the blog hasn't been updated as regularly for the past 2 weeks. it was a combination of factors: not much happening on the menswear front, the fashion world was fixated on the womenwear shows and who wore what at the oscars, me busy googling why the french vogue team and the house of balenciaga had a fall out, and perhaps a leaning factor: the fire and passion to update this blog has died down.
sometimes i ask myself, why am i doing this? it started off as a passion, a past time. because most of my friends doesn't get it when i talk enthusiastically about the brilliance and vision of ghesquiere, the resurrection of gucci by ford and de sole and why the end of the licensing deals in the 90s matter, why we should scratch beyond the surface for vuitton's reportedly 20% increase in sales, why it is ok to lust after a pair of john lobbs or a pair of hand made northampton shoes. and so the blog was created, to initially document those inane thoughts and unnecessary wants in life.
and things get a little complicated as the blog grew. it's becoming a cult read and i am happy with the steady increase in readership numbers. there was a bloggers boom and fashion PRs took notice. you get sent press releases and you get the warm fuzzy feeling that you feel "included". but i've seen blogs that rehash everything that was written on the press releases, blogs that posts every single press release. and you have to ask yourself why are you doing this? i did some of that admittedly. but why? to get into good books, to get recognition as a person, to please?
so why?
i remembered it was an absolute thrill to attend the menswear shows in milan. probably one of the first few bloggers to do so. i was starry eyed, smiley, green, gullible. i remembered telling myself it was a once in a lifetime experience to fly myself to milan because it's such an exclusive experience. and the second time round, i was invited to more shows, rushing from east to west, showrooms, appointments, backstages, air kisses, cab rides, feeling all chi-chi and making myself look all important.
but why?
i was really exhausted by the end of the trip, and i ask myself why i wasn't enjoying it. i thought only a selected few were going to the shows, but turns out every tom, dick and harry received an invite (hey let's send a mass email out to all the bloggers and see who might come. it's free publicity for us right? so the more the merrier). or worst, when tom, dick and harry got the invite but me. i take pride in my blog, i spend time and effort on it, granted there are better ones out there, but i try to make it one where i as a reader would like to read daily. i don't spend all those late nights updating the blog only to be greeted at the shows "which publication are you from? oh all bloggers on 4th row please". i don't want to be "all others".
but why? i don't even do this for a living.
i have no intention to become an editor or a journalist so i don't know where all these ego tripping and resentment come from. and i ask myself if i should really continue since most of what i blog are syndicated content. i try to use as much of my own pics as possible, and to really continue with the blog this has to be the direction. because the blogs i love reading mostly uses their own pics and are largely original.
the blog was created about 2 years ago, at a time where fashion blogging was at it's infancy. then we witnessed a boom about a year ago, and bloggers started getting recognition. we all love pics from the sartorialist, and now everyone wants to be a street style photographer. there are already murmurs and laments about the sheer number of them outside the shows, and some don't stop and pose anymore. and with every tom, dick and harry now becoming bloggers, i see a revolt coming soon. might as well get out on a high?
i use to love going round to the shops to check out what's new, but even that feels tiring now. as you get closer to the action, you see what's happening behind the scenes. fashion is really for the elitist, for those with double barrelled names, for those wafer thin with above average good looks. mere mortals, consume fashion. and it is sad that it is the overwhelmingly large majority of these mere mortals and their consumerism that keeps that elitism alive. and without the last two attributes for fashion, i try to be an elite member of society, that's what we do right? to constantly better ourselves. but no matter how hard i try, i still feel excluded. ok that last point relates to life in general, not just blogging.
or maybe i just tried too hard.
so you see, what started as a very pure and simple project, now becomes somewhat complicated. it's not as if my day job outside of fashion isn't stressful enough. it seems like everything has happened but nothing actually has.
so much or so little to think about while i embark on my 2 week vacation out in the sun, if i could find the reason to continue with the blog and if so, what changes to be made. but for now, i don't really want the blog to be in a state of neglect, so i scheduled a few posts with some of my favourite pics, some not posted before and others which i feel deserve a 2nd or 3rd look.
and at some point during the next week, the blog will achieve it's 1,500,000th page view. maybe small as compared to most of the big boys out there, maybe a celebration of mediocrity. but i take pride in what i've done so far, and i really appreciate the continued support.
so thanks, and so long for now.
i will be on holiday in less than 2 weeks time! if you must know, i will be escaping the london chill and soaking up the sun, sea and sand in singapore and bali (& trekking up an active volcano too!). while mentally planning what to pack for my holidays, i realised i am rather thin on my summer wardrobe. and so that was my excuse for an online shopping tuesday evening.
the acne checked shirt was quite an impulsive buy, but i love grandad/mandarin collared shirts. and i figured it will look good with shorts so i bought it. layered with a sweater, i can wear this to the office on casual fridays too. loving it.
click here if you are keen.
next was shorts, and very short. i remembered seeing this pair of shorts at asos's press day, and i really like it. glad i manage to find it online, as it is limited to 100 pairs only. it's meant to be swim shorts, so it will be perfect for bali. if i am brave enough, i'll wear it out to the city too. at £25 a pair, i think it's fantastic.
click here if you are keen on the shorts. only 100 pairs across all sizes, best be quick!
then i stumbled upon the asos outlet. yea did you know they had an online outlet? lots of amazing finds there, i managed to find the above denim shorts from cheap monday, in my size which is unbelievable, reduced by about 45%! perfect for my holidays!
left: cheap monday "ben" shorts, now £20! click click!
right: cheap monday "cut" shorts, now £25! click click click!
now i just need to wait patiently for the postman to arrive. happy shopping!
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the "gucci icon temporary" flash sneaker store is finally coming to london. from april 22nd, the store will open for three weeks at covent garden's seven dials. the store will carry 17 exclusive sneaker styles from their "icon temporary" collection, 15 men’s and 2 women’s styles, plus the above 'gucci ronson sneakers' which will be exclusive to london.
to be honest, i was really looking forward to the london pop up store, but i felt so let down by those 2 pairs of sneakers, at most lukewarm at the herringbone pair. is that what they think of london? ronson is looking great though, loving the quiff and fitting polka dot suit.
if you're in london, why not drop by. details as below.
guy in london pondering about all the inane, frivolous and unnecessary wants in life. like, "00o00h i want one of those".
