Thoughts on Boy. by Band of Outsiders Pre-Fall 2011

Photos courtesy of Style.com and Boy. by Band of Outsiders

I told myself that I could blog again once I crossed a certain word count on my essay, so here I am. Above are some pieces of the collection just released by Band of Outsiders. The whole collection (total of 18 pieces) can be seen on Style.com. Anyone who is familiar with the nature of pre-fall collection will know the simplicity of the collection is due to the fact that the in-between collections are always more commercial and wearable compared to the normal twice-a-year seasonal collections. The reason why I like this collection is because it encapsulates the label's ability to combine preppy elements and put its own signature quirky twist into it to make it look understated, kempt and fun all at the same time. It's clean in a Euro Miu-Miu/Marni way but still has ounces of Americana to spare. I can't wait to see their F/W 2012 collection, but until then, back to the essay I go...

Tagged!

Photo by the fabulously talented Petra via Rookie

I can't believe I still have finals next week, and since I like to pace myself instead of cramming everything and calling it a day, I won't be leaving for winter break until the 23rd :( Note to self: never take five classes again, esp. when three of them are so quantitatively heavy! Meanwhile, I've been tagged by the lovely Amelia of Le Petit Bruit. Apparently this is how it works:

Rules:
1. You must post these rules.
2. Each per­son must post 11 things about them­selves on their blog.
3. Answer the ques­tions the tag­ger set for you in their post, and cre­ate 11 new ques­tions for the peo­ple you tag to answer.
4. You have to choose 11 peo­ple to tag and link them on the post.
5. Go to their page and tell them you have linked him or her.
6. No tag backs.
7. No stuff in the tag­ging sec­tion about ‘you are tagged if you are read­ing this.’ You legit­i­mately have to tag 11 people.

First off, 11 Things About Me (the most random things possible):

1. I can eat rice everyday till the day that I die and I'm not even trying to be stereotypically "Asian".
2. I am always daydreaming/thinking when walking from i.e. point A to point B, so people think I'm mean and am ignoring them even though I'm just lost in a daze.
3. I managed to get out of all 'sports days' throughout primary and beginning of secondary school, only to be forced to participate in interscholastic sports for all four years of boarding school.
4. I sneeze after eating at least 70% dark chocolate (apparently this is actually a legitimate thing called the 'photic sneeze reflex', also called colloquially the 'orgasm of the face').
5. I'm allergic to bananas. 
6. I can play Big Two (card game), Mah-jong (beat my grandmother once, score!) and Go-Stop (thanks to the many Korean dorm mates in high school).
7. I speak five languages with varying degrees of fluency.
8. I am still trying to work my way through the Harvard Classics in my spare time and hope to finish the entire list before I graduate from college.
9. I'm cheap and like to download books off Project Gutenberg to read them for free.
10. I can never manage to get the film off the film canisters in the dark room.
11. I have suffered from a case of bathroom-phobia ever since I was nine, because of this movie. Why did my cousins think it would be a good film to watch during a sleepover?

Questions from Amelia:

1. Which historical figure would you have liked to meet?
As of right now, since I just finished taking a Roman art history class and am watching HBO show Rome while I procrastinate during my finals, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus.

2. Is there a book that has truly impacted your life?
Yes, and it is Plato's Symposium.

3. What is your favorite movie?
Too many to list! I guess for all films released (stateside) in 2011 this year, MMMM, Drive, Midnight in Paris and The Hedgehog.

4. What is your pet peeve?
The smacking sound people make when they eat with their mouths open. Drives me BONKERS.

5. Which era would you have liked to have been born in?
When all Seven Wonder of the Ancient World + the library of Alexandria still existed.

6. What traits do you seek in people?
Trustworthy, reliable, honest, not too easily offended/touchy/defensive, sense of humour

7. What language would you like to learn?
Russian and Arabic.

8. City life or country life? 
I was born a city girl but I've learned to adore the country life, so the country life but with killer internet.

9. What is your favorite quote?
I have three and they're listed down below!

10. When you're sad in what do you indulge?
Emotionally intense movies––it makes my own problems seem so much smaller in comparison.

11. Favorite/the most true piece of advice you ever got. 
My mom gave me How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie during the final year of high school. Maybe she was trying to insinuate something, but basically everything in that book and of course, the last lecture.

And now for my own questions (!):

1. If you could be anyone for a day (could be fictional/historical), who would it be? 
2. Field Notes or Moleskines?
3. What is the last thing you ate?
4. If you can be anywhere you want right now, where would it be? 
5. If you could go back in time and change any historical event, what would it be?
6. What is your favourite piece of clothing in your wardrobe right now?
7. Which would you prefer if you had to pick either one, Zara or H&M?
8. Morning person or night owl? 
9. What is the last thing you do before you go to bed?
10. Favourite smell in the world? (No perfumes allowed)
11. Most important lesson learnt in 2011?

I tag: Phara, Jada, Teresa, E'clair, Katrina, Fleurette, Stephanie, Hannah-Rose, Rachel, Lindsey, Hila

Le SAPE

I am not going to apologize for not blogging much this month (at least for my decent track record so far) but between finishing papers/third round of midterms, writing for the student newspaper and creating websites for different student orgs, blogging was put on the back burner for a while. Still, all the while I kept up with some fashion-y pursuits, chief among them was trying to learn more about Le SAPE, which stands for en français "Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes". Jonathon Crisman talks a little more about the society and the rules here, should you be interested to go read a little more about the followers of Le SAPE, les sapeurs. Granted the book is not recent (circa 2009 I believe?) and the phenomena is quite old itself, but I only came across these men and their style two months ago through Lin (for which I am thankful for). I was able to get my hands on Gentlemen of Bacongo by Daniele Tamagni from the library and I truly am in awe of these men and their style.
There are many reasons for why I am so fascinated by them but I guess firstly just how well executed and put together the men are in general. They do not pale at all in comparison to the men photographed outside trade shows like Pitti. I appreciate the daring boldness of the colour choices and simultaneously am intrigued by the juxtaposition of the abject poverty of their environments to the expensive garments the individuals don. As a romantic idealist myself, it should be of no surprise that what I love most about the men and their style is the purpose behind it all. The clothes seem frivolous but that is part of the point les sapeurs are trying to make, in attempting to maintain high moral standards even in a war-torn country like Congo. How they are able to push for a serious social agenda while still looking so stylish and so full of swagger (in the best way possible), is surely laudable. Whoever said clothes were just 'stuff'?