The Coveted Maxi Dress from Warehouse

I've been wanting to get this Warehouse maxi dress from the SS12 collection ever since I first saw it in the store at 1 Utama three to four months back. Back then it costed close to RM600 and way off my budget for a dress. So I thought I'd just wait around for it to go on clearance sale. Little did I know that a week later, I couldn't find it on the racks anymore in any of the Warehouse stores! It was that popular!

The dress was still haunting me, so I decided to expand my quest for the dress online about two weeks ago. Checked out the Warehouse online store and found that they were having a sale and the dress only costed GBP60! That's about 40% off the retail price here, after conversion. They don't deliver to Malaysia though, so I planned to get it delivered to my aunt, who lives in London, and pick it up when I get there in August. I was elated at first, only to find out 5 minutes later that my transaction didn't go through. And the next time I checked, the size I wanted was sold out. Another boohoo moment :(

It wasn't meant to be... until I stumbled across the ASOS website a few days ago and they're selling that same coveted dress for GBP70! And they deliver to Malaysia. I've bought stuff from ASOS before and they're pretty reliable and have a decent customer service to attend to you should anything go wrong. It is GBP10 more, but what the heck, if I want it, I'm going to get it. So I've clicked on the check-out button and the dress is now on its way to me! Yay!

Major drama for a dress, but so worth it in the end!

This is how it looks like

Love the criss-cross detailing at the back

Singapore by Day

With Singapore only 45 minutes away by flight, I started off this weekend with a work day-trip to Singapore on Friday. My colleagues and I flew out of KL in the morning and took the latest flight home. Our meeting was scheduled to be at the Marina Bay Sands hotel in the late afternoon so we had plenty of time to kill before we headed there.

As soon as we touched down, we hailed a cab to Mandarin Gallery at Orchard Road where we had the best ramen at this Japanese place called Ippudo Singapore. We waited about 40 minutes for a table! With the long wait and the price of about SGD20 per bowl, I assumed it had to be good, and it really was super delicious.

Interior of Ippudo Sg. Notice the bowls on the wall and the chandelier

Decor of red and white

My bowl of ramen with pork cubes. I polished off the soup. It was that good

It was then on to Marina Bay Sands for the meeting and thereafter to Harry Potter: The Exhibition at the ArtScience Museum. I'm not a fan but I must say it was pretty interesting to see real artifacts used in the Harry Potter movies. These things have been touched by Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson! There were wands, costumes, cloaks, a replica of The Great Hall and many other things that I don't understand, but fans will.

Low angle picture of the MBS lobby architecture

We then made a stop at TWG Tea Salon for a quick dinner before leaving for the airport. We all ordered different stuff - salmon, chicken and two types of lasagne. Almost everything was infused with the taste of tea.

TWG's vegetable lasagne was infused with the taste of peppermint - a nice touch!

Fresh ingredients in a very basic salmon recipe

The next time I visit Singapore, I must have a taste of McDonald's Cinnamon Melts, which my colleague swears is sooo good. We don't get enough of interesting desserts like that here.

Burberry Spring/Summer 2013 Menswear Livestream

Burberry has always been fashion-forward not only in terms of style but also technology. The brand is big on digital and does almost everything via the internet sphere. The Burberry S/S 2013 Menswear livestream is another one its major innovations. The show will go live across various social media and digital platforms. Enjoy it here - broadcasted live direct from Milan - on 23rd June, Saturday, 10.30pm local time!

Happy Dad's Day!

It's Father's Day today, and while I've never understood why there is an annual day dedicated to Mums and Dads, it gave me a reason to spend the entire day with my parents. My Dad is the coolest dad in my eyes and he's adored by many. He is a favourite uncle and granduncle to my cousins and my cousins' children. Why? Simply because he's not at all temperamental (unless majorly provoked) and he cracks jokes with all of them like friends do. Perhaps that's his special way of staying young-at-heart.

And because my dad is so simple, I didn't have to worry about taking him to the fanciest restaurants or buying him a cake from bakeries that aim to make money from such occasions. I took him for a simple lunch at Fong Lye at Sunway Pyramid and he enjoyed it just the same.

How many people in their late 20s can say that they enjoy spending time with their dads? Very few, I bet, if any at all. Well, I'm happy to announce that I'm a part of the minority. As this day wraps up, here's wishing all fathers a Happy Father's Day, and especially so to my beloved Dad.

My Dad and I at my Melaka birthday celebration. Picture from Instagram

Pre-wedding Shoot Anniversary

Alwin and I woke up super early at 3.30am one year ago today to get ready for our pre-wedding photography session. We had to be at the studio at 5.00am to get ready and so we grabbed the easiest breakfast ever - McDonald's.

Our first outdoor location was at Pavilion KL, and it made sense to be there by 7.00am to beat the peak hour havoc (it was a weekday). We crossed Jalan Bukit Bintang in full-fledged bridal attire and it was a bit malu-fying! We both wanted our photos to reflect 3 things - 'modern', 'classy' and 'tasteful' - so there were no tacky costume jewellery, no bee-hive hairdo and definitely no blue/green eyeshadow for me. And I wore my own jewellery throughout.

I'm sharing here just some of the outcome of our shoot. I love the frills and layers of this dress I wore. It got me as close to Vera Wang as it possibly could. My hair was kept au naturel for that windswept look.

The background looks so 'international'

Ralph Lauren has a bridal line now?

Next location was Putrajaya, and here are two of our favourite shots. I was wearing a halter-neck ruffled tulle dress and a fascinator on my hair that I became fascinated with. Alwin had on his jeans and Raoul shirt.

It was then back to the studio for more photos and I had 2 more dress changes, both of which I loved to bits and didn't want to part with. The royal blue dress gave an aura of old Hollywood glamour with thick beaded straps and a sweetheart neckline. The red and gold dress was more dramatic with a sweeping train and could be worn strapless or with spaghetti straps. I chose the latter and was very pleased that I ended up with 4 different styles - strapless, halter-neck, thick straps and spaghetti straps.

Alwin was wearing his custom-made Lord's Tailor suit

And last but not least, I made sure I took photos with my custom tailored cheongsam from Emerald Brilliant, which I wore again at the tea ceremony at our wedding. It was hand embroidered at the waist and I love the colour combination of fuschia and black.

The weather was great, the photos turned out lovely and everything else were in our favour. Will there be another chance for us to take such photos? Probably not (anniversary?). I'm so glad we enjoyed every planning process that led up to our amazing wedding celebration.

Bridesmaids' Attire Inspiration

A colleague was telling me recently that she'll be a bridesmaid at one of her friend's wedding in Singapore come July. The colour theme is blue and she's in charge of styling the bridesmaids. The bride didn't want the typical bridesmaids dresses you see in every wedding, so I could imagine the daunting task she has.

When she shared with me this picture of a Vogue cover, I thought she was genius. Crisp white shirts teamed with electric blue flowing skirts preferably with tulle underneath will make the bridesmaids look like they've just stepped out from a fashion spread. When styled properly, the effect will be stylish, unique and nothing short of spectacular.

I'd go for the powder blue tulle skirt anytime

There's also this other peek-a-boo dress that she shared which was also lovely but more suited for a guest at a ballroom wedding. Not so much for a bridesmaid for fear that she might upstage the bride. 

Seriously, one can get inspired anywhere.

Chiffon and lace - a perfect combo

Maxi Love

I've always been in love with the maxi, be it a dress or a skirt. I think it works so well for many occasions. And the thing about a maxi is that one can wear it beyond the Spring Summer season, and not look dated. Granted, we don't have the typical four fashion seasons here, but many of us stylistas just go along with it anyhow.

I love how Kate Bosworth looks so chic in her maxi getup...

...And she makes me want to own one of these. The more pastel, the better.

By ASOS

By ZARA TRF

Another one by ZARA TRF

By MNG

The Euro 2012 and Diablo Addictions

While I'm watching Demi Lovato's new music video and wishing I have her thick and luscious hair, Alwin is hooked to his PC playing Diablo. That's only one half of his addiction this month. The other half goes to daily midnight football matches thanks to Euro 2012.
It occurred to me a few days ago that Alwin and I have been through two Euro tournaments together, and I made sure he is aware of this fact. I'm pretty sure he thinks that playing computer games serves as a distraction for time to pass faster so he can immerse himself in the matches sooner.

Euro aside, I caught a glimpse of his Whatsapp message from his friend during dinner one day and it said, "Jom Diablo!". His reply? "Give me 15 minutes. I have to do the dishes first". Haha! Well, at least he still knows how to prioritize, which is great.

Sigh... Men and their weird passions - if it's not football, it's gadgets and games. I guess I'll let Alwin have his fun for now. Besides, I think he deserves it for being so awesome :)

The Wedding of Vanessa & Moots - 15.10.2011

Let me backtrack a bit here. Now, Vanessa and Moots' wedding is a wedding that's worth a mention. I usually don't remember dates of friends' weddings, but this one I remember very clearly. It was a beautiful sunset wedding held in a glass chapel called The Ritual in Bali and later on, the reception at a lawn next to it. The chapel was perched on a cliff and bestowed upon us a lovely view, but it was quite scary looking downwards.

Upon receiving a verbal invitation, Alwin and I promptly booked our flights and accommodation 5 months prior! It was such a privilege to be invited as it was also our first time attending a destination wedding.

Vanessa wore a custom-made wedding gown with see-through panelling at the sides by local designer Alvin Tay and then changed into a mini cocktail dress with a train which she bought from Australia. It was a good idea as I imagined that it could have been quite difficult to manoeuvre a long gown and high heels on grassy earth. Moots also changed into a more casual getup of a linen shirt and white pants - a combo that only a flamboyant performer can pull off.

I loved everything about the wedding, but if I had to choose one thing, it would be the fireworks that lit the sky after the champagne-popping ceremony!

Enjoy the pictures below, courtesy of Vanessa and shot by Iwan Photography.

Here comes the groom in his shiny suit

Vanessa with her dad

A magnificent chandelier just adds to the romantic atmosphere

Sharing a knowing look

Tossing of rose petals - I like!

I almost caught the bouquet but water from the flowers were spraying all over us so I lost focus

3 ladies, 1 gentleman and fireworks in the background

Hello Beijing!

I had this opportunity to travel to Beijing for work with a client (Montblanc). My task was to bring some of Malaysia's key media to witness the unveiling of the newest 4-storey Montblanc flagship store in Sanlitun, Beijing. The JW Marriott Beijing was my home for 3-nights and true to its 5-star promise, my room was beautifully appointed.

Guests received a personal handwritten welcome letter from Montblanc and a delicate pink rose

Even the hotel room keycard was branded with the event name

As a PR consultant, I thought that the Montblanc La Rose de Monaco event held on 1st June was unlike any event I've ever organized or attended. The event paid tribute to the late Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco and the brand dedicated a collection of jewels in her name. It was a super luxe event and the red carpet arrivals were worthy of the annual Oscars. In fact, I was standing in the same room as Jessica Alba and Naomi Watts at the press conference! Needless to say, security was extremely tight and none of us could get anywhere near them. I was told that Prince Albert (son of Princess Grace) and wife Princess Charlene Wittstock was supposed to be there, but had official royal duties so they had to give this a miss.

The boutique in daylight

The day before the event - the "Streets of Monaco" setup

The setup and construction was massive. It was like walking through the streets of Monaco complete with a backdrop of Casino de Monaco. Several exotic-looking Chinese celebrities, Maggie Cheung, Jessica Alba, Naomi Watts and Amber Heard all graced the red carpet looking really hot. But what caught my attention most was the arrival of Nicolas Cage - my all time favourite Hollywood hunk (although he has aged over the years of his career). He seemed quite humble as opposed to the other stars - standing on his feet the entire time to allow starstrucked guests (including me) to take pictures of him. Notice my usage of the word "of" and not "with".

With some awesome Malaysian media. I'm so proud of their punctuality

More Malaysian media. The green tiled building in the background is called the Opposite House where Jessica Alba stayed.

Some more Malaysian media. I made sure I took a photo with everyone

With gorgeous Malaysian model, emcee and host for NTV7 Elaine Daly

Guess who? It's Nic Cage!

The evening ended with a tour of the very interactive, new concept boutique. I thought it was a fantastic experience for me to have been part of an international event of this scale... I can't even begin to put a price tag on it.

Prince Albert's favourite picture of his mother Grace Kelly projected on the Montblanc building

Inside the boutique, almost everything was Grace Kelly-inspired

A vintage car in one of Kelly's movies

To Catch A Thief was one of her famous movies

Guests can take pictures with a Grace Kelly lookalike. They look so similar it's almost freaky