Hole-In-The-Shoulder Tops

During the Easter holidays, I started looking at spring/summer fashion in stores and for some unknown reason, I really got into what I call the 'hole-in-the-shoulder tops'. Maybe it's because I like the look with the sleeves sort of droopy and hanging. It gives the outfit a sort of effortless, casual chic feeling.

One brand which is doing these tops is Zucca.

These (Zucca) tops are so casual and easy to wear. Just throw them on with jeans or denim shorts.

Another brand which is doing this is Vanessa Bruno. The VB ones are of course, more elegant and feminine and less of the jeans-and-t-shirt look than Zucca's. Love the dress on the right.

I think this is the top that got me into this look. Don't the 'sleeves' look like wings? It's style can be casual or smart -makes it kind of suitable for different looks.

Daryl K's Doctored Dress is more of 'hole-in-the-sleeves' dress. I think the black and orange dress (right) is sort of cool, but I've tried it on and the dress is hard to pull off. (That's when I realised I should stop obsessing over this type of tops.)

Now this Ann Demeulemeester tunic is just simple and cool. It has a very effortless vibe. A similar top is the one on the right by Maria Bonita. It feels younger than the Demeulemeester tunic but just not as chic.

And here is how real life people (as opposed to mannequins) wear these tops. Isn't it so cute? And see what I mean by the sleeves dangling down?

Nicole Richie looking very casual chic in one of these tops and shorts. Loves it!

Photo credits: www.a-net.com, www.shopbop.com, www.activeendeavors.com, www.brownsfashion.com, www.vanessabruno.fr, www.net-a-porter.com

On the Street........Park Avenue, Manhattan

Wow, very, very well done -exactly what a New York summer should look like.

For the last few seasons designers have been pushing cotton suits for Summer.
Though cotton suits have a certain appeal they are almost always heavier and warmer to wear in Summer than a high-twist wool like this gentleman is wearing.

I really like the patch pockets on the DB suit - it gives a usually stuffy DB a slightly more sporty, Spring-ish flair.

Summer Has Arrived In New York, Nolita

(I guess I should clarify - Summer is not this young woman's name, I meant the season)

On the Street........57th & 5th , Manhattan

On the Street........NYU Student , Manhattan

Alexander McQueen For Puma SS07

Hey people, my exams are over and I'm back! OK, now most days, I am all about being practical, walking fast and keeping my feet warm (during winter). And even though I love ogling at gorgeous, trendy shoes, the only footwear I have actually been wearing a lot are my tatty, 5 year old, Addidas-lookalike Sketcher sneakers. Said Sketchers are about to break apart any day now and I have started to take notice of the sneakers available around me.

To me, Nike sporty sneakers are my favourite for sports and I don't really like Nike's non-sporty sneakers. I had bad experience with Puma sneakers many years ago and I just couldn't find my ideal pair of Addidas yet. Converse is a bit too flimsy to keep my feet warm during winter and Sketchers are just too sugary for me nowadays.

Luckily on a shopping trip, my mum noticed this cool pair of sneakers and told me to try them on (mums seem to spot pretty things that we don't.) Tada... I finally found a new pair of sneakers! I love how they're sneakers with cool details and a bit of edge, (although I won't be wearing them in the rain until the novelty wears off!) I was slightly surprised because this pair is by Alexander McQueen for Puma and when the AMQ for Puma line first came out a season or two ago, I thought they were ugly.

OK, so ugly isn't the right word. It's just that the last few collections seemed a bit alien-ish. They had funny toe bits (as shown in the picture), which I'm sure is supposed to be avant-garde and all, but it just looked weird to me. Plus I didn't like the colours. (All the pictures in this post is from the SS07 collection.)

I don't like the toe bit here but leather sneakers are way cool and useful.

For those who understand this, McQueen's inspiration quoted from the site: 'For Spring/Summer 2007, the study of anatomy continues through the exploration of body ornamentation with references to the Masai tribe culture.'

This pair is quite pretty, and not as 'designed'-looking as the others too.

Photo credit: http://alexandermcqueen.puma.com

On the Street.........Prince St. , Soho

Did you ever see that movie Funny Face?

This young lady reminds me of that movie.

Audrey Hepburn was pretty chic as the (before) bookish shop clerk and very chic in the (after) fashion muse.

Thank You

I would like to thank everyone for all your support and kind comments over the weekend.

Your comments were so beautiful and kind that I feel a little self-conscious sharing them but ,again, thanks.

When I started the blog I never really thought about the relationship I would have with the audience but it is definitely one of the most pleasant surprises to come out of this whole crazy experience.

Everyone is doing great and everything is back to normal so on with the show!!

June at The Sartorialist

June will be a big month at The Sartorialist!

Right now I am schedule to visit the follwoing cities.


Venice - for the Biennale

Basel - for Art Basel

Rome - because it is Rome (plus ,maybe, some beach shots)

Florence - for Pitti Uomo (menswear trade show)

Milan - Mens collections

Paris - Mens collections

Patrick Robinson to Lead Design at Gap

Signing Patrick Robinson is the best move Gap has made in years.
I loved his work at Perry Ellis and he has a track record working for large companies like Armani.

H&M and Zara have left Gap spitting their dust but I still have an affection for Gap plus it will keep J. Crew on their toes.

This will be fun to watch.

Pirates of the Caribbean III

One of my most anticipated movies of the year, I very excitedly went to see it the first day it was out. And no, I was not one of those people who went to see it at midnight dressed in Pirate costumes. Although I must say, I did see a few on the streets and the effort put into these costumes is to be commended.

Anyways, onto the movie (and if you don't want to know what happens next- time to stop!). This time it talks about how the crew sails to the World's End to save Captain Jack Sparrow, who got eaten by Davy Jones in the last movie. First they sailed to Singapore to find the Chinese Pirate, Sao Feng (played by Chow Yun-Fat), to get a ship and to steal/get the map to go to the World's End. I'm not sure I like the portrayal of "Chinese" culture here, I've been there and in any century, Singapore is not like that and I don't think they speak Cantonese there. But then again, I guess this movie IS fictional and a lot of things (like immortal squid monster pirates) don't exist.

So they sail to the World's End and saves Jack, who in turn very cleverly leads them back into the real world, where they are accosted by Pirate Sao Feng and people from the East India Company and a whole lot of treachery occurs. So much that I couldn't even keep track. But everything just turns out so perfectly, that one wonders if they (esp Jack's many escapes) planned it or were just spontaneously clever and lucky.

But the basic idea is that Will Turner wants to fight the Flying Dutchman to save his father, who we discovered has gone mentally crazy and all, until the very end.

Meanwhile, Davy Jone's heart lands in the hands of the East India Company and he follows their command, threatening the power of the 9 pirate lords of the sea.

So they all convene to their private lair, Shipwreck something I think, and have a meeting. Here, Captain Barbossa comes back from the dead (first movie) and tries to convince everyone to free the Calipsa, to get the power of the sea back or something.

And Calipsa turns out to be the voodoo woman who seems to know everything from the last movie. Turns out, she's also the reason Davy Jones cut his heart out and everything. Eventually she does get set free, but I don't really see what use it was as she turned into a pile of crabs and created a storm.

Into all this is Elizabeth, who by pure chance, becomes the leader of the Chinese Pirates and the "King" of Pirates by vote. She then declares war to the East India Company and all the other pirates had to heed her. She actually played a really big role in this movie.

Oh and in the heat of battle, she and Will gets married, which I thought was really cute. But then again, marriage with Will (or whatever role Orli is playing) would be cute in any circumstances :PDoesn't he look so handsome and piratey? He SO does not look girly.... I was REALLY sad when he died. I was worried that he'd look like an ugly squid when he turned into the captain of the Flying Dutchman, but luckily he came back and looked handsomer than ever. Just one question, does that mean that after 10 years of doing his duty, he and Elizabeth can live happily ever after should they stick together? Or that they are just doomed to be forever seperated, and Will will remain young forever and Elizabeth will get old and die?

And then of course there is Captain Jack Sparrow himself. Whenever I see him, I can't help but admire the amazing make-up and Johnny Depp's acting. Johnny Depp just looks soooo unlike Captain Jack Sparrow!

Although what was with all the hullucinating of multiple Jack Sparrows? That was kind of weird. And at many points, I didn't know whether to like or hate him, because there were so many betrayals between all the characters that its hard to tell!

Overall the movie was.....very complex. For the whole 2 hr and 45 minutes, we all just sat there trying to follow and figure out what is happening. And to be honest, 3 hours after watching the movie, I still haven't quite figured everything out. Like, what is the point of freeing the Calipsa? And why do they even bother fighting against the Flying Dutchman? They're immortal! Their ship won't sink and their crew can't die. But I did so love all the little funny bits. Like the adorable monkey, the get up of the french and chinese woman pirate lord and everything that Jack said!

I'm surprised to hear that there may be a fourth one coming out.....I think its better to stop at three before it feels too much like they're trying to make a movie out of nothing.

Some recent family health issues have cut back on my shooting the last week.

Everything is working out fine and I will be shooting and posting again on a regular schedule by Tuesday.

Thanks for your patience

S

On the Street.....Andrea Has A New Look, Soho

On the Street.....Kristin Rawson, Teen Vogue fashion editor

I think that there is a misperception that all fashion editors are pampered, over-privileged divas that earn a ton of money and get all their clothes for free.

I can hear it in some of the comments on my blog and from some people I meet on the street - they are inspired by fashion editors but they also feel a little disconnected from them.

Well, you shouldn't.

By far the majority of editors I have met over the last year are very much real women, just like you - they come in a whole range of sizes, ages, races, and ,depending on their management level, they make a very wide ranging scale of money.

What they all seem to have in common is a great style - thats why they are fashion editors.

I bring this up because yesterday I ran into Kristin Rawson, a fashion editor at Teen Vogue, ( disclaimer: you all know I'm a big Teen Vogue fan) and she looked so great - as you can see.

She was very happy and confident in telling me her dress was from Zara.

I thought that was really cool.

I'm sure (no, I know) many young editors or stylists ,trying to make a name for themselves, feel the potential pressure to always wear designer labels to prove they "fit in" with the fashion crowd. Thats why when I see someone like Kristen , looking great in Zara, I feel doubly inspired because she not only looks so cool but because she is doing it on her terms and in a way that works for her.

She seems to care about the result not the label.

I think that is one of the reasons Teen Vogue looks so good right now because the editors are not just dictating something to you but they are really living it - that's them on those pages.
Their style and attitudes are so clearly reflected on the pages.

Same with Paris Vogue, that's them, the editors, on those pages.

That is a major reason I like shooting the editors (and not the models) at the shows , they are the Derek Jeters of fashion.

Bravo Kristin.

On the Street.....Tie Tuck, Nolita, Manhattan

He makes two style elements look very cool here
- The tie tuck
- Pants with side-tabs that can be worn without a belt.

(ok, the charming smile helps a little too)

Ugly Betty Season 1 Finale

One of the hottest tv shows this season, the finale was last Thursday. And boy, has a LOT happened since its premier- I don't even know where to start! But I shall try, so if you don't want to know what happens- don't scroll down!

Based at the head of the fashion industry, Mode Magazine, the main character is ironically the most unfashionable person one can imagine- Betty Saurez. At first, I thought it was a sort of spinoff of Devil Wears Prada and so have been waiting for a magical transformation since the premier. But no, despite temptations of the wardrobe sale and being best friends with the wadrobe manager, Christina, Betty has stuck to her true self, unfashionable self- and you know what? I think it actually grows on you, its quite endearing. And if you look carefully, her completely awful looking outfits are actually very coordinated!

Relationship-wise, she started off dating Walter who works at a place similar to Best Buys and at first dumped her for another girl and then came crawling back to her. He tried to fit into Betty's new "Mode" life, but alas, they didn't work out. Meanwhile, there was Henry the accountant, who is just SO sweet, I was totally vouching for him and gave a WHOOP when Betty dumped Walter. But then comes a Charlie and messes things up. ARGH. I'm so frustrated for Betty. They're MADE for each other.

Family-wise, Betty lives with her sister Hilda, her nephew Justin and her father Ignacio. Justin is AWESOME. I love him. I just love how he's even more excited and knowledgeable about Betty's job than she is, and he's not afraid to be himself and all even if it means not fitting in. Plus, his acting antics are just great. And unlike Betty, her sister Hilda (Justin's mother) is a beauty queen. Drama occurs between her and her son's father, Santos. And just when things were about to go right, it gets messed up with a blast. Part of me feels really bad for Hilda and Justin, but the other part realises that if things went happily ever after, what else would the writers write about next season?

And then there is her father, whose status as an illegal immigrant becomes known and the family goes through a spam lawyer and a crazy psychotic immigrant worker (Constance) who tried to marry him to get him legal residency. But alas, he ends up back in Mexico, where I predict his past is going to come back and haunt him next season. (And I think we are going to see that guy who Hilda sat with while everyone went to the little blue house, a LOT more).

Work wise, this is Betty's boss Daniel Meade. The heir to the Meade publications empire and playboy. But with Betty's help, we eventually see his serious side and see that his activities is just a result of all the pressure he faces. He just looks so cute and lost that I feel sorry for him!
First he falls in love with Sofia, an up and coming magazine editor, who was out to con him from the start for a story to launch her magazine, hiring a stripper to pretend to be the perfect boyfriend and all.

Then, just when he gets over that embarassment, the scary bunched up woman in the institution thingy turns out to be Daniel's brother, Alex, who they all thought was dead. Turned out, he just went to get a sex change. And indeed, Rebecca Romijn, is starting to look manly to me. She comes back with a vengeance because her father wouldn't accept his/her sexual preference and fights with Daniel and all. But towards the end, I think all conflict is resolved and the bonds of brotherhood holds. Although I wonder what happens.....

And then there was that whole thing about Fey Summers, Bradford Meade's ex mistress and ex Editor in Chief of Mode. All this time, they made us think that Fey Summers was not dead, with Bradford sneaking around and everything. Very clever. And then there was Claire Meade. At first she seemed like an unimportant victim in this whole story, but in the end, Who knew she had so much in her? And I don't understand? What is with men and feet fetish? Its just that I've been seeing this fetish a lot on TV shows lately. First in Sex and the City, then in Dirt and now in Ugly Betty. What is with feet that would make you cheat on your wife and blind your good judgment?

Then there is WIlhemina Slater, the creative director of Mode, and has been plotting all season to get her hands on the throne as Editor in Chief of mode. At first I thought she was just a pawn under another mastermind- the masked woman who turns out to be Alex, but turns out, she's a woman of her own. But you got to admire her determination to succeed and devotion to the industry.

Although we're reminded of her good side, through her failed relationship with that Texas guy, her daughter and her assistant- she DID swap her wedding date to have him back. Its hard to decide whether I hate or love her. And for a woman her age, how chic are those outfits she wears?

And into all this, there is Mark the assistant and Amanda the receptionist. I just LOVE the two of them, their antics and the things they say are hilarious.
I especially love Amanda because out of this whole "fashion" industry show, her outfits are the cutest and chic-est that is close to our age. Plus, the two of them do have their own little side story, and it seems that Amanda will play an even larger role next season.

Overall, as much as I love this show, I think the quality has gone down since the first few episodes. WAY too much have gone on that its starting to get slightly ridiculous. I miss those episodes where something goes wrong, and Betty comes in and saves the day. Perhaps it will get better again next season?

Wow, I just wrote a whole essay on Ugly Betty....if only school papers were so easily written!

On the Street.....Brera, Milano

I saved this shot for GQ but it didn't fit the page.
I love how this gentleman is really working the working buttonholes on his jacket.


ps this is also for all the requests for men on bikes!!

On the Street.....West Village Print, New York