BG's Paris Diary Week 7: Part II

So to finish off my week 7 diary, here is an account of Venice and Geneva.

After a 3 hour ride in a cabinet styled train (as in Anastasia- unfortunately they are not as cool as it looked in the movie) we finally reached Venice where water was everywhere. How gorgeous is this picture of sunset in Venice (right)?
Everything was so pictueresque, especially the gondolas. Unfortunately, we didn't go on them because they were a whooping 100 euros for 45 minutes. Besides, I've already been on it before, I'd rather have a pair of boots. On the left, we have a picture of the "Bridge of Sigh." And no, it is not as romantic as it sounds, because it is the bridge where prisoners used to pass through on their way to prison or to executions. Other touristy things to see is the Basillica of San Marco (left) and the Palace of the Doges (right). I love how the architecture in Venice is so different from that of Paris and Milan. In times of high tide, the piazza (left) is actually flooded and gondolas can actually float on it sometimes. I know, hard to believe. When we saw the postcard pictures, we thought they were computer edited! Oh and that lamp post was where we took a twirling around the lampost picture :P.
So again, all the touristy things were basically concentrated in the San Marco Piazza area where we lived. While the piazza looks pretty, in real life it is not quite so. The floor is slippery even though it didn't rain, because of the excess amount of pigeon poop on the floor. Pigeons were everywhere. We saw them all sitting on the ledge in the morning (left) and the amount of them was terrifying. People should stop feeding them (right).

Another place to go to in Venice is the island of Murano, where the glass factories are located. There, you get to see them blow glasses. George (left) here was fabulous. He made a vase in 5 minutes and literally pulled a horse out of that burning red thing with a few clever moves. These excursions are usually free because they want you to buy something from them afterwards and everything is super expensive. Red glass (right) is most expensive because the coloring is made of gold. And that purplish/brown color last one on the right is the official Venetian color. For cheaper options they have some "second rate" glass work around which are not too bad.
Another very Venetian thing to buy is masks. They have them in all shapes and prices. There were some very intricate and gorgeous ones. But I settled for a simple white and gold half mask . . maybe for halloween?
Our next stop, which took a grueling 6 hours train ride to reach, was Geneva. Highlights in Geneva include this Jet L'eau spring thing (left), this clock (right)(the missing numbers of the clock are on the outside). .
. . and the United Nations headquarters. Unfortunately they blocked off this official entrance, so we could only take pictures from this angle (left) and had to go in the back way. A tip for anyone planning to go in as a group, enter seperately, so they'd give you your own visitors badge with your picture on it. A great free souvineer. There we took a tour and saw a PEACOCK just wandering freely on the grounds. It was bizarre. Turns out the land used to be a peacock garden owned by the originally owner.
So really, Geneva is not much of a touristy spot. One day is more than enough to see everything. What they are more known for however is watches. All the famous brands are here: Patek Phillipe, Rolex, Charriol, Piaget, Swatch. . . . you name it. Although they are all very expensive of course. Oddly enough, Swatch was actually more expensive there too! In the end, we ended up with engraved Swiss Army knives to bring back home.

And that concludes my 7th week diary. Overall it was an awesome experience, but my favourite places were Milan and Lugano. Milan because it was just so much fun. And Lugano because it was so different from places I usually go to. Getting to drive a speed boat in the middle of a beautiful lake (even though it wasn't going too fast) was definitely memorable ;).

3rd Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Prize

I admit I have watched most of Season 2 and 3 of Project Runway. But unlike majority of the viewers, I'm definately not a fan of the show. Also, I had only ever watched 10 minutes of America's Next Top Model before, and I surprisingly hated it.

To me, fashion-related reality shows are great entertainment, but don't do much to contribute to the fashion world. Awhile ago, I read an article that had Anna Wintour say something I really agreed on. It was something along the lines that, Project Runway actually approached Vogue before Elle, but Vogue felt that the reality show wouldn't do much for new designers. Instead, Vogue and the CFDA have an annual fashion fund prize to help outstanding new designers. Now this is actually useful.

So this year's ten finalists are 3.1 Phillip Lim, Costello Tagliapietra, Devi Kroell, Doo.Ri, Jovovich-Hawk, Marchesa, Rag & Bone, Rodarte, Subversive Jewelry, and Thakoon. I'm sure you've heard of most of these names before.
At the Prize ceremony /party:

Anna Wintour and Diane von Furstenburg, who recently became the chairwoman of the CFDA.

Left: Ashley, Marc Jacobs and Mary Kate. Right: Michelle Williams and Derek Lam.

Past winners of this award, Proenza Schouler. -See what I mean, you've actually heard of them in a high-fashion capacity.

Two nominees: Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa (left). Who hasn't heard of Marchesa? Marchesa dresses are absolute favourites of young Hollywood stars at the moment.
Milla Jovovich and Carmen Hawk of Jovovich-Hawk (right). Jovovich-Hawk had really pretty boho-ish clothes in its SS07 collection. And do check out the website -lovely styling.

Runner ups: Thakoon (left). Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte (right).

*Drum roll* And the winner is...
Doo-Ri Chung! I was surprised Philip Lim, whose clothes are so loved by the social crowds, didn't get into the Top 3. Anyways, here are my 3 fav looks from Doo-Ri SS07 collection:

So young and pretty...

This Week BG is Loving. . .

. . Gucci platforms! They are sleek, versatile AND incredibly sexy.

For the more classic style, there are these Veruska pumps. Although I don't like how they have the white platform bit shown here, it looks cheap. The silver platform one is much better. But the good news here is that not only does it come in a range of shades, but they also come in different heights! For those who live in heels, they have it at 4.1" and for those who are completely inept in heels like me, they have it at 3.3" so if you do fall it won't hurt quite so much.
For something a bit more special, there are these Jerry platform pumps which are basically the same, except they are shimmery and at the platform there is this tiny little "Gucci" logo, which is really quite cute.

BG's Paris Diary Week 7: Part I

I just came back from a very very long week of traveling from Paris to Milan, Venice and Geneva. It doesn't sound like a lot of places, but there's so much I want to say about these places that I don't even know where to start! So I guess I'll start with my first stop, the fashion capital of Italy: Milan. My hotel was conveniently located at the back of the Duomo (left), where the huge square you see in the movies is located. Unfortunately for us, the front of the Duomo was under construction, so we could only get a decent picture from the back. But the area is literally the heart of Milan and all you really needed to see is there. Next to it is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (center, right), and it is simply a beautiful place, housing Prada, Vuitton. .
. . and the Gucci Cafe, which I simply HAD to have a cup of coffe (or chocolate) at. Turns out it was also a great place to people watch.
A few steps away is the Da Vinci statue (right) and the La Scala opera house (left). Honestly though, we were a bit disappointed by it since we didn't even realised we saw it in passing until we consulted the guide book! But then again, we also didn't know that one can go into the museum there and take a sneak peak at the interior, so we might have missed out there.
Next there is the Castello Sforzesco Fort(left), which for one of the most "well-loved symbols of Milan" is really not that scenic. Then there is this arch (right)located behind it, but we don't really know what it represents. Another place to visit is the Santa Marie Delle Grazie, where the Last Supper painting is located. Unfortunately we didn't get to see it because you had to reserve 2 weeks in advance! Crazy right?
Then of course there is the shopping. Unlike the piazza of shopping I'd imagined, turns out it is four small streets of shopping that forms a rectangle called the Quadrilatero della Moda according to my guide book. The streets (top left)are actually very quaint and cool. And how gorgeous is that white Dolce and Gabanna trench(top right)? We also passed the Armani building, which is a huge complex that has Armani everything (lower left). Oh and the shop on the lower right corner is located at the Galleria and thats where I got my new absolutely adorable grey/black winter shorts!
Besides the usual Prada and Gucci store which is everywhere in Milan, another must stop store is the Viktor & Rolf store. While their collection at H&M was disappointing, their store awesome. True to my summer colleague's word, the whole store was upside down, from the ceiling, chandelier to the front door.
And no, I did not accidentally flipped the photos upside in photoshop.
Other random things I saw in Milan, are stores for fashionable children (upper left)-how cute is that? Lots of delicious gelato stores (upper right). The Ferrari store (lower left)where if you buy over 30 euros you get to get into this car and do a virtual drive around the tracks. And this cool looking Aston Martin car opposite the Gucci store- even if it is in green.

During my three days in Milan, I also took a day trip to the Lugano, a little village in Switzerland just 1 hour away from Milan by train. It is EXACTLY what I'd imagined a small European town to look like: quaint, beautiful and gorgeous. Luckily for us, the weather was fabulous that day too, so we took lots and lots of photos and even hired a speed boat (lower right) and drove around the lake for half a hour. Definitely one of the highlights of my entire trip.

Stay tune next week for acounts from Venice and Geneva. Ciao!

The Non-Photographic-Looking Ads

OK, I admit the title is weird and most probably grammatically incorrect, but you'll get what I mean when you read on. As I'm sure all of you magazine devotees have noticed, there are two ads this season that look more like fine art than photographs.

Firstly, there are the Moschino ads. Def not my favourite ads, (perhaps I'm just too dense to get the message and theme of the ads.) Don't these ads look like pencil sketches to you? At least they do to me, especially the second one.
Secondly, there are the Dolce & Gabbana ads. Again, they're not my favourite ads this season, (the SS06 Dolce ads were waay prettier), but I certainly stared at them the longest of all the FW06 ads. Because if you look at all the images in one go on the Dolce website, you feel sort of like you're walking in a museum, looking at a set of paintings. All the (female) models are wearing gorgeous dresses, and some look rather... dead in the images.
This girl is probably thinking, 'At least I'm going to die with my beloved Dolce & Gabbana handbag.'

Personally, I prefer advertisements to be clear and focused photographs. But it's always interesting to have variety. Do you like this kind of ads?

And yes, I do realise all these ads are actually photophraghs.

Attire from nothing. New tendency.

Dramatic character from the 20 years of the last century inspires many designers. We can create it by taking wide dress with shoulder-strap. You don't need to put on brassiere. But fur mantelet, small bag with long thong and pearls are necessary.

GLAMOUR

You will look like celebrity in such attire. Little black dress, leggings or satin pants. Add glaring heels, bag and underthings and you are ready for a fashion party!

Your bag should be with short thong, that you can carry it underarm.

DECADENCE

If you don't have jewellery, you should'n even put on little black dress, Coco Chanel said. Pearls best match. Add little black bag 3-5 centimeters hells and you are the girl from 20s!

FW06 Trend: Bags With Shoulder Straps

Totes are still wildly popular, but this season, many high-end brands added a little twist to totes: the shoulder straps. Now this trend my fellow readers, is a wonderfully practical trend, especially with bags being super-sized.

Both of Miuccia Prada's brands are notable sellers of this shoulder strap trend. Prada had loads. However, I do love the trend in Miu Miu more. Maybe it's because Miu Miu bags feel more youthful and chic (to me at least,) and I relate shoulder straps to the younger generation.

The Miu Miu Napa Coffer bag was the number one winner in the fall season. Loads of celebs were seen holding it, and when I visited Miu Miu stores, they were completely sold out!

But the Miu Miu bag I really loved this season (but unfortunately didn't buy) was this gorgeous satchel. Seriously, the leather type changes from the top to bottom, and the leather bows at the side are SO cute. Barney's Girl has this in normal leather and it reminds me of a cute, girly version of the Balenciga Motorcycle bag.

Miu Miu Spring Napa Satchel -Not as cute, but looks like a practical and vintage-looking sort of bag. Sigh, I do so love Miu Miu bags...

Louis Vuitton's Adele has two trends in one: the chains and strap. I'm not really loving the plastic-looking chains though.

Balenciaga's Motorcycle bags -the First (left) and the City (right.) I love these Balenciaga bags. For a leather bag, they're really light, plus you could fit loads of stuff into the bag. I love the stylish edge Balenciaga bags give to one's outfits. (I may be biased though because the red City is my FW06 bag.)

Chloe bags, oddly enough, added shoulder straps to some of their bags too. Paddington satchel (left) and Tekla shoulder bag (right).

As most trends go, this trend trickled down to the high-street bags too, such as these two from Urban Outfitters.