Hottest Star of Summer 2005: Jessica Alba

Even though I don't approve of celebs getting too involved in the fashion industry, I always love a fashionable and well-dressed star. Sigh, summer really is coming to an end, *sniff sniff*. Anyways, so I decided to pick the most memorable star of this summer to talk about. It's not the newly evolved and skinny Nicole nor Lindsay; it's not the always trendy Mischa nor her cute OC co-star Rachel; I'm talking about Jessica. Not Simpson, like eww. Jessica as in Jessica Alba.

Starring in three summer movies -Sin City, Into the Blue and Fantastic Four -Alba is THE female star this summer. Err, right that wasn't the point. The point is, Alba has been looking AMAZING in all the events she attended recently -both fashion and makeup-wise. Here's a recap:

Alba with Cash Warren at the Westwood Sin City premiere -those ruffles are so nice and red actually looks great on her!

Alba at the Fantastic Four Mexico press conference -her clothes are so simple here and she looks so lovely with those pearls.

Alba at the New York Fantastic Four premiere -this is definately my fav Alba dress! I love the details (like beads) on the white part of the dress and the back is gorgeous. This shape of a dress is usually really hard to pull off, but she does it well!

Alba at the London Fantastic Four premiere -smart girl knows that A-line dresses are just so flattering to the body. Another simple yet fabulous choice.

Alba at the Spain Fantastic Four premiere -I usually dislike one-sided shoulder dresses, but I love this one, esp how the black fabric on one shoulder drapers past her whole arm.

Alba at the Secustro Express premiere -I simply love the tailoring of the dress, esp the tightened waist. Shows that a dress doesn't have to be lacy or made of satin to be beautiful!

Alba at the Teen Choice Awards just two weeks ago -a typical casual Alba look. I love this look -although maybe she should get those jeans cut just a tiny bit up.

That's all on Jessica Alba. Stay tune tomorrow for I am Fashion's fabulous, long-awaited makeover!

Say no to Jessica Simpson

Having just been to the States, it is really quite frightful of how... Jessica-Simpsony the country has become: on the covers of countless tabloids and magazines, her Dessert Beauty in Sephora and Claires, doing promotion for Proactiv skincare range, in the cinemas for Duke of Hazards, on the radio for her crappy songs, and of course, her fashion line.

Quoted from the Vogue website: 'Jessica Simpson has struck a $15 million deal with a licensing group this week that she hopes will expand her fashion and accessories brand.' Like EWW!! As if there's not enough Jessica Simpson around. And why why why does she have to overstep her celebrity boundary and enter the designer world, when she obviously has no such talents. What ever happened to that Jessica Simpson who used to be so real?

Vogue quote continues: 'Anna Wintour is unfazed by the threat of world Simpsonisation, however. "The customer who is really interested in fashion is sophisticated," the editor of US Vogue told The Wall Street Journal recently. "She will take a Marc Jacobs over a Jessica Simpson every time."'

Hip hip horray for Anna Wintour's excellent words. This is why I love Anna Wintour so much -she always comes up with such fabulous quotes. I cannot agree more with Wintour: If you have a true fashion soul, then you will most definately choose a REAL desginer over a celebrity designer anyday and everyday.

Sept launch: VOGUE China and Men's VOGUE

Ugh, I have to wake up at 7:30am from now on to do work experience again. Too early. Ugh.

Anyways, it seems like Anna Wintour and her fellow Conde Nast management team's plans for the expansion of Vogue is FINALLY happening. September this year is not only important because of the ever-so-thick Sept Fall fashion magazine issues, but also significant because of the very first issue of Vogue China and Men's VOGUE.

Fifty years from now, this will be seen as the iconic ever first cover of Vogue China. I was SO excited when I first realised Gemma Ward was going to be on this iconic cover. She really stands out here because she's the only Westerner. And the other Chinese models... some look great and others not too much. I esp love the first model on the left. Apparently one of these models is Miss China 2003 and another is a Shanghainese supermodel. All the models sport the Prada black headband look -people, take note!

On the right is Vogue China's editor-in-chief, Angelica Cheung at the Vogue China bash hosted by British Vogue's editor-in-chief, Alexandra Shulman a few weeks ago. Can't really say I like Cheung's dress much. Doesn't her bob remind you a bit of US Vogue's Anna Wintour's bob? What a coincedence!

While flicking through the latest issue of US Vogue, I saw this ad. Hmm, I must say, while I would much prefer a model on the cover, I suppose they really need a celebrity to pull the readers in, especially in a country where Vogue is seen as a female thing. And I suppose George Clooney is not too bad of a pick within the celebrity circle, but I really don't like this don't-I-look-cool-and-manly-look. I really can't comment much since I don't notice men's fashion much anyways, but I really hope it's a success because most of the guys I know dress terribly. So if you're a guy, remember to buy your Men's Vogue on Sept 6th!

Terrible ad of the season: LV and Uma Thurman

It's no secret that I am no big fan of celebrity having any direct contact with the fashion industry such as having their own fashion line or dominating fashion magazine covers. But I like to think myself as a reasonable and open-minded person, so I judge everything according to the situation.

Like you know how the new Miu Miu ads are featuring celebrities like Selma Blair? One would think I would dislike this Miu Miu campaign because of the celeb touch, but I actually think it was done well and love the artistic photographs (and the beautiful Miu Miu coat of course).

But LV and Uma Thurman? AGAIN? Yuck! My gosh, I can't believe people (esp oh-so-talented Marc Jacobs) aren't sick of seeing Uma posing with Vuitton bags. And seriously, the photographs aren't even artistically creative or visually stimulating -almost all the campaign shots so far feature Uma leaning on something (like a chair or whatever she's sitting/ lying on top of.)

Bleh! The theme is unexciting and Uma is mega-boring. First Jennifer Lopez, then Uma Thurman -how much longer are we going to suffer? It's not like Vuitton doesn't get enough press attention without celebs anyways.

Mr. Jacobs, perhaps next season you will use a real model instead of another celebrity.

Weekend Plans: A Night Out II

Ok now that we have the outfit, we are ready to accesorize! But accesorizing for a night out all comes down to personal style. So here, I'm just going to put on a few things we saw and loved to give you an idea of whats hot this time around and just a few personal little quirks I have when it comes to acccesorizing. Lets start with jewelry.

When it comes to jewelry, I tend to like to keep it simple. For example, last time we went, we spotted this simple gorgeous necklace on a girl and we loved it. Hair down, simple earrings focuses the attention specifically towards the necklace. I love the incongruent shapes and the pearly white color of the necklace because that means it matches with everything.

If you have messy hair that night (like I have on most nights, because there really is no point washing hair before hand to go to a dark club where no one can see your hair and it'll only get smelly and sweaty at the end of the night anyway) I love to pull it back into a fun high messy pony tail (try teasing hair by backcombing) with long dangly earrings like the ones I have above. It frames your face, looks great in pictures and looks fun dancing around while your doing your stuff.

As for bags, I like to keep it small and on the shoulder, like these Dior and Vuitton ones above of Harrods Girl and mine (yes we took this pic especially for you!). These are just perfect. I can just keep it on my shoulders all night while I'm dancing and not have to worry about someone just "picking" it up in the crowded dark room. Plus, it hold all the essentials: lipgloss, touch up powder, camera, our mobile phone, ID and enough cash for a drink and a cab ride home.

And lastly, shoes. Generally it should be high heeled (or at least high), strappy (or pointy) and just sexy. But I say its an extra bonus if you can actually walk comortably in those shoes, because after all, you are going to be in them all night! Those gold pointy shoes familiar to anyone?

Thats all for now girls. So dress up and go out and have some "end-of-summer" fun!- I know we will ;)

Lancome Fall 2005: Rose Mystere by Gucci Westman

I've been very into eye makeup recently, and have been on search for a good eye shadow palette and a strong black eye shadow for awhile. While I was strolling around the beauty section of department stores in San Francisco, I suddenly saw this GORGEOUS pair of eyes and got very excited!

This poster is for the new Lancome Fall 05 color collection, Rose Mystere by Gucci Westman featuring Drew Barrymore, (who is a good friend of Westman's.) Gucci Westman is the Lancome International Artistic Director and has done the makeup of a few fashion shows including Behnaz Sarafpour, Roberto Menichetti and J. Mendel.

The collection supposingly "brings the romance elegance and intrigue of Victorian era opulance to life." And for once, I actually agree with the description of the product! The makeup collection is most definately one of the best this season and worth buying.

I bought the Velvet Diary -Vanite at the end. The saleslady applied the 'Drew Barrymore eye' on me, and it looked absolutely divine! This very artisitic eye is actually not hard to recreate and will look great for evening looks. I've been wanting the seductive, smoky eye look for ages, and this palette will really let me experiment with a range of smoky eyes.

Or if you get bored of the Drew eye, you can create lighter eyes with the four colors: deep berry, metallic rose, sparkling black and glimmering silver. Just use less black for a daytime look. This limited edition velvet diary also comes in another range of colors (soft peach, irdescent green, sable brown and dark brown,) called Secret. So if you're looking for a new evening look, go ask a Lancome saleslady to try it on for you! (and buy the Velvet Diary of course!)

Some People Would Believe Anything

Some people would just believe anything. A prime example of this are patrons of Philip Stein watches.

The Philip Stein collection consists of watches that can tell the time of 2 places (perfect for hols!) and looks more or less like the two above alternating between black and white screens, varying degrees of diamonds and different color and type of bands. There really don't look too bad!!

Apart from that, they also produce bland looking bracelets like this one above. But the design are not the main attraction of these watches (well not entirely anyway).

The main attraction Philip Stein watches is in fact the two teslar technology chips from the States, which supposedly helps the body resist against external negative electromagnetic forces emitted from mobile phones, computers, tv's etc. leading to more restful sleep, less tension, improved concentration, increased levels of energy and an overall improvement in well-being. The teslar chip does this by combining the two electromagnetic field from the battery and the movement of the quartz to create a third magnetic field which consequently leads to all these wonderous effects for the wearer (yup those two metally things shown above).

When I heard this, it was a strain for me to keep a straight face, because seriously, the idea is laughable! Its like how people put weird ionic devices into their drinking water thinking that it will increase their lifespan. But at least the water is consumed. The watch is only worn (ideally on the left hand for more "effect"). I admit, I haven't been through all the scientific information they claim they have to prove their theory, but I highly doubt 2 metal chips made from the USA emitting special "signals" will make me calmer and give me better sleep. And those people who claim that it has- well I think it is probably all in the head. Nevertheless, these Philip Stein watches have been widely popular these days in the women watch world (at least in my country it is) and are rushing to depart with $1000USD (and above)for one. Some people would believe anything.

Harrods Girl shops San Francisco II: Haight Street

Haight Street is the street where San Francisco people who like to shop in little boutiques and vintage/ second hand clothing stores go to. Well, at least that's what my local cousin told me and took me to. Here's the report:

I was not impressed by the second hand clothing stores, but that's only because I hate that stuffy-old-clothes-smell, not to mention that I never buy used things. The little boutiques had very good selected collection of clothes, but most of them can be bought for cheaper prices in larger chain stores out in the city. And you never know if the clothes are actually from this season or last season, (the horror of buying last season clothes at regular prices!)

But then I came across this store.

So Good jewelry - My first impression was oh my gosh, this is it -that dream jewelry store I have been searching all over the world for!! When I first walked in, I saw a whole wall of fashionable earrings that weren't too pricey.

Then I turned to my left and found much more...

The whole wall, and I mean all of it, is covered with necklaces. I absolutely LOVED the selection there and spent like, half an hour just looking through it.

I liked a lot of them, but at the end, I bought this one: made with lots of little beads, fake crystals and pearls. Isn't it sooo pretty? It was only $9.99 and it will go with well, again all my outfits this season.

Both of these photos show their amazing belt/ waist accessories selection. The beaded belts are so cute and would go well with casual summer outfits, whereas the metal ones would be perfect for the vintage look. I really liked the vintage-looking belts, but alas, I didn't see much practical use in it, especially since it looks too dressy for college and not quite suitable for city night life.

So if you ever visit San Francisco esp if you know someone who lives there and you have a car, then you must visit this wonderful little jewelry boutique!

The Newsboy Cap

This fall, one of the best ways to stay warm but still look chic is with the newsboy cap. And by newsboy cap, I mean the rounder, fuller, puffer kind-not the flat version the fashionable farmer is wearing (although they can be worn quite stylishly as welll). Having been popular in the early twentieth century, this cap again embraces the victorian heritage feel that I'm all for this season.Personally, I've been wearing my plain black suede newsboy cap for a long time now (they are ever so cute) but here is the new, more updated takes on the newsboy cap.

Take one: the plaid newsboy cap worn by Mischa Barton in the new Ked's ad. What more can I say? Where Mischa goes, we all follow.

If we are to embrace victorian heritage and plaid, we must go to the master of heritage-Burberry, who else?

But I'm also loving this newsboy cap (and this look overall) from Bloomingdales by Helen Welsh. THIS is what I want to look like this fall.

Then there are also the more fashionable-farmer style Prince of Wales check plaid. Available in both US AND UK from Urban Outfitters and Accessorize respectively.

Take two: for a more modern style, the plain black leather detailed newsboy cap found on Dior and Dolce &Gabanna's runway this season. The shiny material brings and the slightly to the side way it is worn, brings a definite modern cool chic twist to the classic newboy.

Try this newsboy cap by Accessorize. Like Dolce & Gabanna's cap above, this one too has the added button holding a corner of the flap of the cap up, bringing something more to the classical newsboy cap. I'm loving this one, why, it'll match with practically any outfit!

Barneys Girl virtual shopping with. . . APC

So sitting at home unable to go out, I decided to indulge myself with a bit of "virtual" shopping. That is-if money was no object what would I buy. And since it seems that everyone loves APC so much and I haven't even so much as stepped inside the store yet (but I WILL, once I recover. Incidently does anyone know where the APC in chicago is? I read the address and have no idea where that is) I decided to grace the APC site with my virtual presence and see what it is all about.

First thing that caught my interest is this simple shirt with a bow on the side. Nothing spectacular. But I figured it would match with a lot of things and the bow on the side DOES make it more interesting then just wearing a plain spaghetti strap.

This cute little jacket and bermuda shorts, not neccessarily matched like this. From the looks of it, the cute little jacket actually looks suited for the summer when the air con is too cold, but it really depends on the thickness and the material, which I cannot tell here. And those bermudas, they're perfect for carrying-on the bermuda trend into fall with that greyish color and texture.

And I'm loving this oversized black and white striped sweater. It is very Dior indeed.

I've been obsessed with getting a trench coat lately ever since I saw this tv show where the leading character just wears its absolutely ALL the time (in different color) and she looks absolutely fab in it. So this one can go into my collection too.

Lastly, I adore this flared coat! I think its the one worn in the ad, and it just looks very cool. Plus, a 100% wool jacket is a way better way to keep warm this winter then those super puffy jackets which makes us look fat.

So what do I think of APC? They're french. Their clothes are nothing spectacular, but definitely the classics of the season and kind of office-y. So if you want the season staple, this is a good place to go to. I can't say I absolutely love them, but there's nothing to hate either. So I guess they're "ok".

Weekend Plans: A Night Out I

What do young and beautiful girls (like us!) do on friday/saturday nights? Well besides chocolate buffets and dinner parties, Harrods Girl and I also like to go clubbing! But our absolute favourite part about going out is the preparations- there is nothing quite like all the pampering and shopping involved before we dance the night away. So lets start off with what to wear!

The most important part of a party-do to our way of thinking is the top! It gets maximal exposure in the sea of people second only to the face. There are only a few requirements to selecting a party top, that it has to be sheer, revealing (moderately), shiny and detailed (sequins!). The word of the day is to look sexy! Afterall thats what sets apart daytime casual wear and night time wear isn't it? The above tops are by A. Teen (on sale) and H&M respectively. Here are a few more of our favourite party tops:

I've discovered that XOXO is a brilliant brand for cheap and pretty party tops. Afterall you don't want something too expensive please, because 1) you don't want to be seen wearing the same thing all the time 2) you'll only end up getting alcohol spilt on it and all smoky and sweaty. Oh and don't forget the cute sequinned shrug (very similar to one from BCBG) for when you cool off from the dancing.

And when it comes to party tops, we should all take lesson from the queens of partying-Paris Hilton and JLo. And where else to go to for Paris/JLo inspired clothes then Guess and JLo right?

Personally I prefer slightly subtler and classically cut clothes. Like these two from ABS and AX. Love the tiny diamond clasp on the ABS one! And the AX one can even work for the "cruise" look!

Match it with a pair of sexy jeans - like these ones by Citizens- and your all set for stage 2 (coming soon next wk)!