Women: Be Brave, Feel Empowered!

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I assumed you've seen Harry Potter the movie. Right?
When I saw Professor's Minerva McGonagall's blazer, the sharp shoulder one.
I talked to my best-buds, "I think we will see these blazers soon in stores or media."

Look on how fashion spreads. Designers are inspired by anything, anywhere.
You may never figured it out where are those shapes or prints or materials idea came from?
Peclers may have the inspiration source for designers, but we can never measure each individual's imaginations. This is what I love about fashion, it has Art, it has Imagination, it has Desire, it has History, it has Love.

This Sharp Shoulder fashion is like the invention on Stiletto.
It gives women power, confidence, and courage to be brave.
Well, at least for a couple of months, to have something new and empowering in your closet.

The 40's Glamour

I love these pictures.
I love these ladies.
I love that fashion exists.
History is not something that we could only hear and study anymore.
Now we can live in history. Experience it with fashion.

The New Shape

Fashion goes with time. It repeats history.
Today the world is highly impacted by recession.
People are dressing down, people are spending less on everything.
Fast food comes as an option. During this period of life, people are dressing loose apparels.
They started to wear big clothes which didn't reveal the body line anymore.
These clothes are much more comfortable, lazy, and easy to wear without needing to match many other things with it.
But designers and brands of the world, like Louis Vuitton, creatively taking this chance to create something marvelous.
Dressing down doesn't have to look unpretty. They can make things that are not pretty to be one.

Fashion as Expression? Passion? or Obsession?

Like any other Sunday, me and my dear friend went to have dinner and a little shopping. We went to Zara store today in Grand Gateway. As always, checking up for what's new in the store. And I FOUND something really new to me!! As I looked into the mirror, when trying on a pair of snake skin shoes, there is this I-thought-a-lady lady were cutting in front of me and trying a blazer on. I moved a step aside so I can have the view that I wanted to see.

Then I realized that it was a HE. He was trying on a woman's blazer with his feminine hand motions and walking style. I was unconsciously, amazingly looking at him while my other hand was calling Erlin (my friend) to let her see what I saw. He was trying many other blazers on, he didn't pick the tuxedo blazer or the man-like-blazer but he picked those feminine short blazer with tweed!! He was interested in 2 blazers. One was Dark Silver and the other one was Black and White tweed! I dropped my jaw when I saw him picked those clothes and tried them on.

Well that was something new that I had never seen before. I wanted to take a picture of him. But, I rather not. That would not be nice. Then I found a picture of Parisian Men dressing women! I don't know what fashion has gotten them into. But I know for sure that they are expressing themselves very well. As you can see one man was wearing HIGH HEELS. Higher than some other women could wear.

I don't know what my reaction really is, I was surprised for sure. But let's try to think in a different point of view. I believe that they love to see how beautiful a woman can be when wearing nice clothes. Even they wanted to be like one. Yes man's fashions are not as interesting as woman's. Women can dress like men and they look good on it. Then these men might as well wanted to experience the same thing too. So Women! Be glad that we were born as one! Dress up nicely every single day!

Tourists Day in Black and Beige

Taking the day off out of town, out of the pollutions and the crowds. Zhou Zhuang was the targeted place. A little town with old houses and tiny-short river. We took a gondolla or something like that, and circled the town. Spending time with my favorite people, we took a lot of pictures and treated ourselves as tourists again in the country. There are full of wonderful places to visit in China. Weather was strange that day, but thanks to my hat. It keeps me away from the striking sun and the little rain. It was 5 minutes raining then 5 minutes sunny, continuously. The days like these are the days where I feel like dressing up a little for the sake of having good pictures, because I knew that my friends would upload these pictures in just in time on facebook. I stole these pictures from her facebook. She didn't even give me the copies.

Hats: Brandless at some hat retail store in Shanghai. Black Dress: Kira Plastinina. Bag: Cole Haan. Shoes: Vivienne Westwood.

Fall/Winter 09-10 : Capes(Capelets) & Cloaks & Poncos

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Are you ready for the upcoming Fall and Winter?
Here are the trends for this winter holiday!
Get your wardrobe a reserved space for your new winter collections!

For those of you who doesn't really know the differences between capes, cloaks and poncos:

Capes (Capelets): A cape is pretty much any form of outerwear that opens at the front. It has no sleeves. Usually with slits for the arms instead, they could be round or straight slits. But many designers now made capes as a form of a coat with another sleeves alternative, which is the slits.

Cloaks: Cloaks are similar to capes, but longer. It has no sleeves as well. Again... sometimes designers would re modified this design.

Poncos: Poncos are a closed rounded fabric with a hole for one's head and body to go through. Completely sleeveless.

I extremely in love the first 5 picture's capes and cloaks. These styles are pretty cool. It also depends on how you mix and match, you can look either elegant and classy with your ankle boots and pumps or Gothic and punk with your over-the-knee boots.

And for those of you who live in a tropical part of the world like Indonesia, you still can have this trend with a more casual style. Wear cotton, jeans or linen capes like Picture #9 by Vera Wang with your mini skirts and pants. You could also find some night dresses or tops made and designed by these concept, look at the red dress, Picture #3 by Elie Tahari.

Get ready to Get busy for the Fall Winter Shopping! Enjoy!

Gladiator in Ballerina by Vivienne Westwood

My Italian teacher Vieri Simoni, (Ah! Yes! it is his birthday tomorrow. I should not forget to wish him Happy Birthday) By the way, he used to tell me that it is very normal in Italy that Italian men tend to look at the girls from head to toe so obivously and so amazingly. HaHaHa! I was not used to the way they look at me and my friends. But Vieri continues, "You will feel ugly when you go back to Jakarta or Shanghai when no one is staring at you like that anymore." I was laughing so hard, so do my friends.

Now that I am already in Shanghai..... I thought again of what he said... He is right! No one here in China looking at me like how the Italian men did. Yea...he is right I feel ugly, especially when it rains almost everyday here in Shanghai. The rain ruins your hair you know that! Anyway... as I said, I feel ugly everyday BUT not today! As I walk to campus, I see some girls and women were staring at my feet then they go to my upper body then making an eye contact with me. At first I didn't notice until a woman poked my shoulder and she spoke Chinese with me "Ni zai na li mai ni de xie zi?(where did you get your shoes?)" and I replied "What!!! ah! shen me?!" SO......... It was my shoes that all the girls were staring at! Ah obviously these shoes are adorable aren't they?

As I entered the class, 4 classmates (Jessica, Effie, Zoe, and Tina) were asking about my shoes. I think they like them too.

These shoes are rubber made, it is very strong plus comfortable plus very pretty! =) And perfect for this raining weather and it is very easy to clean! Only 1 thing is not so good about this pair of shoes... they are rubber therefore no air ventilation. However you still can wear an underneath socks for flat shoes. You can get these pair of shoes at Vivienne Westwood called the Ballerina. They come in beige, red, black, silver, green, yellow, and blue.

http://www.hervia.com/AW09-Vivienne-Westwood-Melissa-Shoes-Ballerina/c192_319/index.html

Garden on Your Nails

How do you love these girls? I have this big thing about hair and nails. I always love to carry pretty nails on my fingers. Until now... I am not used to have plain nail with nothing on them. I do my nails every week with nail polish. But you do realize right, that polishing your nail all the time will ruin the nail themselves? The nails get yellowish and weak.

If you have the same addiction like me.... don't worry girls! There is this beautiful solution for your nails. Have you heard of Nail Gel? You can find it in nail art stores or a manicure places. Nail Gel is a layer that covers the nail just like nail polish... and it harden the nails. Usually the nail artist will apply the gel many times and you will need x-ray lights to get it dry. As the result, you nail will be much more thicker and very glossy. Nail Gel will strengthen your nails.

You can apply many other things while doing the Nail Gel or after. For example, you could have some glitters together with the Gel or you could put acrylic nail art with Swarovski crystal on top of your Gelled-Nail. When you do only gel with no 3d arts, you can apply as many colors of nail polish you like on top of the gel, because you still can erase it just with acetone. These Gel could stay on your nails for about a month. But my recommendation is that you should go to the nail salon again within 2-3weeks to get the gel refill. So there will be no flat/empty/colorless on the part of the growing nails.

Now you get some more ideas about these nail arts. It is not only pretty but useful for all of us girls, especially when you are working as a clerks or sales person in a department stores where you have to meet a lot of people and you have to use your hand a lot when communicating with them. Having these pretty nails will be a total PLUS.

The first two pictures was done in Jakarta, Indonesia for about Rp. 750.000 / US$75 / 580RMB. With Gel, Swarovski crystal, and specialized acrylic art by a nail artist from Holland. And I did this one for 6 hours. This one until now, remains to be the top on my list!

The last two pictures was done in Guangzhou, China for about Rp. 500.000 / US$50 / 350RMB. With Gel and simple acrylic art. I did this one for 2.5 hours.

So girls, what do you think of this Nail Art? Is it worth the time, the price, and the utility?
Definitely a yes for me!