----- NYC Thirteen -----

This year's New York trip marked my first return to the city when it wasn't covered in snow or requiring me to put my winter gear on, and boy it surely was nice; however rain did shower us generously. Nothing is more synonymous with the Big Apple than shopping, walking and eating. I walked till I limped on my second day; not sure if I really shopped, just really bought; went to the ones on my list, pop into spontaneous ones and called it a day. From staying in the Upper East Side to exploring the tip of Brooklyn to checking out street fairs, this trip was cool and relaxing as a cucumber on your eye. The picture below marks the most interesting purchases (sigh I spent so much).

1. Uniqlo always carry good graphic tee shirts, just not for women, in my opinion. I shopped at the Men Section and purchased the Jean Michel Basquiat Tee.
2. Pikolinos Pop Up store in Meat Packing District, where they lured me in for a free bracelet and mysteriously I came out with a pair of sandals. Pikolinos: The Maasai Collection is a sustainable project where the Maasai tribal women in Kenya hand embroider the designs then shipped back to the HQ. All proceeds go back to the tribe to sustain their culture and lifestyle. Pikolinos is environmentally and socially conscious brand of comfort shoes.
3. Chelsea Market: The Filling Station, is exactly that. You fill up your reusable bottle with their olive oils or vinegar and salt.
4. Stumptown Roasters Brooklyn: i once stayed in the same building as the cafe and really liked their coffee.
5. Mint M&Ms. Bring. Them. Up North.
6. Walked by a Myers of Keswick selling UK products: Walkers Crisps! 
7. Sigh I swear i thought I would stay away from Time Sq. but followed cousin to M&M store where I made an overprice purchase of personalized M&Ms.
8. Trader's Joe: Preserve toothbrush, finish and mail back (with paid postage) to the company.
9. M&Ms in cool colors.
10. Footsie, finally found those socks that make you look barefoot.
11. Brooklyn, Wisconsin.

Check:

http://maasai.pikolinos.com/project/

http://www.thefillingstationnyc.com/

http://stumptowncoffee.com/

http://www.preserveproducts.com/

------ Lord of the Rings. And Sweaters -----

Zara, H & M, AA, Zara

Clockwise: arrow ring, Miju by You; Apple ring, M by MJ; set of Cheap Monday rings; feather ring, House of Harlow; black cage ring, H&M; Bird silver ring, Harakiri; large gem, Top Shop; Boulder ring, Low Luv;  Two finger ring, Old Gold; silver cage, Low Luv.

Meow

Felt a little narcissistic today and fashion bloggish, so i wanted to post my collection of rings and the four sweaters that i wear regularly this season. Plus a special guest who I'm currently taking care of until it meets its owner.

Friends think I have this enormous collection of rings but honestly, I only started seriously collecting rings four years ago (im not counting my 4 late teen purchases which quality is good as 25 cents rings) and i usually add one or two new ones every year. Rings to me are like little art work I can wear on my fingers, and I curate the ones I find unique.

Sweaters: can't get enough of them! Like a smoker, I try quitting but when I see a unique knit or print, I can't resist.

The cat is handmade by ouistitine.com with used wool sweaters. This adorable thing made my cousin and I squeal in lots of awwww's. Figured we can't buy it for ourselves because as tempting as it is, we know it will sit and eat dust. So we knew we had to get it for a special owner.

----- When Craft Justifies the Price Tag -----

Hermès, do you pronounce it "HER-MIES" or "HER-MEZ" or "HER-MESS"? I prefer "her mess" for the laughs. What's the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the name of this fashion powerhouse (more like powerpalace)? I usually wonder what it would be like to carry $20,000 on my arm. Will it fix my posture when I walk? Like a $20,000 stride walk? Sometimes it's hard for me to digest the costs of high fashion or even talking myself into spending a few hundred dollar on a bag. For example, the Philip Lim $700 bag, I found myself trying to justify the costs; oh the investment will pay off; good leather is hard to come by; quality lasts; etc. Maybe if I have a $XXX,XXX in my account, probably. People scoff at the belief that money pays for quality. Rarely true. Though, in this case, Hermes is believable.

At HonestlyWTF (honestly I wish I had their job, WTF), they visited the Hermes workshop and displayed how their scarves and bags are made. Every single scarf is screen-printed by hand, which to me, as someone who has taken a university course in screen-printing, understands the ridiculousness that comes with it. Albeit the fun and cool factor, when you're trying to get the perfect final print and mixing the right colours, holy shit it gets frustrating. So looking at the Hermes scarves, there are at least 30 colours per scarf. I only stayed at 3-4 colours for time efficiency at school. And every colour needs it's own screen. And every screen needs to be prepped. And every screen needs to be washed. How this is all done in details, I will need to tell you in person.

So, if i was making these scarves, after of course having designed the perfect pattern and going through sketches like a sick person goes through kleenex, plus, not forgetting the fashion bosses on your ass, to keep my sanity in tack, I'd charge $850 for these babies I'd call, wearable canvases. Hell ya.  " Price. Tag. Justified."

(courtesy of HonestlyWTF)

----- Don't Cry for Me...Bank Account -----

3.1 Phillip Lim Red Rashi Messenger Bag

Yes, yes bank account, it's okay don't shed a tear about the $800 you can't fork up for me to purchase this bag. There are no grudges held against you.

My blog is going through an identity crisis or pms-ing of some sort so bare with me as I sway away, yet again, from eating, sleeping and designing but mostly a lot of repeating.

This bag is so gorgeous that I want to sleep with it. Cry a little too afterwards. Maybe pop in a cigarette too—okay, I'm over the top. But it's pretty, agreeable?  Especially the zipper expansion aspect, so so pretty; and in black and gold version, so so so so pretty.

----- WANTED: A Brown Watch -----

Uniform Wares 150 Series: 180£.

It's slim, Italian leather, British-made and minimalistic—best DNA in a watch.

Source

----- My Week in Photos -----

'Home made' goat Cheese & Arugula pizza. I bought the IGA's whole wheat flat bread and turned it in to a healthier version of a pizza. AMAZING way to resolve those wrinkly grape tomatoes and almost wilting arugula. All you need is: flat bread, tomato sauce, olive oil, freshly pressed garlic, mozzarella cheese (to firmly pack the ingredients together), goat cheese (for flavour impact), grape tomatoes and arugula, choice of herbs, salt & pepper.  Takes about 5-10 mins of preparation. Bake 375˚ for 20 mins but only toss in the arugula at the last 5 mins.

Made a banner for a client's blog. It turned out quite nice on the website, I'm very satisfied.

Wrong in so many ways. Concert Bras? I guess girls have new concert dress codes:wear a bra as a top. (Like leggings are worn as pants, best at showing off people's jiggly, wobbly bits.)  Some say the "concert bra" is popularized by hipster girls at hipster concerts like Coachella. I thought average Joes and Janes mocked hipsters' styles? This is another marketing gimmick that will create more damage than good particularly for the female image and young girls' minds. And knowing how leggings took off, some girls will misunderstand the trend as "i'm just gonna wear my bra out as top, it's trendy they say".

*facepalm*

----- It's a Stripe Post, Again -----

Montreal's Paprika created this catalog for the Jean-Paul Gauthier exhibition held last year.

coffee table must!

My favs and must-haves:

1. Large wool scarves (so warm & comfy; if u master it, u can practically rest ur neck while standing)
2. Muji ink pens (best/smoothest for drawing and writing)
3. Any image recording device (life's too short & we're getting old to remember things)
4. Moleskin sketchbook (snob, yes)
5. Colour brown (it's the whole rustic vintage thing)
6. Stripes (Classic; long-standing-won't-leave style)
7. Ray-Bans (not just for hipsters)
8. Comfy black knit trousers (not leggings!)

$15.99! Asian mamas will be proud. Zara leather messenger / clutch convertible

----- The Christmas After -----

After a year of hunt, my camera has finally found its mate. My photography bag, we've been searching for you for awhile. Initially, I truly wanted a vintage leather one because they seem sturdier and it's always nice to buy reused if it's in good condition. But heck, my camera is getting scratched up every time it's being thrown around in my bag, plus it was on sale; hard case buffalo leather, vintage looking, it'll do.

----- I Hope They're not Used -----

I've been noticing a trend in bracelets of the late. Multi-coloured and multi-styles of bracelets are to be worn in cluster amounts; out is the chunky. Mundane objects are now fused into bracelets, many DIY worthy, such as this out of the ordinary Brace-lets, definitely with pun intended, are, you guessed it, made of those elastics bands and metal squares from orthodontic braces. Created and designed by a duo team of a orthodontist (seriously) and a jewlery designer. I had braces and these are just a "gentle" reminder of those "great" days. Not sure if I'd wear them, not because how random objects and food can get stuck in them (har har har), it's too "young" looking, remember Silly Bandz phase?

Source

----- Badass but Broke-ass -----

These hardware jewelery is so androgynous that's it's smoking hot. But at that price range, I'd need to stop eating and living to save up money to buy all of them. Something about metal, industrial looking jewelry that draws me in; it's a raw type of beauty. Made by Vita Fede

----- WHY ARE YOU SO CUTE?! -----

Zara Kids: Mini me... little brat stole my style.

----- I Love Stripes Shirts -----

Here's a random post: I've realized my closet is filled with copious amount of striped shirts, after, of course, adding another one to it. Is there something synonymous about designers and stripes, like Jean-Paul Gautier's work? I just naturally love the look of lines, in all widths and lengths. Maybe it's the spacing between the lines? Like leading in typography? Can this be a good way to justify my shopaholic tendencies? Lines are geometric, balanced, and are always harmonized—straight, indefinite, and perfect. In life, they can give directions (maps), set rules (on roads), make boundaries (sport courts). On bodies, stripes take off extra pounds or even add curves to small frames. Stripes carry many connotations and are used, or were used in different context throughout history. See: American flag, prison uniform (note: nazi concentration camps), sailors. The topic of stripes is a very appealing one and i am keen on reading more about it because there is an enigmatic magic that consistently draws us to them— well for me. Speaking of which ----> The Devil's Cloth: A History of Stripes ----> future coffee table book.

----- Models Really Do Eat! -----

What's happening in Montreal? This week was started with the Fashion and Design Festival, aka, Festival Mode et Design on McGill College. Every year around the end of summer, the city closes off this strip of downtown whose streetscape I'm particularly fond of. (McGill College is a strange little street that stretches from the entrance of the McGill University Campus to the enigmatic Ville Marie structure that houses a nightclub, office space, and a mall that people forget it exists.) I find its wide sidewalks, trees, water fountain and occasional outdoor photography exhibitions quite adoring; plus, is it just me, but I like to purposely walk up and down this street during hot summer days because of the wind-tunnel like breeze that penetrate the area.

I'm not a big fan of this festival, but in Montreal, it's always a pleasure to see the people coming together for an event. This year seems more elaborated and bigger, which is good progression because I feel this event always starts off sad (like our Montreal Fashion Week). Basically, the festival celebrates fashion by welcoming nice outdoor runways, with copious DJs planted around the shopping district; allowing giantesque-long-legs women to come out of hiding; and helping Montrealers realize Montrealers really do dress well.

With my DLSR in hand, I tried to fulfill my fantasy of being a backstage fashion photographer/fashion blogger/fashion headhunter and took pictures of the models or merely tall, pretty people who were mistaken for models because, really, during this, you'll notice any tall person or thing.

One venti model please, with non-fat milk.

Do all models smoke? Like do all chefs smoke? Like do all artists smoke? Why so common?

Next round of models for the next showing.

I love their style. And shoes.