Vignette!

This is a very gray-ish lace n' pleat dress I bought at Jakarta. Mother-in-law thinks this dress looks somewhat dirty for its undeclared color whereas I adore "Her" urban yet elegant look. ^^ Especially those vignette of spiral laces and pleats all over the dress make it so "vintage" to me!!

By the way, this is the sample pair I bought yesterday from Carmel. 
I got a special deal from the owner (again) as 1) it is a sample pair which doesn't have zippers 2) the last one and fits me. 



As far as the style is concerned, I'd think it is a Cow Boy boots except it's made of delicate cloth n' embroidery. 


My ODJ. 


1. Top:

• grayish dress w/ lace n' pleats
• blue tassel n' crochet vest

2. Accessory:

• ivory w/ gold crochet shawl 
• Chanel pearl necklace w/ multiple crystals 09'
• Chanel black caviar mini flap w/ SHW

3. Shoes:
Turkish made cow boy boots 






(Pardon me if you can see mosquito bites here and there on my legs. lol)



I didn't plan to pair this dress w/ cow boy boots but now I like this effortless sense of style a lot!! ^O^

I was browsing WWD mag. the other day and love the "urban-professional" look of this middle sheer dress w/ fur.  It is pure coincidence that I had similar ensemble today. 

Fall trend.... never get tired of pur...rrr...... oh, no, I mean FUR! ^^



I always grab either fitness or yoga mag. altogether w/ fashion mag. (that's my new Bally Ladonda-N pink prochette gifted from my mom from Czech Republic )



Speaking of Bally, those are the look I mean by urban professional. You still can wear them to work or to lounge afterward....sexy and fun!!





How about animal print for this fall too?!!





Seriously, I think I need to wear something more serious than urban chic look...:P 


How about Givenchy pre-fall sequins tank w/ CL Bianca for a special occasion?


Have a good week. 


xoxo Rachel 

Paris Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010: Georges Hobeika

Sheikha Central
Draped Princess: Red draped gown with embroidered neckline, Georges Hobeika F/W Haute Couture 2010

Lebanese designer Georges Hobeika offered his view of Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010 in Paris and let's just say: It's VERY VERY Haute! Recession? What recession? This is Haute Couture kids! $30,000 for a suit and about $80,000 for a gown. Yep, this isn't Forever 21 or H & M. Fabrics alone can cost up to $500+ a yard. Warrior Wedding: White gown with beaded shoulder/neckline detail, Georges Hobeika F/W Haute Couture 2010

A dress can take up 5-10 yards so that's about $5,000 for fabric alone. Add trim, labor cost, designer's fee, and the cost of getting a HAND-MADE gown all to yourself with a number to prove it....well, now hopefully you understand. The price of your First Class flight to Paris for fittings IS NOT included.Cowling It: Cowl-draped slate-gray silk gown with beaded accents, Georges Hobeika F/W Haute Couture 2010

For Fall/Winter 2010, Hobeika showed glorious draping, color and exuberant beading. Collars stood up, shoulders were very extended and it was "there is no limit on my fabric budget this season" feeling with the gorgeous textiles shown.Lots of side-cowl Goddess draping, beaded shoulder interest and a Lieutenant Uhura from Star Trek-meets-Grecian Goddess Athena underlying theme.
The red satin jacket-and-skirt ensemble above SCREAMS Ivana Trump...or some Ukrainian arm-candy beauty! Now, tell me there are not ever some Wardrobe Malfunctions on the Haute Couture Runways...Case in Point: See above gown. See something odd? Look closely (to the left). Yep, the side zipper just came undone. I absolutely LOVE this gown so I'll just chalk it up to those oh-so-temperamental invisible zippers (especially ones put on by hand!). It has happened to ALL of us darling.
On a better note: Take a look at this stunner of a violet cocktail dress above! Imagine grabbing your next Heir to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in this...Or a Sheikh from Qatar. Georges Hobeika knows his market and his girls. Loved this collection Georges!

FOTD: Zoe Saldana's Subtle Elegance

Hi Beauties,

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! The weather in NYC is extremely hot but I personally love it. 

I wanted to share this photo of the beautiful Zoe Saldana with you. I love this photo because the makeup is so subtle but yet extremely sexy. I had the pleasure of bumping into Zoe outside of work one day and she is so stunning in person. The girl doesn't need any makeup at all.

Xoxo,

Awilda

Bronze Goddess

I have been wearing this look pretty much every weekend/ evening, you could say I am a little obsessed. Now that I have a bit of a tan going (come on English sun.. stay with us!), I am finding the love for golds, peaches and bronze. This look is so versatile and easily takes you from day to night. Just amp up the liner and lashes for a sultry, sexy summer evening, or keep it light and glossy for the day.

Night time:

Day Time:

I hope you guys enjoy!



Products used:
Dior forever spf 25 foundation (shade 20) - perfect foundation for summer!
NARS Laguna bronzer
MAC ripe peach blush

UDPP
BarryM dazzledust no. 39
MAC bronze eyeshadow
Bessame face powder (from www.cocobeau.co.uk)*
UD 24/7 liner in zero
Estee Lauder sumptuous volume black mascara (currently my every day mascara)*

The Body Shop lipstick no.42*

Dear FTC: All products marked with * were given to me at events or sent to me for review/ use in tutorials, but I don't discriminate.

I hope you are all having a good start to the week! xxx

Carmel by the sea and beyond!

Finally we vanquished the reverting of day and night but still woke up around 6 AM in the morning. That's not too bad at all since we headed down to Carmel beach as early as 8 AM to avoid the holiday traffic. 

 Clean and purity.

Ignorant of me that I never saw a "brownish-ivory" sea lion before!!  :P 

However, the weather is either unexpectedly colder or we just are not adjusted ourselves back to the temperature from the much warmth Asia, I felt rather chill by the ocean.  I put on all the clothes I can possibly find in the car but that doesn't seem to warm me up at all.  That doesn't matter!! Luckily, I was able to indulging myself with the ocean view and imaging myself as a pretty "jelly fish"!!! lol

The Minnetonka boot is a great choice when I want to walk in the sand while keeping my feet tidy at the same time!! No sand, no fuss!!

My yesterday's outfit. 


1. Top:

• free people cami. 
• blue crochet vest
• Pink distressed/shredded lace hooded jacket
• J Crew big collar trench coat

2. Bottom:
generic jeans shorts
3. Accessory: 

• Karen Walker Gee Gee milky pink sunglasses
• Louis Vuitton hoop earrings w/ dangled charms

4. Shoes:
Minnetonka tassel brown boots 

Somehow the J Crew big collar trench made me look like that big head of jelly fish.....lol.

I think kids and I enjoyed the beach more than DH does......this is the proof!!  He took pictures of me and kept jackets for us...while we don't need them!! hahahaha....  He is so not a fashionable dude here!!

I love the pearly, fine sand very much except the fishy smell of Algae. :P

We had fun at the beach/Carmel by the sea and enjoyed a nice sunny afternoon lunch at its downtown on Sunday.

LE St. Tropez restaurant is a southern French style of cuisine and they have books "Tin Tin" for kids w/ kids' menu at back of the book. My kids love reading stories about Tin Tin and all of a sudden, Southern France is no longer that indifferent to them!! ^^

 Artichoke packed high in anti-oxident, so eat it up,!!!


I love this intricate print on this cardigan.... another wardrobe much-have all year round! 

Guess what else I found in Carmel?!! 

Pretty jewel-embellished and embroidery boots made from Turkey! They made out of leather or embroidery clothes which they mainly use on garment and purse. They first die the cloth w/o foreseeing the final result of the die, and then they wrap the cloth and glue them onto the leather of boots. The cloth is one of a kind and so do those boots. 

They definitely are eye-catching boots and guess which pair I bought!!? @@

Have a good extra holiday!!

xoxo Rachel

Paris Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010: Christian Dior

Couture FlowersToday at 2:30 PM Paris time, the Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010 show at the Musee Rodin in Paris took place. Recently metaled as a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor... Designer John Galliano, showed a stunning collection--loved by critics Cathy Horyn and Suzy Menkes alike--inspired by Dior's 1953 Spring/Summer "Tulip" Collection, famous for its 3-D effect embroidery, exquisite bright colors, and of course, those iconic full ball gowns."May" silk organza with green-and-purple silk-floss embroidery evening gown, Dior 1953 Spring/Summer

The Fall/Winter 2010 Haute Couture Collection was an explosion of vivid colors, blooming voluminous shapes, grand ball gowns, hand-painted watercolor prints, ruffles, tulle and stiff duchesse satins galore! Take a look:Water every other day: One shoulder ballgown with full black netting skirt and iridescent silk petal drapes, Dior F/W Haute Couture 2010
J'ai Froid: Cobalt-blue cocoon coat with "torn-ruffle" neckline, Dior F/W Haute Couture 2010
Making an Entrance: Cerulean-blue, pink and ivory colored ball gown, Dior F/W Haute Couture 2010

If this is Fall, then bring on the snow kiddies! Maybe Fall in Dubai and Bahrain possibly, where a lot of his exclusive Couture clients probably come from. The details were also extravagant, my favorite being the bulb-shaped upturned hairdos wrapped in neon-colored cellophane. The effect was incredible, as seen from these photos; the head was wrapped like the stems of a bouquet with the dress serving as the incredibly colorful floral arrangement! Suitings were decisively more Fall-like in their fabrications... Such as the angora tailleur above and below. They enveloped the models like comfy cardigan sweaters but were fitted and interfaced to a 1/4" of their size 2 figures.To be honest, I liked the suitings and cocktail dresses more than those almost-too exaggerated ball gowns (I know, what part of Galliano don't you understand!). They were grand for sure, but lost in them was the elegant draped delicacy that Christian Dior's original ball gowns had.

The New Heel: Lower and less chunky ladies. Put those platform pumps in the closet and time to get closer to the Rue de Rivoli pavement!
Out: Thicker bolder heels that have become the most coveted styles in the past few seasons have now been replaced by....
In: Strappy , more feminine, less chunky heels

Click Below for a Behind-The-Scenes, audience member video of the Runway Show (the fashion show begins at 2:50):


**UPDATE: Full Runway Show Below!**