Blog Crushes.

What's your internet surfing routine? Facebook first, then Twitter, maybe a dash of news, then repeat the cycle? Want to shake things up a bit? Well, I'm here to help you with a few blogs that I currently have a girl-boner for. These blogs are guaranteed to put a smile on your dial, or you get your money back.

Kate Middleton For the Win

Yes, I'm one of those that is still obsessed with Kate Middleton (Pippa who?). This tumblr hasn't been updated since the nuptials, but it has the best photo captions.

Lust-Haves: Knuckle duster.

"Ring, Ring, why don't you give me a call?

Ring, Ring, the happiest sound of them all." - ABBA

Diamond rings. Stack rings. Gladiator rings. Double finger rings. I love that there are so many rings to choose from! Gimme gimme more, gimme more. (And yes, today I'm blasting music that I normally would skip on my iTunes shuffle. Don't hate on me for relating to Britney Spears right now.)

I'm also in a very "I am so poor/skint" mood so today's list is a short one.

Lust.

Adia Kibur Armor Ring from Shopbop ($AU47.21)

Asian Power.

In the June issue of British Vogue, there's an article about the increasing number of Asian models asserting their presence and beauty in the high-end fashion industry. Clearly there were too many models for them to keep track of, because a picture of Liu Wen walking for the Derek Lam show was incorrectly captioned as Du Juan (who wasn't even walking in that show).

Now, before I jump to conclusions and start hurling insults at the mag for succumbing to the "all Asians look alike" stereotype, I realise that this type of mistake is sadly not rare, and is not exclusive to Asian models. So let's focus on the good stuff and look at some of my favourite Asian models.

Liu Wen

 

If there's one thing that Liu Wen should be remembered for years from now, it's her ability to break boundaries. She was the first Asian face of Estee Lauder, and the first Asian model to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion show - not bad for a girl hailing from the Hunan province. With her to-die-for cheekbones, lithe figure and friendly demeanour, it's no wonder that she's a runway and editorial darling.

Gorgeous.

H&M + Versace = Why do I live in Australia.

Breaking news! H&M announced this morning that they will be partnering up with Versace for their Autumn 2011 designer collaboration range. Previous collaborations have been with the likes of Lanvin and Stella McCartney. This upcoming collection will be released to the masses on 17th November to their stores worldwide, and online as well. 

Even though I usually find Versace designs a bit too garish and overtly sexual for my tastes, I saw a photo of Donatella wearing a dress from the H&M for Versace range, and to my surprise, I did not hate it! And who am I kidding, when you say "designer brand at affordable prices", I'm conditioned to get excited about it.

Donatella Versace in the Versace Spring 2012 Menswear show

It's really times like this when I curse at myself for living in Australia. 

Lust-Haves: Nailbiter.

First off, I am so sorry for being MIA this past week. Sickness combined with job ventures and just life in general tangled me in a un-bloggable web. Anyways, onto this week's Lust-Haves!

Amongst my many (shallow and consumeristic) obsessions, one stands head and shoulders above the rest. And that one thing is, of course, nail polish. I don't know when or how it happened, but nowadays I actually feel naked if I don't have a coat of something on my nails. I love the way a swipe of bright nail polish can spice up an outfit, or how a well-picked colour can give your look just that bit more definition. This past year I've been collecting different shades, ranging from gorgeous pastel colours from Chanel, to more bold and statement shades from Kit and OPI. Behold my nail polish collection:

My current loves are the OPI Shatter in black, which works with any base colour, and the gorgeous Kit "Shop Loves Sunset" shade which came with the May Shop 'Til You Drop issue (this mag really knows the way to my heart).

 

Now onto my wishlist. Having tried the pastel shades, and bold colours, I'm looking for more muted and earthy tones to add to my collection.

Lust.

Playlist for a Lazy Rainy Day.

• Zee Avi - Just You and Me
• The Isley Brothers - This Old Heart of Mine
• Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Jade
• The Teenagers - Homecoming
• Adele - I Found A Boy
• Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day
• Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
• Simon & Garfunkel - Bleecker Street
• Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
• Xiu Xiu - Clowne Towne
• Sui Zhen - Heat
• Bat for Lashes - I'm on Fire (Tom Waits cover)

Enjoyed with a good book, blanket and hot chocolate.

Lust-haves: Peach Plum Pear.

I've decided to make my "Lust-haves" posts a weekly tradition, since we all need a little pick-me-up from the Monday Blues (although today is a public holiday, so let's just call it a cure for the rainy blues this week). Going through my closet, I've noticed that muted colours like grey, black, and dark blues dominate my outfits. So, this past week I've been poring the Internets for the perfect pair of plum or pink coloured jeans to zest up my outfits, a la Alexa Chung (who can do no wrong in my eyes).

 

Word on the blogging streets is that US denim brand J Brand have come out with a bright coloured jeans range, perfected suited for colour-hungry shoppers like me.  Apparently they've already sold over 100 000 pairs in the past few months.

Not wanting to wait until the Australian summer to get my hands on a pair, when cheap, poorly made, unimaginative and overpriced copies inundate our shopping centres, I've made a wishlist:

Lust.

Welcome Aboard.

Being the couch potato that I am, I end up watching a lot of ads. One that has been playing constantly is the new Virgin Australia advert:

The marketing enthusiast in me should have been focusing on their rebranding efforts, but no, what got my interest was their new uniforms. Designing a uniform is a tricky task. You have to make it modern yet comfortable. And you have make sure they look like an air hostess and not the other kind of hostess. Most of all though, it has to represent the brand's identity; often this means adding a cultural touch to the uniform.

This got me rushing to the laptop to check out what itchy materials and weird cuts other airlines are making their cabin crew staff wear.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

Nicknamed the 'Singapore Girl', their stewardesses have been wearing the traditional Sarong Kebaya for almost 40 years. And if you think your work has a strict uniform policy, think again. To be a Singapore Girl, here are just some of the rules:

• Your lipstick and nail colours must be one of the red shades pre-determined by the airline
• Your eyebrows must be shaped, and not tattooed
• Your sideburns cannot be longer than your earlobes
• Eyeshadow colour must be either brown or blue, as set out by the airline

A little bit sexist? Maybe so, but it's working wonders for the brand.

Lust-haves: Sugarcoatin'

Winter is here! For the past few weeks, a voice akin to the carpet sale spruiker has been shouting "Coats, coats, coats" constantly in my head. This season, it's all about the camel coat for me. Since I don't have a money tree, I have to resort to drooling over the beautiful selections in front of my computer.

Designers have truly unleashed their creative license when it comes to this trend, serving up an endless array of cuts, lengths, and styles. Chloe, as usual, has given us elegant, loose shapes that makes me wish I was alive during the 60s and living in Paris, Lanvin has experimented with more architectural shapes, while straighter cuts abound at Gucci and Michael Kors. Skinny belts are the choice accessory to add femininity and take the camel coat to 2011 aesthetics.

Lust.

Left to Right: Hussein Chalayan, Missoni, Chloe, Stella McCartney

L-R: Dries Van Noten, Lanvin, Gucci, 3.1 Phillip Lim

L-R: Michael Kors, Rebecca Taylor, Gucci, Gucci

Love.

Mr Bon Iver, Mr Justin Vernon, you've done it again.

The Stain You Have to Have.

Besides raging at people who don't put things back where (and how) they found it, my biggest pet peeve is getting stains. When I wear white I never order anything with a sauce. If I ever get a food stain, I will dash to the bathroom and scrub til it's gone. The dry-cleaners know me on a first-name basis.

However, there is one stain that I have grown to love. Kit Cosmetics now stocks the new Smashbox Limitless Lip Stain and Colour Seal Balm and I am worshipping at their altar.

Pretty pretty pretty.

It comes in six luscious shades: Berry, Cinnamon, Guava, Nude, Petal and Sangria. If you go to the Kit Cosmetics counter (at either the City or Chatswood Myer), the lovely ladies there will colour match for you.

I never really wore lipstick until this year, but can I say, WOW! It is sooo easy to put on, it's like colouring in your lips with a marker. And with the seal balm, I can guarantee that your lip colour will stay all day long. I wore it the whole day at work, eating and drinking through 2 meals, biting my lips in frustration more than a handful of times, and I still had to use make up remover to scrub, and I mean scrub, the colour off my lips at night. And if that hasn't sold you yet, it didn't dry out my lips at all!

So do yourself a favour and get yourself one of these. It will liven up any outfit, and you'll be getting compliments left right and centre!

Keep Calm and (fill in the blanks)

Trench coats. Combat boots (think Doc Martens). Bomber/leather jackets. What do they have in common? All commercialised into popular culture/fashion, all originated from the military.

Over the past year, a new fad has joined the club:

Look familiar? 'Keep Calm and Carry On' was an attempt by the British government to raise the morale of the public at the start of World War II (thanks Wikipedia!). It was little used back then, but when a bookshop owner found the poster over 60 years later, the rest is, well, history.

I've lost count of how many parody posters have popped up - so thanks to my good friend Google, let's look at a few, shall we?

 

 

 

I was actually inspired to write this post because I got a 'Keep Calm and Lie Down' pillow yesterday. But it got me thinking, what is it about this poster that speaks so much to us all these years later? Our current obsession with vintage? The current global economic status and state of the world? Our love of being 'postmodern'? Whatever it is, the best advice is really to Keep Calm and Carry On. 

p.s. What is your favourite parody poster? Mine is probably this:

Note: I do not own any of the pictures that I used in this post. Please click on the picture for links. This will apply to all my future posts.

Confessions.

Hello friends, 

I have a confession to make, and this new blog is my confession booth. I'm Wendy, and I'm a shopaholic. Every time I go out, I cannot resist the urge to walk close to shops, which leads to window shopping, which leads to going into said shops, which leads to me coming out carrying more weight than I began with.

Today was a prime example. What was supposed to be a day of gymming, turned out to be a day of shopping in the city. I 'rationalised' that since I was walking around anyways, not going to the gym was not that much of a failure. Anywho, I went with my friend to The Corner Shop to pick up her shoes, and I could not resist the lovely Melissa shoes that were begging to be tried on. (Hey, in my defense, there was a really good sale on them). 

And tada! I walked away with these babies:

Lovefoxxx Joking in Green

Melissa shoes are the most comfortable shoes my feet have ever had the pleasure of being enclosed in. Seriously. And they come with a unique bubblegum scent so that you won't have that embarrassing rubber-sweat-feet smell! It was a spanking 37% off so I just just just had to snap them up. 

My feet will now thank my wallet forever.