My September Issue

When I first started this blog, I had no idea what I wanted to write about. So I wrote about sports, movies, and random things that I have a very strong opinion, like my attempt at getting rid of bullying from this face of the Earth. Okay, fine, I may not be able to get rid of it, but I can write about it in hopes that I am inspiring someone, somewhere. As I wrote several posts, I have found my own "topic" to focus on, and it should come as no surprise to those who know me in person: Fashion.

Yes, I'm one of those rare kind who is a big time space nerd that religiously reads Vogue. I mean really, Vogue is my bible. Sadly, I have absolutely no fashion freak friends in real life. I feel like there is some unspoken rule that if you are "serious" about your job, and if that said job is unrelated to fashion industry, you should not be a fashion freak out of fear that you may come across as "vain."

I object.

Legendary Anna Wintour could not have explained this any better in the documentary, The September Issue:

I think what I often see is that people are frightened about fashion. Because it scares them or make them feel insecure, they just put it down. On the whole, people that may say the mean things about our world, I think that's usually because they feel, in some ways, excluded or...not a part of the "cool group." So as a result, they just mock it. Just because you like to put on a beautiful Carolina Herrera dress or a pair of J Brand blue jeans instead of something basic from K-Mart, it doesn't mean that you're a dumb person. There is something about fashion that can make people really nervous. 

So. True. I know I'm making a generalized statement here, but some people think that in order to be taken "seriously," they have to look like, excuse my honesty, crap. Sure, if you show up at your work wearing a Dolce&Gabbana evening gown, you probably won't be taken seriously, unless your job requires you to put on that said dress. But then again, that's called common sense.

So why does fashion make some people nervous? Is it because fashion freaks secretly trash talk all those non-fashionable people behind your back? Before you go cry in the corner and throw one of your Forever 21's at us, let me explain.

First of all, most fashionistas are not born with this amazing sense of fashion. We have made some seriously ill-advised fashion choices in the past. At the very least, I know I did on more than one occasions. However, instead of being absolutely clueless about what looks good on me and what doesn't, I invested a significant time and effort in learning everything about fashion styling. I have gone through numbers of fashion magazines and studied each styling in the photo spread or one of those ad spreads. Also, whenever I go shopping, I try on more clothes than I would buy, so I would know what works for me and what doesn't. Unless you are a model, chances are that there are some looks that you just can't pull off no matter how much you love. For me, I look downright ridiculous in anything that has frills or anything that's in the soft color family, even though I like those super girly looks. What can I say, pink frilly dress and I were never meant to be.

So when one of the fashionistas make some "bitchy" comment about some outfit, we actually know what we're talking about. Honestly, we mean well and we just want you to look the best version of yourself. Some people who are "sort of" into fashion take that as a serious offense but we just shrug it off. Sure, inner beauty is what matters the most, I absolutely agree. You can wear the most amazing Alexander McQueen gown with a pair of Jimmy Choo stilettos, but if you forget your brain, well, what a waste of a lovely outfit. Now, imagine you're meeting someone for the first time. Do you want to make a positive impression and build up from there, or make a negative impression and work your way up to turn that negative number to positive? and no, you can't just pull off more negativity in hopes that negative times negative becomes positive. That doesn't work in real life. So really, what's "vain" and "dumb" about knowing what would make you the best version of yourself? I would say that is one intelligent move.

In case you are wondering, yes, I have given some styling tips to my friends. Let's just say that after following my styling advices, they started getting compliments on how they look, and they have never gotten that before. Yup, I pretty much rock. :D

With that, I'm closing my own September Issue.

xoxo,
N

Alexander McQueen Women's Pre Spring/Summer 2012 Collection

What do you do to unwind after a long day of work? Aside from the usual things like, reading, TV, working out, cooking, etc, there's one thing that always puts me in a good mood. For someone who adores high fashion, there is nothing more wonderful than staring at the clothes by your favorite designer online, while Keane plays in the background. (If you wanna snicker, you have 5 seconds before I give you a dirty look.)

If you're a reader of this blog (Thanks!), you probably figured that by "my favorite designer," I mean Alexander McQueen. I even have a category called "Alexander McQueen" and if that's not a dead giveaway, I'm not sure what would be.

Women's Pre Spring/Summer 2012 Collection lookbook is just SO gorgeous, you have got to see it for yourself. Good news: Remember that "super-wide belt over a jacket" style that was in about 4-5 years ago?   According to Sarah Burton, it's back! Now I get to wear my belts and totally be in style, or even ahead of style.

Notice how the belt matches with the embellishment on the pockets of the dress? I like how the style is put together, but not so over-the-top matching. Subtle matching says "I'm a classy fashionista," while over-the-top matching screams "fashion rookie."

Animal prints are still in next year! Maybe I should stock up on some leopard and snakeskin prints, since those two are such an "it" material this fall/winter.

Oh my gorgeous. Seriously, whoever first came up with black and gold pairing is a freakin' genius. Wait...it's probably Coco Chanel, right? Anyway, back to this gorgeous evening gown. I love the distressed layered skirt; it's so McQueen. Edgy, yet classy.
 

The cocktail dress version of the above evening gown, I presume. Okay, I'm running out of synonyms for "gorgeous." Fabulous? Beautiful? Well, you get the point.
 

Here, the contrast between the metallic bodice and flowing skirt is perfectly balanced. Giving the dress the tough-and-sweet dual personality that most women have these days. You gotta be a fighter to be absolutely fabulous at what you do, but that doesn't mean that you've given up on your girly side. I feel like this dress represents that duality in a perfect way. Maybe I'm going overly sentimental over a dress, but you know what, I got my blog so I get to interpret it however the way I want. :)

And by the way, yes, I do have a thing for Brit-rock.

xoxo,
N