Black, Red, & Pearl

My previous post was all about Ao Dai, light makeup, super loose waves, and the softness as a whole. In this post, it is all about looking simple but sharp, thus elegant!

I chose a long black dress with cut out back. I originally got the dress at Winsor, but then I did some alterations on it, and of course, to add a little sexiness I did a side slit on the dress.

It is a night wedding event I went to. Since my look was light and dreamy in the morning, I decided to go bright at night. Never ever combine all the bright elements in your wardrobe together! If you really wanna go bright, choose from 1 to 2 elements of brightness as attention points and leave the rest in contrast colors. You want your highlights to stand out. This is key to simple but elegance!

Makeup:  Taupe and brown eyeshadow. Black cateye eyeliner. A little blush in coral topped with highlighter. My attention graber no. 1 would be bright red lipstick with a hint of orange in it.

Hair:  Lots of layers of curls and waves. I flipped my hair upside down and did an overall sea salt spray to keep my curls in shapes the whole night and to add volume. Then I pushed it to the side to show off my backless dress.

Outfit:  Black dress with cut-out back. Nude/gold heels. My attention grabbing element no. 2: pearl necklace and earrings. The way I wore my pearl neclace is a little different. I wore it at my neck line, leaving the rest hanging on my back because of my cutout back dress.

Traditional Vietnamse Áo Dài

My first time wearing the traditional Vietnamese Áo Dài. There are many styles and types of Ao Dai. The style that I'm wearing is called "áo dài cách tân," which means modern Ao Dai style. It is a little different from the traditional in the collar, the sleeves, and even the material. Mine is 100% handmade with blue turquoise lace. I chose short sleeves instead of long and still kept the same type of high collar. I wanted mine to give off the impression of a mix between modern and traditional. 

In the olden days, women in Vietnam generally only wore Ao Dai once when they were in middle school, high school and college. Basically, the image of Ao Dai goes hands in hands with the image of the students and innocence. Because when you are a students and still in schools you don't have much to worry about. Your life would normally be school, home work, friends, and social life. Thus, the innocent and carefree image go with it very well.

Makeup:  Chose a soft pink eyeshadow, which has a little bit glitter in it, just to play with the light as a base. I also wanted to make my eyeliner and eyelashes pop out later on. Then I topped it up with a dark pink/burgundy/browny color on the outer corner to create the illusion of bigger eyes. A bit of ighlighter on my cheekbones and T-zone. Petal pink blush on the apple of the cheeks. Lips: Orange/coral lipstick color from Revlon topped with a little bit of YSL #204 light coral lipgloss to add shine.  This kind of makeup techniques go very well with day light or any event that is going to be outdoor. At the same time, it doesn't feel overwhelming in the eyes of others. I actually received quite a lot of compliments on this look!

Hair:  Crimped my hair underneath to make it look thick. Did soft layers on the top and at the end of the strands. Clipped one side up to show off my half crimped hair. Crimped hair gives off the youthful look!

The School Girl

Ladies,

I know this is a bit late since the Paris Fashion Show was over a few weeks ago, but while going through my Pinterest list I can't help but amazed and feeling excited about "The School Girl" show by Valentino Ready-to-Wear fashion for Fall/Winter 2013. Check it out! I really hope we will be seeing this trend for our Winter 2013.

Great Fashion Blogs to Follow

I have recently changed the look of my blog and I wanted to share how and where I got the inspiration from. I've been following some true fashion bloggers for a while, who I think blog on a consistent daily basis with a fresh new style and look everyday. I got the inspiration from them to really trim down the all the unnessarry "fluffy" stuff such as, tags displaying and pages that I don't even need. I also got inspired the way they use black color as their blog headers as well. Minimal is really the key!

Here are my top 10 Favorite Fashion Bloggers

1. Garance Dore

I love the header of this blog, this was one of my main inspiration for changing mine. Garance is a great fashion illustrtor. Her drawings are super elegant and each of them almost feels like they have a soul to it. I'm in love with almost all of her illustrations! Her blog layout and the way she writes delivers freshness, relaxation, to almost a Zen kinda feel.

2. Fashion Squad

Carolina Engman has some really exceptionally fresh and fashion-forward style. She shows off all kinds of styles, from feminine and elegant to super relaxing and easy-to-dress. I love her sense of fashion and blog in general, because of the affordability level. I tend to check her blog almost  everyday for outfit inpirations.

3. Kature

Kristina Bazan is really a gem in the sea of models. Her style is definitely fashion forward, expensive, brand-named oriented, and elegant. She's one of those that's truely about the brands and elegance. The brand that I think associates with her the most is YSL. I think she is just gorgeous! I mean she has that baby face that has so much emotions in it.

4. Native Fox

Jennifer Grace's style is really effortless and modernly basic. She can turn even the most basic piece into something that looks expensive and nicely incorprated with the rest of the items. I can see her associating with the Proenza Schouler bag, Zara, Chloe, and a few other brands (but not as much as Kature)

5. Fashion Vibe

This is pretty much like the Native Fox blog, pretty similar style.

6. The Sartorialist

Love-love-love this blog! This is like a people and fashion photoshoots daily journal. Each of his picture seems to speak a thousand words itself, so there often are no contents. He really one of those photographers that has a unique view of the people and fashion. The way he catches each his shoot is just perfect, the people are in the right place and posture, and the type of fashion that is just right for the moment. All of it is just a terrific piece of art!

7. Style by Kling

Elin Kling is a fashion editorial director for StyleBy magazine. I think she is just so pretty and that even if she wears the most basic pieces, they will always look really stunning on her. She is known for a relaxing yet elegant style.

8. Neon Blush

I really like most of Jenny Ong's Zara pieces. She's defitely the Zara girl with a Proenza Schouler messenger bag. She has always been my inspiration for Zara clothes and style. What I like about blog is that she wears less expensive brand names, therefore can relate more to the readers. One thing that I have noticed lately in her blog is that, she likes to wear Zara heeled sandals, Proenza bag, beanies, riding boots and basic neutral colors. She's an attractive Asian fashion blogger!

9. Fashion Toast

Rumi Neely, I don't think I have ever seen her wearing pants in my years of following her blog, not in the summer at least... In the summer, she wears mini-skirts, skorts, short, and short dreses with (alway) super high heeled wedges to the max. I do like her style in the beginning but she's just been wearing the same type of style and poses similarly, so it gets a little boring for me after a while coz I couldn't find any inspirations. But I still love her style though.

10. Song of Style

Amy Song's style is really about colors, patterns, and vibrancy. If you really follow her blog, occasionally she'd show off her closet and it's super nice!

6 Ultimate Style Principles

“Designing is a personal journey for me. It’s my passion, my hobby, and my best outlet for expression. It’s where I let myself take the most chance.” 

 - Very Wang - 

I love Very Wang. The way she expresses herself through fabrics and style is just amazing and powerful, yet simple and elegant. The above passage actually inspires me so much, to follow my dream, to be true to myself – my dream and my desire. No success comes without a passion! So, Very Wang once said that “the goal is to make a woman look like the ultimate version of herself,” meaning that no matter where you go and how you dress, it should be a representation of yourself – your true nature!

1. Make any Big Event a Red-Carpet Moment 

I love Angelina Jolie posture and confidence. She has that “catch me if you can” look and it’s sexy and inspirational. Whether you’re going to your sister’s, aunt’s, or friends’ wedding, prom, New Year party, Christmas party, big family reunion, etc. You should always treat each of these like your lifetime glorious moment and it’s true that once when we look back we will not regret. Whether you spend hundreds of dollars on a dress or under-$100, the moment is up to you to play and enjoy. So, pick one you can own with ease and perfect posture!

2. the One-Piece Rule 

It doesn’t matter where you go, either to work, dinner, casual date, etc. You only need that ONE PIECE to make you outfit stands out. You only need that ONE PIECE to express yourself. Let it be a scarf, tie, hat, bag, belt, jacket, accessories, etc. You only need ONE PIECE to shine and grab attentions. So, select wisely by choosing the unique shape, strategically placing it or pairing it with something that complement it!

Carolina Engman from Fashion Squad 

Trendproof Items that Never Gone Out of Style

Ever wonder why you have to donate so many clothes just because they're not relevant to today's style? You might be the victim of the "out of the season." Kendall Farr, author of the The Pocket Stylist said that wearing BIG LOOKS just doesn't assure that you look like you have an insider view of fashion.

Instead, she advises us to be on the safe side by stacking up our closet with some back-up trend-proof items, pieces of clothes that will never gone wrong or out of style.

How to Measure Your Bra Size

Braless, hold your tape measure directly under your bust and measure around your chest. This number determine your band size.

• If the number is odd, add 5
• If the number is even, add 6
• If the number is over 33', add 3

Next, hold your tape around the fullest part of your breasts to measure your cup size. Subtract your band size from your cup size, and if the difference is:

• 0 = AA
• 1 = A
• 2 = B
• 3 =C
• 4 = D
• 5 = DD
• 6 = DDD 

Beauty Toast

Source: The Pocket Stylist by Kendall Farr

Trench Coat the Timeless Piece

Burberry runway 2011

A designer trench coat may cost tons of money, but will last many years down the road and perhaps a lifetime. It is a trend-proof item, a piece of clothe that will never go out of fashion. It is classic and yet can be trendy if worn in the right season. (Of course, you can't expect to look "nice" wearing a trench coat around, when it's 90 degree Celsius hot outside)

The Heels Dictionary

Heels started all the way back around 4000 BC in Egypt, where peasants wore bare feet and only royalties and high class wore elevated shoes to keep their feet clean and pure. Then it got very popular amongst tragic actors in Rome around 200 BC. It wasn't until the 16th century that it was properly invented, when in 1533 Catherine de Medici decided to opt for a 2 inches shoes to wear in her wedding marrying to Henry II, the Duke and future King of France. Since then, heels started to be a fashion icon in Paris and an indication in defining the rich from the poor. Heels at the time were only worn by powerful men and women in the French court.

Today, there are many different types of heels and sometimes we would get confused between a platform and a stiletto. What are the differences?  I have done a little research on this and please keep on reading....