Watch This

Mugler
Fall/Winter 2011
Paris Fashion Week

The monochromatic representation of Thierry Mugler's new collection for Fall/Winter 2011 renders clothing merely as a second skin; clearly seen through the play of sheer fabrics on models with disturbingly beautiful tatoos. That and the use of what looks like plastic, neoprene and latex which exuded textural but spine-chilling qualities that created a snug silhouette which contrasted with the voluminous billowy bits. I'm obsessing a little over sheer fabrics as of late. The careful thought of layering translucent items that give a hint of what's underneath, creating a visual depth to an otherwise mundane ensemble. And the music playing in the video? A remix of an upcoming Lady Gaga single from her new album.

Germany | 20.01.11

Yes. Last week. Germany. The post on this trip is probably going to take me a long time to publish since I've got over a thousand photos to sort through and choose and edit them for your viewing pleasure. I'm breaking the post up into days since it would definitely be easier for me to account the events and places we partook. Just think of these coming posts as one of those slow-releasing capsules which instead of wasting all the nutrients at one go, it does so in batches.


Day 1 | London - Brussels - Cologne - Essen

Our main aim was to experience the main area of the Ruhr region in Germany which is in the North Western part of the country. 21 of us took part in this expedition accompanied by 2 tutors. And we toured the area via public transport. Trains, Rail, Trams, Buses, on foot...all of that. The price tag: £300 (appx.RM1500) inclusive of accommodation and travel to Germany and back. Food and entrance fees to the buildings were under our own expense.

Getting to Germany was quite a breeze, if you leave out the sore shoulders I got from lugging my backpack. I had to get up on the before at 4am, get breakfast, take the bus to London, meet up with the group, take the Eurostar to Cologne, Germany via a short stop-over in Brussels and then to Essen where we spent the nights in a hostel.

On that first day, after a long day of travelling, we only managed to squeeze a couple of buildings into the itinerary the most significant of which was the Cologne Cathedral. This ominous looming Gothic cathedral with towers and spires that pose such a stark contrast to the surrounding plaza. After walking inside the cathedral and through the buildings and shops in the area, we headed to Essen. After a short dinner, we did cardio all the way up this steep hill to our hostel and I slumped onto the bed like a bag of dirty laundry. And night.

| somewhere in Brussels



| lost in Brussels



| Cobblestone streets



| the Social Welfare: font-lust



| Tin Tin!



| Brussels to Cologne



| The Cologne Train station



| The Cologne Cathedral



| Our field trip group



| Entrance archway



| The interior of the Cologne cathedral with gorgeous high ceilings, pillars and impressive large stain glass windows.



| Mosaic detailing on the floors



| Groin Vault ceilings



| The plaza surrounding the cathedral



| Buildings of interest: Ludwig museum



| The retail scene



| waiting at the platform at the Cologne train station

...Stay tuned for more.

Listen to This

Stuck in my head right now, is this song.

Destroy Everything You Touch
by Ladytron
from the album Witching Hour

Inspiration | Bottega Veneta Fall/Winter 2011

Now, this is how layering should be done. Impeccable complimentary monochrome hues with the occasional punch of a singular colour in some of the looks. And although monochromatic outfits tend to border on being boring, the added textural qualities through prints and material give it that much depth to the look. So, go on, layer it up!

On those snowy days

On a cold December night at the Radcliffe Square, we played in the snow and made snow angels. That right there was about 20cm of powdery snow. Snow so soft it's like walking on flour. The frosty snow mounds seem to create a surreal landscape where every horizontal surface is highlighted with these soft marshmallow pads of white. Like how a simple stroke of white paint seems to give a painting depth, snow gives 3-Dimensional forms an added layer textural quality.

*Note to self: wear more layers when making snow angels.


Stay for more.

Spot On: Tote Bags

Why guys should also carry bags. Tote bags. Nice tote bags. I would say appropriately sized, streamlined, minimally decorated ones. Because sometimes stuffing too many things into your pockets just makes things bulge in the most unflattering way.

The build of the bag is pretty much up to your preference and styling. Leather, canvas, waxed-canvas, felt, brown, navy, black, grey, etc. etc. There are so many choices out there. And not all are that pricey.

*photos from various sources

Thx for the Haircut

PhotoLog | Week Eighteen

Just another typical overcast day at along St. Aldates. Sure, I do love the cloudy skies but some sunshine wouldn't hurt right now. I think I'm underexposed to the sun here. Now I know why people go for fake tans. Not that I'm going to get one.

Watch & Listen to This

I love it when Rihanna reinvents herself every time a new album of hers gets released. And I admire the image she's projecting right now, fiery red hair, floral prints and all. She's loosening up and is definitely less severe than her previous image for the Rated R album and slightly turning back to her Caribbean roots. Her video tells it all: not taking things too seriously. Maybe I should take that as a life lesson.

Only Girl (In the World)
by Rihanna
from the album Loud

Stay tuned.

I'm Not Here.

I'm not here anymore.

What day is it?

Is it too late for New Year's resolutions? I'll make them anyway. It has taken me sometime and a few unfortunate incidences to help me fathom my current situation. Things are not well. I'm not talking about my health or my academic performance or the stuff that I constantly ramble about here. It's got to do with me being myself, from just the act of merely existing to leading a complex but ritualized lifestyle.


Who am I?

Ask me to fill in a form with my information and I would write it with little hesitation or thought as it has almost become an automated response. Name. Date of Birth. Sex. Identification Number. Address. Qualifications. Etc. Etc. But can my whole life and identity be simply condensed into one and a half pages of point-form notation? Am I just another entry into some data system with little definition from the other entries? Who am I? What does my life amount to in this world? Am I living my life the way I should? I've always imagined my life to be very different from who I am now. I see all these people around me, my friends, family who have their own identities, their personalities, what makes them...THEM. Their Selling Point. It seems as though I've lost mine or it's gotten misplaced or it's just that the time is up for me to change.


What am I doing?

Back to the resolutions. Sure, there are the usual resolutions that I've set out for myself in the coming year. The usual being, procrastinate less, spend wisely, shop less but shop better. Things like that which are probably in most people's books already. But I've thought it through and I'm declaring this year:

THE YEAR OF GETTING TO KNOW ME.

To deal with this identity crisis, I need to re-discover myself. I've denied certain aspects of myself all this while and convinced my own mind with fabrications of the real me that it seems I've lost my essence. As I've journeyed through life, it's as though I picked up so much on the way from the people around me, the environment, popular culture, the media, that I now view myself as more of a collection of bits and pieces of other people's ideas and thoughts. I'm like a completed puzzle, but the pieces are from different puzzles that have been altered to fit. But there is no discernible picture.

Before the year is up, I intend to encounter new experiences, go to new places, eat things I've never tried, buy things I wouldn't ordinarily buy, do things I'm not used to. I don't want to adopt a life that I think suits me. I just want to be me. Whoever that is. And that my friends, is my new year's resolution. Getting to know me. And I hope you're on board with it.


See you when I'm here.

New Year's Pt. 2 | London

From One New Change, we zipped down the Strand in the seemingly swelling crowd which were already starting to head to the fireworks viewing areas along the Thames. We decided to have dinner at some random Italian restaurant where I had the ravioli. The prices weren't too high considering it was a sit in meal in the city of London. I have to know more places to eat cheap food in London.

After dinner, we took a brisk walk, used the tube and got ourselves pretty close to the Thames where we could just make out the London Eye from afar. And a few minutes later, 2010 ended.

As you would imagine, the fireworks were pretty spectacular and I would imagine it to be so much more if we were to see it upclose. But from where we were, we had the advantage of not being crushed in a crowd and managed to quickly leave after the show was over.

London at 1am on New Year's day was insane. You wouldn't have thought it was post midnight with the amount of people shuffling along the streets some drunk, some losing it, some being festive and others, like us, completely sober with aching feet. Alcohol would have helped my aching feet.

With the streets still blocked and the tube free from 12am to 4am, I got to walk in the middle of the roads in London, took a stroll down Saville Row and look at the ritzy stores. Just things I wouldn't ordinarily do on a normal day. After all, New Year's not really a normal day is it?

| outside the Savoy Hotel, the Strand; checking for directions



| dinner: ravioli



| the dinner table



| people swarming towards the fireworks viewing area



| view of the London Eye 12:03am 01/01/11



| post-midnight in the street



| literally in the middle of the street

With that, my New Year's eve experience in the city of London concluded. We managed to drag out aching feet, sore backs and stone cold fingers to the bus stop and headed back at about 3am. I ventured out to London the day before without a single plan, but ended up doing a list of random expeditions and pretty much took our own detour throughout the journey. It's one for the memories. And that was how I ended my 2010. How was yours? And remember:

| dare to dream

More next time.

New Year's Pt. 1 | London

London was plagued with a surge of people on New Year's Eve. The crowd along Oxford Circus was a tidal wave of bodies filtering through the sidewalk in and out of stores each toting 3, 4, 5 bags of goods on sale. Consumerism is scary when it's like that. And what's more scary, stroller parents who take their babies out on such cold wintry days in downtown London and practically bowl through the crowd with their strollers.

Then, we journeyed via tube through London's East End to my new favourite little bagel shop in Brick Lane for a quick bite at the old establishment which dates back to 1885. I'm still attempting to try one of everything from the shop. But there is just too many. And many of them are just so sweet.

From the graffiti-ed walls of Whitechapel, we went all the way back into the city to stroll in the vicinity of St. Paul's Cathedral. The sheer scale of the cathedral is astonishing in itself without even considering the detailed ornamentation of the facade. And the looming dome of St. Paul's doesn't fail to impress as does the strong axial presence running through the cathedral to Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern and even Jean Nouvel's new mall, One New Change.

| the shopping crowd at Oxford Circus.



| at the Beigel Shop in Brick Lane



| 'carved' graffiti near Hanbury St.



| graffiti laden truck



| in One New Change with St. Paul's Cathedral in the back



| stunning reflective surfaces



| the ornamentation on St. Paul's Cathedral



| under the portico of the cathedral



| tuppence a bag anyone?



| the front facade

More pictures to come.