Too Fast Too Furious.

I went to the Volcom Rocks show yesterday evening. (well, okay. I got free passes. So I thought, why not?)
I arrived at Zouk about 10pm and waited around for an hour for the show to start. I thought the show would start around 10.30pm as the free pass said that there would be no more free entry after 10.30pm.

I saw a couple of pieces which I thought I could totally rock. But overall, I thought the outfits were more suited for a temperate country. I guess this is the autumn series for folks in the US?



This outfit is too warm for Singapore. Maybe if I swopped the long skirt+jeans (oh yes, some models were wearing jeans underneath) for a denim skirt, this could work for Singapore, coat and all.



Notice the model on the far left, she was in the last picture I posted up. She's now showing the pair of jeans she wore underneath by tying her skirt up to her waist.

I think the jeans were supposed to be like tights - like how I wear tights underneath my short skirts. I suppose this could be a rather nice twist to wearing skirts - wearing clothes any way you like should be a rule to wear streetwear.

Also, notice FUR COATS/WRAPS around some of the men. I love how they look on the male models, but fur is too warm for Singapore. And my friend commented that one fox wrap looked too real - complete with feet and claws. Is this real fur or not?



This could work for Singapore, all right.





These two are my favourite models of the night, because they posed and paused for the photographers. EYE CONTACT IS THERE TOO! I don't have many good pictures of the clothes because the models seemed to be too much of a hurry to get off the strutway. They did several poses in a split second and left. I got a lot of swirly colours instead of clothes. This is a good reason to buy a Canon S90 but until I get enough money to do so, please, models, strike and hold a pose so my humble HTC Desire can capture the clothes you have on!

That was the "Too Fast" part of the title of this post. Oh, also. The show started slightly after 11pm and ended slightly before 12 midnight. Organizers should start earlier so models can walk a little slower and the audience can see the clothes properly. I think the organizers can only have the place till 12 midnight, so I guess that's the reason behind the rush.

The place was full of NUS undergraduates because I thought I recognised some faces from school. Plus, there were some cheers as certain models appeared on the runway - clearly some models are popular in school. (sorry, I don't recognise them at all, though)

I wished that Volcom could get the models showing off their bags and headpieces with plainer clothes because my eyes were very busy last night trying to focus on all the things that the models had on. I was especially attracted to their headpieces, so I had no time to look at Volcom's fantastic jeans. Jeans are what the company goes by, so the company should pair their jeans with models wearing no headpieces so their fabulous denim collection can shine through better. Less is more.

The "Furious" part came from the makeup that the men were wearing. They were sporting bruises. I don't think they were fighting backstage - it was definitely makeup. Should streetwear = rough and tough boys? I didn't understand the rationale behind the bruise makeup for the guys. The girls had pretty makeup.

Volcom clothes are available in all Flash 'n' Splash outlets in Singapore.
Here's a bit of a peep at their website and the clothes there. I think the stuff sold in America is a lot different. I guess they are still in the midst of their summer collection.

Ghost Brides.

I know this is so 2 years ago. But hey, I only seriously started to watch America's Next Top Model this summer holidays!



I think this cycle (cycle 7) had the most dramatic runway finale of all the cycles I've watched. I love wedding dresses and the theme of ghost brides. Even the setting was perfect. ZOMG. MEGALOVE.

The designers of these dresses are Victorio & Lucchino. ($%%@#$ everything on that page is in Spanish. But I guess fashion is an international language.) Their latest summer collection is colourful, fun and flirty (sorry, I only looked at their clothing for women). They are not afraid to mix and match colours, patterns and textures, which is what I want to do with my own clothes eventually but I have insufficient wardrobe space. So fun. I wish I had the cash to get these wonderful dresses. However, it was ultimately their wedding dress collection which had me sighing in longing. They were all so beautiful. They really do layers very well. Layers does wonders for the female form when it's less than perfect.

While I think it might be beautiful to have fluff all over the place in some types of dresses, I feel that wedding dresses should have slim clean lines so the bride doesn't look like a stuffed chicken.

I especially loved:
1). Melrose's dress in the 1st scene.
2). Caridee's dress in the 2nd scene.
3). Melrose's dress in the 2nd scene.
...

Why am I even bothering? I love ALL the dresses! I want to see that show in detail!
I love those little lace coats they had over their tube-type dresses. That made these dresses appropriate for church! =D What a great idea. I really don't believe in wearing too little for a wedding mass but something over the shoulders made all the difference and it really made the dresses look elegant.

Victoria's Secret in Singapore.

It's tiny: it only occupies 2 shop fronts. Major bummer.

I was looking forward to being able to buy swimwear and lingerie at the first branch of Victoria's Secret outside of the US. But, this store of Victoria's Secrets only sells thongs, makeup, fragrances, boxers, accessories etc. Everything but what made Victoria's Secret the Victoria's Secret - the sexy lingerie and swimsuits.

What is Victoria's Secret without lingerie and swimsuits? Merely a shop full of overpriced things made in China and India. Not flattering, y'all.

And things are so expensive! 5 thongs for S$70! Thongs that would cost US$25 for 5 on the sale window or 3 for US$30 regular price. When I convert these amounts to Singapore Dollar, it hardly comes up to S$70!

I'm sticking to online sprees conducted by Singaporean girls - when shared, the shipping only comes up to a couple of dollars anyway. The branch is located in Sentosa - it's rather inaccessible for the typical Singaporean girl without a car (then again, parking at Resort World Sentosa is S$6/hour. Madness.)

The effort made to go to Resort World Sentosa was not worth the things I saw in the physical shop of Victoria's Secret.

Victoria's Secret headquarters in the States is probably so secure in the number of orders from Asia that they see no need to feature the things that these women buy from the website. I saw fragrances and scented bath stuff - things that cannot be shipped into Singapore. I guess there is a need to plug this demand from Singaporean women, but...

SWIMSUITS PLEASE. It is SENTOSA after all: beach central for Singaporeans.

I'm sticking to Wacoal for lingerie. I can see, try and touch the goods directly before buying them. The thongs there are cheaper and are fantastic.

Finds and Found.

Today, I went out for a whole day with one of my girl friends, and the damage was major. Somehow, I felt that it was money well spent.
Oh well, who am I trying to kid? (What about grad trip, you stupid $#@^$#^%$##@@!#@ bimbotic shopaholic?)

First, I spent S$30 at CottonOn (the 'orrible outlet of CottonOn which is constantly on clearance sale) on 6 basic tanks, all of different colours (blue, black, turquoise, white, grey and rose pink - didn't get the purple since that particular shade of purple made me look ill). So, S$5 each. Pretty awesome.
I figured that it was worth it since I layer my tops so often, and I can wear them a la Carrie from Sex in the City, 1st season (I've got them short fluffy skirts too)


I can't find a better picture, but ya, you get the picture.
Something similar because I don't have her figure or stuff.

Then, I went to Far East Plaza, and all common sense went to hell.
I found corsets. At this fantastic place called De' Corselet. It's their new branch at Far East Plaza (level 2) so they are offering a lifetime membership for people who spend S$160. I'm not sure how long this opening special is going to last.

I'm not one of those girls who can wear 'free size' crap. (seriously, ladies. WHAT IS 'free size'? Does it mean that everyone from UK size 6 to UK size 24 can wear the same piece of clothing? Someone please show me this amazing piece of clothing.) So buying corsets from non-specialized stores is a bitch. Or rather, they just carry stuff labelled 'free size', and I walk out in disgust. 'Free size' is a bad marketing strategy when it comes to me.

I'm (sadly) considered 'plus size' in Singapore because about 80% of girls my age are UK size 12 and below. So it's difficult as hell to find clothes that fit me well. So in my desperation, I turn to websites like Big and Beautiful when buying plus size clothes. Unfortunately, when BAB disappointed me last month, I decided not to buy anything from them after all - that's another story for a bitchy day.

So, why corsets?

Picture from Farthingales Corset Blog.



Corset can be worn on a everyday basis over a tank or another top, like so above.
Or for a night out:



Therefore, they are versatile.

That made me justify buying 2 corsets.
(One of the 2 pictures I took which are featured in this entry. I shamelessly pirated the rest from the internet)

One of the corsets I bought looked like this:

(Sorry, no pictures of myself in them because... I don't have an opportunity to wear them yet)

The other one looked like this, only in black:


Corset shopping at De' Corselet wasn't stressful. I was boggled by the array of corsets in different materials, shapes and designs they offered. And they do not have the 'free size' crap that some shops in Singapore insist on selling.
They had corsets in leather, denim, satin and lace. Their sizing run from XS to 5XL (I wear XL-2XL depending on design) so there is hope, my plus size comrades! The corsets there cost from S$45 to about S$60.

After choosing the design, they will gauge your size and bring out the corset for you to try on. Here's the best part: they will help you put it on and adjust the lacings to your satisfaction. Once they tie the lacings, you don't have to adjust them any further (unless you experience a change in size) because the fastenings in the front make it easier for girls to put on corsets on their own! (We're not living in the Confederate era in America where rich girls have their nannies to pull on their lacings daily. I was picturing Scarlett O'Hara in Gone in the Wind clinging for dear life to her bed post while her nanny was tying her laces for her when I was trying on the corsets.)
I practiced putting the corsets on and off. It was pretty manageable.

This was much better than if I had bought a corset from BAB!
And the corsets sold at BAB and De' Corselet was priced the same, only that the ones from De' Corselet is probably easier to put on.


Another find that I found at Far East Plaza today was a shop full of awesome headpieces! This is on level 2.


I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the shop, so to give an idea how the exterior of the shop looked like, I took the picture above.

The shop had many headpieces like the ones below (again, shamelessly pirated from the internet)







They were hairbands with hats attached to them! Some of them were awesome!
The hats-hairbands cost about S$30 each.

The shop also had regular feathered hairbands at S$5 each, 3 for S$10! And clips and pins and lots of amazing stuff for hair.

I didn't buy anything because I was too broke. But I WILL RETURN, SHOP WITH THE UNPRONOUNCEABLE NAME!

Size and Stereotypes.

My limbs ache after walking all day in my heels (just about 1 inch tall, mind) and I'm comforting myself by telling myself that I burnt more calories today even though my muscles ache. Like mad.
On second thought, maybe a too long exposure to heels isn't that good. But they make girls look good for elongating the figure (which I think I need more than some of you out there)..

So I'm doing nothing physical and currently watching America's Next Top Model Season 11. (man, every freaking episode makes me tear up as girls pack up their dream) I picked one at random. Jeanie Rabbit was telling me this afternoon that a real hot plus size girl won in one season and I would be thankful to anyone who tells me which season this is. But you know, high fashion is quite hostile to plus size girls, so how far can she go in the modelling industry?

Jeanie also talked about the one with the transgender model, which happens to be the one I am watching now. So YAY.

Isis is really gorgeous. I think models should have a different look about them to differentiate themselves from the the rest of the other cookie cutter models. A look, a style and a personality that shines. A lot of the girls in these competitions are just regular American girls who seemed boring to me. I wouldn't want to get to know some of them in real life - too flighty.

So far, my favourites are (in no particular order - the jury is still out on this one):


Brittany


Hannah


Marjorie


Sheena


Isis

But they all didn't win.
I probably should get more exposure to models.
OR. Maybe the producers of ANTM had some agenda to achieve by putting these girls there.
I used to like Marjorie better until I saw that she joined in the heckling of Isis when she was doing a shoot. Not cool.
Isis is TOO gorgeous. I wonder why she got kicked out.

MAKE OVERS!

Jeanie Rabbit: One of the lovely door gifts we did get from Mister Tantric 2010 at Zirca was a small but significant voucher from Swedish delight The Studio



It's an S$80 voucher for a make over!

A rush of ideas came through me like a Skittles waterfall, here's a few ideas


Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland!

Or from Jean Paul Gaultier's Couture Fall 2009




I'd always wanted curls like that, coupled this look with a swingy flapper dress and a tiny little smooch-kiss hat, why not?


Or give me a Japanese Geisha seductress look. Meow.


Vabot, nice?


Or my idea of a typical Tai-Tai look. Right up the spud my lovelies.

Let me not get carried away as I'm re-looking the booklet.

Here's some of the samples (and if this is the best.. Oh boy.)





It seems that we have to bring our own outfits and shoes to match. Geebus. So they only do the make-up. It's ok, I'll do a top-less shot then I won't have to worry about what to match my outfit with. OH PLEASE. Can PHOTO-SHOP one what.

What say you Miss Therese?

Red Carpet Fashion Awards.

I've been reading this fashion blog whenever I get bored. (Thanks Emman for pointing this out to us)

A couple of things I've noticed:
Jumpsuits have taken the world by storm.


(Picture credit to Red Carpet Fashion Awards.)
If I was staying in a temperate country, I would totally wear this. If I had the correct type of figure.

I see them on the streets of Singapore. Even though it's sweltering, I see Caucasians wearing jumpsuits (the ones which reach down to their ankles, like so above). They are either very into the jumpsuit trend or they are afraid to dress skimpily in the society which caned Mr Michael Fay. (Actually, jay walking is not a crime until you get caught)
Singaporean girls like 'em short.

Alas, I do not have the figure for jumpsuits because they will emphasize my big hips (and as if I don't look large enough). As Jeanie Rabbit pointed out a couple of entries below, I have an hourglass figure, so I cannot wear things which rest on my hips. I will look like a tree as a result.
But, I still can ogle at beautiful clothes, can't I?

I'm writing this because I spotted this line that this blog quoted from Rihanna's interview with Elle.
It gave me hope.
... On her favourite designers: “It’s clear there are definitely fewer black women in the high-fashion industry. One of the things I respected most about Gucci was that they did a print campaign with me. I’m a black girl on a fashion spread for Gucci—that was a big deal. I respect designers who aren’t afraid to go outside the box. I went to a Jean Paul Gaultier show, and I saw girls who are thicker than me, beautiful and voluptuous and different ethnicities. That made me so excited. I thought, Okay, I can work that, for sure.”

Will plus size women like me ever hit high fashion?

Mister Tantric 2010 at Zirca

Therese: It was a man flesh fest. Men dressed in skimpy, butt-hugging shorts which barely skimmed their butt cheeks. All of them had almost no body fat. A feast for the male-loving population.

The contestants were dressed in... well... clothes that barely covered their bodies.
They were first dressed in a construction worker's gear, with holes strategically placed around the outfit. Underneath the construction worker's gear, some hot pink swimming trunks can be seen. HHHHOOOOTTTTTTTTTT.

Jeanie Rabbit: DEFO MOFOs! I was more into the Queens. This was my first ever live Beauty Pageant and I'm super duper thrilled that it was for our lovely boys. Though organised by one of the bestest gay pubs in town, not all contestants were horizontally challenged (pesky forumers have been going on about how there was one STRAIGHT guy in it). The event was held at Zirca and the locale was just small and sweet (like some of the contestants, but hey hey, not a bad thing ;). We were also entertained by the cool dancing kids who totally rocked the house and brought the event up to speed as at some points, it was rather draggy. SMOOOOOCHHHHHESSSS to all who participated, it was LOADS fun.



T: The boys came out in their boxers for their 2nd outfit - the morning after look. But we think that it's the shower time look. Still LOVE, by the way.