This Week BG is Loving. . .

This gorgeously delicious rose buckle belt from McQ!

I love the beautiful and intricate design of the rose buckle. It is feminine yet cool. Matched with the perfect width belt, they will be just the thing to spice up and pull together an outfit. I’ve been looking for something like this for the longest time.

Although I might just end up with something even simpler this season. A black patent leather belt with a simple buckle and the perfect width, not too wide or too thin- like this one here from Shop Intuition. I saw something very similar the other day at Lafayette and I really wanted it because it would just match with everything, but alas they were 65euros. I’m not sure something so simple is worth that much. Thoughts?

Travel Essentials: Shoes

One of the things that take up the most space in a suitcase is footwear. Seriously, when I packed up my dorm room, I literally had a whole box full of shoes and I didn't even realised I owned that much footwear. So what are the essentials one packs for a holiday?

A must have are nice comfortable sneakers. Shown here are Hogan (left) and Puma by Alexander McQueen (right) sneakers. I personally am loving my black patent Hogans, because not only do they look good and are comfortable, they're waterproof too! No wet feet-ever.

As a girly girl, I must also have a pair of comfortable pretty shoes to go with everything. What better than flats? For winter, I am loving flats, whether is it ballerina style or loafer style (as the one shown above from Tod's). For summer, I have my metallic RL thongs, although these one shown are Musa from net-a-porter.

Then of course there is the fashionable and not neccessarily comfortable shoes. For winter, I bring classic ankle boots (they also save space!), like these ones (left) from Steve Madden. For summer, I love my Miu Miu platform sandals from last season. These ones shown here (right) though are much more seasonally versatile and they're from Burberry.

Last but not least, there are the party/evening heels that one simply MUST bring. Bring black pumps (pointy or otherwise) for winter (these adorable ones are from Dior) and bring silver sandals (like these sexy Jimmy Choo's) for summer. That way, they match all color outfits. Every girl needs a pair of smashing heels right?

So these are my footwear essentials (I know, I don't live lightly!), what are yours?

Mr. Blackwell&39;s 47th annual "Worst Dressed" list

Mr. Blackwell's famous annual worst dress list was released a few days ago, and I only got around looking at it properly. Quite frankly, I don't agree with half the list, and I don't care about the people on the other half of the list. So I'm just going to talk about the people who I notice.

No.1 Britney and Paris -"Two peas in an overexposed pod"

Oh Britney Britney, I thought losing K Fed was going to make you a pretty star again. Unfortunately setting you free on your own was even worse. Stop flashing your private bits and underwear. I also read today that you don't listen to your stylist. It's always best to listen to the pro dear, especially since you obviously have no personal style.

OK, onto Paris. Now I am no fan of Paris' and have always thought she looked just-not-right in most of her outfits, (although her hair was so pretty in Simple Life 3.) But it is SO wrong to place Paris up at No.1 with Britney. I actually think many of Paris' outfits are ok, but it's her who looks odd.
I've chosen a few photos here which shows Paris is not-bad outfits, and in a terrible one.

No.3 Lindsay Lohan -"from adorable to deplorable"

Riiight. Why on earth is Lindsay on this list? Apart from the very occasional mistakes (-she is human afterall), Lindsay has been dressing really well. With her limitless wardrobe, she's sometimes casual, sometimes hot, sometimes high-fashion, sometimes in a stylish dress etc. Oh, and let's not forget she has nice taste in bags. Just because Lindsay is an easy target, doesn't mean should be in every negative lists out there. Leave her alone.

No.5 Mariah Carey -"the queen of catastrophic kitsch"
Totally. Actually, Mariah should be bumped up to no.2.

No.9 Sandra Oh

Sandra Oh doesn't seem to have mastered the art of picking the perfect outfit yet, but they're not all too bad. She wore too many necklaces with that blue Vera Wang dress, but the black dress on the right (the picture taken only a few days ago,) acutally looks quite nice on her. I love her as an actress so much but alas, I can't defend her because her everyday clothes which I've seen from the very few paparazzi photos have been seriously ugly.

As for Blackwell's 10 "fabulous fashion independents" list, most of these so-called independents don't get photographed much and don't make particularly exciting or influential fashion choices. Oh, and what kind of best dressed list is it that doesn't have Kate Moss on it?

Miu Miu: Satchel in Nudo

So this Miu Miu bow bag has probably been overblogged by now. But in the last few weeks, I can't help but feel that I am seeing it absolutely everywhere. Maybe its because I've had it for a year now and I just become more alert when I see it (like when I become instantly alert when I hear the msn alert tone), though this has only been a recent phenomena. So the first thing I'd like to conclude is that, yes, the satchel style is here to stay at least for another season. It is still in the stores and no, it is not on sale.

The next point I'd like to make is that I am LOVING the new color they have it in called Nudo. I'm seeing it in the streets everywhere, this brown yet greyish color is just gorgeous and perfect for this fall/winter. The greyish tint makes it even more easy to match with outfits than my brown one. It kind of reminds me of my new Bobbi Brown Stonewashed Nude Palette, brown with a greyish stone tinge. Bring on the greyish brown this season!

Bobbi Brown Nail Polish SS07

Last weekend while the makeup lady at MAC was trying on loads of eye shadow colours on my sister, I wondered over to the Bobbi Brown counter and fell in love with the BB salesgirl's makeup. She had a 'light' (as in not as dramatic as most of MAC's salespeople's makeup,) smokey eye. She proceeded to try it on me but they were out of a certain shimmery, creamy eye shadow base so the eye shadow didn't look at all impressive on me, (or maybe it's just that the salesgirl was really pretty herself -that is so unfair!)

Next I noticed her nails and loved the colour. They were a lovely milky, white-ish, pinkish, champagne colour. They were exactly what I was looking for -something milky, but not plain white or pink. But I didn't realise Bobbi Brown made nail polishes at that point so I didn't ask her where she got her nail polish from. Later on, a friend told me Bobbi Brown did actually make nail polish so I decided to head to another Bobbi Brown counter in the hopes that the salesgirl's nail polish was from BB. After looking through the six shades, half of which were already out of stock, I guessed it was Tutu.

Since I have zero skills in painting nails, I got someone to do it for me while getting a facial. The results were... a bit more pink than I anticipated. Now that I've had time to accustome myself to painted nails, I suppose they don't look as pink as they first looked. Actually I think I may be starting to like the colour! (Haha sorry, this is my 28 hours of thoughts after getting my nails done.)

The one really big thing I must complain however is that BB nail polish seems to chip REALLY easily. Admittedly, I've got three layers on because I wanted the colour to completely cover up my nails so maybe the polish on my nails is really thick. But I've been pretty careful about using my fingers in the past day and it's not like I'm doing any nail-polish-chipping activities. (Although did you know msn-ing people is terrible for your nail polish? Too much constant typing!) BG justifies the chipping to me as "Bobbi Brown isn't exactly known for their nail polish". I know but still, I expected more from the brand and the price! Oh well.

Nail-painting is such an irritating and time-consuming activity, who know? No wonder I only ever experiment with nail polish during school holidays! Please let me know what other nail polish brands chip or scratch easily so we can all avoid them!

Contrary to popular belief...

HG and I did not get into a fight and decided to stop working together on I am Fashion and started our own blogs instead. (Even our mutual friends wondered about it!) We still email each other daily about the intricate details of our lives and random thoughts we have, and feel extremely empty when the other is away and has no access to the internet. When I freak out, she is the first person I call and she is still my maid of honor when I fantasize about my wedding. Our reasons for closing down I am Fashion still stands, though I do think that my later rationalization of it in this blog is a better articulation of how we feel.

As for us continuing to blog even more regularly than before, I attribute it to the "newness" of our blogs. Starting a new blog is like starting a relationship. At the beginning everything is new and exciting as you get to know the other person and watch your relationship grow and mature. Every up and every down is a significant moment. Then the honeymoon phase eventually wears off and you reach a happy medium, where your relationship becomes a part of your daily life. With any luck, you will live happily ever after in this state with a few surprises here and there to spice up the norm. If not, your relationship will wane and you grow apart, eventually deciding that you are both better off parting ways.

Clearly I'm in the honeymoon phase. We are starting to explore new things together, trying to figure out what works best for the both of us. Every new post is an adventure. Every comment and email is exciting. I want to spend every moment of everyday with it, checking on its progress i.e. stalking the traffic, the incoming and outgoing links etc. It's an exhilarating feeling that I'd almost forgotten about!

Analogy aside, it is heartwarming to read everyone's encouraging comments and to know that we were able to leave a small footprint on some people's lives. We appreciate your support and remember that we've not left the blogging world for good. Come visit us some time at our new blogs -(Find the links to our new blogs in the post below). We miss you guys!

On a Final Note

As some of you may have noticed, we haven’t been blogging much lately.

We started blogging back in 2004, when we began college. We wanted a simple girly website where we can share our thoughts on fashion with other fashion lovers. We finally settled on blogspot, because we were both technically challenged and it was easy. It was really exciting at first. We religiously stalked our blog and our heart would skip a beat whenever we get a comment. It gave us a warm and fuzzy feeling each time.

We just graduated last summer and since then, we’ve been struggling to carry our blog into the ‘real world’ with us. When you’re a student, you’re surrounded by inspirations and you have all the time in the world to take it in and read up on the latest styles and celebrity trends. In the real world, you get so caught up with life that you barely have time to stop and admire your surroundings and be inspired and excited by it. Now don’t get us wrong, we still love to drool over gorgeous dresses and new bags and debate over the merits of the latest trends- just not as often anymore. Blogging started to become a chore instead of something we loved doing. That was when we knew that it was time to move on, even though it took us a few months of thinking and debating with ourselves and each other to realize it, and another few months overcoming self denial to act on it. It’s not easy to give up something we’ve been doing for the last four years, knowing that once we stop, there is no going back.

A little over 4 years ago, we had no idea what blogs were, and we certainly didn’t know fashion blogs will become such a big phenomenon. We didn’t really know where we were heading when we started I am Fashion, but it became something we loved. We considered taking I am Fashion further, developing it into something bigger as so many other fashion blogs have done. But alas, as hard as we racked our brains, we couldn’t come up with a vision of where it can go. And so, we've decided that it was time to make a graceful exit and let I am Fashion go.

We’d like to thank all the readers who have stuck with us throughout the last four years. It was your comments, emails and continued presence that have kept us going for so long. We’d also like to thank our guest blogger E, who has helped us immensely in the last few months through this difficult transition period. It’s been an unexpectedly rewarding experience, which will always have a special place in our hearts.

Find us at our NEW BLOGs:

Tea with BG -http://teawithbg.com/

BG’s new personal blog, where she will continue to explore fashion, with a sprinkle of finance, travel, dining and other random musings on life.

Coffee with HG -http://www.lifestyleasia.com/coffeewithhg

HG’s new fashion blog, where she will blog about fashion, beauty and all girly things. And yes, she will continue to self-debate endlessly on whether to buy something as affordable as a pair of Zara shoes, or something as wallet-breaking as a Balenciaga bag.

XOXO

BG and HG

Feeling Tickled Pink

I'm feeling like wearing a lot of soft pink colours! After looking at this site.

Some fancy things I would like to wear right now.

Oh, I just want to wear chiffon and go around in bare feet (even if I did just purchase huge crazy boots). Yes, I want spring. I'm all ready for it.

Chin up, walk tall

They're here!

They are mighty tall, and I walked around them for a while thinking that I should probably return them because they're so tall.

Except they're so awesome so I'm not going to return them.




Who doesn't like some Jak & Jil for their weekend?

Image Source: Me, Jak & Jil

Go Crazy

Ohhhh I did something totally insane and spent money on a pair of boots that look like this:

Yes. They will be here tomorrow. Wonderful Guess "Maeve" boots. Kind of gothic but I can't wait to wear it with my chiffon dress with tights and leg warmers, a black blazer, and some crazy coloured scarf.

So now for some outfits that I would gladly wear. Because we all have Lacroix, Moschino and Schouler lying around in our closets.

SO EXCITED. SO IN LOVE.

But not nearly as excited or as in love with the fact that Barack Obama is now our President!!

Pretty Passport Holder

When I was walking pass the travel accessories section at Saks last month, I scoffed at the idea. Why would I need a pretty passport holder when I only use it once every few months, and when I do, only very briefly when I go through customs. Most of the time, it is kept inside my bag anyway.

A day or so later, I learnt the error of my ways. 12 hours before my international flight, I realized that my passport was not where it should be. I was completely frazzled and lost. I immediately started ransacking my apartment looking for it and even called HG internationally for moral support in my panicked state (it was the middle of the night for her too!). I kept looking while she went online and checked out what one does in a situation like this (it was a saturday night so govt departments are not even opened the next day). Half an hour later, I finally found it neatly tucked away in a inconspicuous looking white envelope. I'd used my passport 6 months ago for something else and had forgotten to put it back in the pencil case looking travel bag where I put all my travel stuff in. Phew! Crisis avoided.
The next day on my ride to the airport, I retold my story to my friend and she said that this was why I should get a pretty passport holder, then I'd never have to put my passport in a white envelope. Plus, I should get an eye catching one, so I'll see it immediately. She had a point. Now i'm a convert to pretty passport holder. The question of course, is which one. I'm considering this bright red one from Saks. It is simple, elegant and vibrant. Plus, the size is just right, with little compartments for travel award cards etc (actually it might even be a great present for mom!).

How does everyone else keep their passport?

Image Source: Saks

Cocktails and Formal Parties

So many people have also been asking about what they should wear to parties -not casual house parties, but the more formal cocktails and parties.

Checks and metalics are huge trends this year. Both dresses from Top Shop -I've tried the purple version of these dresses on, and it's such a fun dress.

Very 'american'-feel dresses, left one by BCBG and right one by ABS. The dress on the left feels a bit too prom-ish, but is undeniabely pretty.

Diane von Furstenburg of course makes loads of fabulous dresses. Wrap-dresses are very flattering, versatile, and not to mention very useful in the future too. For those who want to look more sexy, DvF also makes non-wrap-dresses like the strapless one on the right.

Cocktail dresses from Urban Outfitters. It's so hard to find dresses like these -cute, trendy, affordable and don't look cheap!

LOVE these dresses. Soooo pretty! Dresses by Miu Miu (left) and Derek Lam (right). With dresses as short as the Miu Miu one, wear tights underneath to keep warm and look lady-like.

Dresses by Top Shop. Don't be afraid to wear mini (although not too mini) dresses to parties (but not the most formal parties). Again, wearing tights is a good idea, and please, do wear underwear!

These two dresses are acceptable for quite formal parties and look fun! Who wants to look stuffy at a Christmas /New Year party? I love the satin and silk material because it makes the dress look so much classier and gorgeous. Dresses by Marc by Marc Jacobs (left) and Ya-Ya (right).

I hope this gives everyone some ideas of what to wear. I can't tell you exactly what to wear, but this should hopefuly inspire you! Put a shawl (may be or may not be fur) on, then you're set for a fun and gorgeous night!

Travel Essentials: Bags

Having travelled a lot lately, I've constantly faced this dilema: Which bags should I bring??

It's been tragic. I always want to bring absolutely everything. When I went to Paris for 10 weeks, I brought with me my big Coach tote for school and since I'd just gotten it then, my Miu Miu leather Satchel. Function and style (like this YSL Muse bag here) is obviously high on my list.

Although during that 10 weeks, there were times when I wished that I'd actually brought a smaller size bag just to save my shoulders and for days out when I don't need to bring my school stuff and I don't want to use my super stylish bag. Something like this Longchamp bag (which is SO french) and this Vuitton bag (which I very smartly brought with me to Sydney this time) would've been nice.

The other bag I'd brought to Paris was a black Prada sparkly evening shoulder bag (which I'd "borrowed" from my mom's collection)that can barely fit anything. While these evening bags are nice, sometimes I just wished I'd brought something more casual that is not limited to nice evenings out. (above: LV (left) and Rodo (right)).

Something like these small shoulder bags/clutch would've been ideal. I really missed my blue LV shoulder bag (bottom). A simple black shoulder bag like the top one from Juicy would not have gone amissed. And come to think of it, I REALLY want that small Chloe Paddington Clutch (middle)!! Its stylish and can be both casual and formal. Dear Santa.....

So now that I've shared my travel bag essentials, care to share what bags you can't live without?

The DVF Keva Dress

I always knew that Ms. von Furstenburg was a genius with the wrap dress, but I thought that my one printed blue DvF classic wrap dress would be enough to quench my thirst for DvF. Unfortunately, she has proven me wrong with the Keva dress.
I first caught a glimpse of it online window shopping on Shopbop. It had only just gone on sale and I thought, aww what a pretty dress. Then the other day, I saw it at a department store and I must say, it looks even better in person! Naturally I simply HAD to try it on, even though the only one on the rack was about 2 sizes too big. And it felt absolutely beautiful. It is made out of this wonderfully flowy chiffon material that moves with you as you swirl. Most of the time with these kind of dresses, the chest area would be too big for me. But from the looks of it, with the right size, it promises to fit well on me (or so I imagine). And best thing of all? With this print, this is the perfect dress for Spring. The color is dark enough that you can pair it with tights for colder weathers. But the material and design is just light enough that it will still be great for summer! The print is also not so recognizable that it will be over next season. How awesome is this dress?

Unfortunately for me, I analyze too long and now they are sold out on Shopbop (it was half price!). I've already checked the DvF website, Saks and Neiman Marcus. But alas, it looks like this dress is lost to me. I definitely need to keep my eye out for something similar in the next collection!

Oh and Happy 2009 everyone!

Image Source: Shopbop