Yearly Review of the Fashion World 2012

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HAY THUR. Long time no see. What with my trusty old MacBook being taken away to get replaced with a new flashier bigger hard disk and begging my little sis to finally borrow hers for a few precious hours, I had little time to blog (thankfully I have been quite productive in my time off the blog by watching The Hobbit, which was pretty good and Les Mis, which was utterly fantastic in every way except for Amanda Seyfried but the combined forces of Hugh, Anne, Samantha and Eddie more than break it even and THANK YOU Tom Hooper for not letting me down after The King's Speech). I am not sure what most fashion blogs do in terms of an end of the year post (mayhaps a recap of their best outfits of the year? LOL) but here is a list plus my thoughts on what happened in the fashion world this year in no particular order, ranging from the mundane to the important:

Happy Holidays

I didn't bring anything festive home to wear, so I had to raid my dad's closet and ended up with some very bright athletic wear left over from the 80s. The radio silence these past two weeks were not at all intended – I was planning to post as soon as last weekend before finals but then the Sandy Hook shooting unfortunately happened on Friday, which left me really out of the funk to do any blogging of the sort. Though I am finally done with my finals, as I am out of the US, I do not have access to HBO Go and thus I am not finished with making screen caps for my In Vogue documentary review. I PROMISE that the review will be completed as soon as I return to the US (which is not too far in the future as I plan to spend January term there). Cross my heart and hope to die. So bear with me while I continue to blog throughout my winter break? Happy Holidays everybody and all the best for the new year! We survived the apocalypse!

Edit: A reader asked where I got the jeans. It's from Uniqlo (as always). The rest is from my Dad so I have no idea. The green sweater could be vintage (yes my dad is that old and probably has it for that long) Ralph Lauren.

'Tis the Season for Glitter

Instead of studying for my finals quietly at home last night, I went out to dinner with my debate team. I'm still working on the In Vogue review as promised, but it's taking a while because I need to take all the screen caps myself. Meanwhile...doesn't my friend M look amazing? I love her attention to detail: the gold bow, the gold bangles with gold glittery nails to match.

Wanted: A Peacoat

The other day I borrowed my friends plain black peacoat before we headed out to the cafés in town to study. My god I loved the coat. It is so simple, yet so smart and chic. Smart chic is something I can sooooooo get behind. The coat was roomy enough to allow for another layer underneath without bulging, making it über functional and practical. As you can see above, my current go-to winter coat (apart from a black down jacket for when it gets down to below freezing temperatures) has been the same since sophomore year of high school: my wet-moleskin-looking coat with a faux fur trim on the hood from G-STAR Raw. I bought it when I was really into the aesthetics of military uniforms, and it happened to be on sale at J2 in Vancouver. I distinctly remember it being all sold out save for the one still on the mannequin, so the (very nice and patient) store staff had to yank it off the mannequin for me to try it own. Thank god it fit. While it has served me well over the years, and continues to do so, I long for something that is a bit more formal. In enters the peacoat.

In a way, the peacoat is derived from the military uniforms too, in that it has its origins from European sailors and are part of the US Navy uniforms. It would be really cool if I could find an army surplus store and get my hands on an actual US Navy peacoat. Think how great the quality would be and how incredibly warm it has to for it work well in active duty. The standard issue ones come only in dark blue, but I'm only into the black and or navy varieties anyway though I am open-minded towards tweed. This definitely goes onto the Christmas wishlist after more Uniqlo sweaters. I feel bad for wanting more coats only months after getting my Barbour jacket, but I have no formal-looking outerwear save for my trench coat (which is not at all warm!).

I have been more interested in military aesthetics again lately, as a matter of fact, now that I'm starting to watch Homeland. What's a girl gotta do in a small college town with great internet connection thanks to living on campus? And nothing else is on right now! Speaking of television, I can't wait to sink my teeth into HBO newest documentary on fashion, In Vogue: The Editor's Eye, which premiered yesterday in conjunction with the magazine's 120th anniversary. I am not the biggest fan of Vogue US (Vogue China takes the cake) but I do find the trailers intriguing. I plan to write on the documentary after viewing so keep your eyeballs peeled for it soon. Have a great weekend.

(Warmer) Winter Wardrobe Inspiration

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I just came across of these photos of mah home girl Liu Wen, rocking chic fall/winter ensembles in the December 2012 issue of Dazed & Confused editorial titled '#homestyle', by photographer Benjamin Alexander Huseby and styled by Robbie Spencer. Having done a back to school fall inspiration post, I thought we could all use an update now that the temperature has dropped. I do realize though that is hardly a practical full blown winter inspiration with its shorts and blouses, but it does set a good 'tone' for the season if you will. It's great inspiration for me personally since I will be going back to Hong Kong for the winter to spend time with family (and of course squeeze some blogger meetups in!) before coming back to the USA to spend J-Term back at school.

It sounds overly naïve and stupid now, but back then whenever I went back to HK during winter break, I wondered how people immediately knew I came back from abroad, either from the UK or the US or Canada. My Cantonese can't be that bad? I haven't even spoken yet! Now that I look back at it, I was probably the only person not in a down coat with Uggs in 13º C weather (mid 50sº F), which is considered chilly for them while just another cool day in the Fall for me. I guess the cold arctic winds that came blowing down to Michigan over the Great Lakes have made me immune to the harshest of winters. I hope before the finals catch up to me that I'd be able to find and share another winter wardrobe inspo post that's more suitable, and thus relevant, to the present North American-European climates. Rest of the shoot below the jump (minus the studio shots that I thought weren't as pretty).

Living Life on the Slow Lane

Today is a slow day of hand-me-downs. I've just recently been gifted a pair of sweet knee high suede boots from a dear friend and since it's been a while since my last 'outfit' post along with finals looming ahead of me, I thought it would be nice to have a light post after the text-heavy ones all November.