I would wear these shoes 24/7

If I had $1300 laying around...

To Die!!!!

Buy Them

Scribble Scrabble n' A Wow from Jason Wu 2011 Collection.

First of all, I think I am pulling my legs of forward-looking at 2011 runway Fall's collection while summer is yet to come and I already had a long list of "wanted" things for s/s. The New York Fashion week started and I can only stump my feet and am regret the fact that I can't go since I just had my PRK eye surgery. ~*sigh*~


Good news is that I can have eye bandage removed next Monday and my vision is slowly stabilized (hopefully less a month). Meanwhile, I will have my acting courses start tomorrow. How exciting~~~ ^O^

Neutral, and bare faces! ^^ (No make-up for a week....) 

For spring/summer, I love both bright colors as well as monochrome black or white looks. But in particular, I love neutral such as pink, beige and nude the most. Try pairing the same color of your tops together like Jason Wu did... ... me, here, Ivory tank w/ beige wool vest and lots of details on them. And neutral color never look outdated at all! 

My ODJ


1. Top:
Stella McCartney tank w/ bow in front
DVF wool beige vest coat


2. Bottom:
HM high waisted fold-over pants w/ sash 11'


3. Accessory:
(messenger style w/ Louis Vuitton wide straps) Bottega Veneta tote w/ Louis Vuitton Valentine heart coin purse 


4. Shoes:
Vintage dots mary jane 

I think my daughter took away the spotlight.... ^^

Here looking at Jason Wu's fall 2011 runway pictures, I adore his entire collection singled out a strong attitude and lots of details. Those dresses are so glamorous!!

Matching your top colors, blue, red, sheer, black n' white floral embroidery! 

More lace, sheer, feather, quality tailor, embellishment...show off your feminine side! 

(pic. style.com)

Wish I could wear those dresses for Valentines' Day~~ ^O^ Well, how about a Valentin's bright color make-up... it is a DO!!

Jill Stuart pearl pink eyeshadow. 

The shinning pink around eye corner, and lower eyeliner will make your eyes look a lot bigger and sexier.... (you know sometimes how people mistaken the white eye shadow around the corner for some "gooey discharge"  on your eye if you are not a make-up expert...haha....haha...... )

Collage is fun and I made a keep-sake frame from my 3 children's belongs....
one missing shoe, one missing mitten and one pair of socks.  




Here is another picture collage frame from us girls crazy Vegas trip!!

Are you ready for your Valentine's?!

Have a cheeky Sunday. 

xoxo Rachel 

Nick Verreos weighs in on Madonna and Lady Gaga: Style Star on Style Network! TONIGHT Debuts 9PM!!!

Two Musical Style DIVAS!

Who's Fiercer: Lady Gaga or Madonna? Tune in TONIGHT, 9PM Style Network

Tonight on Style Network's "Style Star", we are sprinkling our "Style Glitter" on two of the BIGGEST STARS in the World: Lady Gaga and Madonna! Just in time for Grammy Awards weekend (Yes, kids, it's tomorrow night!).

"Style Star" is the show in which I am happy to give my weekly "Nick Two Cents" on the Top Hollywood Ladies of Style--along with other fashion experts. Tonight's episode was especially fun because I just D.I.E. for Miss Lady Gaga and Miss Madonna.

Nick Verreos on Style Network's "Style Star" show

Ever since I saw Madonna do "Like A Virgin" in that wedding dress at the MTV Awards back in the day (yes, I was all but a little child...NOT!), I just about followed her every fashion move.

And of course, we'll talk about that iconic Jean Paul Gaultier "cone-bra bustier" from her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour...

As well as that Louis Vuitton puffy dress, thigh-high boots ensemble she wore to the Met Ball 2009--curled-up "Rabbit Ear" hat and all...

And Lady Gaga: Well darlings, we could spend an ENTIRE DAY discussing her Fashion Hits and Misses, including the Armani Prive Custom "Out of Space" gown she wore to last year's Grammys and naturally THAT meat dress...

Tune in TONIGHT 9PM to the Style Network and "Style Star".

And in case you miss it: The Lady Gaga-Madonna Episode will also air throughout the weekend and week including...

Sunday Feb 13, 12 AM, 12:30PM, 10:30PM

Monday Feb 14, 1:30AM Check HERE for listings.

Life is Sweet. Again!

Today is the 4th day after I have done PRK surgery for my eyes.  


As I said, life is sweet ~~ after I went through all the stinging, sore sensation from my eyes' surgery at the first 2 days. I can type just fine now except for slightly blurring vision and you might caught some typo in my blogs.... :P Pardon me here, please! 


Everyone has been telling me about it'll all be worthwhile after I have my vision back in a week, a month..... and I am grateful for everything. For having FB, so I can update my status quietly w/o phoning and endlessly chatting w/ my friends whom might find annoying.  I am also so grateful that Cathy and Yu are w/ me yesterday when I am bored to death at home and to be my chauffeur driving me around to pick up kids.  And needless to say, it always feels great to hear my fellow bloggers/readers and friends who also share their personal eye surgery experience with me. 

Valentine's gifts from friends~~ Sweet!!!

Lastly, "Thanks" goes to my DH who accommodates his work to assist me while I am not in my best shape.....normally, I am a super mom...hah.... 

All saint leather brocade tail-jacket in smoke, RL silk blouse, BCBG studded belt, Mandarin and General washed silk pull-on pants, Alain warp boots
 

Life isn't perfect, just like my photos here...glare-y~~ which also is how I see things at this point w/ my eyes. Hopefully, my eyes can focus better day by day!! ^O^


Have a good weekend. 

xoxo Rachel 

Black Swan

So you all MUST have heard of this film by now!  I went to see it with my girlies last night and it blew me away.  We all stood outside the cinema afterwards talking about it and I really can't remember the last time a film made that much of an impact on me.  Without ruining it for anyone who hasn't yet seen the movie, the plot is basically this:

It's a psychological thriller about a ballet dancer who wins the lead in 'Swan Lake' and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odette's evil sister, Odile, the Black Swan.

The story was inspired by a Dostoevsky poem 'The Double: A Petersburg Poem' which is about a man whose life is on the verge of destruction due to the sudden appearance of a double of himself.  The man is a government clerk who goes mad, obsessed by the idea that a fellow clerk has stolen, literally in every sense of the word, his identity.  The director wanted to work this story into the incredibly controlled, competitive and artistic world of ballet. 

Everything about the film was intense and beautiful.  The cinematography was spot on, the immense tension was sustained throughout the whole film and the costume design is just exquisite!  Natalie Portman was brilliant in the lead role and it's obvious from her performance that she has trained extremely hard to perfect the body and poise of a ballerina.  Apparently it took 6 months for Natalie and Mila Kunis to lose 20lbs from their already slim physiques and to attain the right body type and muscle tone of professional ballet dancers.  Obviously they both had body doubles for some of the more demanding wide shots where they have to be en pointe (on the tips of their toes) for a long time.  I have to say that it wasn't pleasant (and painful at times) to see how skinny Natalie had become but, I guess she did what she had to do for the role.

The Black and White Swan costumes were a creative collaboration between Rodarte, Amy Westcott and the director, Darren Aronofsky.  However there has been alot of controversy surrounding the fact that Amy Westcott has been all but forgotten when it comes to giving credit in the press.  How hacked off would you be if you were a massive influence in the process of creating these beautiful costumes and you didn't get any credit for it?!

The ballerina costumes had a real baroque feel to them and although they have received critisicm for not including straps, as swan lake ballerinas would wear purely for function, I think art overtook practicality on this one.  Natalie Portman's makeup and hair looked AMAZING when she played the White Swan!   

I totally fell in love with the white, floor-length gown Natalie wore in the film (which I'm assuming was Rodarte?).  Here is the initial sketch...

And here is the gown on screen...uhhhh, so beautiful!!! It would make an incredible wedding dress!

So my overall thoughts on this film is that it was as much about fashion as it was about mental illness and instability.  BUT, don't think that the fashion is the main star of the show...it just decorated the background of what was altogether a brilliantly twisted and unpredictable story.  There were quite a few points in this film where I literally jumped out of my chair.  But on a flip side, there are a few genuinely funny points too.  Natalie's character, Nina, wants so much to be perfect, disciplined and in control that it takes over her whole world.  She's so obsessed with her Swan Lake character that she eventually becomes just that.  She pushes her body and mind to the brink in a quest for ultimate perfection in her art.

I give this film a 9 out of 10!  It's not just a film for girls, I really do think that guys would like this movie too (and if they still aren't keen, just let them know about the girl-on-girl scene between Natalie and Mila!ha ha).

Have you seen this movie yet? What were your thoughts?