Its a pretty depressing weekend because I have to work But Stephie is definitely having enough fun for the both of us (her travel posts are making me so jealous!), so at least one half of the FN team is having a wonderful time.

On the other hand, coming across this photo of the Ferragamo 80th Anniversary cake amuses me quite a bit

Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong designed this Rainbow Shoes Cake, which is made of English Fruit Cake and chocolate.

Actually, if you don’t tell me its a cake, at first glance I will think that its a real pair of shoes! Brilliantly life-like if you ask me.

It was on display at the Mandarin Cake Shop at Central, but I’m not sure if its still there. Maybe someone has already eaten it.

I will like to eat the buckle please

Eat my shoes!
Dottie

It’s been a fruitful day, and the second last day of London! This is it, really, I declare London to be the best city for shopping in Europe. 

It’s hard to be cohesive, but let’s see now. It’s not convenient to post photos as I’m borrowing a laptop from a friend I’m staying with, so I’ll walk you through a descriptive version of my day. In the morning, I popped into Harrods for a bit and saw a fluffy black brolly for 100 pounds. Is that price-tag even legal?! 

Suddenly, it was 2pm and I was set to meet Kit, fashion freelancer and style-hunter as well.

It’s my first time meeting her, but I knew there was major fun to be had with someone who knows London well! We explored Portobello Market together, and I got to understand a lot more of the London fashion scene from the shopping trip which stretched to three hours.

The vintage stalls at Portobello Market were mindblowing - each individual item was one of a kind and frankly most pieces were decently priced. There was even a stall selling deconstructed Victorian-era coats amongst other precious items. 

It definitely helped to shop with someone living in the city, she pointed out vintage stores and tiny corners of stalls which I’d never have noticed if I were to explore the place on my own. I walked away with a pretty fabulous snake bangle with ruby eyes, which upon reflection was probably influenced by my visit to the Ancient Egyptian exhibition at the Louvre.

I was asking her about general shopping in London, such as where on earth I can get a faux leather jacket in Spring for an affordable price, and her answers all pointed me to Primark. With a bit of time left, off we went to Primark, with a bit of poking around in Beyond Retro.

Beyond Retro was fab - I feel silly explaining this as I’m a tourist, but it is this vintage store with several branches around London. I saw crinoline skirts and vintage red military jackets, different colored top hats, among other gems. I found the branch near Oxford Circus to be an amazing experience, but it’s supposed to be the smallest one - I need to be mentally prepared to enter the big one, then! 

At Primark, I grabbed the nearest leather jacket I saw. It turned out to be what I was looking for, and with the original price tag of 21 pounds I had to grab it. I figured it will be less than what I have to pay in Singapore for a leather jacket anyway, but after double checking the receipt, it turned out to be on sale for 8 pounds. Could be an off-season sale item, but I majorly scored on this one! 

After that I regrettably had to head off to watch Les Misérables, which I’ve been wanting to watch for more than a decade. At the end of that, I was definitely not dry-eyed - it ranks up there with Phantom of the Opera, which I caught on the Singapore leg of its world tour. One of the best things about a long-running musical is the great teamwork of the cast, so the entire performance was smooth and very magnificent.

Once again, sorry for the lack of photos.

A blissful Stephie

Last leg of the trip, and I’m very very exhausted, but in the good way of course (:

I’m staying with a friend of my travelmate, and there are 6 Singaporeans in this London flat. I feel like a student too, with a housemate cramming his study notes next to me, and two more playing Warcraft and online mahjong on my right.

Of course, in London I must do what Londoners do! So far the weather is just what I expect London to be like. Wet, cloudy, drizzling every five minutes on and off. It is weird but I’m kind of glad its like that, because the weather matches my expectations of the place!

I did a walking tour again today, as I did in Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. My post for help on itinerary pointed me towards the walking tour and it took care of the touristy part of the trip easily. If you plan to visit Europe, please do check out the walking tours! 

I’ve also climbed St. Paul’s Cathedral, and with aching calves I set off to conquer Oxford Circus. What a heaven that was, together with Carnaby Street. In three hours I explored close to thirty stores, vintage and high street alike. Uniqlo was fab, Urban Outfitters was frankly a tad overpriced, the mega Topshop was mind-blowing, especially the cute shoe section. I’d also bought my top hat from Top Man and will expect to be strutting around Singapore with it, as well as white heart shaped sunglasses.

So far, I am loving London, especially since there is no language barrier! (:

Your friend in foreign lands
Stephie

Adrian C of Fashion Verbatim very aptly wondered if anyone has ever questioned Marc Jacobs’ godliness.

Well, he has to be a god of some kind. If anyone other than him sports a tattoo of a cartoon character, I will think they look completely daft. But Marc Jacobs with his Spongebob Squarepants tattoo - its quirky cool Of course, I’m displaying biased fangirl sentiments unabashedly, but I don’t really care in this case.

Recently, Jacobs co-stared in a shoot for NY Times with French actress Elodie Bouchez. It was a very clean, sparse, behind-the-scene kind of shoot, where there is minimal distraction from the characters and the clothes.

In various pictures, Marc is characteristically (as a designer) styling and helping Elodie with her outfit.

I’m thinking perhaps it is not that Marc Jacobs is a god. Maybe it is just good old charisma.

Two days ago, Stephie sent me a frantic SMS, brimming over with excitement, telling me that she’s just saw Marc Jacobs! I felt super thrilled for her, but a little forlorn I wasn’t there to share the moment. Surely seeing fashion’s current golden boy in Paris is a travel anecdote that is worth retelling many times over

(Photos: NY Times)

Glimpsing Marc Jacobs in Paris - priceless!
Dottie

The Boyfriend is currently in Japan on vacation with his bachelor mates. I thought about tagging along, but I would have stuck out like a sore thumb. With Stephie still in Europe, I feel a little left behind this few days. But there’s a silver lining to every dark cloud, and in this case, it’ll be how the Boyfriend will be able to help me get cute Japanese cosmetics!

Yesterday, I was frantically doing research on what there is to buy in Japan. Most people told me to grab some of their cosmetics because there are so much good stuff to be had in that department. So I googled around and found A Touch of Blusher. PJ from the UK is obviously enamored with Japanese cosmetics because she writes so much about them, which is really helpful for my purpose!

Going through her extremely well put-together lists of Japanese make-up and skincare (she even has a special All about Japanese Cosmetics category), I discovered Japanese drugstore brands that looks incredibly pretty! And they are supposedly really good - they totally changed my mindset regarding shelf-top cosmetics (I don’t use them very much).

Here are my favourites:

Love Clover

The packaging for Love Clover products is irresistible for me because it is always ultra-girlie and dreamy. Like something you’ll find on a princess’ vanity!

I’d email PJ regarding these PonPonCheek from Love Clover face powder/blusher, and she replied really promptly. I will be getting this - hopefully the Boyfriend will be able to find it!

I’m really tempted to get their compact and loose powder too. I mean, how adorable are those powder puffs with the lace?!

Lavshuca

I have a thing for how my lipstick looks. If the packaging is beautiful, it scores a lot of bonus points with me and I’m usually sold. Yes, I’m aware that I’m superficial

I will buy these lippies from Lavshuca just to look at them.

I may be going to Japan in a few months time myself I suspect I will go quite crazy over these when I’m there (and these will make perfect presents for my girlfriends!). Must remember to have extra packing space…

Dreaming of the Land of Cute (Girls + Makeup),
Dottie

With Dior unveiling its Resort 2009 collection, Resort season has officially begun! Actually, I’m still a little confused about exactly when Resort season starts…

The ethnic-inspired pieces in the Dior collection didn’t really appeal to me, but I love, love, love the full, swishy tiered skirts, which is one of the main themes.

What I don’t get are the huge, Victorian-looking gowns towards the end of the show. They’re just not very flattering, even on the skyscraper-tall models, and that says a lot.

The jacket is really sweet, and kind of reminds me of the traditional Korean costume!

Even the shrug is tiered! Really cute, methinks.

So I’ll say that I really like the tiered skirts, but not really digging the tiers when they are made super-sized (as on the gowns) - I find that the layers are a lot more flattering when they are shorter.

Speaking of which, I just saw an adorable tiered dress, which I am thinking of getting with my next paycheck

Time to cruise people!
Dottie

My train’s going off in three hours, but I do have time to share some outfit pictures in Paris - the City of Lights or the Capital of Style, if you like. Also my favourite city in the world!

I’ve spent more time sitting in cafes and browsing boutique stores like Colette this vacation as compared to last year when I was here with Dottie. Also of course just basking in the sun, having picnics, and general “getting away” activities.

In the train stations, you get to see perfectly dolled up grandmothers clutching their walking sticks and going to the Louvre, while along the streets crazily stylish women stride in gladiator heels of towering height. I saw a woman rocking the Chanel ankle bag and my jaw seriously dropped into my cappucino. She was also wearing a white playsuit with a deep Vneck from the back, and perfect hair.

Sitting along a cafe with full view of the Eiffel sipping a cup of coffee for 8 euros (that is 20 cups of kopi-si gao), I sat for three hours just people watching and I think I saw Marc Jacobs walking into Crazy Horse, just two stores down from my cafe. It’s too ridiculous but I’ll choose to believe my eyes.

At the Eiffel Tower and in the Louvre

Picnic along the gardens of Versailles

Front row seats, cappucino, people watching, while waiting to see the Eiffel twinkle at night

Running for my train
Stephie

Recently I’d developed a crush on owls - I know they are birds of prey, but in print/accessories form, they are just incredibly cute!

So I was surfing around, not really with my mind on owls, when I came across this print:

Party of Nine is actually a Giclee print (does anyone know what this means?) of an original illustration by Aline Yamada. I love it to bits, so its now my desktop wallpaper But if you can’t appease yourself with a digital version, you can buy a hard copy of it (on super fancy, museum-quality paper) that has been signed by the artist

Clicking a bit more around Little Paper Planes (which by the way is a wonderfully chirpy site of artists’ works to flip through), I came across another owl item - an adorable silver owl necklace!

(Hoot! Hoot! Owl Necklace by Crowded Teeth)

There are a lot of owl necklaces out there now, but this will have to be the cutest I’d seen so far! I’m really close to clicking the ‘buy this’ icon, but I’d decided to scout around on eBay to see if there are any alternatives, which will hopefully cost a fraction of what I’ll have to pay for this critter!

I’m keeping my fingers crossed, so wish me luck!

(Photos: Little Paper Planes)

An Ode to Hedwig,
Dottie

Somehow, the old has become the new new and vintage has never been hotter. While once our mothers would have frowned upon wearing someone’s old threads, we embrace pre-loved clothings. Thrifting has evolved into passionate pursuit for many, and we’re no longer afraid to get our hands dirty in search of that perfect vintage dress - and if we’re lucky, it’ll be ours for just a few bucks

And if vintage clothing is the coolest thing since sliced bread, why not vintage accessories? Rather than just wearing your grandmother’s pearls, up the quirky index with assemblage vintage jewelery! Re-arranging and putting together various vintage pieces adds a contemporary vibe and injects unexpected twists.

HOARD, an online shop specializing in one-of-a-kind designer accessories, hosts an Exclusives line featuring international designer collections of vintage and vintage-inspired jewelery. There are four collections in all, and here are some of my favourites

ETCETRIX

Involved in the ‘refashioning of vintage elements’, Pamela Burns works with a diverse range of materials and techniques, sometimes incorporating things as surprising as bits of postcards and maps.

This In Full Bloom Necklace is reconstructed from a ’60s vintage brooch. I like that its meshes strong elements (the sun dial brooch) with sweet details (the tiny flowers). It also hangs on a long golden chain, my choice of poison when it comes to necklaces

JORDAN STULTZ

Claiming to design for the ‘women who clings to antiquity’, Stultz’s designs are the closest thing you can ever get to wearing non-ornamental antiques. There’s a sense of humour in these pieces which makes me smile.

The Hey Ladies! necklace is a clever piece for the witty girl. It is actually a real brass plate from a bathroom door from the ’50s to ’60s. For nothing else, it will be a great conversation starter

T8DESIGNS

For those of us who secretly want to indulge our fairy princess fantasies, having an accessories collection of medieval royal theme should definitely be helpful.

We no longer have to worry about losing one side of our earrings because in the here and now, earrings do not necessarily have to match! And why should they, when they look as pretty as these Modern Looking Glass Asymmetrical Earrings. The ‘looking glass’ is made with a real vintage optical lens encased with a yellow gold herringbone motif.

PARAPHERNALIA

This shouldn’t be new to some of you, because I’d seen some of the other bloggers wearing pieces from this range Taking the odd and the uncanny (a tooth pendent?!) and turning them into wearables, these necklaces are certainly not for the wallflowers because it will be impossible not be noticed in these.

I think that Selina of Flying Saucer already have the Little Checkered Coat necklace, but I am lusting after this Little Dress necklace, simply because I think it will look super cute if I wear it with a dress - sort of like a dress on dress.

In collaboration with Fashion Nation, the good people at HOARD are sponsoring our May giveaway This time around, we’re giving the lovely Bowie Necklace to one of you lucky readers!

We chose it for its versatility (you can wear it in 2 ways) - and also because we can’t resist bows! To join the giveaway contest, simply email us to tell us which is your favourite piece from the Exclusives line and why. The most interesting answer wins, so don’t just tell us its pretty!

We will be running this contest for two weeks until the 27th of May, so hurry

There’s more good news coming your way. There will be a 10% discount for all Fashion Nation readers at HOARD! Upon check-out, type in the discount code - FashionNation - and the discount will be duely reflected. In conjunction with the Great Singapore Sale 2008, this promotion will run from today til the 31st of July, so if you are already eying something, this is a good time to get it. (Important: Please choose the ‘Funds Transfer’ option instead of the Paypal option.)

Feel free to ask us any questions if you’re unsure of anything

We hope you flood our mailbox, because we’re dying to give this away. Good luck!

We don’t HOARD the good stuff - we share it with you,
Dottie

A couple of days ago, I took a day trip from Amsterdam to visit the Zaanse Schans windmills! I’d say the windmills are definitely a must-visit. It’s a 45 minutes journey from Amsterdam Centraal Station via train and a boat-ride.

By a stroke of good luck, every city I’ve visited had the best weather - cloudless, sunny, with a cool, crisp breeze. A pair of shades should definitely not be considered a fashion statement here in Europe. It is frankly a necessity, together with water and ice-cream (:

(Zara green dress, bow-flats from Far East Plaza, black cardigan)

My outfits for Europe are mostly suitable for lounging around in the sun having picnics and walking around for twelve hours non-stop, so flats are a necessity. Cardigans to throw on and off depending on the wind and various colored dresses are also handy, as are scarves.

Coincidentally, it’s also the day I got sunburnt! I forgot to put on my sunblock just for a day, and the heavens decide to put out the sunniest day in Amsterdam for ages.

The place has little huts with souvenir shops, and I met the loveliest lady, Brigette, who owns a toy store there. I almost bought the whole shop, so my luggage is currently exploding with the craziest souvenirs, from magnets to a mini-windmill for me to stick out of my window.

 The flowers were lovely, be it wild or cultivated. (:

A burnt Stephie