Sealed with a Kiss

Look what Sharjeel bought for me...geometric-print leggings!! Yayy!! :D He bought it from Lacquer & Lace, and sent it through my friend, Ragil, who fortunately was on a trip to KL last week...:)


I have to admit though that I find it difficult to actually make this legging work...not only that the patterns are big, bold and loud, but the black-purple-beige-&-a-bit-of-white color combination itself is rather....unusual? Hhmmm...

Anyhow, thank you so much, smelly monkey...you're the sweetest <3

Ctrl BG: A Shortcut to Financial News 10/17

This week has been a relatively uneventful week for the economy. Not so much for the markets though- that was more of a roller coaster ride. Over the weekend, Britain and its EU counterparts announced a bailout plan to directly recapitalize banks in exchange for stakes. UBS has already done that with a 6 billion franc injection from the Swiss government in exchange for a 10% stake and the unloading of 60billion in toxic debts. The market responded positively and bounced back up.

On Tuesday the US government followed suit and announced that they were going to spend $250 billion to recapitalize banks, with $125 billion going into 9 major US banks (whether they want/need it or not..or so rumor has it). This directly pumps liquidity into the market and takes effect almost immediately to "unfreeze" the market, and indeed the market seems to be thawing. Banks are lending to each other again at least (also helps with the government acting temporarily as the insurer like the FDIC does for depositors). This will save many businesses who rely on borrowing to operate. So why didn't Paulson and Bernanke come up with this before? I'm sure they did. Probably because back then (has it only been 3 weeks?), with the public being so against the bailout of "Wall Street" such a plan would not have gone by Congress really well....... I suppose now it is ok since Britain and EU have announced it and it proved to be positively recieved. Just like in fashion, where the European runway leads, the New York runway follows.

Of course, this capital injection does not come freely. Not only do banks have to give the government preferred shares, but they will be more heavily regulated and they'll have to limit their bonuses and "golden parachute" compensations. Effectively, banks are becoming part nationalize (and to think Thatcher had to privatize sectors in her days to boost the economy- now we're going the other way and nationalizing everything). JP Morgan has already announced a 30-40% slash in bonuses this year (incidentally their quarterly report just came out and they had a 84% drop in profit- better less than none or negative!). Rumor also has it that GS is dividing their employees into four classes. The top percentile gets cash bonuses, the third percentile get stock compensation, the second percentile gets nothing and the last percentile gets fired! That's harsh! Sounds like it is no longer quite so lucrative to be a banker. While this plan temporary stops the bleeding, it doesn't address the heart of the issue though. The auction plan is still underway.

On Wednesday, the market plunged another 700 pts again on fears of a looming recession (aren't we already in one?). Job losses are up and it is not limited to the finance sector. And it's been predicted that holiday spending increased the least since many years ago this year. On Thursday, oil prices also dropped to $70, the lowest in a year! Hopefully this means more sales and lower commodity prices for us. The DOW finished off over 4% higher for the week though. Maybe more people are heeding Buffet's (who claims that for the first time he'll be buying American equities with his own account) words and snapping up "bargain" classic buys in the market. Smart shoppers.

Morning Reflections

Speaking of the normal path of life, one usually has to suffer in order to succeed. One must go through rough ups and downs, and sometimes sacrifice to a certain extent one’s sense of self in order to please, well, the people around or perhaps the most basic law of nature. In the natural justice of taking and giving, I wonder why the term wasn’t created the other way around; give and take. Or does the phrase refer to equality? That we must take AND give at the same time? Oh well, that would be a different topic anyway.

I fully understand the concept of ‘ups and downs’, that everything in life will never be flawless. In fact, those bumpy times are actually the most valuable moments for us to live and learn and become better people. But I wonder how the element of sacrifice takes play? Like a bald man washing his face questions the actual border line between his head and face, I am perplexed by the vague boundaries of until when I have to sacrifice and stop.

Hey Beauty Queen, you're a Rockstar

Combine floral with steel, and chiffon with leather; people will tell you it's been done before and it will be done again. In my opinion, keep it going.



My own style doesn’t exactly incorporate the idea of “girly," however, I do develop the occasional crave to buy everything in powder pink. I love glitter and glam, but it's even better when you mix in some grunge, a little gaudyness (think Sonia Rykiel jewel studded bags), and a lot of black . Once you do that, you'll arrive at the whereabouts of what I'm drawn to.



I find that Balmain creates this fascinating balance between something macho but ever so complimenting to the female figure. Oh! Those studded heels!



And after seeing this magazine spread in Numéro, shot by Camilla Akrans, I want to dress like this everyday. So bring on the sparkles and the studs. I'd love to hear all about your style, so let me know!

Image source: Style.com, Numéro 97 - Night Fever

Quote of The Day

CARROT SHAPED TROUSERS - THE LAST FASHION STATEMENT . AUTUMN 2008 - WINTER 2009

Pants Fashion 2009. TROUSERS Tendency.

Despite the resurgence in dresses, many women like to wear trousers everyday. Pants are practical for the business woman and manlike looks always change to classic style.

The 2 fashionable autumn styles are the easy high waisted flared pants from boot cut to the widest 1970s flares.

But the style getting attention is a slim line version of the peg-top trouser line, which was in fashio in 1980sn. These peg-top pants sometimes now called CARROT SHAPED TROUSERS taper to the ankle, and usually have tuck pleat fullness at the waistband. This style can be very flattering if you have a paunch. Note that too much fullness can make a woman look frumpy. Yves saint Laurent as the centre image shows, did it best. This was sharp and sophisticated designing.

So on-trend, carrot-shaped trousers are not easy to pull off. Experiment with the look and don this pair from H&M teamed with sharp shirts...

Finally the skinny leather pant is a catwalk fashion coming to a shop near you this autumn.

HG Takes a Break

So some of you may have noticed that I haven't blogged in the past two weeks. The truth is, we just graduated from University this July and the demands of the real world is taking its toll on us.

Moving forward, BG has decided to continue blogging while I have decided to take a break. Obviously I love I am Fashion (since I have blogged for almost 4 years,) but there comes a point where I feel that I should focus on other aspects of my life. Hence, I will be taking a break from the blog. It has been fun to share my thoughts on girly stuff with you all and hear what you've got to say about it as well. Hopefully I will be back soon!

In the mean time, BG will be blogging as usual and will be temporarily joint by E, who we've known since high school and is now based in San Francisco.

Enjoy!

Lots of Love,

HG