D for Dot

Isn’t it curious how every woman wants to be Audrey Hepburn, although she is not typically what a man will find irresistibly desirable? And what is it about her quirky, doe-eyed beauty that still fascinates so many years after her death? Strangely, I have been thinking about her (been meaning to watch Roman holiday again) when I came across these great snapshots of her in Rome, where she was living. Her style is quiet (mostly classic and feminine, at times boyish, always flattering), especially for the mega-star that she is. I particularly love how she aged so gracefully – no sign of any desperate attempts to hold on to a fading youth.

So yes, I want to be Audrey Hepburn. But don’t we all?

P.S. I think that her Yorkie, the brilliantly named Mr. Famous, must have been the true love of her life – he seems to be with her all the time.

(More of these on Vanity Fair)

You may already know that I have a thing for sleep masks (I can’t fall asleep when it is too bright). So when I stumbled upon these sweet animal-shaped sleep masks from Julia Wine last night, I was wondering how many I can get away with buying without looking like an obsessive lunatic. I have yet to decide on a concrete number, but it should be in the vicinity of a dozen. There is also a non-mammal, white cloud sleep mask, which I think is no less adorable than the others. What do you think – which one is your favourite?

They are priced at USD17, translating to just about SGD22.

Sweet edibles keep popping up in fashion these days. First, there is the Uniqlo x Ladurée collection of UT Tees. And then Kaiser Karl himself (“In fashion, don’t take anything too seriously.”) teams up with plastic footwear maven Melissa to create a irreverent collection that features the above ice-cream cone heels. I never though that dairy products and shoes have anything in common until now. From the looks of it, they are a match made in sartorial heaven.

They come in three colour schemes (black/magenta, white/mint, nude/magenta). I am not sure if they have already available at the local Melissa flagship store, its really not too much trouble to drop by Wheelock Place and find out. If eating an actual ice-cream cone goes straight to your hips, why not just keep them on your feet?

I bought a new camera (which is a little bulkier than my previous point-and-shoot) some months ago and have been looking for a suitable (by that, I mean good quality and good-looking) camera strap ever since. I thought that I will invest in a nicely crafted leather one, but although I did come across some very handsome ones, they usually come with equally handsome price-tags and are out of my budget. Then I stumbled upon Figosa, a brand new camera strap-maker that hand-make their products in Italian leather.

The straps are not at all fancy (just how I like them) and come in a number of colour combinations – you can choose from Honey, Cognac, Brown & Black for the leather and pair it with either gold or silver hardware. Considering everything, I was more than a little surprised to find that it is priced at just 20 Euros (or about SGD33). The Figosa Etsy store just opened a couple of days ago on 1 April, so I suggest you make an order before everyone else find out about this little gem and jack the price up with their demand.

However, before you click on the “add to cart” button, do check with the Figosa team to find out if their straps are compatible with your camera model. (Even if they aren’t, I am quite sure that it is possible to make customised orders.)

Currently, the only street style blog that I follow is Garance Dore‘s (because she is adorable) – and technically, it is not purely a street style blog these days. After all these years of gawking at beautiful strangers on the world’s streets, one can get a little jaded about it all. But I can still get perked up when I come across a particularly stunning shot or a project that is just the right amount of different from the thousands of street style blogs (with pictures of all the usual ultra-stylish suspects) that are clogging up the fashion part of the internet. And today, I stumbled upon travel photographer Adde Adesokan‘s meet-a-stranger photo project, Triptychs.

For me, the neatest part about the project is that you can’t really make out the entire outfit – the three body shots of the subject are disjointed and you can only guess at what is happening outside of the frames. There is a head shot, one showing what’s in the hands and a last one of the feet region down below (I always say you can tell a lot about a person from his shoes). You can tell that these people are stylish and unconventional simply from the details you glimpse in these limited pictures.

Each collaged photograph also comes with a write-up on the subject, which is awesome for someone like me who enjoys having the blanks filled in with words. Unfortunately, the project consists of only 31 pictures (of subjects from diverse locations, from Istanbul to Paris) and the latest one is dated in April 2012, which means that it has not been updated for some time. Nonetheless, it is still great to flip through the photos and marvel at what you can learn about a person just from his head, hands and feet.

Here are just three pretty printed things that I came across today. The one that I like the most is this red printed desert boot from the new Clarks x Eley Kishimoto collection. There are three prints (including the British design duo’s now iconic flash print) and three shapes (boot, kitten-heeled pumps, peep-toed, platform, strappy sling-backs) in all. And grab this flashy gnome too – its much too cute to miss.

Now that budget airlines are trying to out-do each other with cheap flights, I foresee that weekend getaways will become more frequent occurrences. Considering that, a good duffle will come in really handy. So many over-night bags in the market are so overtly masculine, so its nice to see Lulie Wallace (hailing all the way from North Carolina, U.S.A) has nailed it with their unapologetically girly ones. This roomy duffle comes in four soft-colored prints – the brand also offers a more compact weekender.

This sweet Liberty print bow-tie from J Crew are for little boys, but I see now reason why grown-up girls cannot have some fun with them as well. Wear this with a prim button-up for a spot of color or use it as a brooch or bag accessory. Note: a bow-tie need not be worn around the neck.

This retainer necklace has got to be the strangest piece of jewellery I have ever seen. Brooklyn-based jewellery designer and silversmith Keil Mead casted it from an actual retainer, plated it in gold or silver before hanging it off a 30″ duo-chain. I have never worn braces, but judging from my friends’ grimaces when dental appointments rolled around back in school, it certainly doesn’t look like a good experience. Then again, everything become bittersweet with time, so I guess if you are looking for a dose of metal-mouthed nostalgia in the form of a quirky necklace, this will be it.

Personally, I much prefer this sweet Forget Me Knot ring, which has been moulded from a real piece of string. Or is this matchstick necklace more up your alley? The possibilities seems endless when one crafts jewellery that look like luxe versions of everyday objects. This is literally turning banality into gold – genius.

Spotted this on BOYY‘s Facebook page last night – I can’t remember the last time I was so instantly taken by a bag. It must be that luxurious red (reminds me of a creamy crimson lipstick) and the ultra-cool double front-flap that did it. A bag with two closing flaps; it certainly doesn’t sound ground-breaking but somehow it turned out kind of brilliant. The brand first released the Filippo bag for S/S 2012 about a year ago in soft nude leather accented with what appears to be a spotted deer print. It has since updated the design with various other animal prints.

Considering that I am not a huge fan of animal prints (can’t carry it off; not a wild/sexy bone in my body), I am really glad that BOYY decided to go with plain colours for S/S 2013. Six new shades will be launched, including cream, charcoal grey and that perfect red you see above.

I bought the Oscar bag from BOYY back in 2011, so I can attest to the quality of their bags. Two years on, it is still one of my favourite bags and I use it regularly (just the right size for daily toting). The lovely nappa leather aside (which just gets softer with use), what I love best about the Oscar is its versatility, a winning trait that can be found in the Filippo as well. Coming with a detachable shoulder strap and wrist strap, it can be used in three ways: as a clutch, shoulder bag and wristlet.

The Filippo is available in Small (W 7” X H 6” X D 2.5”) and Big (W 11.5” X H 8.5” X D 4”) for approximately USD670 and USD749 respectively. Only one design (i.e. leopard print) is on sale on the label’s online store right now, and I have no idea when the S/S 2013 colours will be released. So, if you have your eye on this as well, best to keep it fixed on their Facebook page for updates. Or, you can just hop down to Bangkok (with the budget fares, it won’t cost too much) to check it out in person.

Some shoes are destined for happy times – like these from Anthropologie. A demure, dusty pink pointy front with a playful striped heel that’s just the right height for dancing the night away. A girl can hardly ask for more on a Friday evening.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Designer replicas may be a big no-no, but come on, this is a LEGO version of a classic Gucci clutch – how can anyone not love it? Besides, we are obviously not supposed to take this seriously, so its user (who I imagine to be an irreverent fashion maverick) cannot have any intention of pulling this off as the real deal. Then there is the price. At just US$204 (with free worldwide shipping – hooray), the ‘Tribute To Gucci‘ clutch is just a tiny fraction of what it’ll cost you to get a genuine Gucci, while offering many times the fun (it could be the clutch that launched a hundred conversations).

And if you are not a fan of Gucci, what about this LEGO Birkin?