SNAPS OF MY 21ST

 


Exactly a month ago on 20th October, I officially turned 21. There is no extraordinary feeling about being 21 but I do feel that time really zoom by in a blink. Well, they say "every year seems to pass by extra quick when you hit 20s", I guess that is true to a certain extent.

My 21st party was spent over silver balloons, polaroids, a delicious and beautifully baked red velvet, together with my relatively large paternal family and close friends from church. On a side note, I'm really pleased with my cake from The Dispensary. Claire efficiently liaised with the chef on my order and they paid added attention to my requests. I've tried the highly raved red velvets from Hummingbird Bakery in London but I honestly still prefer The Dispensary's. (I miss my birthday cake now)

The actual birthdate began with a midnight surprise – N popped by my house with a box of handmade brownies, which marks his virgin experience in baking. My day was spent quietly, not in a hurry unlike every other day and I truly appreciate that. I got to sleep in a little more before going back to work the next day (you guys must be thinking how sleep deprived I am, well I actually am and need lots of sleep). I had dinner at iO Italian Osteria where they serve fairly good, authentic Italian cuisine albeit the small portion for big eaters like N and I. We ended the night reliving some childhood arcade games such as Daytona (car racing) before heading back to our respective homes.

Once again, I feel extremely blessed to be so loved and to be able to enjoy a peaceful birthday after a pleasant vacation. My deepest thanks to all who have sent me your well wishes and blessings! x

MARGIELA VS GALLIANO

                            

If you haven't heard, John Galliano has taken over the creative directing position at Maison Martin Margiela. Hmm, I'm not quite sure how to feel when I heard about this. What I felt was two split personalities; or a man and woman in a relationship with completely different personalities, something along those line, if you get what I mean.

Well, after Maison Martin himself stepped down from his brand, things did change quite a bit. Within months, MMM has collaborated with several mainstream brands like H&M, G-shock, Swarovski, Converse, Moleskine, etc. Known for being a low profile brand that targets a niche group of people, MMM has also gone social on Instagram. I must say being able to "follow" the brand on social media platform has allowed me to keep myself updated with the brand's happenings, but is that what Maison Martin has intended his brand to be? Is the brand still staying true to what it started with?

While Galliano who seems to enjoy being in the superstar designer limelight, is expert in extravagant detailed, dramatic and theatrical fashion – we can justify this during his time at Christian Dior (and by the way, I honestly prefer Raf Simon's clean and straight forward designs for Dior). On the other hand, Maison Martin Margiela never appears on stage at the end of his shows, doesn't do face to face interviews, he kept himself anonymous so that his creations becomes the limelight instead of himself. Probably no one, except for those in his team, knows how the man resembles.

Most of Margiela's followers would feel skpetical about Galliano taking over the brand, including myself. But having said all these, I must say that Galliano has had a rich experience in the industry. Perhaps he comprehends the brand story and codes of MMM, and would deliver designs that will reflect Maison Martin's vision? For now, I can only say this much. Until then, I'm just anticipating for MMM's upcoming artisanal and RTW collections come 2015.


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image credits: 01 / 02 / 03

ONE OF THE BOYS

Since a decade ago, I started favouring menswear more than girly fashion. It started out tomboy-ish – mismatched sporty clothing ala Ocean Pacific, Billabong, Roxy sort of style. I remember wearing cap and sweat wristbands as bracelets...Don't even know what I was thinking back then. You wouldn't find skirts or dresses in my wardrobe for the longest time, but I do now and I wear more dresses and skirts than pants, especially for work now.

But eventually I slowly started to find out what suits me. While it is still hard to exactly describe my personal style in a few words, all I can say is that it is simple, comfortable and straight forward. One that doesn't put on too much embellishments, frills, colours and prints to "decorate" myself, but yet still feminine in some ways, and doesn't conform to fashion trends. I think that's why I like Céline and COS so much. It's understated and muted, it doesn't shout for attention. At this point, this feels a bit like a throwback to earlier this year because my graduating thesis paper was on the topic relating femininity and minimalism. I guess I really feel a lot for it!

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Uniqlo breton stripe top, Topshop pants, Thrifted navy trenchcoat, Katie & Judith bag, Dr Martens

WHERE'S OCTOBER?

How did October just swept by like that? It's a shame I left this space unattended for a whole month. To briefly encapsulate my October, it went something like that – I went on a vacation to London and Paris, came back missing Europe, celebrated my birthday, watched Serena Williams play live at WTA Finals and after all the fun times, I reluctantly went back to work. Just like that, 31 days past. Soon enough, it's Christmas! And I'm definitely looking forward to it!

While I do not want to make empty promises, I'm hoping (that seemed to be a safer word to use) to update a tad more regularly than before. To begin with, I have started sorting out a thousand and one photographs taken during my 10 days stint in Europe. That's honestly not an easy task, especially when you're working full time. Oh how I've utterly missed the things I could do while I was carefree: cooking, diy projects, writing, reading...Well, in the meantime, I'll leave you with the Buckingham Palace and a view of the Eiffel Tower. Enjoy your weekend!