Vogue Girl Korea’s coverage of Sea of Shoes

The photogenic and creative fifteen-year-old has been blogging about shoes and fashion since June 2008. With her mom, Jane, the pair share a massive shoe collection that range from the likes of Givenchy, Christian Louboutin, Chanel, Comme des Garcons, etc.

Jane’s amazing pair of Emanuel Ungaro ‘Branch’ heels

She is my profile personality pick for many reasons:
1. Wow, I can’t believe this girl is fifteen!
2. Her outfits come from anywhere and everywhere. Though she has some key high fashion pieces, her main staples are second-hand finds from her thirfting trips with mom Jane. This is definitely inspirational for anyone on a budget.
3. I’m INSANELY jealous of her shoe collection of course!!!
3. Her eye for color and mixing of different silhouettes, shapes and fabrics is astounding. This girl is going somewhere! A future Carine Roitfeld in training, anyone?

One of WWW’s Trend Reports

Promising to deliver up to two posts a day, the content at WhoWhatWear (or WWW) ranges from What She Wore (what celebrities were wearing), Styling Tips, Trend Reports and even videos which give a breakdown of what to wear when ‘Meeting the Parents‘ for example.

New girl of the month: Dree Hemingway

I love the fact beyond their initial focus on celebrity style, they have branched out into different areas such as having a ‘Shop the Closet‘ section where viewers can get direct links to the items they have introduced on the site. It reduces the hassle of trying to find the item online. How do we really know whether they are trying to push some products because they are being paid to do so? Well, we don’t… BUT they seem genuine in their love for fashion in general and attempts to help give advice to anyone who wants it.

My only gripe is that the items they feature on WWW usually have a price range that is out of my budget, so I am somewhat appreciative of the ‘Below $100′ post/section that comes up every now and then.

My Medoll with her wardrobe

Meet my Medoll (above), an interactive ‘paperdoll’ from Stardoll. She shops for designer outfits and interior stuff, designs her own dresses and home ware and can even be friends with celebrities like Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen (and dress them up too!).

Aimed at girls aged 7-17 (yes I am aware I am too old!), the creators of the site say that

“Stardoll is one of few places on the Internet developed with an emphasis on girls’ self-expression through fantasy and fashion play. Stardoll is a great place to spend time with friends and to meet other kids from all over the world. We are committed to Stardoll as an inspiring, safe and creative environment.”

The DNKY shop at Starplaza featuring the latest from their Spring collection

Why I like Stardoll (and think it is kid-friendly and kid-safe):
1. Kids below 13 automatically get a Kid Safe Membership, meaning that they will not be allowed to write any content on their own (for example, their Starblog, guestbook entries, etc)
2. Parents are encouraged to monitor and participate with their children in playing Stardoll.
3. There is a spending limit to how much Stardoll cash you can buy each week (and there is a lot of free stuff that is available too!)
4. They have filters that remove bad words and also human and automatic moderators who go through the ‘community’ parts to ensure that everything is in order.

This post may sound like a plug for Stardoll (and I swear I’m not being paid in any way, ha!) but the reason why I am waxing lyrical about this site is because I am very impressed with their content and the system in place. Yes, it may be targeted at young girls but as a young adult, I found the clothes and accessories trendy and in vogue and I had lots of fun mixing and matching them.

Imagine the impact this site will have… girl-children all over the world will be taught how to be stylish and have fun while doing it… will there be many Anna Wintours in-the-making? Exciting! Or maybe scary…?

Rumi, looking every inch the fashionista

When she first started blogging in 2007, her initial posts were more outward focused – collages of models she admired and respected, wish lists, etc – and definitely more wordy. Today she has evolved into a famous blogging personality because of the way she seems to mix and match outfits and look amazingly good in whatever she wears. She even receives gifts (free Lavin platforms?!?!) from many designers and stores because she always manages to pull these items off. She also has a following of at least 5,000 registered bloggers and countless other individuals visiting her site daily.

Rumi with Erin Wasson in New York

Rumi Neely, of Fashion Toast has certainly come far. Today, she has had press coverage in Teen Vogue, Vogue Paris, Elle Spain just to name a few. Refinery29 has even went as far as to say that no other blogger can put together outfits like her.

I have been following Rumi for about a year now, and she is one of the few fashion bloggers I check regularly for updates. Personally, I feel that she has evolved a lot style wise. In the past, her outfits were definitely more colourful but she mainly sticks to blacks, whites and greys now. It has also become very (for lack of a better phrase) ‘hipster/druggie chic’.

Which leads me to my next question: has all this media attention changed her? My short answer to that question would be a resounding yes! Now, I am in no way criticizing Rumi. Let me put it up front that I adore her fashion sense and in my eyes, that girl can do no wrong (so far!). But there has been a gradual shift in the types of outfits she now wears – she used to be more adventurous, but now she is adventurous ONLY in the whole ‘druggie chic’ way – and the way she presents herself on her blog. Some people have even commented that she can sometimes come off as snobby or arrogant. ‘Flaunting’ (I use this word lightly because fashion is a lot about designer items) a three-digit Alexander Wang sweater probably didn’t help matters either.

Still, this doesn’t detract from the fact that she constantly brings something new to the fashion table and that’s what’s bringing this reader back to her site over and over again.

Set up in July 2008, the website/community streetsnaps is steadily growing as its membership hits over 1500 people. So what has gotten this mostly Singaporean audience hooked?

Streetsnaps is a site solely dedicated to sussing out street fashion in Singapore. With other street style sites like The Sartorialist being in the limelight for awhile, it’s about time some attention was given to our tiny city-state!

Natasha Foo, writer for JUICE KL

Though the photos are not as professionally shot or as beautifully composed as the work of more famous street-style photographers, the liberal use of sepia tones invoke a kind of arty-fartsy glamour to the photos which make them delightful to look at. The sometimes kitschy editing helps to further the whole visual experience.

A stylish duo at Front Row Fashion Show

What do I have to say about this?

Firstly, bravo for being one of the pioneers and stepping forward on such a project. Their subjects may not always be the most sartorial, but they are still interesting nonetheless.

And secondly, thanks for restoring some of my faith toward Singaporean street style! After despairing at the lack of such outlets for showcasing Singaporean style + the fact that many Singaporeans seem to be stuck in their ‘i’m-wearing-this-only-because-it-is-soooo-TRENDY’ mode, I’m glad to know that there ARE fashion forward individuals in our 4.48 million (as of 21st Jan 2009!).

PAPERMAG’s rocking homepage (;

Featuring a varied array of features from Lifestyle, Music, Film and even the Stage, it will be able to keep you entertained for hours on end. But as your resident fashion-matron, I will be focusing on style, style, style… So, how does the Style section in PAPERMAG stack up?

Content wise, I wasn’t too impressed by the selection available. There were about four articles in total – they were a a nice mix and match and quite interesting to read but four was a little too few in my opinion. I DID enjoy reading about the woman who dressed Michelle Obama and launched catapulting designers like Jason Wu and Thakoon (just to name a few) into the know.

But what they lacked in content, they made up with their intensive coverage of the New York runways. I was impressed! They took the runways, repackaged it, made it concise and went beyond just reporting about the runway shows but also covered the backstage, front row and parties and best of all, quick chit-chats with fashion’s best like Diane von Furstenburg, Jill Stuart and Heidi Klum.

I also liked the fact that they took the best from the runways and showcased them in an easy layout with idiot-proof navigation.

Erin Wasson x RVCA, Spring 2009

End verdict: Great for little snippets of interesting information. Not for those who want deep, stimulating discussions on this season’s latest.

It was the birth of a quotable quote, when Louise (in the SATC movie) made a Netflix reference and revealed to Carrie the real reason why she could afford to carry the Denim Patchwork Bowling Bag from Louis Vuitton even though she was unemployed (and hence having that job interview with Carrie).

On the surface, the Bag, Borrow or Steal (or BBS) website looks like any other high-end luxury e-store like eluxury or bluefly.

But spend a few minutes on the website and you’d notice a world of difference.

In their About page, BBS writes that they

“started years ago when [their] co-founders started asking some honest questions: Why should women have to endure the emotional and financial sacrifices that accompany the endless search for the “right” accessory for every event, wedding, and dinner party? Why should celebrities, fashion editors, and socialites be the only ones allowed to borrow fashion accessories? Why not give everyone access to the perfect accoutrement for every occasion?”,

and so, the idea behind BBS was eventually conceptualized and they have since devised a pay-as-you-rent system where you can borrow a luxury bag in a dizzying amount of permutations (for a week, a month, two at a time, etc). For as low as USD$85/week or USD$250/month you can have the Balenciaga Giant Brief Tote dangling from you as arm candy. Since their success with bags, they have also expanded into renting out accessories like jewelry, sunglasses, and watches.

As a person surrounded by fashion news and editorials daily, I am constantly exposed and thus covetous of items which I would never be able to afford till when I’m 30 (though some people may very well argue that they still can’t afford those items even when they were older than 30). So when I first heard of the BBS concept, I was pretty excited!

Unfortunately, BBS and a couple of more similarly established sites like From Bags to Riches and Rent Me a Handbag only serve customers in the US and many times are restricted to certain areas like New York City. Their counterpart, The Bag I Want (or TBIW), was the only site which I could find that served Singaporean customers.

But as I was serving through these sites, I began experiencing a myriad of emotions.

At first, I was clicking and clicking away at the bags to see how much it cost to rent them. On TBIW, I could borrow a Miu Miu Large PVC Tote for SGD$59/week, which was even cheaper than then prices at BBS.

But at the end of the day, I pretty much convinced myself that this was not an option for me. Here’s why:

1. Cost
The Balenciaga Tote from BBS costs USD$250/month to rent. It’s retail price is set at USD$1,595. This means that BBS needs to rent the bag out for 6.5 months before it covers their initial cost. It also means that if you rented the bag for 3 months, you were halfway on your way to owning the real deal! The best part? No time frame; you can keep it forever.

2. The Long Waiting List
If you could keep a particular bag for as long as you wanted and I were 5th on the waiting list, then I may very well be getting my bag half a year later, when a new IT bag has arrived on scene and the one that you were waiting for has become ‘so last season’.

3. The Concept of a Luxury Item
Call me a snob, but the idea of a luxury item being passed around like a bag of old goods makes me mad. These things cost a lot of money… If you can’t afford, don’t carry it!

So for now, I’ll just slowly work toward that 30-year-old mark.

We Heart It is described as a:

“… social bookmarking tool for images and videos.
We see many great images on blogs and websites around, and now you can put everything you saw and liked on the same page to look again whenever you want.”

There are of course, many, many fashion photograph uploads such as this one:

A high fashion editorial

But what really inspired me weren’t the fashion photographs but the pictures that were cute, quirky or even nostalgic to me.

Some examples and reasons why I love them:

I can totally see these animal faces as a fun print for a flirty skirt (;

This image is very stark and edgy. It also reminds me of Louis Vuitton’s graffiti collection.

Swimsuits go retro! This reminds me of one of my most admired people – burlesque dancer, fetish star and fashion icon rolled into one – Dita Von Teese.

If like me, you do your monthly dash to Kinokuniya Bookstore to pick up the new issues of NYLON Japan and FRUiTS, then you’ll be as excited as I am about DROP (or in Japlish, DROP – STREET FASHION SNAP a.k.a dropsnap).

I love all the little details in this outfit – the scarf, the honey coloured leather sling and the stripey socks peeking out.

Reasons why you should be happy about DROP:
1. The fashion is totally whacked (in a good way of course),
2. It’s FREE! Hallelujah!
3. Wow, so many good-looking people (who aren’t necessarily model-esque),
4. They update on an almost daily basis, so you don’t have to page through your copy of FRUiTS slowly and painfully for it to last you the whole month.
5. If Japanese Street Style is your thing, it’s a way to show your support. Editor in Chief Daisuke Yokota for DRO TOKYO CULTURE MAG writes [sic]:

“Today, Tokyo’s latest culture seems very unclear what it is,
through the filter called “media”.
Many Japanese with the sense of creativity and fashion exist here in Tokyo.
However there are no media to express their art and messages.
Unfortunately the reality is,
that media who never even notice these fashionable people,
get the most attention…
This is why it is time for “DROP” to make some action.
We will introduce people who create the Tokyo culture,
so don’t be afraid to commit in this big movement!!”

Kudos to him for using the LV Neverfull as a grocery bag! o.O”

Yay to more alternative and interesting fashion on the web, so YAY for DROPSNAP!

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All images in this post are credited to DROP.

One of the very rare photos of the beautiful Garance

The person in question is none other than the very lovely, and very French, Garance Doré. I have been following Garance since her beginning when her illustrations dominated her pages instead of her beautiful street photography. I have been thrilled by her fashion choices, awed by her almost surreal photos and recently, whooped in joy when she begin enlisting the help of translators to post in English beside her native French tongue.

Garance and her latest obsession, her trusty army-green parka

Not too long ago, Garance started working with Vogue.fr on a project entitled Une fille un style.

Une fille un style, or One girl one style, is probably not a very new concept. In history, we associated several icons with what they often wore, like Jackie O with her shift dresses and strands of pearls or even Marilyn Monroe with her sexy, figure-flattering outfits. But what I’m really excited about, is really how this whole concept translates itself into the modern context.

The problem with the concept of ‘One girl, one style’ in the past was precisely the fact that it seemed like it was only attainable for that particular woman (Who’s gonna walk around with Madonna’s iconic cone bra?!?!). And the catch usually was that you had to be someone famous and well-known like a celebrity to have that kind of ‘personality styling’.

But the women the Garance has profiled come from a different breed. They are not famous, well-known celebrities but normal, everyday women whom we may even meet on the streets. They are a mixture of fashion stylists, journalists (yes!) or even self-made business women. Yet, they all have that certain je ne sai quoi (indescribable something) about them that makes them incredibly stylish and beautiful.

Daphné Bürki, presenter and journalist

Take Daphné Bürki, presenter and journalist. I would not describe her as being modelesque-beautiful, but she has an inner beauty and confidence that seems to radiate.

I find this whole photo terribly endearing (:

That she is a journalist does not hurt either! Here is someone I feel like I can relate to, or even want to ‘grow up’ to be like.

Elisa Nalin, Stylist

Or even Elisa Nalin, an Italian stylist who is now based in Paris. Her simple, almost tomboyish style is fun and quirky and instantly makes her very familiar to me. May I also add that she is a woman after my very own heart!!! Take a look at her incredible shoe collection…….

Oh… wow!!!

***

If you fancy yourself a style-monger, what would your Une fille un style profile look like?

All images in this post are credited to Garance Doré.