mortiz022

One of my favourite things to do towards the end of a season, is to scope out Shopbop for bargains during their final sales period. Sadly as much time as I spend stalking Shopbop, I have no actually bought anything from there besides a pair of Marc by MJ shoes which I'd been pining for months and have tried on in real life first. But alas, I keep trying. Here is what I've scout out this season- and for those of you interested, don't forget to act fast on the Labor Day weekend sale! It IS the day to reap the rewards of your labor after all (or so my friend tells me). A elegant silk red top (Rebecca Taylor) that is sexy yet feminine and girly at the same time, with the cute rosettes lining the bodice. And no, these YSL heels are not from Shopbop, but I thought I'd include them anyway since these two items clearly belong with each other (they are also on sale!). Items that I probably wouldn't mind wearing next year- and maybe in the next month or so depending on the we...

Last week while going through the leftover sale merchandises of a store, I found this black skirt and to my surprise, they actually had it in my size. I've been on the look for a black skirt for awhile and since I don't think the skin tight black skirts which are pretty popular these days are particularly flattering, this seemed to be close enough to what I was looking for. The grey block made me hesistate at first, but my sister persuaded me to buy it (-she thought I was being too picky.) The skirt looks sort of flat and crinkly in the photo (my bad) but when you put it on, it actually sort of puffs up like a ball. Yes I realise this sort of bubble skirts aren't all too trendy anymore but it's cute and on sale. OK, so how to wear it? I wanted to make sure I didn't wear it with a white dress shirt or anything that would look like officewear. The key is to keep everything casual. But since I've never actually owned black skrits (or anything mid-wa before, I looke...

The other weekend, my friends and I had a sudden craving for some good quality burgers and shakes, so we thought- Johnny Rockets! But when we got there having anticipated it for hours, we couldn't find it! Where did Johnny Rockets go? After much wandering around, we finally realized that it has been replaced with a Penguin store. Personally I didn't realize they had enough merchandise to warrant a whole store. I'd always associated Penguin with men's polo and preppy menswear in general. I didn't know they had womens wear! So it appears that they do. And the style very much reminds me of the likes of Ted Baker, which is ironic since this brand stems from Minneapolis. Looking at the window display (instead of indulging in burgers and shakes), I rather liked the shirt dress (above left) they showed. Admittedly it isn't a dress that immediately takes the breath away, but I like to think that there is a subtle charm to it- it also played right into my sudden recent o...

I saved the image of this yellow t-shirt dress by See by Chloe (from the Cruise collection) when it was still online a few months ago. It's bright, casual and looked like such a fun, easy-to-wear dress for the summer. I never managed to see it in real life but it got me looking out for tee shirt dresses. I love the design of this Mr. Abbott dress. I don't quite love the pinkness of this dress, but it's such a cute design! The design of this Marc by Marc Jacobs dress looks cute from the front but the hole at the back makes it not very practical for casual, everyday wear. Urban Outfitters has these simple, short-sleeved dresses. They're even nice enough for a nice dinner or night out. The other shirt dress I found on uo .com is this plaid shirt dress. The bubble shape at the bottom makes the dress feels less indie and more girly , which makes the dress easier to pull of because let's face it, not everyone can pull of plaid! The black dress on Lily Donaldson looks...

As you all know, I simply adore large shades. Over the years, I think you've all heard me go on about big black shades, big brown shades and big aviator shades- all the classics. So where does one move onto next when they've been through all the classics? Well, according to Prada, it is big odd shaped shades! I love them. They have all the essential elements of big black shades that make them classic (the big squarish over sized shape and the black plastic rims), while the slight irregularity gives it that oomph it needs to be refreshing and 'new.' Speaking of new shapes, I also adore these circular shades from Chanel. I'm not sure if you can see, but there is a thin white lining that highlights the black rims (this highlight also comes in pink too, which is absolutely darling!). At first I wasn't sure about the shape of these shades. It slightly looked like those glasses that incredibly nerdy kids wear in cartoons. Or those toy shades that kids play with i.e. ...

The theme of this season's ads for a few major brands seems to be to feature supermodels -the real kind of supermodel from the 90's. Well, Prada got Linda Evangelista. OK, so I have to admit that I don't really know how to appreciate most supermodels' sort of beauty. I mean, yes, of course they are all gorgeous. But when they were at the top of their careers, I was too young to notice these things so I'm not exactly a fan of the whole supermodel movement. However, from the old photos I've seen of Linda Evangelista, I remember thinking she was the most gorgeous one out of the group, yet she doesn't look her usual gorgeous self in this ad campaign. And ok, Sasha Pivovarova is admittedly one of my favourite models but I am not one of those fans who think she should get every Prada campaign until the end of time. Plus, the whole lace thing is so hard to pull off and frankly, sort of aiming for an older audience so a more traditional, mature model is probably m...

Recently I've been in a major fashion slump, meaning that I've been recycling two outfits over and over again for the past few weeks. In fact, my fashion slump has been so serious that I've resorted to wearing my sister's denim mini skirt. Yes that's right -a classic denim skirt. It's not even one of those trendy A-line minis, which are oh-so-trendy this season. And I'm so lazy that I just wear it with my current love, an American Apparel V-neck shirt . While the white tee and denim mini combination feels very juvenile to me (-it's very high school isn't it?), it's also strangely very comforting. With fashion trends coming and going faster than ever, it's just getting tiring and frankly, not very exciting to keep up with it all. I mean, I adore Zara and H&M for its fast fashion and prices but since I am stuck in a fashion slump, nothing seems more charming than a plain, casual outfit that is the tee and denim mini. Right now I'm tryin...

In celebration of her recent bonus and exam results, one of my girl friends decided to invest in a handbag. She asked me to recommend her something suitable for work that is understated, classic and preferably not Chanel (which was naturally my first instinct!). Naturally when it comes to understated, classic, the Birkin comes to mind, but I think we can wait a few years before we proceed to that level. So I added young to the equation. Many "it" bags come to mind, but few are classic. So here I've listed a few that I think may last through the test of time. The Balenciaga motorcycle (left) and the Miu Miu bow bag (right). HG and I love them both and if you've been reading this blog, you'd know that already since these two bags have been positively overblogged by us. They were 'it' for a reason. I may be biased (because we own them), but I'd like to think that these two are classic. Only thing is that they've been around for a while already so yo...

Ever since Gossip Girl started last year, I've been getting more encouraged to try out more makeup. One of the things that I've been inspired to try out is shocking pink lipstick. I tried to find pictures of Blair Wardolf wearing bright pink lipstick but I can't seem to find any (-ignore the fact that Leighton Meester's lips aren't exactly bright pink in the picture.) Maybe I just imagined her having bright pink lips. Anyway, by chance, I got hold of a free bright pink lipstick, which is way too sparkly for my taste but hey, it was free so I feel the duty to at least experiment with it. So here's some research into how to wear it: Bright pink lips seemed to be pretty popular on the runway in S/S07. In the Diane von Furstenburg show, the look seemed to be basically bright pink lips with pale, clear skin and natural-looking mascara. Note the tiny bit of shimmer on the inner corners of the eyes. Also, note the hint of gold/ orange in the inner edge of the lips. So...

By now I would've sworn that I was over logo patterns, but then I started seeing the Vuitton Neverfull bag everywhere . On TV shows, on celebs (above: Kristin Davies and Heidi from The Hills) .... and they just looked so cool, casual and chic carrying it that I couldn't resist but lust after it. The amazing ad campaign they have for it this season doesn't help my case either. They make it look so versatile, perfect for a casual summer day.... .. or a fall day going to work. This above is my absolutely favourite look by the way, with her soft wind blown hair, clean barely there make-up, simple chic coat, effortlessly thrown on scarf, stylish jewelry and the bag- it is just perfect! And it doesn't appear like too hard to imitate either. All one needs is the Neverfull bag to spice up a standard chic fall outfit. What a clever ad! The bag itself even without such great publicity is rather clever too. The shape is super simple, but by making it in a thinner more malleable...

Gossip Girl hasn't even started this season, but my obsession with headbands persist. The other day while I was buying a simple clip for my hair (it is way too big by the way), I came across this Cara headband and fell in love with it. It's just so simple and understated, with a feminine but elegant bow on the side that doesn't make me look like a little girl. The subtle shiny navy blue color subtly contrasts with my black hair, making it appear even more black, which effectively is the effect I aim for. It's the perfect headband to carry me into fall, since it's so subtle I can probably wear it with everything. The problem of course is that it comes in a variety of colors and I'm wavering between the navy blue and the deep maroon red color. My first instinct was to pick up the blue, but then I caught sight of the red and the red is so nice too. It also contrasts with my dark hair beautifully, but while the navy blue is subtly elegant, the red pops and makes a ...

Braided hair has been one of the most obvious beauty trends this year. People seem to have a love-hate relationship with it -some people think it's pretty and some think it's just too cutesy. For most part, I think braids is a cute way to add some girliness to ones hairstyle, but it really depends on how you do it and whether it suits the rest of your look. The celebrity that has been sporting braids the most seems to be Lauren Conrad. And if you know Lauren's usual style (-very girly,) then you would probably agree that the braids really suit Lauren. The basic way seems to be braiding the front bit of your hair and pull the briad to one side, and tie all your hair up into a pony tail. Look how well the braid goes with Lauren's style! And she even manages to use the braid to glam up her whole hairstlye and look. Nicole Richie uses the braids to complement her boho, LA style. Then there's the braided up-do. I have to admit I think this hairstyle really doesn...