#WishlistWednesday (Bottles)

- aesop fragrances
- CB i hate perfume
- byredo parfums

all available from liberty of london. get me one will you?

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Ethan Ruan [阮经天] in Esquire magazine editorial in Gucci and MCM

taiwanese artiste ethan ruan [阮经天] was recently featured in an editorial for esquire magazine. in what must be a very comfortable photo shoot, mr ruan slept in a bathrub but robed in a gorgeous lilac gucci jacket, and pillowing with a mcm luggage bag. i love the styling, there were a myriad of colors, but everything seemed to fit really nicely. especially loving the mcm bag which was from a special "shanghai" collection. l00o00ve!

ethan ruan / ph: sina



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8th Annual Jeffrey Fashion Cares

at yesterday's 8th annual jeffrey fashion cares, a selection of looks from various designers were shown in new york to raise money for charities. the pieces were sponsored by the fashion houses and later auctioned off, with the proceeds benefiting four of the most worthy non-profit organizations in nyc that improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. i was very surprised to see the balenciaga raincoat which i bought last weekend, shown in beige/camel with black leather collar. needless to say, i absolutely love it.

the steel grey version was also featured in one of mr porter's editorials on raincoats, click here to see it. the balenciaga coat from spring summer 2011 is also available from mr porter here.

image from jeffrey fashion cares: getty images


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Balenciaga leather trim raincoat

ladies and gentlemen, please may i introduce my seventh balenciaga coat: the leather trim raincoat from spring summer 2011. after collecting my ipad on saturday, i trekked across town to harvey nichols for a little leisurely look-see. i saw the below jacket from matchesfashion.com, and really really like it, so i thought i'll go try it on to see how it fits.

to be honest, this was my original choice, the reason why i decided to venture across town even when the great big protest was happening in london on saturday. the leather and canvas jacket looked amazing, and i really like how it was styled above. i tried on the jacket, and the fit was ok, and i looked ok. and that's partly the problem, it's just ok. it's a beautiful jacket, but i think i couldn't carry off the look. anyway if you are keen, the jacket is available online here.

and then i saw the long grey coat with brown leather collar, the coat which was love at first sight and i featured it here last month. it fits beautifully, and i felt wowed by it. and so that became my seventh balenciaga jacket.

the jacket is made from a special blend of cotton and synthetic fibres to make it shower-proof. the brown leather collar, and the undersides of the two pockets on the front were made from soft calf leather. the fit is slightly roomy, and i was told it was to create a slight bell shape silhouette, a nod towards their signature womenswear egg shaped coats. i love the steely grey, contrasted beautifully with the leather collar, and that i can wear this to work without looking out of place. and it's perfect for the weather in london now, right in season.

the buttons were in a soft shade of brown, matches the grey and brown beautifully. i love the little details here and there.

the lining is just full of fun. it looked as if bright yellow tape was used to hold the stitchings together. i love the strong contrast of colors, and it just makes me smile whenever i see the taped effect.

and now for a little look at my small collection of balenciaga outerwear. well some people collect chanel handbags, some collect vintage watches, i love my balenciaga.

i wasn't exactly keen on how the coat was styled in balenciaga's lookbook. i prefer the styling on mrporter.com, but i would pair it with another pair of jeans/trousers. if you are keen, the coat is also available here from mrporter.com.

make this my lucky number se7en.




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Pad me

oh hello there. finally, i got my hands on the ipad2. i refused to queue up at the apple stores on day of release, and i didn't want to buy online from apple as delivery takes 3-4 weeks, which is just crazy in this digital age. the other retailers started selling the ipads from 5pm, and with my fast fingers i managed to order one from retailer john lewis. just minutes later when i forwarded the link to a friend, all the ipads were sold out. anyway, i selected the option of collecting in store on saturday, and so i had the ipad all weekend.

in a narcissistic way, one of the first thing i did was to check out my blog. it looked great if i may say so heh! with all the registration and software upgrades out of the way, the very important task now is to find an ipad case. i narrowed it down to the two options below, as both comes with the option of hot stamping initials on the covers.

i am leaning towards the gorgeous turquoise goatskin cover on the left. it's so simple in design but the gold stamping worked really well with the color of the cover. i think this will age so beautifully. it's from a retailer based in the US, and it costs about US$100 excluding shipping.

i also like the mock croc brown leather case from smythson. it also allows the option of adding our initials to the cover, and the process should only take 2-3 days. the cover plus customisation comes to around £226.

- turquoise green goatskin ipad cover available here.
- smythson brown croc embossed ipad cover available here.
- ipad2 available from john lewis here.


so which one do you like? or do you have any other covers to recommend?





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Out and about...

was out and about last saturday running some errands in my h&m denim shirt, zara puffy vest, topman trousers and missoni x converse ss2011 sneakers. and i ended up at harvey nichols, and... bought a coat from balenciaga. typical of me, just when the weather is warming up i go and get myself a coat. but more on that tomorrow...

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WWD editorial: Alfred Dunhill alpaca wool overcoat and Ralph Lauren alligator portfolio

in the latest issue of wwd magazine, there's a men's week editorial with one of the looks featuring the alfred dunhill fall winter 2011 alpaca wool overcoat and alligator portfolio from ralph lauren. whoever styled the shoot gets top marks from me, for they put my favourite pieces in one look. it's no surprise that i really lovelust the ralph lauren alligator portfolio, and i mentioned in a previous post that the alfred dunhill alpaca wool overcoat in camel is one of my favourite pieces from fall winter 2011, one of the definite must buy pieces for me.

ralph lauren alligator portfolio available here. and in the meantime, let's just skip spring and summer already!



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Pierre Hardy "Bag D"

i featured pierre hardy's "bag d" about a month ago, and i knew i had to get it. i love the bag, i took the bag out last weekend and just love everything about it. rather than hand toting it, which doesn't feel right with my proportions, i used the shoulder strap and it worked really well. i'll most definitely pack this for my travels next month too.

if you are keen, pierre hardy's "bag d" is available online here.



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#WishlistWednesday Ralph Lauren "Purple"

monk strap shoes, alligator portfolio, alligator weekender, alligator card case and everything #wishlistwednesday but the sink, all ralph lauren "purple" label from mrporter.com.

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Aaron Kwok [郭富城] at 35th Hong Kong International Film Festival in Vanquish

zhang ziyi and aaron kwok / ph: sina

hong kong artiste aaron kwok [郭富城] attended the premiere of his new movie <最爱> yesterday at the 35th hong kong international film festival. aaron attended with co-star zhang ziyi, and wore a really beautiful white shirt with feather prints. this is such a great look for aaron, million miles better than the age confusing look he spotted on new year's day.

i really like the shirt, which i assumed was from jil sander spring summer 2011 as they used very similar floral prints on white shirts. a little digging around later, i found out that aaron's shirt is actually from japanese label "vanquish".

vanquish spring summer 2011

really liking the shirt, and thought aaron looked great for the event. the shirt is available online here.



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Russell Brand in London in Balmain Homme

mr. russell brand was spotted in london's harley street yesterday in a khaki windbreaker, grey knitwear, black balmain homme denims paired with white sneakers. the black denims featured balmain's signature details around the knees with two front zipped pockets. i love the jeans, what do we think of mr. brand's off-duty look?

the black balmain homme jeans are available online at luisaviaroma, and the blue denim version is available at mrporter.com.


russell brand /ph: bauergriffin, balmain homme lookbook / ph: atelier franck durand





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James Blunt "If time is all I have"

i am loving james blunt's new song "if time is all i have". rather appropriately, it featured a beautiful timepiece from one of my favourite watchmakers: piaget. loving the polo fortyfive watch, the melancholic video and the beautiful song.

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Missoni x Converse Spring Summer 2011

missoni x converse spring summer 2011

missoni x converse spring summer 2011, fall winter 2010 and spring summer 2010

i ❤ my new shoes!







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Libertin Louison Technique Indiscrete: Cologne "For Them"

☞ as seen on disneyrollergirl.net

cologne "for them" by parisian perfumer libertin louison of "technique indiscrete". a lavender based cologne made to help japanese people in times of crisis, a cologne made for the town of minami sanriku (南三陸町) which disappeared after the tsunami. as disneyrollergirl pointed out, lavender is well known for its healing and calming properties, it smells heavenly and appeals to men and women alike.

1,000 numbered bottles, €35 for 50ml. all profits donated.



& i bought mine in a heartbeat.




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Coach arrives in London

i remembered that years ago when i was still a student at university, i went to london for a day trip and bought a wool felt wristlet from coach for my then housemate. it was 2002 and the store was at the beautiful sloane street. since then, the store closed and i've been lamenting for a long time, why coach with it's many stores across the US, did not reopen a new store in london. and now with the economy on the path to recovery and london's retail scene thriving again, coach is back with a new store at london's westfield.

i love visiting the coach stores whenever i'm in new york, i think they do leather accessories at really good price points. and now with a store so near to me, i think it's a little dangerous!

for coach's spring summer 2011 menswear range, they tapped one of my favourite models, ben hill. great casting, and he can sell me anything, anyday. but let's look at the bag:

i love the above washed leather dual colored tote. simple yet stylish. personally, i would remove those washer tags, but it's just me. still one stylish bag isn't it?

there's also the taupe colored day bag with a handy shoulder strap. i really like it, i thought it's a great size, and the leather looked so soft and smooshy.

what i am excited about, is also the menswear apparel. i love the above khaki colored coat which is perfect for london's spring right now. i hope they stock a good selection of menswear at their london store. i'm not exactly a big fan of westfield mall, but it's still quicker than a plane ride to new york. i'm actually really excited, let me round up my troops and make it a westfield weekend.

oh, and my favourite item from their spring summer collection, is the above 'hudson' washed leather case. love the cognac brown leather and old school elastic band closure. i set my heart on getting it for the new ipad 2 which will be released in london on march 25th. but alas, i've been told it's not available in the uk! i couldn't see it on the US online store too. but, hong kong and singapore i will be come april, i hope i can find it there.

can't wait to visit the new store soon.




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Ryan Gosling in 3.1 Phillip Lim

mr. ryan gosling is currently filming the george clooney directed "the ides of march". off duty on thursday, mr. gosling slipped into his 3.1 phillip lim leather jacket for some whole foods marketing, accessorised with a copy of national geographic march 2011. effortless, off-duty nonchalance style which i really love. and i really really really like his leather jacket.

pic credit: ryan gosling / GSI media via justjared



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Mika in Christian Louboutin "Superball"

not sure how i missed this, but mika was seen wearing christian louboutin's "superball" at "queen: stormtroopers in stilettos" event last month in london. erm, what a title for an event, and what a shoe. it's one of my favourites from spring summer 2011, works really well with jeans as in mika's case (not really liking the blue blazer with the long coat, i prefer one or the other, not both at the same time...). his shoes brought his outfit to life.

i l00o00ve! now i want my own "superball".


photo of mika by nick harvey, getty images. wacky superman and wonder woman graphic from comicvine. "superball" from christianlouboutin.com.




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#WishlistWednesday Lanvin lizard skin wallet

#wishlistwednesday. totally needing:

1. lanvin lizard skin wallet
2. smythson "little black book"
3. american express (red) card






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Some thoughts on Moynat, Bvlgari, Burberry and LVMH

moynart horse cart, 1880 / ph: ask.com

amidst the chatter last week of lvmh buying into bvlgari, wwd.com also reported that bernard arnault bought moynat, one of the oldest trunk makers in france. established in 1849 (five years before louis vuitton), it was touted as one of louis vuitton's competitors in his heydays. i find this deal to be more exciting and intriguing than that of bvlgari's. bvlgari long stated that they are looking to sell, and it's not much of a surprise that they chose lvmh as i find it's a very good fit. bvlgari should still shine brightly alongside de beers and chaumet, the other jewellery houses within lvmh.

moynat on the otherhand enjoyed it's brilliance up until 1967 when they closed their shop at place du théâtre in paris. according to ask.com, the scholl family bought the rights to moynat in the early 1980’s. orcofi, the vuitton family’s holding company (as in the 'original' vuitton family, not the arnault family), bought the rights to moynat in 1989, following the disposal of the bulk of their shares in lvmh (vuitton family gained shares in lvmh when they sold louis vuitton to bernard arnault). orcofi was then sold to AXA (the insurance group) in 1996 and luvanis SA bought the rights to moynat in 2009. filling in the gaps between 2009 to 2011, groupe arnault bought the rights to moynat, and per wwd.com a new moynat boutique at rue st honore is in the works.

i find this far more interesting as i have a few questions.

1. why did groupe arnault instead of lvmh made the acquisition? (see this guide to bernard arnault's principal holdings / investment structure). do they not see moynat as a fit within lvmh, or was it really a personal interest to acquire moynat for mr arnault hence to keep it out of lvmh?

2. moynat hasn't done much since the 60s, and it's name is slowly fading out. reviving the brand of course is great, the legacy and heritage lives on. what is groupe arnault planning for moynat? restoring it as a principal trunk maker and luxury travel goods company bring it in direct competition to louis vuitton.

vintage moynat ads / ph: ebay.fr

part of me feels that perhaps someone else should revive moynat. but given mr arnault's expertise, perhaps moynat is indeed in good hands. this then leads to another question:

3. why some of the other fashion houses have grown so big in recent years and appearing to be at maturing stage, but not bought other opportunistic brands and be conglomerate themselves to keep on growing. i would like to direct this question to hermès and burberry if i may.

4. and speaking about burberry and lvmh, there were persistent rumours in recent months about the possibility of lvmh acquiring burberry. in my humble opinion, as a bystander who sees things with innocence, i really do not think so. burberry's share price is at it's peak now, valuing the company at £5.2bn. if lvmh really had intentions to acquire, it would have done so a year ago when share prices were halved, and i am sure they had the foresight to see burberry riding through the storm. with lvmh shelving out €4.3bn for 50.4% stake in bvlgari and €1.45bn for 17.1% in hermès, it kind of rules out lvmh as a possible suitor for now. hence this links to point 3 above, will they consider growing by acquisition or are they just looking to sell on a high?

i don't know why i ponder about such things. anyway, looking forward to see what groupe arnault has in store for moynat.

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#MusicMonday Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos

one of my favourite songs, from my favourite tori amos album to date. to all those affected by the latest turn of events, i hope you can find peace and acceptance.

#MusicMonday




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Julian Cheung [张智霖] at Cartier eyewear launch in Bottega Veneta

bottega veneta ss2011, ph: GQ.com / julian cheung, ph: tungstar, sina.com

hong kong artiste julian cheung chilam [张智霖] attended the launch of cartier eyewear in hong kong last week. he arrived in an olive colored leather jacket, matching t-shirt and trousers from bottega veneta spring summer 2011. chilam is amongst a small handful of artistes from asia who ages really well, he will be 40 this august but can you tell?

i really like the napa leather jacket, especially the sleeves with perforated detailings. i think this is a great example of taking streetwear to another level, in my humble opinion a direction that balmain homme should have taken when trying to do "streetwear luxe". there's pack full of details on this jacket, and one that you will hopefully take a second look if you see someone wearing it, because you know it's just not your regular leather jacket.

last year in paris while waiting for my friend to try on shoes at repetto, i saw a guy sitting in a corner also waiting patiently for his friend to try on her shoes. he wore a gorgeous leather jacket, which although common in black, looked so luxurious and instinct tells you it's not your run of the mill jackets. not speaking french but sensing my enthusiasm after a few pointing and gesturing, he said "hermès". ahhhh. i think this jacket falls within the same category.

bottega veneta spring summer 2011 fine napa blouson / bottegaveneta.com

i love this jacket, one of my favourite pieces from bottega veneta spring summer 2011.





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Jamie Hince in Paris

jamie hince in paris, 09 feb 2011 / ph: eloit press, bauergriffin

jamie hince was in paris yesterday to accompany a certain miss moss, who made a surprise catwalk appearance and closed the show for louis vuitton fall winter 2011. we've seen jamie in this blue coat on several occasions, which i believed to be from burberry.

jamie hince in paris, 09 feb 2011 / ph: eloit press, bauergriffin

what i've not seen previously, was the back of the coat. there's a lot of detailing going on, i do like it but feel it's a difficult look to carry off. a little on the edge about pleats on men. you liking it?

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Ryan Gosling

ryan gosling in 3.1 phillip lim fall winter 2010, w magazine
phillip lim mood board spring summer 2010, popeye magazine


31philliplim.com

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Christian Louboutin at Chanel dinner in Paris with Mikaraja

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YSL Manifesto Spring Summer 2011

ysl manifeso spring summer 2011 / ysl.com



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Still listening to

❝old friend, why you so shy? ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light.❞
someone like you - adele


#MusicMonday



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Port Magazine Spring 2011

hermès scissors
prada brogues

port magazine spring 2011





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Eason Chan [陈奕迅] in March edition of Esquire Hong Kong

eason chan / ph: sina.com

wowsa! who did that to you eason?! looking like a hybrid of dolce & gabbana's mickey mouse shoulders and balenciaga's spring 2008 armory, mr chan appeared in the march edition of esquire hong kong, advocating a 'green' and ecological living. did you not get that from the shoulder studs turtles?

wacky, but oh i love.

balenciaga spring summer 2008 / ph: style.com






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