Uh-Sigh-Ee Bowl & Photo Shoot

In the post before this I mentioned acai bowls. Here's a picture of one that I made and consumed today. It's some acai sorbet, honey, and granola all mixed together. So good, you must go out and find one or go to your grocery store and look for the ingredients!


Also, some exciting news: I'll be helping my dear friend and roomie out with a promotional photo shoot for the company she buys for! This is some of the clothes that we're going to be using.


My favorites. I am in love with this yellow floral top, it has pyramid studs!! And that blue floral thing is a dress with a ruffle going down one side. And a red fringed bag, fringe!

Favorite Milan Looks

Jil Sander / Prada / Alberta Ferretti


Fendi / Emporio Armani / Versace


Marni / Alessandro Dell'Acqua / Moschino Cheap and Chic


Bottega Veneta / Versace / Jil Sander

Obviously, I loved the fringed looks. Jil Sander's fluid, drapey ones were my absolute favorite!

And I am completely regretting that I didn't buy this tiered fringe skirt I saw at Forever 21 on Wednesday. I told myself I didn't need it and that I should save my money (even if it was $19.80). But I kept thinking about it the whole day and tried to make my friend take me to get it after school the next day, but she didn't have time. So my friend that works there was gonna buy it for me yesterday, but my size was already gone by then! So sad, so sad.

But the good news is, I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance. Oh wait... I don't have a car. Just kidding.

Anyways, so far I've been about 95% successful in not buying stuff that are considered wants. I started it after my birthday (August 11) and since then the only fashion thing I've bought is a vintage tuxedo shirt from Avant Apres Fashion for about $25. Purchases on food that I don't need make up the other 4%. I'm completely fine with eating simple stuff like pb&j sandwiches, but who can say no to fish wraps and acai bowls from Diamond Head Cove Health Bar?

Thank God for loans!

Sasha aka Borat aka Bruno

Is it cruel that I find this funny?

Is it bad that I even find this man funny?

When Borat first came out I thought it was going to be so stupid. And it was, which made it even better. I laughed so hard during that movie and was extremely disgusted at the nude scenes. And yes, I was one of those irritating people that quoted the movie after, but that could also have to do with the fact that I lived with guys at that time.

via New York Magazine

Sky High

What do all these shoes have in common?

Dolce & Gabbana / Rodarte / Prada

Warning: They may cause injury and lots of embarrasement.


I'm all for an amazing look shoe (Marni Spring 09!!), but seriously, gives these girls a break!

This is also coming from a girl who thinks "beauty is pain" is a stupid quote and wears sneakers and flat sandals almost everyday.

I bust the towers out for nights out on the town (no, not that kind of night out on the town) or when my six foot friends are going to wear heels- because who wants to be two feet shorter than their friends?

More "Multi-Taskers" on the Road

Some lady here in Hawai'i caught a bus driver on her camera phone playing a video game while he was driving the bus.

I've never seen my bus driver play a video game, but I have witnessed them answering their cell phones and talking really loudly about stuff like what's for dinner.

On Monday I was on a bus with a really unattentive driver. I requested a stop and realized that wasn't where I wanted to go. And good thing it wasn't because he drove right past it! He did stop at where I wanted to get off, but now he didn't give me enough time to open those stupid doors! So I had to walk to the front and tell him to let me off. He was at least nice enough to pull over and let me out instead of dropping me off at the next stop which was two blocks away.

My mom would be so pissed about this too. I'm be going home this weekend, so I'll be keeping track of her words of wisdom to share with the world!

No Texting on Cali Roads

My mom would be very happy to hear that texting is now illegal while driving in California.

She always gets irritated when drivers and pedestrians aren't paying attention to the road.

Today she even said that she should have her own blog about everything that pisses her off. Like when parents let their kids stand really close to the road when she's driving by or when people don't put their hair back when serving food.

I really want her to have one because it can be pretty comical!

Billows, Half&Half, Roses

La Perla | Salvatore Ferragamo | Gucci


Marni | Gucci | Pollini


Moschino | Alberta Ferretti | Francesco Scognamiglio

Spring 2009

Pastel Shoes

Ever since seeing this picture of Rachel Comey's shoes (via Refinery 29) from her most recent show, I've been obsessed with finding my own pair of pastel shoes, preferably in lavender.

So I searched and the only thing I've liked is this:

Slow and Steady Wins The Race shoes, from Revolve Clothing, $100
I love the mix of suede, canvas, and leather in it. Don't love the price.

I'm thinking about dying a pair of white Vans Era with some purple fabric paint... Is this a bad idea to do? I'd just paint the canvas part somehow and avoid the rubber sole and the inside.

Any suggestions about how to dye it or where to find some cheap pastel oxfords?

Favorite London Looks

Peter Jensen / Armand Basi One / Jaeger London


Marios Schwab / Danielle Scutt / Charles Anastase


Eun Jeong Hong / Christopher Kane / Eley Kishimoto


House of Holland / Richard Nicoli / Louise Goldin


Topshop Unique / Meadham Kirchhoff / LC Markey

London has definitely warmed me up to florals and prints! I really loved the matchy florals in the Peter Jensen and House of Holland looks.

Photos via Style.com

Sick

Ate breadsticks and pasta from Pizza Hut for dinner.
Had lots of chocolate candies from Carousel Candyland.
Completely forgot that I already had dinner plans later tonight with friends.

Ugh, too much food. I need to go drink some green tea to clear the crap out before my second dinner.

Rows of Color, Heads of Lettuce

Richard Nicoli / Josh Goot / Fashion Fringe, LF Markey


Erdem / Danielle Scutt / Eley Kishimoto

Spring 2009

Meadham Kirchoff vs. Christina Aguilera

Meadham Kirchhoff Spring 2009 / Christina Aguilera 2002

Such a horrible comparison, I know.

But when I think of lace up pants I think of Christina Aguilera. See, there's this Christina Aguilera music video seared into my memory because of the low white pants with the lace ups at the hip she wears in it. It was the first time I saw something like that and I seriously thought it was the coolest thing ever. So of course I bought pants and skirts that laced at the front or at the hips and even bought different colored suede strings to change out. I was so cool in high school... not.

Ikaika Helmet vs. Giles Helmet

(Hawaiian) Ikaika Helmet / Giles Spring 2009 Helmet

Rawr

These Christopher Kane shoes remind me of spikes on the back of a dinosaur.

Which is not a bad thing at all!

I love me some dinosaurs, especially triceratops! One of my coolest finds (and cheapest, $10!) was a baby blue t-shirt with a black triceratops screen printed on it. And of course, I found it in the kids section, they always have the coolest stuff! About a month ago I saw a froggy backpack at Gap kids that was so freaking adorable I wanted to get it so I could just stare at it in my room, but then I remembered I'm broke. (And oh my god, the economy, what times we are living in....)

Photos via Elle

Use Your Local Libraries!

Does anyone still use their local libraries?

When I was in elementary and middle school we would go to the library almost every weekend and spend hours in there. We'd just sit in the air conditioned library reading and discovering while my mom read the paper. When we left, our canvas bag would be filled with all sorts of books. Aahh, the days when I would finish a novel in just one day and my mom read bedtime stories (she's really good at doing all the voices!).

Those days were also when you would actually have to go in the library to do research from books. While I never used card catalogs before, I do remember using those ancient computers with the black screen and green words. Internet was a new thing and really slow (ugh, dial up!!), so books were always your first choice. Now, I can do all my research on the internet and just e-mail my professors my paper. Oh, and I can't forget about online classes and e-books! I've taken a few online classes and liked it because I didn't have to travel to class and I could take tests from my bed! E-books are pretty rad too because they're cheaper and save trees. But, uh, this is pretty much all about making things easier and more convenient for us lazy humans, myself included. But that's a whole nother thing I don't want to delve into.

So in Hawai'i, our libraries are struggling. Maybe it's more of a nostalgic thing, but I love local libraries and fully support what they do. I mean, come on, you get to borrow books for free and rent DVDs for ONE freaking dollar! And their DVDs are new and old, mainstream and independent. I rent DVDs from the library once a week and always find something interesting!

And as that Honolulu Advertiser article pointed out, what better time to make use of your library (and your tax dollars) then now! Everyone's broke, in need of entertainment, and hot from the nasty muggy weather/vog. The Hawai'i state library should really use this incentive to draw more people in. I miss their old "We are Hawaiian, use your library!" commercials. I tried searching on YouTube for them, but got nothing. They were so cute, trust me.

Okay, now go to your library and borrow something! :)

Photo from Nylon Magazine via fotodecadent

What a Pretty Present!

Clockwise: Peter Jensen, Luella, Topshop Unique, PPQ, PPQ

Photos via Coutorture and Elle

Favorite New York Looks

Jenni Kayne / Abaete / Thakoon


Peter Som / Yigal Azrouel / Doo.Ri


Juan Carlos Obando / Chris Benz / ADAM


Koi Suwanagate / Doo.Ri / Jenni Kayne


Alexander Wang / Daughters by Obedient Sons / Catherine Holstein

I live in a perpetual summer, so I always enjoy seeing the spring collections because it's stuff that I want to wear NOW. The NY collections for spring 2009 were no different. So many things that I want NOW. Umm, any designers want to send me an early Christmas present because I could soooo wear this now.
And geez, I'm so consistent/repetitive with what I like. All my looks have similar silhouettes and veer on a little boring/old. Sometimes I can be so predictable, but not really because everyone tells me that I'm really hard to shop for because I can be super picky and I generally like to make my own decisions. :)

Looking forward to London... What were your favorites from New York??

Favorite New York Accessories

1. Phi, 2. Malo, 3. Phillip Lim, 4. Zero Maria Cornejo, 5. Marc by Marc Jacobs, 6. Zero Maria Cornejo, 7. Alexandre Herchcovitch, 8. Alexander Wang, 9. Proenza Schouler

Origami Crane Necklaces

Aren't these necklaces from Phi cool? I think they're really made out of paper, so the wearability factor is a little low. But if they were made out of a more durable textile, I'd so want these!

Photos via Elle.com

Mother Says...

No: "Is she wearing a diaper?"

Yes: "Oh wow! That's really cool!"
This morning my mom started blasting some T.I., yes T.I.
I asked what she was doing and she said, "I just wanted to know what he sounded like. Is he like Snoop Dogg?" Then she started playing "Disturbia" by Rihanna and then Jessica Simpson's new country music. Oh, and then Taylor Swift (who is this girl? I'm hearing about her everywhere!).
I love coming home on the weekend!

Conflicted

When I first saw pictures of American Apparel's new Afrika line popping up, I was intrigued, not for aesthetic purposes, but from where they took their inspiration.   Did they really research prints and textiles from Africa?   If so, what country, town, or tribe did it come from?

Labeling something tribal or African is pretty commonplace in the fashion industry when you can't trace the influences back to a specific place.  And the same goes for Asia.  But who's fault is this?  Is it the reviewers, editors, and buyers that feed us the trends and tell us that tribal and Asian influences are hot this season?  Is it the consumer that doesn't know any better?  Is it the designer that fails to accurately reference his sources?

I am no expert on Africa or Asia.  I hate when I can't find a better word to use then 'tribal' to describe a collection.  But it's very easy to fall in this trap.  I can research and make connections, but honestly, being so anal about this kind of stuff is going to give me a headache and turn me into a ranting bitch.  But what can I do besides educating myself and avoiding generalizations??

Where was I... oh back to AA's Afrika line. The reason for this post was that I found someone who was able to put into words how I felt about the collection.

While I would not use the word racist to describe what American Apparel has done wrong, I would use exotification, “othering,” cultural commodification and, well, stupidity. Plenty of Feministing commenters disagree, however, with lots getting stuck on the idea that wearing animal print is inherently racially offensive. No one is saying that. The problem is not zebra print. The problem is distilling a continent of many countries, cultures, languages and peoples down to its wildlife and faux tribal print. There is a tired “dark continent” stereotype at the heart of the American Apparel clothing line’s name and marketing. And THAT is a problem. -Tami (via Racialicious)

Another thing is that this is an old game. These places have been exoticized before. Around the time that Gwen Stefani was wearing a bindi my family started taking the Siddha Yoga path. I was so young that the only thing I got excited about was that I had a "real" reason to wear a bindi. I didn't know why they placed a red dot between their eyebrows or had three swipes of white powder across their forehead or why I had to treat my purple meditation mat with so much respect.

The aesthetics were the only thing that intrigued me.

And I think that is mostly what people are seeing when they look at this collection.

Fluid & Pure

Richard Chai / Devi Kroell / Doo.Ri
I wish I had miles of legs to pull this look off.
Okay, now please slap my wrist for saying that and becoming victim to wanting to look like a long stick.

Spring 2009

I Couldn't Help It

The bus back to my place drops me off right in front of Nijiya Market (a good and bad thing) and I was craving some mochi ice cream (mochi outside, ice cream inside) yesterday, so I had to indulge! The coffee ice cream one is the best!


Bought dinner too because the saba bentos were only $5!

(Bike) Shorts + Skirt =

Abaete / Issac Mizrahi
Spring 2009

Is the Economy So Bad...

Marc Jacobs / Preen / Jeremy Laing

...that we can't afford thicker fabrics and bras?


And Erin Wasson doesn't seem to wear one either, so you know what that means... more bralessness to ensue. I just hope I don't into a braless girl when I'm with my dad, ew.

You Smell Like a Cloud

Ohne Titel / Jeremy Laing / Proenza Schouler

True conversation today:
Me: You smell like a cloud.
Friend: Really? ... Wow.
Me: Dude, I'm just joking! You know how random I am.
Friend: No, wow, I smell like a cloud. I'm gonna put that on my Myspace quotes!
Me: I'm freaking kidding, you do not smell like a cloud! Since when do you believe anything that comes out of my mouth?
Friend: There's some truth to what you say.
Me: I also just said your dog has rabies.

Something's Wrong Style.com

Got this funny alert when trying to add this sheer button up under voluminous purple cardigan number to my lookbook.

Oxford Blue, Nice Necklines, Yellow-Green

Peter Som / Tibi / Karen Walker
I love this color and this buttoned up look.


Preen / Hervé Léger / Jonathan Saunders
The Jonathan Saunders one is my favorite, it looks so fun to wear!


James Coviello / Chris Benz / Sari Gueron
Not usually a fan of yellow-green, but these color palettes kill.

P.S. Zero Maria Cornejo necklaces, loved!

Photos via Style.com and NY Mag

Reading Material

Stop looking at all the clothes and let your brain refocus on some words! :)

The Shape of Things to Come - WSJ Magazine
Roland Mouret, maker of beautifully tailored dresses, talks about the direction of the fashion industry. I enjoyed reading his insights and found myself agreeing with a lot of what he had to say. Highly recommended!

The Sun Never Sets on the Runway - Eric Wilson, NY Times
I knew there were other fashion weeks besides the big four (NY, London, Milan, Paris), but I had no idea that there was at least one every month. But I guess when you do start to think about it, it would make sense that there were so many fashion weeks going on because it's such a great way for a smaller city or country to showcase local talent and establish themselves in the fashion world. Can you imagine a few years (or even next year) when other fashion weeks become more established and buyers and editors have to start going to more to keep up? Eek, fashion week is every week!

Asian Models Blog
This blog is keeping an unofficial count on the number of Asian models making an appearance during fashion week. They also frequently post editorials and advertisements featuring Asian models.

Skirt + Shorts =

Alexandre Herchcovitch / Rachel Comey
Spring 2009

Ms. Holstein

Just my style- casual, simple, pretty.

Lazy Weekend

I wish I got a better picture of this yellow Beetle with its colorful suitcases, it was just too cute!


I found this edamame hummus at a farmer's market and had to get it because when do you ever see edamame and hummus together? I love stuff like that. Ate it on toast with a spinach omelette.

And remember these cuffs at A. Wang that I said I liked?
Well supposedly Erin designed them. (Crap, I can't remember where I read it, sorry!)

But Kate Lanphear's Eddie Borgo pyramid bracelet beauty trumps Wang/Wasson cuffs in my book! Because, uh, they're pyramids!

via super.fantastic.picture.time