My obsession with tie-dye continues...

with these adorable pieces from ADAM. 

FYI, my first tie-dye obsession this season was a hand-painted pink dress from ADAM although I ended up buying a dress from Graham and Spencer instead. Wish I had seen both this blue dress and my dress (and tried on both) before purchasing... I think that I might have made the right choice since dropped shoulders a la this ADAM blue dress usually look horrendous on me but you never know....

(pics from shopbop.com; dress and shirt by ADAM)

That time of year again?

It seems that time of year has dawned on us again - to think about swimwear. 

What to wear as well as how we are going to fit into it again? Maybe time to start working out again?

For me, in the past years, the issue has mostly been about swimwear - not because I am confident in my figure but because swimwear to me has been such a big problem. 

I have continued to buy at least one or two bikinis a year, not because I follow the swimsuit trends or because I wear swimsuits so much that I need one every year. But because I have never been happy with swimwear that I had purchased. A lot of times, if the top fit, the bottom didn't and vice versa. And yes, many brands like Jcrew, have mix and match - but the sizes never quite fit because they are made for standard sizes - small cups for smaller girls and bigger cups for bigger girls - and the problem was that I am not a standard size and the swimsuits just never fit. I was always hesitant to go in the water or play beach volleyball for fear that the ill-fitting swimsuit will expose something that I would rather not expose. Hence I kept on looking and buying in hopes of a finding a perfect swimsuit for me. 

Happily, I can say that two years ago I remedied that situation, when I walked into my neighborhood lingerie shop, Trousseau and tried on the mix and match bikinis there - and found Vitamin A, which has turned out to be my savior, fitting me perfectly. (There were definitely some other brands that were equally great, like Vix, L-space, etc., but somehow I keep turning to Vitamin A). Since then I have bought 3 more bikinis - going especially crazy last year for the trip to Mexico last year for our wedding. 

Now that I have 4 fully functional bikinis, I should no longer fret about the swimsuit situation (and probably should focus on getting my beach-body ready) but old habits are hard to kick, and I found myself back at Trousseau trying on yet more bikinis just last week. I was actually there to purchase a bra but the swimwear on display was way too enticing... And I found a bandeau top that I would love to have (the left one in the pictures). I am trying to justify it by saying my swimwear are mostly halter styles (like the pink and brown below) and I don't really have a great bandeau....

What do you think? Do you think I should get it? Or should I try to kick my annual springtime addiction?

(pics from Vitamin A swimwear)

Not your mother's tie-dye

I posted a dress earlier that had kind of a tie-dye look (which I did end up buying), but it seems that tie-dye is hot again. I am loving the tie-dye look this year - think it'll look great with gladiator sandals. 

(pics from Shopbop.com Young Fabulous and Broke, Secrets of Charm, Binetti)

Buy or no buy?

I tried on a new dress yesterday. And I can't get it out of my mind....

It's a Graham & Spencer strapless silk dress which looks even more awesome on a real body (even though it does look pretty good on the alabaster-white perfect figured mannequin). Can be casual or dressy (multi-purpose for all events in Africa). Feather-light (so I can take to Africa) and hand washable (so I can wash in Africa if needed). 

Methinks, it is the perfect dress to take to Africa (and to have for this summer and maybe wear to a summer seaside wedding). The only thing holding me back is that I think the tie-dye look might be too trendy. What do you think?

(Graham & Spencer dress, pic from Intermix.com)

Something for St. Paddy's Day

Wanna add some green to your wardrobe?

(L to R: Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Marc Jacobs)

The wrap dress

People say that the wrap dress flatters everyone. 

The folding style of the wrap dress supposedly hugs a body in all the right places, skimming the hips, clinching the waist and exposing cleavage. Upon this, Diane von Furstenburg has built an empire. And year after year we are presented with one wrap dress after another and girls snap them up as soon as they hit the racks.

But the wrap dress does not flatter everyone. I am among the few the wrap dress does not flatter. I have long given up on the wrap dress, especially the ones with the geometrical prints which curiously add 10 pounds on me (whilst shedding 10 pounds off other girls)...... But I feel like I should give it another try with this silky solid one. 

(pic from Saks, Diane Von Furstenburg)

{Spring 08} Lauren Conrad

One of my guiltiest pleasures is watching the Hills. 

Which is why I was excited to see LC's wares being sold on Shopbop.

(Lauren Conrad collection from shopbop.com)

Kinda reminds me of Rachel Pally, which so many people love... Not sure the styles are right for me, but excited for LC that her line is being carried by a major retailer. 

Anyway, can't wait for the Hills to continue. I'm dying to see what happens in Paris!

{Fall 08} Versace

Perhaps I spoke too soon... 

when I said there weren't too many Oscar worthy dresses out there. 

Versace just came out with these dresses and more today! 

Speaking of Oscars...

There is one actress who never fails to impress me. 

It might be because

1) She is a really really talented actress and picks great parts.

2) She is very classy and keeps a low profile despite all her talent and beauty.

or 3) She has a great sense of style and wears things that are unexpected yet absolutely gorgeous. 

It's actually, all three. More so #3 when the Oscars come around. 

What I really care about...

with the Oscars just around the corner...

and actually happening...

.... is what is everyone gonna be wearing?

Especially with the writer's strike making the Oscars a big question mark and just recently seeing things settled down, I thought that it would be interesting to see if all the stars show up on the red carpet with one-of-a-kind specially made dresses or off-the-rack dresses. 

And thought... what would I wear if I were going to ze Ozcars?

Here's what I found on Style.com from fall/winter 2008 collection. Amazingly, not too many glam party styles out there. Not surprising that everyone gets dresses custom-made....

(Pics from Style.com Derek Lam, Halston, Oscar de la Renta x2, Monique Lhuillier x2)

I think my favs are the Halston orange and the Monique Lhuillier red. 

{Spring 08} Willow

One of my recent finds this past year has been Willow, a designer from Australia. I love their use of color for spring!

{Fall 08} Topshop Unique

(images from Style.com)

Topshop is coming stateside! 

We'll be able to get our British High Street fix in NYC come this October.

{Fall 08} Alexander Wang

 

 

(images from Style.com)

Largely in part to my friend M who works in the fashion industry, a few years ago I was introduced to the lovely world of Alexander Wang's cashmere knits, and since then, I have been a fan of his.

{Fall 08} Stærk

 

(All images via Style.com)

I was curious about this collection since my friend Y works with Camilla from time to time...

{Fall 08} Kai Kühne

{Fall 08} Richard Chai

One of my favorite fall/winter collections so far!

Safari is not a SAFARI.

Right after our wedding, we didn't go on our honeymoon. Instead we deferred a whole half a year, so that we can take time off to go on a safari in Africa, our dream vacation. 

So much preparation goes into the planning of a safari trip to Africa. You need to figure out what the kind of animal viewing, the type of experience, the time of year, your budget. And after all that has been set, then you look for the regions and camps that fit your needs, see if they have availability (some camps are super-small and fill up early) and transportation. 

And then there's all the other preparation that you need to do like vaccinations. And then establishing a packing list. 

The former is somewhat easy since we took care of most of the vaccinations when we went to Cambodia a year ago. But the latter is really a pain.  One inconvenient thing about Africa travel is the strict luggage restriction. One bag up to 12 kg per person on some flights, which is really not much. Not only am I packing for a safari, but also some beach time in Mauritius and Seychelles and a stopover in Johannesburg. And I can only take 12kg? What is a girl to do?

I know that I am going to Africa for the experience, so it shouldn't matter what I wear all that much. But still, in my mind, I see myself looking fabulous in designer safari-style outfits: 

  

(from L to R: Michael Kors, Rag and Bone, Behnaz Sarafpour)

Unfortuately, with a 12kg limit, I will be relegated to taking 2 pairs of long pants, 2 pairs of short pants, 2 long sleeve shirts, 2 short sleeve shirts, 4 changes of underwear, hiking shoes, flipflops, swimsuit and maybe one dress... And they all need to be washable and treatable with deet (to keep away the malaria).  

So what my bag will actually contain come May will be:

  

(Products from REI.com)

These are all items that are guaranteed to keep me warm in the 40-degree morning & evening and keep me cool in the 85-degree mid-day. Provide protection against bugs and sun. Also, moister-wicking and quick drying.

But not so pretty, don't you think? Any suggestions on how to spruce things up with these items without taking too much more?