Christmas 2006: Friends and Parties

Many people have asked us to write about what to wear to Christmas parties with friends and family. So this post is about what clothes would be great for casual partying with your friends. Personally, I think jeans and a pretty top is the best outfit. While this may seem casual for some people, I think overdressing is the worst thing one could do, so stick to the basic combo!

So the key to making the outfit is the incredible top. Barneys Girl and I have been obsessed with silk lately because we think it makes a top look really classy. Another great thing about a cool going out top is that you can wear it for so many occasions afterwards. Anyways, so here are some tops that I like:

Bright, bold colours are definitely good choices -fashionable and eye-catching. Tops by Sunner (left) and Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent (right).

Another bold colour but for the cool skin tones, blue. Tops by Nieves Lavi (left) and Top Shop (right).

Pretty, casual kimono tops by Urban Outfitters.

These two tops are perfect for office parties or say, nice Christmas dinners. Tops by Marc by Marc Jacobs (left) and Rebecca Taylor (right).

With the androgynous look being all the rage this season, you could def try that look for parties. I love the tops above. They just give off this really cool (and slightly unfriendly) vibe. Tops by Rachel Roy (left) and Top Shop (right).

It is winter afterall, so some people may prefer long sleeves. That's absolutely fine as long as the tops don't look too stuffy and have nice details on them, like the flowy sleeves in the top by Foley for Foley + Corinna (left) and the serious prettiness of the top by LaROK.

Pictures from topshop.com and shopbop.com.

So, keep an eye out for that oh-so-incredible top!

BG Shop's Intuition!

So as a treat for myself I decided to do some virtual shopping over at Intuition, and here is what I would get if money was no object.

This fabulous looking leather cropped jacket from Mike and Chris. I've been wanting a cropped jacket and a leather jacket lately. This one has both. It looks so cool. For something more classic, there is this hoody pinstriped blazer from True Religion, which I think would be great for looking smart in a sec.

Then there is this awesome striped boyfriend sweater from Cristi Conaway. The stripes are cool yet somewhat different from all those one sees on the streets lately. This black sweater here (right) is plain (so it matches everything) with just the right amount of feminine deatils to make it interesting.

The perfect winter shorts. Here we have Charlotte Ronson short shorts and tweed gaucho shorts. I think they are both at the perfect most flattering length.

For the night, I am lusting after this sexy Yumi Kim scoop back shirt. And I just LOVE the back pocket of Brown Label jeans, they look interesting yet flattering. Unlike the True Religion ones which in my opinion just makes the butt look big.

I know these are the same style, but the beige one with the floral trim is great for the day and the black one is just polished enough for the night. I'd like them both please!

For evening wear, I am still crazy about silk dresses. I think these two grey/silvery ones are gorgeous for a winter's night out. Matches the snow, you know? LOL.

To hats, I rather like these knit berets, because they remind me of the ones Melrose was wearing in ANTM. Even though they said it was trying too hard, I thought they looked cute. And this beanie here is just classic.

I am a sucker for hoops. I am loving these double hoops and tear drop hoops. Oh and this Love Letter Ring is just soo adorable. You can get it personalised with your special someone's alphabet on it!

Other random things I like are these O Deer! patent black slingbacks, this Mike & Chris wide belt and this adorable looking Devon travel case.

Aren't these all just oh-sp-tempting? In case you'd like to do some actual shopping at Intuition, right now you can get 20% off your purchase by entering the code "FASHIONISTA." Oh and they're even offering free gift wrap with every order- perfect for the holidays *hint*hint*!

FW06 Trend: Tunics and Smocks

OK, so first of all, those of you lovely readers who cheak in regularly may have noticed that our blogging has been a bit... off, timing wise. Here's what's up with Barney's Girl's and my life: Last weekend, both of us packed up and flew back home to Hong Kong from London and Paris. I arrived home to my newly refurnished home and room, which was piled with everything I own, so I literally had to jump over boxes and stacks of books to get to my bed and desk. So obviously, I've been busy putting everything away and finishing the refurnishing (still lots to finish up on). Today, Lane Crawford's sale (the equivilant of Saks) had just begun so I spent some time doing very important shopping. As for Barney's Girl, she landed in HK on Monday, dumped her luggage home and went straight to the eye doctor, Bobbi Brown counter and hair salon, where I mamanged to catch a quick chat with her for 10 minutes. Then last night, she flew off to Australia for a family vacation. See, we were SO busy that I spent less than half an hour on the Internet in the past few nights, which is just weird for me.

So anyways, onto tunics and smocks. According to British Elle, the definition of smocks is 'a cute, loose shirt that stands away from the body.' I wasn't bothered to check what tunics meant, but I think we can just think of them as long tops (which aren't as loose.) Both tops are long and brilliant to wear with skinny jeans (or mini skirt with full leggings).

Chloe is one of the main reason for the trend. Cute and babydoll-like.

Marc Jacobs is another brand that does such tops, although Marc Jacobs' is darker and not quite as cute.

Tunic by Sunner. Such a fantastic top -you can wear it casually or for a nice night out.

This very casual long vest by Velvet is great for super casual wear. It feels sort of LA-ish. A great way which I've learnt to make tops like this less casual, or simply to add more city-feel is to add a blazer over it. I mean, this must be the reason why designers made so many great cropped jackets and blazers this season -to go with all those long tops!

Top Shop as usual, makes loades of trendy yet affordable tops. I bought this one last week in my Bye-Top-Shop-For-One-Month shopping spree. I love those big buttons and the rib design. It's also another top perfect for me to roll out of bed, put on and run to (enter next desination).

Here's another smock by Top Shop.

Mark and Estel have some very simple, long flowy tees, which are also great for the look. This brand is now relatively known thanks to MKA Olsen wearing shirts by the brand a while ago.

For those who like the trendy, preppy look, wear a mini polo dress with jeans. The one above is by T.

Some of the tops are quite 'flared' so may make you feel like a preganat woman. One way to make this better is to wear a belt around the waist. (The belt should go around the narrowest part of your waist.) The belt will even instantly add style points!

America's Next Top Model Cycle 7: Spoiler!

Its been like almost a week late, but I've been SO busy packing to fly back home and packing again to fly tonight tonight (god my skin is so dry) that I haven't had the time to watch and review it until now.So here I go, so don't scroll down if you don't want to know. Frankly, I thought that as this show progesses, its getting m0re boring and redudant. The reason why I keep watching it is because I am always impressed by how creative their challenges, prizes and shoots are. Plus, they give you good tips for posing in front of your own camera ;) So the winner of America's Next Top Model Cycle 7 is. . . .Caridee! Frankly, I feel apathetic towards the results, because I wasn't vouching for anyone in particular. I didn't think any of the girls were particularly good or deserving to begin with. They all had their ups and down. Caridee's last performance on the runway was awful, from her walk to her scream- it was painful to watch. And the one thing that irritated me the most was the bull shooting episode where she insulted Nigel. First of all it was an unclassy thing to say to begin with. Secondly, her apology letter was lame and unnecessary. And lastly, stop tapping your legs!! She really was all over the place!
Despite all that though, her shoots were indeed effortless and has been consistently good. I thought this was pretty cool.
Second runner up Melrose was quite the bitch. But you got to admire her drive. She got the most go-see's done, her runway walk and scream was amazingly elegant and pretty, she got everything down to an art. Unfortunately for her there really is something such as trying too hard. It made her shoots unnatural and breaks down really easily.
I thought this was one of her better shots.
Then there was Eugena. I didn't like her at first, because I kind of related her to Monique that immature girl who rubbed her panties on people's bed, but she started to grow on me towards the end. That piece she said about the contest being a journey for progress was very insightful. And her commercial was pretty good once she got out of her shell.
This shoot here was amazing. Too bad she didn't get out of her shell earlier. Ithink she just needed more time to improve. And just because she's quiet and doesn't proclaim she wants to be the Next Top Model every other minute doesn't mean she doesn't want it!

I am always impressed with the make-up and hair whenever I see the twins, because they looked so plain and awkward in person- even after the make over. Was amazed at how long Jaeda managed to last in the competition. Felt sorry for Brooke, I thought she looked good as a brunette. And was very surprised that AJ got kicked out so early. I thought she was really good. Oh and I thought they put the models in unneccesary risks too. I mean, if they were going to super impose the bull into the picture closer to her, than is it really neccessary to have them pose with a bull in the arena to begin with? And what is with them shooting in the freezing pool? I am sure heated pools are easy to come by. Its not like the scenery beside the pool was needed anyway. The shooting in the flying room was ugly too, I'm sure they could've just wired them. The photos turned out real ugly with distorted faces and all. Overall this season was average.

BG's Paris Diary: Week 10

So here are a few random things you should do if you have the luxury of spare time in Paris.

Just wander around the Louvre by yourself. It is a liberating experience and there are SO MUCH one misses when on a quick tour. I am especially glad I didn't miss this sculpture here, it soo romantic and touching.
Next to the Louvre, there is the Palais Royal. It is an absolutely beautiful garden. On a sunny day, it is especially beautiful and a Parisian crowd gathers to play ball and walk around with their kids. It is charming.
Just so you can say you've been there, there is Montmarte and this building here is the Sacre-Coeur basillica. This is where that scene with the carrousel was filmed from Amelie! Personally I didn't like the area much. Too crowded and there were loads of people accosting you on the street trying to tie strings on your wrists.

Odd things I've seen in Paris. The signs there say, "Greedy Hamster,""Chat Gentil,""Mixed WC,""Chat Vorace" and other bizarre things like that. And this ad, is absolutely EVERYWHERE in the Paris metro. It advertises a museum exhibit. I swear that she looks like Paris Hilton!

Everything in Paris are tiny. Their smart cars are so tiny, they can be parked like THAT (left) on the street. I've honestly never seen that done before until now. I hear that when they park so close they can't get it, they just get four guys on the street and lift the car out, though i have not seen this phenomena yet. Oh and the other day, people were crowding on the streets staring at this little rat eat. It was crazy. I've never seen one so small before, granted I don't see a lot of rats period. . .

And I also find it fascinating that everywhere I go there are restuarants and street names and areas named after people I've studied in class. Descartes, Voltaire, Diderot to name a few. Although I really shouldn't since they name streets after presidents all the time. But still, I thought it was kind of cool.

Now, I am off to enjoy my last two days in Paris- work free! Since HG and I are both going to be busy packing and leaving to go back home, we are going to be taking a break from blogging this weekend. But we'll see you all on monday!

Cécile & Jeanne

In celebration of the end of finals, I treated myself to a gorgeous pair of earrings from Cécile & Jeanne, which I discovered at Bon Marche.

Based in Paris, Cécile & Jeanne has been around for over 15 years. I love this brand so much because it's subtle designs that combines elements of the past and future are elegant yet just a little bit funky! (This it their signature dove).

So I was debating between these square chained earrings or these 1001 Nights Long Drop Earrings. Both looked nice, but while the circular ones were more classically elegant, the square ones were more youthful and funky. Torn between the two, I finally decided to be youthful and funky and got the square ones (left). But now I'm wavering and want to be classically elegant instead. Thoughts?

From the same collection as the circular long drop earrings, they have these cool yet elegant rings and cuffs. I really want that ring. I think it'll be the perfect compliment to any outfit.

I just ADORE these two Downtown earrings and cross bracelet. The design is simple yet chic.

Another very elegant collection they have is the Voie Lactee collection. It looks modern and feminine.

These two earrings from Josephine collection is just the thing to add funk and edge to any outfit.


Personally I’m too lazy to match my accessories with my outfit (and hence my love for classic silver/gold styles), but for those who DO make the effort, these Arabesque earrings (left) and L’Opera chandeliers (right) would be fantastic.


And even though these Riviere necklace and Kyoto ring may look over the top right now, I think they will be the perfect thing to amp up any simple outfit and make it interesting, because they are feminine yet unique. Plus, my favourite color is purple, so I think these are awesome ;)

The Softest Tees II: Clu

Yesterday, I mentioned there were two soft tees brands I love. The first is Splendid, the second one is Clu. Clu's shirts are so so so soft and light to wear. Clu's shirts usually have some sort of special design to it, but they're still relatively simple shirts. Nice, casual and relaxing. I first learnt of this brand when I went to Barneys NY. Later on at the beginning of fall, I bought a Clu long-sleeved pleated shirt and have been loving this brand ever since.

Clu makes some basic tees, but they're not totally boring. The pink tee comes in many colours, and there are actually ribbed banding around the sleeves and on the back.

These shirts are quite similar to some of the ones by Splendid, but I think Clu pays more attention to details and cuttings. (Again, please do wear pants underneath such tops!)

Doesn't this remind you of a tent? I can't decide whether it's a top or a dress but it sure looks comfy though.

Such sweet, super casual dresses. Both colours give off a summer, relaxed vibe. Looking at the pictures, wearing leggings, boots and pumps with the dresses do make the dress look a less California-ish than if worn with flip-flops -which instantly adds style points.

I LOVE this top. It's so perfectly casual-looking without looking like any old tee. I esp love that silverish grey (left.) It's such a perfect shade. I've been staring at these shirts are quite awhile, (a better alternative to doing econ homework.) Sigh, if only Clu was available in the shops where I live...

Like Splendid, Clu is pretty expensive for a cotton shirt. Actually, Clu is even more expensive than Splendid, but Clu does have more interesting designs. Anyone tried on or love Clu shirts too?

Again, most of the photos are from shopbop.com. Go check out more Clu clothes there.