Sexy Holiday Tops

I love getting dressed up for the holidays. Bring out the satin and the sequins! However, I don't like to spend a lot of money on something I only get to wear once a year. These satin tops by Vera Wang for Kohls are super affordable and you can dress them up or they can also be paired with wooly sweaters for a feminine fall or winter look. Hence you get to wear them more than once.

Sequin Tops Galore

I have spotted so many cute sequined tops and dresses lately. I love this one by Jamison, and the back is all cotton which gives it a more casual feel. It would look great with dark skinny jeans.

Stylish Boots for the Snow

Ice storm? No problem? Stay warm, comfy and dry in these stylish boots. I love the laces on these Tretorn Ballena Rubber Boots. The extra detail really sets them apart from the typical rubber boot. Or try the Tory Tory Burch Winnie Rubber Boot $295. A bit more expensive but you can hardly tell they are rubber at all. Both styles available at

Splashes of Red

If you are like me and simply cannot Glam it out in Red, then you might want to use splashes of red to light up your AW06 wardrobe instead.

Starting with the basic accessories, spice up your outfit and keep warm at the same time with red scarves and boots. I especially LOVE how they matched the snowflake patterned red scarf with white and denim in the D&G runway (left), and the Moschino Cheap & Chic on the right is just so cute!

Or you can take a tip from the Givenchy (left) and D Squared (right) runway and get red belts! Pair a simple and neat one for a sophisticated chic look. Or a funky bow one for a more casual outfit.

Then of course there are the red bags as in the Diane von Furstenburg and Vuitton runway.

For something more interesting, take a page from the Givenchy and Marc by Marc Jacobs runway and have red gloves or red sleeves sticking out for layers!

To achieve the D&G look, pair your cutest white and denim winter outfits with these adorable scarves from American Eagle (left) and Urban Outfitters (right).

Also available at Urban Outfitters are these fabulous boots and skimmers. I especially adore these slouchy platform boots. And those skimmers are just perfect for everyday wear on campus under jeans and skirts.

Is it just me, or are big red bags just everywhere? I know at least 3 people with big red bags. These two are from Shop Intuition (left) and Levi’s (right). The Shop Intuition one reminds me very much of this black one they have at Chanel.

Belt-wise, check out these ones from Urban Outfitters (left) and Elegantly Waisted from Shopbop (right). The one from Shopbop is definitely “elegantly waisted” although it can be pretty hard to carry off correctly, even the model doesn’t look that perfect in the picture.

For something simpler to wear, there is this adorable headband from Marc by Marc Jacobs (left) and this plastic bangles by Kenneth Jay Lane from Shopbop (right).

Season Premieres of Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars

Last Tuesday was the season 7 premiere of my all-time absolute favourite show, Gilmore Girls. With the original producers, Amy and Daniel Palladino gone, I was a bit worried Gilmore Girls will lose its spark. Nevertheless, I was super excited to watch the premiere. I'm not going to go into the details of the episodes because some people have not watched it yet, but let me just say that after such a long summer break, episode 701 really got me hyper for the coming season.

In the premiere, we see most of our favourite characters (except for the grandparents.) I love Rory and Logan! Rory's got such shiny hair and pretty clothes! And that rocket thing was SO sweet!

The lovely Paris and her SAT prep business scene is my favourite scene in the episode. And the loveable citizens of Stars Hollow are also featured quite prominently. It's good to see Taylor thinking of some random scene to 'improve' Stars Hollow again!

Predictably, Lorelai and Luke continue their fight. To be honest, Luke really deserved to be told off after his 'I need more time' thing last season. And most importantly, what is Gilmore Girls without mother and daughter talk -in super speed of course.

*Squeals* OK I think I should stop gushing how much I love Gilmore Girls. I can't wait for tomorrow's episode. Oooh, speaking of tomorrow, Veronica Mars' Season 3 premieres tomorrow night. For those of you who don't know Veronica Mars, it's about a student plus part-time PI dealing with life and solving cases with lots of cool ideas and gadgets. If you like GG, you're sure to love VM too, so remember to watch Veronica Mars after Gilmore Girls tomorrow night on the CW

Stylish Business Card Holders

Talking to my friend the other day, the topic of where to buy stylish business card holders came up. I've never given this subject much thought as I've never really had much use for it myself, but apparently it is a very useful accessory in business and getting a good one is all part of the looking professional package. Anyway, the first thing that popped up in my mind were the classic leather makers: Vuitton and Goyard.

They made everything else, so I felt sure they had some. And they do. Personally out of these two, I would prefer the Goyard one because comparatively the Goyard one looks younger and fresher. Similarly Coach also makes card cases such as these both printed and in plain leather. Right now, I like the plain white one because it looks just soooo pretty. But alas, practically speaking, the black will probably win out.

As it turns out, Dior also makes card holders. I am loving the logo-ed one on the left. The huge CD on the right is a bit too much.For something simpler and less branded, Prada and Ferragamo has also made some card holders in plain leather, which are simple and chic.

For something really young and stylish, I adore this metallic credit card holder (which I'm sure also makes a great business card holder) from Marc by Marc Jacobs. The similar but leather one from Tod's is also very interesting. One of my colleagues this summer had a pretty simple and elegant card holder made of metal. Her's was from Tiffany's, like these two. The subtle prints gives the simple box something a bit more.
For something more affordable, Urban Outfitters also makes these metal card holders. The stars are a bit too much for my tastes- especially for a business card holder. But I do like the engravings on the one on the right, its very feminine.

Hope this helps you all stay stylishly professional!

Simple Tees

Feeling casual the other day, I looked for the classic t-shirt and jeans combo in my closet (since summer I've rarely gone this path)- and suddenly realised how lacking I was in t shirts! I have like three acceptable t shirts in my wardrobe. The others were all too dressy or were leftover from my days of branded tees (thank god I grew out of that). Whatever happened to nice simple graphic tees?
So I went on a look out for it, and came across these gorgeous graphic ones from Dior and Karl Lagerfeld. I love the graphics, its so feminine yet cool.
For something cuter, try these Marc by Marc Jacobs tees. I love the city landscape one cause its just so me, but I don't really understand the little girl in the shark mouth. . .
Something simple, cool and slightly gothic, Chloe and See by Chloe has these two graphic tees.
I am not much of a rocker chick, but these two shirts from Morhpine Generation (available at ShopBop)makes me want to be one. Not only do they look cool alone, but it'll look awesome under a blazer too!
The while heels (and legs) on the red tee from Paul Frank and the music notes tee from Urban Outfitters is just great fun.

And strangky, I kind of like these two tees from Urban Outfitters with the sillohuettes and the subtly victorian gothic thing going on. Its very interesting.

And why does Urban Outiftters and Chip & Pepper not make tees for my uni?

SS06 Shoe Trend: Platform Pumps

I know it's already August and usually by now, any fashionable person would already be talking non-stop about the FW trends, but I want to have a bit more of summer fun. Besides, platform pumps are great for the coming FW season too.

The pumps below are from both SS and early Fall collections:

The platform pumps that started this trend -the Christian Louboutin pumps.

Louboutin-lookalikes by Aldos. These are also available in a wide range of colours, but I would suggest you stick to the basic colours to avoid looking tacky.

However, if the bright-coloured shoes are like these Top Shop ones, then the vibe they give off is definately more vintage and funky, rather than tacky.

This pair by Marc by Marc Jacobs was definately a favourite of magazines. I love them -they're so versatile and easy to match with clothes.

Marc by Marc Jacobs pump-style ballet shoes -Cute in a girly way. This pair is also very versatile and definately wearable for the coming FW season too.

Nina Melia heels -Very sparkly and eye-catching. These would be great for partying. I saw them at Macy's and loved the black ones, but they were a bit high for me!

These Miu Miu pumps are so classic-looking. They would look great with A-line dresses and dark jeans.

With patent leather and red being 'in' this season, this pair of Top Shop Mary Jane is a good choice to liven up dark outfits.

Top Shop Suede Platforms -Love them! These would look so adorable with so many of next season's outfits!

Step Up

Ever since I saw the trailer, I got obsessed with this movie. I looked foward to it so much that I even watched it on opening day.

I loved Step Up! OK, I suppose I was a bit disappointed that absolutely everything in it was so cliche: the characters, their social environment and the storyline -you could easily guess what's going to happen next. Nevertheless, I'm a real sucker for the 'boy from the wrong side of town maturing and falling in love with the better-off girl' storyline. It was also nice that there wasn't much of the rich-parent-disapproving-the-poor-boy scenario, which would have been beyond cliche.

If you love the ballerina look as much as I do, then you'll get loads of inspiration of how to wear layers and look like a street-ballerina. Most of the dancing outfits in the movie are probably not suitable for real ballet practices, (eg she wore pumps), but the outfits looked so girly cool that I could totally ignore the impracticality.

Admittingly, the clothes look pretty awful in these pictures, but they look way better when you actually see Nora (played by Jenna Dewan) moving and dancing in them.

And yes, the two main characters had friends with equally cliche but cute storylines.

The finale dance performance was amazing of course. It's touching to see all their hard work pay off, (although it was very unrealistic how they decided last minute to perform this routine without any practice before the performance.)

Bottomline: Step Up is fun, upbeat and one of the most cliche movies I have seen. And most importantly, the chemistry between Nora and Tyler (played by Channing Tatum) is simply amazing!

Stylish School Bags

To prepare us for the beginning of yet another school year, I thought I'd look at some stylish school bags to get us excited. Now when I think of school bags, the first thing that pops into my head is the typical Jansport backpack in its various shades that was ever so popular back in high school. But as I've proceeded to college, I've tried to veer away from them because a)one DOES need variety after so many years of backpacking b) it never matches with any of my outfits and c) its time to gradually move onto something a bit more sophisticated.

One of my favourite brands for school bags is Le Sportsac. Their bags are light, spacey, looks good and are waterproof. I especifically loved their LAMB collection back then. I used to buy one each season (and I still use them!), but alas, Gwen stopped designing bags for Le Sportsac and now their collections are not quite as impressive. But I think these two are ok, especially the black messenger one on the left, which will definitely match all your outfits!

Currently, I am using a brown Coach tote from last season that looks remarkably like the one on the left except mine is not as cool and is not reversible (although who wants the Coach tag hanging outside anyway? It was designed to be inside for a reason!). I really like it as again it matches everything, is sophisticated, fits everything and surprisingly doesn't get dirty that easily. For a smaller size, the one on the right is of a pretty good size too. It fits the average notebook and laptop snugly. Although I'm not sure how i feel about their new print here. . .
Another good choice is the classic Longchamp one (left). I used to not like it, but after seeing some really cool people on the streets with them, this design is definitely growing on me. And I can't help but lust after their new brown suede bag (right) this season. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

For something more sophisticated, I am loving these two from Anthropologie that sooo reminds me of Miu Miu this season.

I am also absolutely LOVING these Warhol totes from Urban Outfitters. They are SO COOL. I can totally see someone in a punky tee, skinny jeans and heels wearing this.

American Eagle has some pretty cute options too. The navy one is very reminescent of Longchamp's one except at a much friendlier price and the brown messenger the girl in the ad looks adorable.

The blue bow bag is pretty, feminine and of a size that is perfect for school. The strap also looks adjustable, so it can be worn long across or short as a tote! And this black messenger here is the epitome of a messenger bag. Definitely stylish school bag material. Oh and these two are from Urban Outfitters.

For more classic messengers, look to Accessorize. This suede brown one is beautiful. And this army green one with the leather details reminds me of Balenciaga for some reasons, but I can't quite put a finger on as to why.