Christmas 2006: Cocktails and Formal Parties

So many people have also been asking about what they should wear to parties -not casual house parties, but the more formal cocktails and parties.

Checks and metalics are huge trends this year. Both dresses from Top Shop -I've tried the purple version of these dresses on, and it's such a fun dress.

Very 'american'-feel dresses, left one by BCBG and right one by ABS. The dress on the left feels a bit too prom-ish, but is undeniabely pretty.

Diane von Furstenburg of course makes loads of fabulous dresses. Wrap-dresses are very flattering, versatile, and not to mention very useful in the future too. For those who want to look more sexy, DvF also makes non-wrap-dresses like the strapless one on the right.

Cocktail dresses from Urban Outfitters. It's so hard to find dresses like these -cute, trendy, affordable and don't look cheap!

LOVE these dresses. Soooo pretty! Dresses by Miu Miu (left) and Derek Lam (right). With dresses as short as the Miu Miu one, wear tights underneath to keep warm and look lady-like.

Dresses by Top Shop. Don't be afraid to wear mini (although not too mini) dresses to parties (but not the most formal parties). Again, wearing tights is a good idea, and please, do wear underwear!

These two dresses are acceptable for quite formal parties and look fun! Who wants to look stuffy at a Christmas /New Year party? I love the satin and silk material because it makes the dress look so much classier and gorgeous. Dresses by Marc by Marc Jacobs (left) and Ya-Ya (right).

I hope this gives everyone some ideas of what to wear. I can't tell you exactly what to wear, but this should hopefuly inspire you! Put a shawl (may be or may not be fur) on, then you're set for a fun and gorgeous night!

This Week HG is Loving...

One or two birthdays ago, BG gave me the DVD of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. My old laptop wouldn't read Region 1 DVDs, so it took until last Tuesday for me to watch it, and oh do I wish I watched it earlier. I loved it! All 4 actresses were great and each of the four storylines were so loveable and touching.

First off, I love the idea of having a small group of tight friends whom you can depend on and have fun with. It's even more fun when the friends are so different yet so compatible (like the 'sisters' in Traveling Pants.)
Fashionwise, the movie wasn't quite inspiring. But that's not the point of the movie is it? There is, however, enough differences in their fashion sense and beauty style to show their different personality.

OK, so as said, there were 4 storylines, all linked and witnessed by the amazing pair of jeans, which fit all 4 girls. My favourite one was Lena's (played by Alexis Bledel) story. Lena goes to Greece to visit her family and sketch. She accidently meets a gorgeous guy and they fall in love. Sounds so typical, but it's seriously so sweet. It doesn't hurt that Alexis is so perfect for this role.

Another storyline is Bridget's (Blake Lively). She goes to soccor camp and starts chasing after the coach. All this is not your typical romance plot, as it actually disguises a much deeper issue with her parents.

Then there is Carmen (America Ferrera), who visits her not-quite-there-dad and finds out that he is preparing to marry another woman and annoying new family. She tries to deal with her problems with her dad and body figure.

Lastly, there is moody Tibby (Amber Tamblyn), who works in the local supermart and tries to make a documentary on the local people. She stumbles upon a little girl, who in turn starts to follow Tibby around. Tibby finds out the girl has a disease and realises life is bigger than what she thought it was.

All these storylines are linked by the symbolic jeans, and the letters and encouragement from each other. See? It's seriously such an incredible moving to watch both, quietly and with your closest friends. Who else has seen it? And if you haven't seen it, go buy the DVD! It's SO worth it.

Paris Finale

Some last words on Paris. Walking around knowing that you had nothing pressing to do but just to enjoy yourself for the last two days in Paris is a luxury.

This must be like the millionth time I've mentioned the LV store, but this time I actually have something interesting to share besides how awesome I think it is. From now until some time soon (not sure when) there is a Louis Vuitton Exposition on the 7th floor in the LV building. Very few people know about it, just go in through the scary official looking side entrance and they'll take you up a completely black elevator (seriously, black felt covered with NO LIGHT) and drop you off at the exposition where they have awesome displays of LV coolness, like this hot air baloon hanging bag, flat screen suitcase, the MJ room, the Vuitton bag columned terrace, sleek designs, LV wallpaper...totally gorgeous.

Another thing I loved about Paris was the food. And since I have a sweet tooth, the chocolatiers especially. There is Pierre Herme here, where I bought this delicious chocolate lollipop thing (right) with caramel inside.

The Maison du Chocolat. I had high expectations for this after all the raging from my friends. The chocolate cake was delicious.

But my favourite was the Jean Paul Hevin which I had with HG. We sat down and each had a chocolate cake. They were completely DIVINE.

Another thing I had with HG was this very good valued 6 course meal for 38 euros off Lourmel. It came first with a pumpkin mousse thing.

Then a soup.
Duck and Foie Gras (i still have not acquired the taste for it)
Scallops and lobster thingys thats like small prawns which I cannot remember the thing of. Lagoustine? Well anyway, this was my favourite.

Shephards pie, which was better then I expected. And the my friend had deer meat (right) which i heard tasted "not bad"
Cheese and a chocolate cake which was so good I forgot to take a picture of.

At night, may I suggest the bar at the Hotel Plaza Athenee where they filmed Sex and the City? We didn't even realise it was here. But the decor was totally chic (although the drinks were all a whooping 24euros!)

For something slightly cheaper, there is the Mandalay Club(did I spell it right?), which is a restuarant and a club (after 12ish). Cover charge is around 20euros with a drink including. But then you can stay there all night...where you can head over to Quick afterwards for a quick bite!

On my last day, I spent 5 hours on the Eiffel Tower (the lines are horrendous!!!) and 1 hour taking pictures of and with it from the Grand Palais area where this gorgeous bridge is. It also sparkles for 10 minutes every hour. And that concludes my adventures in Paris. Goodbye Paris!

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!