Apologies and updates..

Hello darlings!

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the SOS! dry spell. This was never meant to happen. Unfortunately, last week was my first week back in Ireland, so there was lots of unpacking, adjustment, college, and laziness going on. There was also an element of 'blogger lack of inspiration', which hits most bloggers at some point. Blah blah blah....

Sorry.

Here are a few updates..

-I started college last Monday, and I am now officially a final year medical student. eep.

-Fiona is still in Madrid, having the time. I miss her.

-I've vowed to 'not shop until my rent and other important bills have been sorted out'. I bought some Mimi Holiday stuff and a few bargains from Pennys (Primark) the next day. FAIL.

-Pennys (Primark) purchases: A draped black jersey jumpsuit, a high waisted draped indigo jersey skirt, black and white Marilyn Monroe canvas, black and white Elvis Presley canvas, bamboo socks trio (in purple, lavender and grey), and a coconut shower gel. All for 14 euro. Shocking.

-The newly purchased black jumpsuit is super comfy, and can (and will be) worn as PJs.

-The 2 Black and white canvases were bought for 1 euro each. (And the skirt was 1 euro as well!) ONE EURO! That's 3 and a half coffees from Starbucks. I coloured in some parts of the canvases with neon markers. Pop art galore for cheaps.

-I hate unpacking more than I hate packing. It took me days to get through the process.

-I need more closet space. Hangers won't fit on the rails and clothes won't fit in drawers anymore. This is a major disaster.

-I am sad that I won't be in NY, LDN, or Paris for Fashion Week.

-I finally have a professional camera! I decided to buy the Canon EOS 500, and it is amazing. Sorry, not it, he. His name is Gustav, and we work well together.

-I am obsessed with sheer at the moment. And this is what I wore today..

Asymmetrical knit/sheer top (Armand Basi One), Black top worn underneath (Zara), Pinkish purple skinny jeans (Urban Outfitters), Felt/wool grey necklace (Giia @Etsy), socks (H&M), Black and white cutout brogues (Solea), Bag (Miu Miu)

-I ordered a few things from asos.com while I was away. Coming back home with a package waiting for you is always lovely. The Armand Basi One top I'm wearing here is one of them. This is what I love about this top: The asymmetry, the sheer part, and the knit part. This is what I don't love about this top: The buttons are fake. They don't actually button/unbutton, they are just sitting there.

Ah well.

xx-LJ

Time flies..

Tis that time of the year again.. Summer break is officialy over.
POOF. GONE.
Where does time go? It was a lovely summer.. I'm nostalgic already.

PS- Packing is a mother.

xx-LJ

Dream, dream, dream..

If ever asked what my favorite movie was, I could never really just pick one. These are a few of my favorite movies: Big Fish, The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, The Royal Tenenbaums, Little Miss Sunshine, The Science of Sleep.. and the list goes on.

The reason why I'm even mentioning some of my favorite movies on SOS! is because of Ulrika Sandstrom's S/S 09 collection. Her light, soft and dreamy collection is inspired by the French film "The Science of Sleep" by Michel Gondry.

Image stills from The Science of Sleep

In the movie, Gael García Bernal plays a character who has difficulty separating his crazy vivid dreams from reality. It's a must watch film, if only for Gael alone..

"The beautiful and somewhat naïve artwork of the film has been the main inspiration when creating the collection, where dreams and escapism stand in focus – things that are also considered being the very fundament of fashion."

The collection stands out in its' basic and soft styles, with insertions of pastel circular cutouts. The geometrical cutouts are very summery and reminiscent of petals and butterflies' wings. Fabrics used include light and dark washed denim, golden voile and netting and pastel polyester georgette.

I love love love the high waisted ruched denim trousers, the cream dress with the golden netting sleeves, the lilac jumpsuit, and the multi pastel coloured top with circular cutout detail..

...and I also love love love Gael García Bernal. Yum.

xx-LJ

Come here, my fairy tale delight..

Bebaroque is one of those labels that really does need to have it's own boutique. I could imagine myself walking into a whimsical fairy tale-like shop and literally wowing at everything that comes across my way.

I have 4 beautiful pairs of Bebaroque tights/socks.. The fuscia tights with the black fringed seem, the white tights with the jewel encrusted tattoo print, the black tights with the black tassle and golden print, and the turquoise mismatched sailor tattoo socks. Although prices may be more expensive than your regular pair of tights, they are definitely well worth it. The designs and prints are unique, and they are thick and strong. Don't get me wrong, I do like buying myself some Pennys/Primark tights, but those never really last for me beyond 2 wears.

Bebaroque's A/W 09-10 collection has me ogling at their website numerous times. I'm restraining myself from spending for now, but I know my craving will be unleashed soon enough. And I know that when I stop restraining myself, I'd have trouble choosing what to get!

There's the..
-pair of tights with polka dots and multi coloured confetti like sparkling crystals..
-the return of their classic feather printed tights, but it's slightly different this time..
-the tights that are inspired by Russian lace and fairy tales..
-the bodies....oh dear lawd, the bodies... sheer is my new obsession. The tattoo printed body compensates for my lack of tattoos, and me wanting to get an actual tattoo makes me want this body even more. And also, the black body with the velvet print..gasma. Think of the possibilities you could wear these as part of your outfits.. The line between lingerie and outgoing has vanished!
-the golden snake printed tights..
-the tights with the embroidered bows.. so adorable.

Their prices for the A/W collection start at 25 pounds..
My "no more shopping" plan is not working..

PS: There are still some summer sale items left on their website.. just saying.

xx-LJ

The 2009 hairstyles..

I've reached that time again where I feel the need to change my hair. The last time I changed my hair was in early June, when I trimmed it and dyed it almost-black-but brown with hints of midnight blue. Of course the midnight blue was not apparent at all.. The only evidence of the blue was when I showered and it was a blue bath.

I need a new look and I'm open to any suggestions. I'd like to grow my hair long, so maybe a new colour? Or maybe a few snips here and there? I'm also considering an undercut. Lots of hair styles and colours are running through my mind, but there's nothing in particular jumping out at me.

I was chatting to my friend today trying to come up with hair styles for a wedding she's invited to next week.

So, I did some research..

What you think?

xx-LJ

Socks with a view..

If you're like me, in an ultimate holiday mode, but not in a place that feels vacation-y.. why not just sit down and stare at your feet? As my summer holiday is approaching it's end, I'm beginning to think that this is more and more of a genius idea. Milky Way Watchers have created a collection of beautifully printed socks that lean more towards wearable pieces of art. The socks and knee-highs are hand painted and hand stitched with sporadic grey brush swooshes, and picturesque fishing boats and green forest illustrations.

The socks also have different prints on front and back make these one size socks wearable both sides.. legends. They are available here.

xx-LJ

Talk to the finger..

They've been printed on tshirts, made into dolls, and now... finger puppets. The etsy shop Mulish Muse has created these adorable celebrity felt finger puppets including are all time favorites Karl Lagerfeld, Alber Elbaz, Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood, Christian Siriano, and...Anna Wintour.

I loved reading the character's descriptions. For example "Anna's feltie version is quite petite and will fit most super skinny fingers, but would do well on pens, pencils, chopsticks, and the like." and "Karl is a serious fellow. Serious about fashion, that is. He is a felt puppet that will fit a very thin modelesque type finger, pencil, or pipe cleaner. He is wearing a hand sewn Italian-like suit with stylish tie and starched collar. He also has his trademark ponytail. Basically, he's extremely fun for parties and is always in style."

I'd like to sew 5 designer finger puppets into a glove so I can carry them all with me wherever I go. I could be the crazy person on the bus talking to her fingers? I'd love that.

xx-LJ

In case you lose your glowstick..

I never imagined using "Markus Lupfer", "Glow in the dark", and "under pants" in the same sentence. But Who wouldn't love Markus Lupfer glow in the dark embroidered under pants?

These cutie pies are made exclusively for ASOS HIT, and of course were found on my late night ASOS arsing. I mean, think of the situations where these would come in handy.. What if you were out of glow sticks at a rave? What if you needed to find something in your room but couldn't be bothered to switch your lights on? What if you just simply wanted a pair of dark embroidered under pants just for the sake of it?

See...they are handy..and for only 25 pounds.. not bad at all. They would make lovely presents too, don't you think? But please don't buy them for your parents.

xx-LJ

H&M whoring..

Since I've been home, I've been doing nothing but eat, sleep & meet friends and family. It sounds OK when you think about it, but in reality, eating goes on in every occasion and you reach a point where you think "A stroll down a park would be lovely now.."

So, this was bound to happen.. I did some unnecessary shopping. Or more like H&M whoring.. I got 2 poof shouldered shirts, both exactly the same, except one is floral and one is cream. Have you noticed I've been wearing more shirts lately?

I also bought high waisted sand coloured cords, and a purple ruched extra extra poof sleeved top. And.. And.. I got a floral brocade clutch with 3 mini rosettes.

This is how I'm going to justify it:
1- Even though I did lots of shopping in London/USA, most of them are unsuitable for wearing at home.
2- I love H&M. This was expected.
3- I haven't shopped for a while. This was my reward.

....wait.. I'm not going to justify this anymore. I love my new stuff. And that's that.

I wore my new floral shirt and clutch today. I did a mistake of taking this photo with my floral curtain behind me. It looked like I was camouflaged in a garden war. So, with my poor photoshop skills, I places myself in front of this photo I took in Central Park. It is where I'd like to be right now..

I'll show you the other items I got in a near future post!

To New York readers, please give NYC a big kiss from me.
xx-LJ

The LJ impostor (Part 2)..

Previously on "The LJ impostor": Read here.

Here's a little update and a bit of Friday night entertainment..

It turns out that a friend has mistakenly accepted this Shaikha person's random facebook invitation. A few phone calls, and I had access to my imposter's facebook page.

Here's a look a little look..

What's next? I have a few ideas in mind. I'm still open to mean, witty, destructive and bitchy suggestions. *Insert evil laugh here*

Since this has happened, I've had a 100% support from friends, bloggers and readers. Thanks everybody! And I know that a lot of bloggers have had the same situation happen to them as well. I suppose there comes a time in every blogger's laugh, where if you're photos are on display to the public, someones is bound to steal them. But Shaikha, you've screwed around with the wrong person.

xx-LJ (again, no xx for you Shaikha bitchface)

Pastel dive..

Ever so cool and talented Julian Louie studied architecture at Cooper Union before deciding to diverge along the fashion design track. His expertise and skill in both fields were manifested beautifully in his S/S 09 collection, where he combined 15 hard vs soft looks. The garments were mainly silk faille and neoprene body conscious mini dresses. And I want all of them 15 looks... ALL. OF. THEM.

The colour panel consisted of a background block of neutral colour such as black, beige and grey, with inserts of pastel purple, pastel pink, coral, sky blue and midnight blue. To add to the beauty of the whole thing, Louie embellished the garments with Swarovski crystal.

What I love most about the collection is the fact that Louie has made wet-suit-looking-body-cons look very chic with his beautiful detailing such as the bold zippers, sweet ruffles and crystal embellishment.

The materials and fabrics used are contrasting in a way that “One is very utilitarian American athletic and the other is very girly and ornate,” says Louie, “And when you combine them they become something jarring and new.”

(On another note, did you notice Anya Rozova from cycle 10 ANTM in the last picture of the first set?)

As for creating diffusion lines with high street shops.. “I’m not trying to offer an everyday wardrobe. I don’t want to create a lifestyle,” Louie says. “I like the more rarefied aspect of fashion.”

So basically, now we need to track him down and find out where he sells his gorgeous dresses. Are you with me gals and boys?

xx-LJ

Heads will turn, twist and roll..

Let's play some Yeah Yeah Yeahs, shall we?

With all the show porn posts out there, I thought I'd entertain you with a bit of Sunday night/Monday morning costume porn post. So whether you're reading this at the end of a lazy Sunday evening, or you're waking up cranky on a Monday morning, this should brighten your day. Well, it better do anyway, or else......

I first heard about Christian Joy when I googled about Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeah's stage costumes. She must have one of the best stage costumes...ever...maybe going head to head with Roisin Murphy. Joy received no formal training and started out creating DIY tees, and moved on to making supercreative costumes for the likes of Karen O.

Read this article about what Karen O has to say about Christian Joy's designs. Go on...

Now for the costume porn...
PS: Fiona, these are dedicated to you.

Joy also has a clothing range, and I fell in love with the lookbook. It's not really modelled in the sense of "pose" and "shoot". It's more like looking through a very cool person's photo album of their crazy days out.

....and that's all folks!

xx- LJ