator sandals instead as a daytime outfit. Genius (not)!

Photo credit: http://www.topshop.com/, http://www.uniqlo.com/

West Hollywood meets Silver Lake!

Forgive me if I have not been posting lately but Uncle Nicky (that's me, yes, writing in third person!) has been busy traveling across the country (New York) to film some more of my MSN fun fashion segments and San Francisco where I made a "special appearance". But I really wanted to post all these photos from two recent events I attended.

First up was the GoWeho.com Launch Party at Eleven in West Hollywood. GoWeHo.com is this great website that will feature fashion , art and entertainment in West Hollywood and highlight special events , designers, stylist, artists, making a special mark in this great city. I was asked to host this event so of course, I brought Amanda Fields, model/muse/rent-a-date extraordinaire, who came over to my Atelier and I lent her one of my flirty silk dresses to wear for the event. I decided to feature my recently-purchased deep v-neck tee from one of my favorite stores in Soho, Lounge. But, I didn't realize how DEEP that V was until I saw these photos. Oh Dear! I am sorry if I offended anyone by my gratuitous display of non-cleavage!

Others in attendance were the sexy Wilson Cruz, April Clark from "Stomp The Yard", Bootz from "Flavor Of Love" and "Charm School", actress/comediane Judy Tenuta as well as actress Elaine Hendrix from "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" . Amanda is a "huge" fan of Elaine's so I had to get a photo of them together. I think that made Amanda's month!

Next up, it was Gay Pride Los Angeles. My friend Woody Woodbeck, whom I befriended as an associate producer last year when Bravo was filming some Project Runway segments for the Third Season, asked me to be a "special guest" at his first annual Trevor Project Presents "Reality Check" at MJ's in Silver Lake. Well, as quick as you could say "Gay Hipster", of course I joined in on the fun. As you can see, I decide to wear my white jacket--AGAIN--since, by the looks of it, I have NO OTHER JACKET in my closet to wear! But this time, I made sure to pair it with a more demure crew-neck style t-shirt.

It was a night of Reality Show "celeb's", and I use the term very loosely, including myself, thank you very much! Danny Bonaduce, all of a sudden rode up , all "butch", on his motorcycle, then the opposite of "butch"--Alex and Lynn, the two "Amazing Race" contestants, who have, in fact become acquaintances of mine, were also in attendance. I said "Hello" to Lisi, a contestant from this season's "Survivor: Fiji", in which my lovely sister, Rita, was also a contestant . Along with Andrae Gonzalo, I was supposed to do a Project Runway-inspired "Walk Off" with attendees. Instead , we decided to give away DVD's of our season, after they answered our impromptu Project Runway questions. Some of the questions we came up with were: "Where was judge Nina Garcia from?", "Who allegedly slept with Andrae?", and "What was the name of the place we lived in?". Colombia, Santino, and The Atlas, are the answers, in case you were wondering.

One of my favorite blog sites, Blogging Project Runway, sent one of their West Coast "reps" (don't it sound so official??") to the MJ's event in Silver Lake. Johnathan and his wife were the sweetest they could be, asking me questions and taking photos for the site. He is straight and married, which, of course, led to a fifteen minute soliloquy of teasing about how "all the gays would likely be pinching him!" Alas, Johnathan was disappointed: No one touched him, except me (I am South American /Greek, after all!) and his wife. The ubiquitous Amanda Fields was also there and we all had a "Reality Show" blast and made sure to check our no-excuse-to-be-a-Diva entitlement at the door, in lieu of having a great time---and I did!

MAC Brow Clear Finisher

One of my many lazy traits is that I don't like plucking my eye brows too much. Many girls I know pluck them into these perfect and narrow arches, and while that looks great on some people, it just looks so superficial on others. Some of my brow hair is a bit long and they droop down so they make it look like I've got hair under the brows and mess up the arches. One way to deal with this (not from solid knowledge) is that you can cut long eye brow hair shorter. I can' t even figure out how to pluck my eye brows to get that arch, so I definitely don't want to start cutting my brow hair. (And I'm still way too cheap to get a professional plucker to do my brows.)

The second way is use a product to make the brow hair stay in position. This way can be done in a variety of products. You've probably seen those eye brow shapers that look like mascaras, such as from Bobbi Brown. I've thought about trying those mascara-looking brow shapers out but I figured since I wouldn't be using it often, I wanted a product that I wouldn't have to replace after six months usage. Thankfully, when I visited MAC to look at eye shadows, the saleslady recommended me MAC's Brow Finisher (picture above,) which is basically a wax stick. It applies on clear so you can't really tell you've applied makeup on there. Most importantly, I just really like how simple it is to just stroke the finisher at the outer ends of the brow to keep the brow in position. So even if you're only so-and-so eyebrows, fixing their shape really helps define them. It is now a must-have in my makeup bag. Loves it!

Photo credit: http://www.maccosmetics.com

SS07: Neon Bright Colors on the Street

A few weeks ago I took note of the neon bright colors on the runway. But in reality, how many of us are going to go out dressed like one of those bright orange and yellow road cones?

Taking the trend a step down for the streets, we have subtle bits of neon to brighten up solid dark shades, like here at Gucci (left) and Lanvin (right).
To be more economical, instead of finding outfits with built in neons, accessorize the solid colors you already own with neons! Take here on the Cacharel (left) and DVF(right) runway- I LOVE how the bright belts adds extra personality to each outfit. The yellow belt makes the outfit instantly younger. And the fuschia belt gives the stark black dress a softer, more feminine and flirty touch.
So copy this look with this cheap skinny fuschia belt from UO and this not-quite-so-cheap yellow Elegantly Waisted cummerbund belt from Shop Bop.
Even easier, forget the belts and just grab neon bright bags/shoes and pair it with neutral colored outfits, like here on the Marni (left) and Paul Smith Woman (right) runway.
For neon accessories, don't pick anything too fancy. The color IS the style. Go for something simple and classic, like these yellow ballet flats and even just flip flops from UO.
Or this simple yellow tote from UO. For something slightly trickier but definitely refreshing, try sprucing up your summer wardrobe with neon colored tights instead of the usual black ones, which frankly, becomes quick boring after all this time.
Something more subtle (and definitely more economical) that I'd probably go for are neon colored jewelry, like these necklace and bangles from Forever 21. They are the simplest and the most economical way to embrace this trend.
Then there are the neon colored skinny headbands and colored shades. I'm actually considering getting a pair of colored shades cause they look so cool. Incidentally I tried on a similar pair as the ones shown above at UO the other day and the fit is amazing. My only concern is that you'd have to make sure that the outfit you're wearing works with this particular colored shade- and hence my shades are either black or white. On the other hand.... it IS only $14.

The thing to be careful about with all this neon bright trend is that its a thin line between looking trendy and looking cheap. So try to be more subtle, pick one neon accessory and pair it with a classy looking outfit!

Photo Credits: www.elle.com, www.urbanoutfitters.com, www.forever21.com