Suede pumps at Givenchy

beautiful pumps at Givenchy in Macau

Weekend in Macau

Macau's old town casinos

I am spending the weekend in yet another special administrative region of the people's republic. Macau is only an hour from Hong Kong by ferry.

Guerlain compact number 4 Les Bois de Rose

I have very little make-up with me and it is totally enough. Must remember that when I get home and do a clean-up. These colors work for everyone.

Beautiful navy dress by Ports 1961

Hopefully I'll be able to walk around the shops a bit today. Incredible malls everywhere. Now I need to win some money first.

the old town casinos

cranes wherever you look - watch out Las Vegas

Duchessa Jewels worn by me

If you have wondered why I am always going on about Duchessa Jewels - well that's because its founder is a very dear friend and one of the most stylish people I have ever met. Today she brought me one of the new necklaces (antiqued sterling silver with clear crystals) and I wore it with my new JDCamicetta top, and I am just never going to take it off. Nerida has worked for years perfecting her Georgian jewels, and the result is pretty stunning.  See yesterday's post for more info.

Duchessa Jewels

Duchessa Jewels' latest collection is pure colorful happiness. Find more information HERE.

Tod's just became a little cooler

Alessandra Facchinetti has previously been head designer for both Gucci and Valentino. But I feel she may have met her match with Tod's, her latest employer. This was my favorite look of her spring 2014 show - the jacket and the skirt are just the right mix of sporty and cool. And the shoes, well they are all fabulous. Tod's will never get rid of their classic driving shoe, but their fashion shoes had become a bit staid of late, so I am very excited for the spring season.

The Bling Ring

While I was watching the Bling Ring movie last night, I thought it may not be Sofia Coppola's finest work. But yet, I can't stop thinking about it. There is no fascinating meeting between a regular girl and an older movie star in a glamorous Tokyo bar - there is only the shallow reality of teenagers living life in Los Angeles with their parents. Some of them attend high school and a few don't, but education serves no purpose for the characters in this story. For these kids life is about being fabulous or trying to attain it. Fabulous people are pretty and dress well, and have all the latest designer goods - sunglasses, bags, shoes, and jewelry. In their world you are nothing without Louboutin or Chanel, and when these kids get a job they will be a Lindsay Lohan or a Paris Hilton.

I have an eight year old who wants to be a Victoria Justice. If you have children, you have got to watch this movie. It's a scary wake-up call.

In a taxi line the other day I noticed this girl with an unusual tapestry bag. I asked her if I could take a picture and she explained she found the bag in Thailand, and even though it was just a cheap market purchase she instantly loved it and has been wearing it with everything since. I don't mind if my little girl grows up to love fashion, I just hope she too will be able to find and appreciate beauty in a Thai market just as easily as in a Chanel boutique.

tapestry bag with neon yellow shorts and a white shirt

What do you want from a fashion magazine?

I used to buy them to find out about the new clothes for spring or fall. There were no live stream fashion shows, or instant website photos of the new season. Women's Wear Daily and a few broadsheet newspapers would publish daily reviews during the four fashion weeks (New York, London, Milan, and Paris). You always wanted to know what Women's Wear Daily said - they would be brutally honest and not worried about insulting advertisers or designers. Then closer to the actual season US Vogue and Harpers Bazaar would present their editorial vision of what were the best new designs. I used to value their editors' opinions, so that's why I bought the magazines. That, and the fact that I love clothing design - an interesting placement of a seam or a dart and I am in heaven, so I love to see what new constructions designers come up with every season. A sewing teacher at the Fashion Institute of Technology once threatened to fail me for experimenting with a different technique to do a cowl neck, so you can image I loved unconventional designers like Alexander McQueen and John Galliano purely for their innovations and ideas.

Well, most mainstream magazines don't serve that purpose today. I picked up US Harpers Bazaar today with Miley Cyrus on the cover (what a stroke of luck for the magazine that Miley had twerked her way into public fascination just a few days earlier) - and the issue is one big advertisement. It's not just the clearly identifiable ad pages, but it is full of "must have" lists and "editors' picks" which just happen to be available for sale on the Harpers Bazaar website. So when the editors of Harpers Bazaar say you should really love these Pierre Hardy wedges, they say that because these wedges are for sale on their website. Now an open minded person might say, but isn't it possible the editors loved the wedges and therefore made them available on their website? Yes, I suppose that is possible, but this shopping website is a revenue source for Harpers Bazaar, so their editors' advice is not entirely unbiased. Judging from the amount of J.McLaughlin skirts on the shopping site, it seems fairly easy to get the editors' seal of approval if you are a keen advertiser.

A rant a day keeps the doctor away? These wedges happen to be super cute. But if you have any interest in fashion as an art, or set of tailoring skills, then you may need to look elsewhere.

Pierre Hardy wedges - recommended as a "charming accent" in the magazine, and for sale on the website

Is dressing for your age an outdated concept?

photo from www.thefashionspot.com

Look at the picture of Anna dello Russo and decide for yourself, but here's a few observations:

1) she is reportedly 50 something

2) baby doll dresses are a stretch even on 28 year olds

3) Hedi Slimane styled these clothes with youthful messy hair, not with Milan-style glossy locks

4) she obviously is in great shape - good for her - but I think she would look a hundred times nicer in a slightly more grown up dress

who looks best??  Anna with her friend Giovanna Battaglia

photo from www.vogue.com

Limited Edition

How gorgeous is this new Prada bag - Looooove the pretty flower pattern on the grey background. This is going to put a smile on my friend's face every single time she uses it. Or when it's just sitting on the kitchen table.

Mummy, is that heaven?

Silence before the storm (Super typhoon Usagi coming our way on Sunday) on the Peak in Hong Kong.

Mid Autumn Festival

At the full moon on the 15th day in the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, we celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival in Hong Kong. Originally to say thanks for the harvest, it is now an important holiday for Chinese families to spend time together and admire the moon from a beach or a park somewhere. Autumn itself was nowhere in sight last night with girls wearing lots of summery white jeans and gold. But maybe not for long because there is a very big typhoon headed our way. Super typhoon Usagi is apparently the strongest storm on earth this year.

love the powder blue denim cut-off skirt

white and gold and lots of happy yellow

autumn green and navy compliment white shorts perfectly

this yellow gold Rolex Datejust is simply magnificent - even better against a backdrop of white linen

Question

Zara basic black boots (in stores now) and grey and silver Louboutins

Question: would you spend more money on a beautiful basic or would you rather spend more money on a fashion/trendy something?

I used to be convinced that you should spend most money on very good quality every day basics, while you should only buy trendy fashion things at cheap stores. But now I am not so sure. The high street is becoming better and better at making basics, so I am thinking for a plain pair of black boots I may be better off saving some money.  That way, if I get seduced by some crazy special colorful / studded / patterned designer shoes, I would be able to buy them.

Would I get more pleasure out of wearing black boots if they were Chloe rather than Zara? I think probably not. But I know for a fact that every time I wear those grey suede Louboutin boots with silver cut-outs in a checked pattern, I feel like I am walking on sunshine - they are just so special. 

What do you think?

Gorgeous Wedge Boot

You know when you are out in public and you think I sure hope I don't run into anyone looking like I do today.  So that's always the moment when your most glam friends show up. This morning these gorgeous wedge boots came for coffee after my swim. I wish I had gotten a picture from the back as well since it was the same rust brown color as the zipper edge. Absolutely beautiful - forgot the name now, but I hear they are available at I.T. (try HERE).

Five days till Fall

Zara jumper, Miu Miu clutch, JBrand jeans, Stella McCartney shoes

Although located in the northern hemisphere, Hong Kong fall will be a bit more tropical than London or New York. I will be cheering up my winter grays with these snaky hologram shoes found at the Lane Crawford outlet shop - of course to achieve this crazy oil slick effect the shoes have to be plastic - thank you Stella McCartney! Lane Crawford has finally seen the light and changed its prices so that they are in line with www.net-a-porter.com. And in their outlet shop, the prices seem to have come down quite a bit as well. I also found a beautiful cream jacket by Hanii Y, for less than a pair of jeans at the Gap.

For those of you that have ever been to Shenzhen...

You may get a chuckle out of this....

this business was closed down for selling fake products - wonder why the other 473 shops are still open???

Another scarf for my drawers

I used to wear scarves like this a fair bit. But those were the eighties and nineties. I recently found a picture of myself for my uni yearbook with a scarf like that. Let me tell you, I looked like an elderly professor - that thing aged me easily 30 years. Maybe Miuccia Prada was thinking the same thing, because she often starts a collection by taking something she absolutely hates and trying to make it into something beautiful.

So why am I still buying scarves? I assure you I have no desire to treat fashion as an intellectual challenge like Ms Prada. I see the pretty material and get seduced into thinking I could look cool with a scarf, maybe? If I ever try it this Fall, I will post a picture.

If one day you were crazy filthy rich

Would you spend US $2150 for this little Proenza Schouler bag? It's an adorable bag for sure, but it is not classic Chanel or Hermès, so it's unlikely to hold its value like those brands do (seriously, a good condition Chanel 2.55 from anytime in the last 20 years sells for almost the same as new price on www.vestiairecollective.com). I wondered when I saw this bag on www.ssense.com whether I would buy it if I were a billionaire. Or would I still think it was dumb stupid money to spend on a cute little ombre bag?

I actually like brown

It's just that the other day when I posted a picture of former Vogue girl Lauren Santo Domingo with her brown bag, I was reminded of a scene in The Devil Wears Prada, where Meryl Streep's assistant dumps Anne Hathaway's bag under a desk because it's brown, and the editor-in-chief should not be exposed to brown. And judging from his Spring 2014 show, Michael Kors loves brown too. There was lots of it in his very American, very 70s inspired show. This dress and belt and shoes just make me smile.

Giant cuffs

I tried on this truly delicious jumper at Céline today. It must be 39-ply or something because it is heavy and dense, but more beautiful than any jumper I have ever seen. It also made me look like a big lump of wool, and with my hands somewhere deep under those cuffs, it could not work for my life even if I had that sort of money. Although briefly I thought I could just move to Scotland and live in a drafty old castle in my long skirt and thick jumper, just like Stella Tennant in virtually every issue of US Vogue.

That is one very lovely Kelly bag (even though it is brown)

Can't remember where I found this picture but downloaded it at some point. (This is where blogging becomes a bit of a journalistic embarrassment - no print journalist could get away with stealing a picture anywhere - well, at least they couldn't until the copyright owner caught them. But then again I do not make any money from this blog - I do this entirely for my own entertainment.

 Lauren Santo Domingo (founder of www.modaoperandi.com) just looking lovely in stripy jumper and print skirt (or trousers? can't tell for sure) and classic Kelly bag. One of those examples of classics always being okay, no matter what the trends this season.

Guerlain eye shadow

My mum told me about this over summer.  I have been trying a few of the colors myself and absolutely love the velvety smoothness of it. Highly recommend you try it for yourself - and the packaging is beautiful

That outfit is so ugly, you should put it on your blog

Walking thru the IFC mall yesterday, my daughter says to me: "mummy is Givanki a good designer?". I laid into a monologue about the great Hubert de Givenchy, who used to dress Audrey Hepburn and so on and so on, leading to Riccardo Tisci, Givenchy's creative director today. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She quickly had that look that says jeez my mum is so annoying. "Well I don't think he's any good because that outfit is so ugly. You should put it on your blog". I promise I won't make a habit of it.

Vintage Treasure

Came across this picture of Melbourne Fashion Girl's Balenciaga bag and thought I really hope Alexander Wang does not get rid of this style, which was developed by Nicolas Ghesquiere, Wang's predecessor at Balenciaga. This perforated version is so gorgeous, I wish I had come across it when it was in shops.

One of those nights

First time at the Armani terrace - no less spectacular than Sevva but 100 times better service

but first there was a long lunch at Zuma

spotting everyone's shoes - Alaia wins again

I love a man with an eye for detail - my shy subject would not let me take a picture of the facing of his collar, which was done in blue and white polka dots

Is there a more handsome men's watch anywhere? - I say no

Oh Chloe....  Clare Waight Keller is making some seriously beautiful clothes for Chloe nowadays. This boat neck dress is perfection.

a simple sparkly sandal and white pants - perfect summer

some more Zuma

pop of color

Billecart never goes to waste

my friend said it's a few seasons old - but I love the print of this DVF dress - I love how people put their favorites together, something old, something new.

What is Sexy Now?

I laughed a lot today chatting with a friend who said: "let's face it, I will never have to buy shoes again, because the nice black heels I still have should be perfectly alright for another 10 years, and then I'll take them off and start using a walker anyway". Aging may not be fun (although better than the alternative) but talking about it is in fact heaps of fun. 

I took her thoughts on the subject and used them as full justification for buying my second pair of Valentino block heels the other day. I was thinking these shoes are lovely today and will be just as lovely/comfortable in the future when I may be playing strip poker canasta in a Florida retirement home.

Isaac in his studio - 1994

Speaking of retirement, I was reading an article about Isaac Mizrahi in the New York Times and it made me very sad. Isaac Mizrahi was the manic designer featured in Douglas Keeve's documentary Unzipped, about the run-up to his Fall fashion show in 1994. Then, The New York Times described Mr. Mizrahi as the "happy napoleonic personality" which made this documentary such a success. In this latest interview, however, the newspaper reflects on his fashion career, his immense critical success possibly lost because of a lack of focus.

"Friends say that he struggles personally with not being the intellectual force in fashion he once saw himself to be. He was reportedly very hurt when New York Magazine described him as having "twice the bitchiness of Michael Kors with half the wit (and professional success)."

I went to fashion school in New York because of Isaac Mizrahi. I loved his designs, and I loved his wit. What happened there? And why are people talking about him as if his best years are behind him? If you feel like getting depressed, find the article HERE. 

In spite of my love for fashion I won't advocate that material goods will make you happy - but if I have worried you about old age, just get prepared like I did, and buy some of those block heeled strip poker canasta shoes for that Florida retirement community. I promise you'll feel better.

It is 1995 and Vogue asks "What is Sexy Now?" - And the answer was Isaac Mizrahi's yellow sequined dress

Shalom Harlow at her very best in Isaac's 1994 show for Fall

Falabella

I had a Stella McCartney Falabella bag once. Well, that's to say I had it until yesterday when I took it out along with some other stuff to see if I could sell it on www.vestiairecollective.com. Vestiaire is sort of like a fashion ebay - except you don't deal directly with the individual sellers, the Vestiaire company does quality control and shipping. But once I investigated it properly, I didn't feel like the hassle. 

I had bought the Falabella bag on low low markdown and never ever liked it after it got home. The chains are super heavy while the bag's body is super soft, so the 2 were always fighting, and that bag only hung nicely if you stuffed it heavily. But I always looooooved the shiny gunmetal chain. It reminds me of the cutest little bag I designed at Burberry - which I wanted to do with gunmetal hardware until my conservative boss changed it to silver color hardware. Ruined the whole bag I tell you. But let me not go into another long digress!

So here is my sob story in pictures. In a moment of I don't know what, I got the scissors out and cut off the chain. After all it was going to be far more useful as a necklace. Especially with my new shoulder embroidery JCrew jumper.

Yeah, if I wanted to sing a duet with Lil Wayne maybe....

Okay so this chain does nothing for me. Although I hated that bag, I could have made a few bucks selling it!   Yikes. No doubt you are all far smarter than me, so check out www.vestiairecollective.com.