Red Camo Collection by Trussardi 1911

i love fashion sketches, never knew that the sketches for accessories could be so vivid and life-like. for christmas 2010, italian fashion house trussardi 1911 designed a special "red camo" collection, on sale exclusively at online retailer thecorner.com.

with my fascination for voyage and travels, my favourite of course has to be the keepall above. trussardi 1911's camouflage keepall is given an update with red handles and luggage tag detailings. i really like it. can one have too many travel bags?

other pieces given an update, include the above ipad cover with a rather sexy red suede panel hidden inside. i thought long and hard, i really want an ipad. but at the rate technology is moving i am unwilling to get one now until v2 is launched. so hurry hurry apple, so i have a reason to get the red suede camo ipad cover.

click here to see more red camo trussardi 1911 products.

oh gosh, is santa listening reading my blog?



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Monnaie de Paris "Taj Mahal" gold coin with Cartier diamonds and Maison Goyard case

goyard case / ph: richard bord, getty images

i love trunks and cases, there's something very luxurious and old fashioned, but in a nice way, about them. monnaie de paris recently released a series of 1kg gold coins, featuring 68 handset cartier diamonds, and housed in a specially made goyard case. there are 29 sets available, each retailing for Eur100,000.

goyard case / ph: richard bord, getty images

for such an extravagant gold coin / investment, it is most befitting that it is housed in a case made by one of the finest luggage makers around. forgive me, but i am more interested in the case than the diamonds encrusted gold coin, hence i featured the trunk/case first. such an object of beauty.

coinmaker at work / ph: richard bord, getty images

back to the coin: one of the reasons for the exorbitant price tag of the gold coin, is because of the 68 cartier diamonds, each individually and painstakingly hand set. if i can hazard a guess why the taj mahal was used as the background: china, india and brazil are three countries where the wealth is at, where luxury spending is booming.

taj mahal gold coin / ph: bertrand langlois, afp, getty images

the finished article: one of the 29 coins, each weighing 1kg with 68 cartier diamonds which comes encased within a goyard trunk. you know retailers are feeling the consumer confidence again when we start seeing extravagant pieces like that.

personally, i would do away with the gold coin and diamonds, and get the luxurious goyard book housed within the custom made goyard case, which would then snip away 94% of the price tag.

christmas gift for the man with everything?


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Gucci Cruise 2011 cotton tote bag

gucci cruise 2011 / gucci.com

not a lot of retailers do cruise collections for men, but gucci is one that consistently does it for the past few seasons. i find "cruise" to be really poncy, it's essentially pre-spring, a small collection to tide us over until the full spring summer collection arrives in stores around february to march.

i really like the whole look from above gucci's pre-spring 2011 collection. love the schoolboy blazer which is a classic, and i'm equally drawn to the cotton bag too. it looked like the perfect in between size when compared to a weekender or everyday bag. i honestly think it looks great, and i will get a lot of use out of it.

the lookbook pics above showed the bag with a shoulder strap as well as leather detailing on the sides. however these details are missing from the actual bag being put into production, which is quite a shame as those detailings really adds to it. in addition, the bag does look a little "ally capellino-ish", and not exactly impulsive-friendly when it's retailing at £745.

so a little yay, a little nay. still prefer the lookbook version.




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Ethan Ruan [阮经天] at Cartier Hong Kong flagship opening

ethan ruan / ph: tungstar, sina.com

just realised that the way i pieced the two pictures together it looked like a pair of identical twins attended the event. it's just one: taiwanese actor ethan ruan [阮经天] attended last saturday's cartier hong kong flagship opening, dripped in cartier accessories including the "love" ring and bangle.

but let's start with his dressing. in usual circumstances, i find that blue leather blazer to be absolutely hideous. i don't know where it's from but by itself doesn't it scream mid life/cigar smoking? strangely it worked really well with his grey cardigan and neutral tone trousers and shoes. i'm sure being lanky and having great skin helps. great standout smart casual look against the cartier red backdrop and carpet.

ethan ruan / ph: tungstar, sina.com

when ethan decided to switch hands in his pocket, we saw that he was also dressed in what appeared to be the white gold ballon bleu de cartier timepiece. the 18k white gold crown featured a blue sapphire cabochon. i love love love the watch, it's one of the classics from cartier, ever so high on my wishlist.

if he don't mind my slight critique: i would really prefer the brown/gold version of the watch which should match his outfit nicely.


ballon bleu de cartier in 18k gold casing / cartier.com

the stunning detailing on the ballon bleu de cartier timepiece. le sigh.

yes i honestly did harbour thoughts of getting the ballon bleu de cartier timepiece (in brown/gold combination) when there exist a cause of celebration. of course the opportunity cost of acquiring it meant other wishlist items would be on hold for longer: including my favourite camera leica m9, or money going towards my own bachelor pad.

oh the boredom of rational thinking.

cartier winter tales / cartier.com

"oh santa baby, hurry down the chimney tonight."






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Faye Wong [王菲] in Beijing in Duvetica and Rick Owens

faye wong / wongfaye.org

i don't usually feature female artistes on my blog, but faye wong is my long time idol and she's wearing unisex pieces so i have to make an exception. growing up, faye wong's music and movies made a big influence in my life. i am so in love with her, even though she took a multi year hiatus to make babies with another man. but she's back this year, and above were pictures of her after her comeback concert in beijing. excuse the casual outfit, she's just performed a 2hour set. see my love for her? she was spotted leaving a restaurant in a duvetica jacket as well as rick owens sneakers.

duvetica fall winter 2010 / duvetica.com

i love duvetica's jackets. from the name, i guess it suggests that it is as comfy as wrapping a duvet around ourselves. the fall winter 2010 jacket featured contrasting zippers and interiors. the menswear versions come in a array of colors, and is available online at luisa via roma here.

rick owens after his spring summer 2010 show / gq.com

faye was also spotted wearing a pair of ultra cool rick owens sneakers, which mr owens himself wore (laceless) at his spring summer 2010 show.

the rick owens sneakers for men is also available online from oki-ni here.

gosh i could completely emulate faye's look, i feel that much closer to her now. yes it's an unusual and nonsensical post, but i still adore her after all these years. here's a video from one of my many favourites: passenger [王菲 - 乘客]. it's in mandarin and it's a cover of swedish artiste sophie zelmani's "going home". in the opening scenes, faye wong wore the much lauded olivier theyskens designed rochas dress.

happy weekends everyone.

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Rafael Nadal in Richard Mille and Feliciano Lopez in Jaeger Le-Coultre

photo by clive rose/getty images

i've previously blogged about richard mille's partnership with rafael nadal. at this week's ATP world tour finals in london, the spanish ace was again spotted with the lightweight 30grams US$525,000 richard mille rm027 watch. the watch was specially designed to be ultra lightweight so it can be worn on nadal's wrist during all of his tournaments.

richard mille rm027

partnering with tennis players make perfect sense for the watch makers. the message goes right out to their target market. just this month, swiss watchmakers jaeger le-coultre appointed fellow spanish tennis player feliciano lopez as their global ambassador.

feliciano lopez / photo: jacques demarthon/afp/getty images

feliciano was also at the ATP world tour, but of course wasn't wearing any of jaeger le-coultre's dress watches on the court. and how different does he look outside of his sports attire?

the spanish tennis player wore one of my favourite watches: the jaeger le-coultre reverso.

jaeger le-coultre grande reverso

i love the watch makers' sponsorship to these sportsmen. it sends out a positive message (less scandalous than football players), and having real men as ambassadors make it all the more believable. i look forward to more of such partnerships.



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H&M x Lanvin: My experiences and thoughts

many thanks to all those who emailed/left me really heart-warming messages during the past 2 weeks. a lot of things i wanted to say/reflect upon, but maybe in another post. i take it as a rite of passage, that everyone at some point will have a little stay at the hospital, have a little fix here and there. i am recovering well, getting stronger by the day. me-time works wonders.

anyway, under doctor's orders to be housebound, the most exciting thing for me is perhaps waking up at 7am on this tuesday morning and joining the nation in grinding h&m's website to a halt. i was kind of excited that the h&m x lanvin collection was being made available online, but not naive enough to think the site wouldn't crash.

so from 7am, the only thing happening for me is sasha pivovarova grinning back at me, urging me to keep trying. i was hitting the "refresh" button furiously.

come 7:47am, oh some movement. the background changed, this time to the h&m x lanvin ladies, giving me sympathetic looks. by then i was really bored, momentarily went back to bed only to wake up half an hour later to keep refreshing the site.

perhaps enough of my twitter spam, @queenyoung threw me a lifeline. she was queuing up for the womenswear at oxford street, but her allocated time slot was 11:25am. and while waiting, she offered to help me pick up the pieces i wanted from the menswear collection. so a phone call later, everything i wanted was bagged!

so despite the online server crashing, the nice samaritan that is @queenyoung even delivered the big bagful of stuff to me. she being a complete stranger who happened to be my blog reader, trusting enough to pay for all that stuff and even meeting me near my place. i was thankful and surprised, and glad she managed to pick up all the pieces that she wanted from h&m x lanvin womenswear.


so what's my thoughts on the collection?

the packaging was a big plus. the fanciful carrier bags, the whimsical hangers to the nice coat/jacket covers. i would give packaging full marks.

which are the pieces i bought?

i bought 5 pieces in total: the white bib shirt, the navy dinner/tux jacket, the long wool navy coat, the navy trousers and the black/white scarf. the sizing was great, everything fitted really nicely.

however, and it's a big however, my first instinct was correct. if this collection wasn't marketed as such, would i still be crazy about it? the long wool coat was nice, but it was nothing like the lanvin coats i saw at harvey nichols. in fact i felt very "h&m", i didn't feel anything lanvin about it. yes at £149 i should have realistic expectations, but if it wasn't marketed as such i really do not think it would have flown off the shelves. i was sucked into this huge marketing bubble.

that aside, individually the pieces do have longevity. nice coat, it will be my staple coat to work from now, alongside my other favourite: the h&m x viktor & rolf black peacoat. i paid £330 for 5 pieces which i think is pretty reasonable. a little retail therapy to help my speedy recovery, any excuse.

the morning session refreshing my screens was really boring and unnecessary. h&m should have foreseen that would happen, and i really urge them to have separate servers for menswear, there was no time limit and colored bands imposed for menswear for their brick and mortar shops anyway. i probably would have a frustrated morning, not because i missed out but because i couldn't get in for a look-see.

it's probably too easy for me to brush aside the designers' efforts, but it's a collection i could do without, and i say that with a tinge of sadness because h&m autumn collaborations are something i look forward to all year. but @queenyoung's actions made me cherish the pieces more so now, as there's a nice story behind it.

so quite a mixed bag of experiences and emotions in one day, but i am nonetheless happy with the pieces i got. happy, that i am getting better, and things are slowly getting back to normal.

happy thoughts.





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admitted to the hospital for a minor surgery last weekend. got discharged today, the road to recovery begins: aftercare, patience and lots of time. i hope time heals all wounds, and heals them pretty.

and when you are lying on the hospital bed, it's a cliche but you really do start prioritising things in your life: getting back to where i was heath wise, getting back to my career, saying thank you to my dear housemate.

all other things can wait, i really need some me-time now.

back soon.

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not been at the best of health for the past week, trying to find that strength again. all things can wait, and i hope time heals all wounds.

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Vans Mid Skool '77 CA Sneakers

when i saw the above shoe at the showroom 2 weekends ago, i was dying to take it home with me. pardon me for having a preconception, but i never knew vans did such drool worthy shoes. the nubuck leather sneakers would really go with everything in my wardrobe.

the shoes were added to the online store this week. i predict a sell out soon, click here if you are interested.

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Hu Bing [胡兵] at The 5th International Rome Film Festival in Gucci

left: model benoni loos for gucci fall winter 2010, gq/firstview
right: actor hu bing at rome film festival, ph: tullio m. puglia/getty images

i am usually very skeptical when actors turn up at events head to toe in a particular look straight off the runway. chinese actor hu bing arrived at the 'la dolce vita' cocktail party in rome, dressed head to toe in look number 39 from gucci fall winter 2010. but i am pleasantly surprised, i think he looks really good. i'm sure being an ex-model and towering at 1.89m (stalker who?) definitely helps. he even have no qualms wearing that partially see-through top, which i think it's a major no-no for most guys, but hey if you are 38 years old and you still have it, flaunt it.

hu bing is in rome to contend for the 'best leading actor' award for his film "bei mian" (the back).

ph:vittorio zunino celotto/getty images

what i really like about this look, is the trousers. i love the diamond-print fabric, and even more so the cutting and length of the trousers. when most celebs borrow outfits the most disappointing part is usually the length, most just doesn't hem it properly. i honestly think hu bing carried off the look better than the runway model. i'm not crazy over the jacket, which i can't quite make out if it's metallic or velvet, but overall good look, he doesn't look overly styled or uncomfortable.

i really like the trousers, i think it's very flattering. i want a pair too.

with china soon poised to be the biggest consumer of luxury goods, i think this is a very good effort of marketing a collection to the far east. there's no need for dragons and tigers motifs, and hu bing looked equally nice.



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J.Lindeberg Spring Summer 2011 : "The Modern North"

a few days ago i dropped by j.lindeberg's showroom to look at what's in store for their upcoming spring summer 2011 collection. titled "the modern north", urban cyclists were the main influence and inspiration for this collection. the collection revisits not only the aesthetics, but also the purpose, and functionality of a garment: with rain proof fabrics and little quirky detailings around the hem of trousers or internal linings, and most pieces were cropped for a better fit too.

one of the pieces that i really like from the lookbook, is this dual colored long coat. the outer layer is water/rain proof, and the internal linings were equally well made, with fabrics that's easy dry.

the perforated lining is so beautifully made and color coordinated, and i love the corduroy collar, adds a special touch to the jacket.

another piece that i really like from the lookbook, is this khaki colored jacket, packed full of little quirky details. there's a pocket on the back (to slot in your newspapers when you are riding to work), the sides could be unzipped for maximum movement.

i had to give it a try. it looked like something i arrived at the showroom with, and something believable that i could spend the rest of the afternoon with, love it.

ok perhaps you're not convinced. here's how model hugo sauzay did it.

other pieces that i love, were the chambray shirts but with nice detailings along the pocket and sleeves. doesn't have to be outrageous, but easily something wearable and stylish. love the shirt.

the classic striped t-shirt...

...to a fitted parka. those are my favourite pieces: items that you can integrate easily into the wardrobe. i love the accessories too, especially the brightly colored cashmere scarves.

i love the color palettes used. colors were inspired by the coastline of scandinavia: soft and neutral tones of wet sand, fresh white surf and deep marine blues provide a backdrop for the vibrant oranges and corals found on the town houses of stockholm. gosh i wish i was there already.

and then there were shoes...

the classic purple suede loafers and tann brogues.

i honestly do like this collection. very laidback, casual with pieces that's really easy to integrate, with the added bonus of functionality that's been carefully thought about by the design team. the pieces should arrive in stores from january 2011.

meanwhile, j.lindeberg's fall winter 2010 collection is available online here.



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