Currently Loving: Calvin Klein Polyester Blazer

Who would've thought that polyester could look this absolute divine? Neither can I. Normally I see polyester-mix blazer in just a smooth, plain looking fabric - but Italo Zuchelli of Calvin Klein really has taken such an technical-meet-art approach by creating this one-of-a-kind blazer for the Fall/Winter 2011 collection.Very textured, very edgy and hot...and very out there in the style pedestal. 

One word: phenomenal. Now that it's YES season, could it ever made into my wardrobe then... :]

[pix from new man magazine]

I'm in Shock!

When I told my mates that I'm gonna have a bigfat birthday celebration again this year, I summoned them not to send me any present. Why? Coz it'll end up being a white elephant since most of the present that people gave I never used 'em. Or in other words, they're not my taste.. erkkss! So, what I did this year is asking them to send me money instead... or at least shopping vouchers (that include the one I asked Angie!), coz I definitely can buy things that I like. It's much more worth it. Or better yet, I told them to pay the thing that I bought - provided that it's within their budget limitation. Am I cruel or what, ahaks!

So, last week a parcel arrived. I'm in total shock. Shock #1 - it's from London. Shock #2 - there's a box within a box, and that second box is a golden present box tied nicely and came with a birthday card. Shock #3 - it IS a Shock. The ck One Shock! What better way to start the fleet of my presents with this one, huh?

One word, absolutely liking it! (oh, it's three words..ngg). The all-black bottle scribbled with the trailing neon green 'SHOCK' word is a true attention-grabber. Very masculine, very dark chic and very edgy packaging. I've been eyeing this ck One Shock for quite some time ever since its released recently but haven't found it anywhere here in Malaysia. Probably it hasn't been released yet in this country, or I haven't search hard enough. But when I got the chance to get it online, I didn't wait long - especially when someone's willing to pay for it (ehem...). 

So, what's my verdict on the smell? As it says on the bottle : shock! This is unlike the typical unisex scent of the famous ck One. It's more like a cross between the original ck One and Calvin Klein Man; hence giving its special appeal as it is made just for men (there's another One Shock  for the ladies, btw). The first spritz gives off that citrusy smell which is a typical Scorpion much-loved scent, yet quite energetic and pungent. Then it finishes off with a trail of sweet smell of tobacco, which is quirkily alluring in a way. No, not the tobacco as in tobacco that your dad put in his cigar - but a subtle aromatic and deep oriental mix, since there's a hint of spices and woody appeal in its formula (black pepper, black basil, musk, patchoulli and ambrene wood). Very nice smell, yet I won't wear it during the daytime coz perspiration during the hot day would kill the scent-sation. It's much better during the evening, just the right mood to bring out its sexy spiceness!

Love this gift, definitely. Shocking... but a good, nice shock. :)

there's a hair & body wash too. awesome!

I even love the packaging box. black, white and neon green. what more shocking could I ask for?!

after three Man, plenty of Free spirits.... now I'm ready to move on for Shock!

Mentioning the present box, who can say no to this pretty neat golden box? So chic and cool

... especially there's a cute b'day card came with it! :)

Too Much Bretons!

Breton stripes are huge this season. And I do mean HUGE with the capital H. You saw it everywhere - on the catwalk during the Spring/Summer 2011 show, in the highstreet stores, and of course... on the streets. It's stripes galore! Whether it's stripes all the way, or the Jean Paul Gaultier sailor lookalike - Breton is definitely a hot trend that never fail to appear whenever summer comes. I think the way it breathes nautical theme is what charmed people.

Me too has been succumbed into the lure of stripes. My victim of the situation? Absolutely at Asos, coz they got a humungous collection of stripey t-shirts. Either short, three-quarter, or long sleeves; Asos has a burst of Breton this time around in many color choices to choose from. With the price tag that's always dear to the wallet, Breton stripes at Asos is one stop to head down to. Period.

For every tee you see below, I have at least two for each pair coz I have a simple principle: if I like it, always buy two. That's why I have too much Bretons now!

(L) Breton tee in navy-white - Asos : Jeans - Uniqlo : Denim bag - He by Mango : Watch - Calvin Klein Sight

(R) Breton tee in green-dark green - Asos : Wool trousers - River Island : Tweed backpack - Zara : Watch - Nixon

(L) Breton tee in light grey-white - Asos : Jeans - Uniqlo : Grey leather tote - Bill Amberg : Watch - Bench

(R) Breton tee in grey-light graphite - Asos : Jeans - Uniqlo : Suede studded tote - Jimmy Choo x H&M
Watch - Calvin Klein Bold

(L) Stripe tee in green-white - Asos : Chambray trousers - Asos Canvas tote with leather trim - Jaspal: Watch - Skagen

(R) Tee in navy-yellow - Asos : Jeans - Uniqlo : Mock croc tote - Topman : Watch - Nixon Shutter tortoiseshell

Waffle That You Can Wear

If last Spring/Summer 2010, Emporio Armani did its waffle suit in darker shades of grey, this time it's another Italian from other fashion house to follow suit. It's Italo Zuchelli who has given his pure and simple take on waffle fabric to his collection for Calvin Klein Spring/Summer 2012 in one of the suit seen on the runway. It's white - very clean and chic, as what the CK DNA truly speaks.

If you look closer, it's a new mesh underneath : the shirt and the ties in the fori details.

[pix from style.com]

Mag Snaps : The Monk, The Chrono and The Shirt

I once been thrown out from WHSmith in London cos I was caught snapping the picture of the bags in one of the fashion magazine. Esquire, if I'm not mistaken - and those are awesome bags, what not to like?! The security guy saw me flipping the mag and snap, snap, snap using my iPhone... at last he asked me to leave the bookstore coz I'm not allowed to do what I'm doing. Infringement of intellectual properties, I guess. Yet he said, if I bought the magazine instead, that's okay coz it's mine. Not if I pick it free on the shelves, no. Well, I think I've learn a good lesson there... no plagiarism!

Anyway, now that I bought the mags then I'm allowed to scan it and publish it in here. These are some of my picks on the nice things featured in those glossy pages in the recent issues...

[pix from esquire malaysia]

RM792 for a pair of grey suede monk strap loafers? Well, Mr. Editor... I think that's quite cheap considering I've bought a £260 Gucci boots at Harrods in Winter 2010 sale before! (go figure the conversion). And RM792 - c'mon, don't you think it's a reasonable price to pay for a beautiful craftsmanship of the shoes?

[pix from men's uno]

Calvin Klein's ck Basic chrono watch. I search there in the web, none has ever featured this one. Typing ck Basic, all I can find is the ck underwear... which I got plenty! But Basic chrono - this one looks good. Ok, into my wish list now!

[pix from esquire malaysia]

What is so special about this Hugo Boss shirt? The contrast panelling, with pleated placket. Classy dressy without going overboard.

Turquoise or Midnite Blue?

There's an anonymous asking me in the previous blogpost, where he/she could find a decent turquoise shirt to be worn to the prom. (see, I put he OR she coz I didn't know the gender) To be honest, I don't really know where to find one. If anonymous is a guy, maybe you should try at zappos.com, or you could always find one if you search through shopstyle.com. Previously in London, I normally find color shirt at either Topman, River Island or H&M since they used to do a good slimfit turquoise shirt in cotton mix fabric, and quite reasonable price.

Anyway, don't you think that when you go to the prom you should wear a suit? Mentioning turquoise, Calvin Klein did a slimfit suit in aqua color which looks quite summery and chic. It may be dear to your wallet coz ... you know, it's Calvin Klein! But if you wanna go for something quite similar, yet doesn't burn a big hole in your pocket, the one by Lambretta at Asos could also be a good choice. What I like in both suits is the one-button thing, which to me is always what I tend to go for.  

On the other hand, turquoise is not really a color I would choose for a suit coz it somehow screams too weddingy, or too Miami Vice. Worse, it may look like a 70's pimp daddy! Yikes! In other words, it's tacky. For a safe bet I'd rather pick an outfit in a darker shades of blue, such as the midnight blue like the one worn by Zac Efron in the previous cover of GQ. It made you look much classier and better like a grown-up. Since it's summer, you should wear a linen fabric - much better for the heat out there, plus it can give better sheen against the lighting. Like the one I got previously from River Island.

Or if you really a fashion forward and have a thick wallet - choose Roberto Cavalli, like the one featured in the August Man magazine - though the color is more towards the early dawn blue instead of midnite one. :)

[pix from style.com, asos, gq, and august man]

A New Sight : Should I Stop Wishing?

Seriously, I must stop making a 'to lust for' wish; because in the end it keeps on becoming a reality. In the previous post I put this ck Sight into my list of Calvin Klein watches for SS11 and FW11 that I love. Yeah, love... right? And who knows that I secretly wanting to get some of it as well.

And as if someone had just waved the magic wand upon me, voila! It arrives into the mailbox. Coincidence?No. But confidence instead. Confidence to zrass that credit card online. ahaks!

So, can I have five more wishes please...? =)

Calvin Klein CK Sight watch

Calvin Klein Watches to Lust For...

I have a craze which is collecting watches. It's not a new craze, as it stemmed out a couple of years back when I bought cheap watches from the pasar malam. It's kinda fun to wrap the wrist with a different watches every day, despite the price, coz it made me feel good and quite trendy too. As years pass by, the cheap watches has tranformed into chic watches instead as I like to collect timewear that looks simple but classic. And of course, chic.

One brand that I truly adore is Calvin Klein. The designs are simple but somehow discreetly stand out. I love where there's no numbers and the face has only the bars to indicate the time. Or even none, which made it quite edgy though requires an effort to really tells the hours and minutes. I dunno why I hate watches with numbers especially the one with Roman digits, coz somehow made it appears too 'old' from my point of view. That's why most of my watches are all sans numbers, except for one chrono watch and the ultraskinny Skagen with its narrow numerics.

For Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter 2011, these are some of new Calvin Klein watches that definitely made into my list. Very simple. Yet modern, urbane and timeless.

[pix from calvin klein]

illustration using photomess ipad app. download here for free

Calvin Klein Spring/Summer 2011 Lookbook

Calvin Klein Spring/Summer 2011 Lookbook. Very understated, clean lines, slimmer silhouettes, injected with an urbane vibes in mind. From neutral tones to the light greys, white and a touch of black and printed matters the clothes perfect for the gentlemen who like simplicity chic, no-frill ensemble in their wardrobe.

Calvin Klein Spring/Summer 2011 Ad Campaign

Calvin Klein ad campaign for Spring/Summer 2011. Simplicity chic at its best.

[pix from calvin klein]

Calvin Klein 'Glimmer' Blazer

Italo Zuchelli has pushed for the modernist concept with his minimalism take on the classic Calvin Klein for the Spring/Summer 2011 collection. Though most of the collection punctuates the simplicity chic of the uber famous brand, one piece from the entire look which I think shouldn't be overlooked for is the glimmer suit seen worn by AJ Abualrub in the previous runway show in New York.

Minimalist? Yes, especially when one talk about the simple Italian cut of the suit. But does it somehow evokes the modernist concept by bringing an pinch of menswear fabrication of the future through the injection of glimmer in it? I think it does. And the result? A beautiful craftmanship and a fantastic piece of collection for a guy who dare to leap into the new quantum of fashion.

How to do the glimmer without shouting the shimmer to be too tacky in your whole ensemble? Pair it with plain neutral or white so that it'll infuse nicely into the look. It' made you appear chic and timeless. Perhaps to add to a tiny hint of surprise that give away a true sense of masculinity - wear a worn-out denim jacket underneath the blazer. Like this one worn by Garrett Neff in the Details magazine. Awesome.

[pix from details mag and gq style]

AFX Blogger Contest

So, here's the deal. There will be a big fashion event happening next month in Singapore. It's the Asia Fashion Exchange or known as AFX, which seeks to develop the long-term sustainability of Singapore’s fashion industry by building capability and profiling Asian talent on an international platform and to position Singapore as Asia’s Fashion Capital.

And to celebrate the event in a BigFat way... MSN is organizing a contest called 'The AFX Top Fashion Bloggers 2011' by which the winners will be selected to participate in the 11-days event held in the Lion City. Well, not really the whole 11 days, just 5-nights accommodation as what one of the main prizes stated. And the selected blogger from each 4 countries - Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia - will be invited to all the fashion shows during the AFX, and of course if you're lucky to the behind the scenes as well, coz that's that the most exciting part of any shows. I think this event is fantastic coz this is the time to project out all the talents in this region into the global eye. Not just in ASEAN, but to the whole Asia Pacific and streams all over other 6 continents. And perhaps, having readers from the States, the South America countries like Brazil and Argentina, the European countries such as France, Poland, Switzerland, Italy and so many more - by covering the event you could also see how exciting Asian fashion really is as well.

Ok. That's not the exciting part of this blogpost anyway. The exciting part is that, the contest asks why I  should be selected to attend AFX ? Hmmm... that's not an easy one, huh? Time to get into the bakul and angkat sendiri... (BEWARE: it's vanity overloaded!):

1. Because, why not? If you read the whole more than 1400 posts in this blog; isn't it all about fashion and style? From the clothes that I modeled, to the one done by the top models; from the ensemble top to toe, to the accessories that make the man. From the shoes that hold things together, to the bags that tied the looks handsomely. This blog is all about fashion and style! (Okay, 99% of them... coz the other 1% is about me being silly mentioning things about myself!).

2. Because I've been to Fashion Weeks. London Fashion Week, to be exact. If I my count is correct, I've been to 9 seasons altogether. (not much, but appreciable than none isn't it?). That doesn't include the Fashion Rocks! event held back in 2007, which I met Valentino, Christopher Bailey, Mr. Armani, Claudia Schiffer and lots more celebs like Lily Allen, Alicia Keys, Nicole Scherzinger etc... etc. And oh, I should mention I've been to all Vogue's Fashion Night Out in two years in a row? (here, here and here). Red carpet events? That's even countless... Leicester Square in London is basically my playground when I got my spare time. Meeting Anna Wintour and Victoria Beckham in real life? Check! (During the Burberry Prorsum show in previous year, in drenching rain!)

3. Coz I live and breath fashion maybe? I'm kidding, right? Look at one of my wardrobe (here and here). Or my shoes. Or my bag collection. Or all my shopping quest and conquest in previous years... then you'll be nodding in agreement. And oh, I'm not just wearing a Jimmy Choo, but I met him too. So, if I got to see new talents in AFX, who knows their pieces would make it into my wardrobe.

4. Coz I'm the epitome of style and so as this blog, probably? (Oooh...that statement is ultra vain, lol?). Coz I know how to mix high-end pieces with the highstreet fashion. That's what true essence of style is all about - be brilliant in putting things together. It doesn't matter what size of your wallet is - the most important is you look good in it! (in the clothes, not in the wallet, silly...). 

5. Mentioning style, isn't that I've rocked every style in each seasons of the year during the time I live in London? Spring, summer, autumn, winter... check!

Ok. Enough just five reasons. If people ask me.... 

The answer is plain and simple: It's about being who you are, knowing who you are and knowing what works and what doesn't on you. It's about looking good despite the labels - either highstreet or designers... as long as the price is right, the style is spot on and the look is devilicious!! And of course, fashion is not just about the look in general - it's an art, it's how you appreciate the design and construction of the clothes, the material it's used and the work that goes behind it.

And to further answer 'what is fashion?'; this quote from Michael Kors seems to sum it all:

So, why I should be there in AFX? Coz you need someone from a different perspective, not just from people from the fashion industry! =)

I'm wearing (from left to right)

Red 'What Is Fashion?' tee - Zara

Slim fit, indigo raw denim - Uniqlo

Leather fingerless glove - H&M

Watch - Calvin Klein

White 'What Is Fashion?' tee - Zara

Slim fit black cropped jeans - H&M

Ultra-thin stainless steel mesh watch - Skagen

Black 'What Is Fashion?' tee - Zara

'Fleck' skinny trousers - River Island
Studded leather fingerless glove - Zara

Watch - Nixon

CK Fall 2011 Fashion Show

Calvin Klein Collection Men's Fall 2011 Runway Show

Cool!

Behind the Wheels...

Give me a car to drive, then I'll be in pure ecstasy.
From now on, no more stupid Tube ride.
It's all up to the 4WD for me to take on any curb.
And to live in the fast lane.
I think I am born to speed...

Studded fingerless glove: Zara
Watch: Calvin Klein

Patent Leather Loafers

Time for shoe talk. This time it's the patent leather loafers. When the summer sale hit London in mid-June this year, I was contempt to get the bow loafers by Gucci. I went to their store - both, at New Bond Street and Sloane Street - to find the shoes; but unfortunately they're nowhere to be seen. I dunno whether Gucci did it just for the 'website only' version (coz they sometimes do have exclusive items for online). I love the way it looks, very sophisticated and chic at the same time. Too late, coz the loafers are no more in stock.

To me patent leather loafers is a great way to spice up the evening wear. Wear it with your tux, and voila... you'll definitely look amazing. But that doesn't mean you can't rock it in the daytime (this is not a vampire shoes, okay). If Gucci is nowhere for me to get, there're still some out there from other designers that did quite similar. Like Calvin Klein 'Gilford', Hugo Boss 'Rino' and Salvatore Ferragamo 'Party' shoes. They all share a common - patent leather body with fabric crossbody strap. Kinda deja vu, perhaps? Yet they all looks awesome.

Or, if you like to go a bit feminine look, the Church Kelly shoes looks quite ravishing with a little bow on the top. Just like Gucci!

Calvin Klein Gilford

Hugo Boss Rino

Salvatore Ferragamo Party

Church Kelly