The Midnight Garden

I've been battling with a spool of 36mm silk satin ribbon for the past two days to craft several black rosettes in their most delicate forms. These rosettes will go on to serve a more important purpose as a part a bigger project, but right now, I'm just trying to figure out a way to best manipulate the fabric. So far, I have made two different types of rosettes. The photo is a little deceiving since the smaller rosettes are actually only about a quarter of the larger rosettes in size, which are about 5cm in diameter. The larger rosettes, as you can see in the two photos below, are flatter than the smaller ones and look more like corsages than rosettes.

French Dressing (part 4)

(part 4) OLD CRAFTSMANSHIP

Bought a small, well-made boussole at an antique shop in Le Marais and got inspired to get some silk lace and satin ribbon to make it into a necklace. As I experimented with different fabrics, I became increasingly more intrigued by the way texture worked with pieces. I added in mustard yellow rope material to play around with the combination of silk, lace, and metal.

French Dressing (part 3)

(part 3) COGNAC LEATHER

French Dressing (part 2)

(part 2) SILK & LACEWORK

Beautiful lacework on a vintage blouse and intricate fabric details on a silk 1940s style boudoir jacket. Found on Rue du Roi de Secile in Le Marais.

The lace on the blouse is incredibly soft and the jeweled buttons caught my eye as well. I like the overall construction of the blouse, especially the flap on the shoulders that continues on the back. A definite show-stopper that can be dressed up with a clean-cut pencil skirt or trousers or down with denim.

The peach-toned boudoir jacket with ruffles is one of my favorite vintage finds. It dresses up any basic item, whether it's a white t-shirt or a simple black racerback minidress. Originally designed to be thrown on top of undergarments, boudoir jackets have that demurely sexy element to them. As rare as these pieces are to come by, I was determined to add the jacket to my vintage collection, but the lady at the store refused to sell it the first time I asked. She said the piece wasn't in a sellable condition as it was not properly washed. I had to swing an impromptu speech on love-at-first-sight-with-the-piece, but in the end, she was convinced!

French Dressing (part 1)

(part 1) SCARVES

Vintage silk scarves I scored in Paris. The shop owner kindly helped me pick out the prettiest ones from the treasure chest. He also gave me two gratis scarves as a souvenir! I like the polo one the best for its mix of colors.

YSL's Signature Envelope

A new vintage find in Maastricht, The Netherlands.

It's a basic black messenger. If you look closely, however, the details scream vintage YSL. I especially liked the gold emblem and the envelope motive for the construction, which became the fashion house's signature over the years. Aside from the quality leather and a touch of gold, the beauty of this bag lies in its practicality - roomy enough to hold everything, can be worn across the chest or be used as an oversized clutch. It was another successful vintage score in the Netherlands!

A Girl Dreaming

Rows and rows of satin ballet toe shoes!

A visit to Repetto transported me back to my girlhood as these powder pink ballet shoes greeted me at the store on Rue du Four. Along with delicate lacework on blousons and nightwear which fascinated me so much in Paris, this experience inspired me to incorporate girly elements (lace! lace! lace! - and satin ribbons) into my current black, goth outfits consisted of black ensembles, white blouses, refined hardware boots and bejeweled accessories.

Repetto ballet flats seem to be the choice of footwear among celebrity style icons including Kirsten Dunst, Chloe Sevigny and the likes when it comes to comfort and a dose of chicness.

For me, it's their basic, black pair. They make my lazy outfits look instantly more pulled-together. Last night was one such occasion. November rain has its way of putting me in a somber mood and I didn't feel like crawling out of bed for a coffee date. I called my friend and complained that I didn't feel like putting on clothes and in fact, I was still in my underpinnings cuddled up under the comforter.

"Helena. Do what you always do. Just put on a coat and throw on your flats."

Ah. That's all I needed to hear.

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Something extra:




Audrey Hepburn wearing hers in Funny Face (1957).

Photo credit: IMDB

Roasted Chestnuts

Roasted chestnuts are one of my fondest childhood memories. I remember my dad bringing home a dozen of roasted chestnuts in a newspaper-rolled cone after work. He would gently place a well-roasted chestnut on my palm. I can still feel the brisk winter air transmitted from his cold hand brushing against mine.

On a chilly November afternoon, I was walking down Blvd. Haussman en route to Printemps and saw a cart selling roasted chestnuts in front of Galeries Lafayette. A sudden nostalgic feeling crept over me. It took a new city, different people and the turn of the century. Yet, with billowing smoke from the chestnuts on the grill, Christmas decorations hanging from the ceiling, and the bustling streets full of parisiennes and tourists, it felt like winter 1997 again.

I took a moment to breathe and allowed myself a short daybreak. The chestnuts began to fill my body with the same warmth that had once shielded a young girl from the cold.

Current Infatuation

old French lace on chemise, nighties, knickers, and bloomers, burgandy red lips, crisp white dress shirts paired with denim, shorts or leggings, leopard-print shoes, collectible chandeliers from Paris, high-waisted jean shorts as a perennial favorite when paired with breezy gauze tunic/silk blouse in the summer or with black Wolford tights and a cozy cashmere sweater in the fall, crowns, christmas lights, yellow accents on outfits - yellow shoes, yellow dress, yellow gold bracelet - you can easily spot them from a distance and they can really make any dull outfit a bit more vibrant, Azzedine Alaia heels with cut-out details, old-fashioned round weekenders, oversized doctor bags as travel cases, leather duffel bags, Miss Jones cocktail hats - only to be found in europe!, costumes, theme parties - mainly because of the costumes as they free your imagination, but the exotic, out-of-this-world ambience adds to the experience, bustier, moose heads, vintage rose gold Rolex, cuff-links, random phone calls from an old friend, smell of burning wood, fireplace, chestnuts in the winter, s'mores - bonfire, marshmallow on a wooden stick sandwiched inbetween graham crackers and decadent chocolate, bubble bath, Calcutta marble floor, christmas carols at any time of the year, picnic at the Central Park in the spring, lunch at Loeb Boathouse in the Central Park on a sunny day for the lake view and people on canoes, a serene walk along the Seine River with a freshly-baked baguette in hand, surrounded by French conversations and accordian players, dimly-lit old libraries, custom-made jewelry, vintage box clutches, tailored wool sheath dress for power lunch and business meetings, powdery smell of grandma's beauty counter - my grandma has always had her Guerlain Meteorites on hers, ballet toe shoes, silk nightwear with wool socks, mint hookah, anything nautical, sailing, lobster on open fire in Maine, all-white outfits (straight from a tennis court!) accessorized with scarves and candy-color cardigans in summertime Newport, Rhode Island, bandage dresses a la Herve Leger or Alaia's old collections, architectural back designs on dresses, Paul Smith socks (spotting a pair on a guy is an instant mood booster), mimosas and bellinis over brunch, smell of freshly mown lawn, petticoats, pipe organs, baroque period, Gauguin paintings - they put me at ease for some reason and I like them even more after reading William Somerset Maugham's "The Moon and Sixpence" (1919), Gabriel Garcia Marquez's magical tales which help me drift off to somewhere far far away, finding luxury in morning coffee, hand-written letters

I would like to take classes in...

1. professional DJ'ing
2. shoe-construction and designing at Polimoda in Florence, Italy
3. tailoring
4. tango
5. wine-tasting

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Something extra:





A tango scene from the movie, "Love and Other Disasters" (2006). Notice how swiftly Brittany Murphy maneuvers her moves in a form-fitting LBD and sleek stilettos. I would love to become an amateur tango dancer.

Wolford Tights

Wolford tights are very simple and there is beauty in their simplicity. Personally, I like 'cotton velvet' for all year around and 'merino tights' for the winter. I have never been a huge fan of shiny satin-finish tights underneath minis and shorts and Wolford makes the perfect, non-see through, matte tights that are both comfortable and surprisingly warm. Not to mention they are extremely durable as they have lasted through my night out dancing and rigorous daily activities.

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Photo credit: Wolford Official Website, Face Hunter, Knightcat