coco

photos via google

After her death in 1971 - she was buried, per her instructions, in Lausanne, beside a bed of white flowers - Palasse-Lubrunie found a line written on a card in her great aunt's wallet very different in tone:

"The life we lead is nothing, the life we dream of is the existence that matters, because it will continue after death."

- excerpt from Vogue

Amen sister. Amen.

xxx

in bed

photos by me

[ Milly top ]

Rolling around in bed and playing with the lighting on my camera. Of course I wear, what is probably, THE most intricately beaded/sequined/delicate top I own to execute this... Impracticality makes sense to me. There's always at least one thing I REALLY love about each article of clothing I own. If not more. It's the ribbon strip straps on this Milly top.

xxx

ton worthy

photo by me

Double dose of Mongolian lambswool + supremely studded motorcycle boots. YES. PLEASE.

The only question is, would Tommy Ton approve?

xxx

high kicks

photos by JT & JK - video stills by SP

[ Versace x H&M skirt worn as top, Topshop necklace, Forever 21 fringe necklace worn as bracelet, gold foil eyebrows ]

Attended my first High Kicks party at the Skybar last week and decided to break out my newly purchased Versace x H&M skirt. Like I said in a prior post, there was hardly any selection left and nothing in my size! But I needed this skirt with the design's indecisive crocodile/palm tree print and amazing metal pleat points in all its silky goodness. So I bought a size 6, zipped it up, whipped a belt around me, and wore it as a top. Lesson to be learned: just because something isn't in your size doesn't mean you can't wear the garment in other ways that it wasn't intended to be worn. Or something.

Latter video stills are pretty self explanatory. Gold foil eyebrow application process.

Those of you who are in LA make sure you attend High Kicks every Wednesday night at the Skybar in the Mondrian from 9PM to 2AM. I promise fancy times, whiskey, and a rockin' good time with the boys of Semi Precious Weapons.

xxx

Mondrian LA

photos by SP & me

[ Topshop dress & necklace ]

My last few days in LA and we had the privilege of staying at the Mondrian LA on Sunset Boulevard. I have a soft spot for beautifully decorated interiors and the immediate weak-in-the-knees feeling I received upon walking into the lobby was nothing compared to what I felt upon setting foot in our palace. Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz' modern contemporary design aesthetic is seen everywhere throughout the hotel. From the lamp stand imitating a wooden branch to the cleverly hidden flat screen TV within the oversized revolving mirror. I love people who are so meticulous in whatever they do. No matter what their craft is.

Here I am frolicking around the lounge area of the room - as opposed to the sleep&dream area of the room I guess? Seriously. SO much space! - with my balloon. We were just about to go on an adventure in Koreatown to find dinner followed by having a few laughs at The Comedy Store so naturally, the mullet dress had to make an appearance. Articles of clothing that have a slight twist in their design really attracts me. It's also a great take on the classic LBD. So why not?

xxx

rodeo drive

photos by SP & me

[ DIP x Topshop dress, Pencey skirt, Dolce Vita desert boots ]

Sitting in Kings Road Cafe drinking my green tea in attempts to ease my sore throat and flipping through the first print issue of Style.com! I love that the magazine is a longer length than most shelves, which makes it a little tricky to store away but seeing as how I ran out of space for my magazines a long time ago, laying it horizontally somewhere shouldn't be a problem. Along with my W's and V's. A quick trip to Rodeo Drive to ogle over the Tom Ford dresses and grab the new lookbook at Miu Miu filled with the lovely Hailee Steinfeld.

xxx

versace x h&m

photos by me

Oh Donatella how you taunt me with all your beautiful designs Versace has created for H&M! I heard that the lines started at 4AM. DAMN! I was already pushing my luck asking my guy to bring me to H&M for the collection. Lines were still going by the time I got there, which was late afternoon, and the selection of items available were slimmer than the calories in a skinny latte. People are vicious when they want some collaborative goodness! What I loved about this collection on top of the wild prints and the bold colours were the details. Including metal tips for the pleat points of a skirt. Genius!

xxx

obsidian

photos by me

The annual John Casablancas fashion show this November was inspired by the dark and ominous feel of coal mines. Titled Obsidian, we used fabrics of luxe velvet and soft leather in jewel tones and shades of black to encapsulate the gritty vibe. A few shots from that night including the invitations, my backstage set, and the skull wall at the after party at HousexGuest. Outfit shots in Polaroid form to follow.

xxx

roxy

photos by me & SP

[ obakki blouse & shorts, house of holland x pretty polly tights, tommy hilfiger jacket, zara pumps ]

Back in LA again just in time for Stevy's big gig at The Roxy. The show was a success from the beautiful girls of Voyeur dancing to the heavy drops of SPW's Cherries on Ice, to the band's live performance of new songs Drink and That's My Friends, to the frothy western vibe of the Indians' opening performance. Obakki was prevalent in my outfit choice that night with a gold foil brow that I experimented with. Dim blue lighting and collages of music posters backstage led to us forgetting to photograph the brow in greater detail. Next time!

xxx

obakki

photos by me

[ obakki silk blouse & scarlett shorts]

Several days ago, luxury Canadian designer Obakki closed their Gastown store in order to focus on growth in other areas. Needless to say everyone was devastated but immediately perked up when Obakki announced their 2 day warehouse sale. The selection was immense with my mind still on a wool coat with a cocoon cut and a diaphanous maxi skirt in the colour of mocha. I emerged with these two pieces; one of which I remember eyeing at their FW 2011 fashion show. I keep telling everyone they're shorts but the sheer wool panel at the back suggests otherwise... The blouse spoke out to me due to it's slippery soft feel and the unique cowling of the neckline. As I was leaving, I was told about the Obakki Rainmaker Auction on eBay that runs from November 1 to 14 with 100% of proceeds going towards the drilling of wells in South Sudan! If you haven't already, check it out as new items are posted everyday!

xxx

picture within a picture

photos by me & SP

[ french connection dress, custom tommy hilfiger jacket, zara heels]

Last weekend spent in LA for SP's birthday. A little help from JI and the guys made my surprise a successful one! What I didn't calculate when booking a 6AM flight was how tired I'd be for the whole day. Needless to say, napping ensued. When awoken, I was greeted by dinner along with SP telling me I only had 20 minutes to get ready to accompany him to the RedZone studio for Milla's track listening party! I don't think a guy knows that a girl needs more time than that to make herself look human. I wore my FCUK dress from eons ago. It's yellow and I know Asians aren't supposed to wear that colour but I've never been one to listen to those fashion rules. The party itself was too blurry to recall although I do remember sugary cereals to munch on, a specialized Milla cocktail, stacks of stickers with QR codes that doubled as Milla's album cover, and being told what 'banjee realness' was on the way home? Maybe I dreamt half this stuff. Although I know I changed the film cartridge of my camera seeing how many photos were taken. How I managed that in my stilettos without spilling anything on my dress is a feat in itself. Check out Milla's mix here: http://www.millasaysgo.com/

xxx

P.S. I didn't end up in jail in that photo. The photo is just in between my love's guitar strings.

P.P.S. Happy Halloween!

portobello west

photos by me

[ 1: dotdotlove morse code necklace , 2: vic & albie goat fork, 3: Cocoa Nymph Sesamo Bianco ]

Last month, an invitation was presented by one of the board members of Portobello West to attend the September market fair. Although the monthly fair has been around since 2006, I have never personally been exposed to it until recently. To say that I was surprised would be a definite understatement. Portobello West offers artisans more than just a venue to sell their work; it offers them exposure and attention in an appropriate environment. Products offered ranged from a morse code necklace that only pilots will understand to a cheese fork that has been flattened, soldered, and stamped with a certain man's nickname. I like esoteric things apparently so I snapped these up immediately along with a couple bags of oddly addicting sesame + sea salt chocolate. Next Portobello West is on October 30th, 2011.

http://www.portobellowest.com/

xxx

balloons & dipping pools

photos by me

[ sophomore wispy dress , alexander mcqueen scarf, secondhand belt ]

The addition of day before and day of flight photos that includes:

1. Angular sunlight pouring into the hotel room making a point of SP's guitar and the poppy red colour of the balloons. Too bad they were blown in vain...

2. 3 inch deep pools for what one can only assume is for dipping a toe in the water. Literally.

3. A customized studded D&G jacket.

4. The only oatmeal that, upon tasting it, has turned me into an oatmeal lover.

5. An attempt at an outfit shot. Whilst pointing out how inadequate some hotels are in mirror placement.

xxx

hollywood

photos by SP & me

[ h&m dress, marc by marc jacobs necklace, alter brooklyn hanger necklace ]

For the record, I do NOT know how to play the guitar or bass. In between bouts of SP trying (key word: trying) to teach me basic guitar chords and getting back in time for the VMA's we were able to accomplish quite a few things. Wisping around Space 15 Twenty, bumping into a Sophomore heaven, devouring a scallop burger at Umami, clambering on top of cars, and snapping shots with the iconic sign all occurred in a dress that creates the illusion of a crochet crop top with a ballerina's deflated tutu in one. The only thing that was missing was pockets.

xxx

greystone

photos by SP

[ forever 21 sunglasses, kain pocket tee, random black skirt, aldo creepers ]

The basic black and white outfit was due to my being at work before these impromptu photos were shot. As soon as it was midday, SP whisked me off for a luncheon at Greystone Mansion & Park. The grounds are absolutely beautiful here reminiscing that of an English garden and is a very popular film setting in Hollywood. These McQueen-esque creepers don't really fit into that whole scene but I like a bit of contrast.

xxx

Empire @ SSMF

photos by me

[ h&m eyelet corset, topshop floral shorts, oscar de la renta robe ]

I know there seems to be a lot of photos of SP and the only way of documenting my outfit is via a mirror by accidental purposes. I guess that's what happens when I like photographing and he has a guitar and plectrum in his hand. The Sunset Strip Music Festival is even more hectic when one is on the other side of things. From the Standard to Carney's to the 'Johnny Room' at the Viper to squeezing in a dinner at Night + Market in Talesai (get the mushroom fries) to backstage at The Roxy it's safe to say that it was a very hectic day. A struggle for a pixelated cherry sign and late night/early morning track listening at TS' studio comes to mind. I honestly don't know how I find myself in these situations

xxx