Here's my second column, published in UC Irvine's New University newspaper. I need to add pictures later! Enjoy :)
SUBURBAN OUTFITTER
Swing Back Into Spring Styles With Soft Tones and Do-It-Yourself Fashions
BY LOUISE LAO
VOLUME 42, ISSUE 14 | JAN 19 2009
Back home in the Bay Area, I never thought about shopping for spring and summer clothing until March when, if I were lucky, the temperature would slowly climb to the cool mid-60s. Here in Irvine, however, it’s mid-January and a ridiculous 85 degrees. Even though I’m wearing denim cutoffs, I feel like I’m about to pass out as I trudge up a slight slope in Aldrich Park.
What does this tell me (besides that I’m ludicrously out of shape)? It’s time to shop for the new season.
This spring, I’m determined to bring some color into my dark, gloomy winter wardrobe, which is currently dominated by black and gray. I’m definitely looking forward to experimenting with different color palettes, fabrics and shapes.
Soft tones in creamy, nude shades were big on the runways this season, as seen in the parade of sandy-colored gowns worn at this year’s Golden Globes. Stella McCartney mixed pieces in shades of nude, ivory and peach, to breathe new life into colors that would seem muted against basic black.
In typical springtime fashion, shades reminiscent of Easter eggs have re-emerged, but this time, more dusty than pastel: ice blue, pale rose and light mint green. I plan on pairing these sweetly colored pieces with faded, distressed denim for a fresh look that won’t make me look like a marshmallow Peep.
Alternatively, highlighter hues lit up several runways, including several outfits in Alexander Wang’s Miami Vice-inspired show and Luella Bartley’s self-declared “Sunday best on acid” collection. While Wang employed clean lines and a 1980s vibe in his designs, Bartley’s cheerful designs have a ladylike look with a kooky, frilly twist. If you’re reluctant to sport a head-to-toe supercharged ensemble, take inspiration from the pieces from Marc by Marc Jacobs and mix khaki with brights.
I plan to continue my love affair with pyramid studs this season. I’ve adored the things since my high school days when I lived in studded belts and band tees and half my hair would change from Fuchsia Flash to Vampire Red. I even studded my Converse. Now that I’m slightly more mature (and my hair is, sadly, back to normal), I still wear the sneakers occasionally, but I adorn myself with studs in a more subdued way — in the forms of earrings, bracelets and the occasional belt. Studs and other metallic accents have stuck around since last season and continue to embellish belts, jewelry, clutches and even moccasins.
Precious metals shone on the runways in the form of stunning frocks. My fantasy wardrobe would include Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière’s futuristic dresses that transformed the models into walking disco balls and the gorgeous stud and gem-encrusted Little Black Dresses at Balmain. In a perfect world, I would parade around in every one of the stunning silver mini dresses at Collette Dinnigan, from the drop-waist flapper-esque dress to the dress that resembles a mirror mosaic.
For now, I’ll head back to reality and talk about the trends that are a bit more accessible and easy to recreate. Rodarte’s collection practically had “Do-It-Yourself” (DIY) written all over it — dresses were slashed, sweaters were shredded, gowns seemed to be dipped in Rit dye and delightfully useless chains were affixed to certain pieces. As haphazard as this all may sound, I found beauty in the randomness and deconstructed elements of Rodarte’s spring collection. As an aspiring designer who finds some strange enjoyment in ruining perfectly good items of clothing, I’m quite inspired by Rodarte’s designers, the Mulleavy sisters, this season.
Feel like updating a top with minimal effort? Follow both Rodarte and Jeremy Laing and make precise cuts in a tank or T-shirt to create a paper lantern effect. Just don’t hack away at it carelessly, or you’ll end up with tatters that come off as crazy rather than conceptual.
Perhaps even more wallet-friendly than completing a DIY project is wearing updated classics and pieces that are already in your wardrobe. This idea of “recession chic” has arrived in full force in the fashion world; however, as a mere college student, I have always shopped with a recessionista’s attitude. Besides bargain hunting, this includes supplementing essential pieces like cardigans and blazers with accessories. An easy way to update a look is with a belted waist. This season, anything goes, from skinny to studded to wide obi belts à la Louis Vuitton. As far as jewelry goes, attention-grabbing earrings from the past have made a comeback.
Now that I’ve outlined some of the trends for spring and summer, I can’t wait until this sporadic weather settles on sunny.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Suburban Outfitter
Hello all!
My first column article came out this week in UC Irvine's paper, New University! (That's my school in Orange County, California.) I'm excited about writing it, but a little nervous because I have no idea how I got the authority to write about this stuff. Haha. It's called "Suburban Outfitter" because I live in the Irvine bubble and I have an incredibly lame sense of humor. Har har har. Well, read and let me know what you think!
SUBURBAN OUTFITTER
Less Trashin’, More Fashion on Social Network Chictopia.com
BY LOUISE LAO
VOLUME 42, ISSUE 12 | JAN 05 2009
Last night, I had a nightmare about Chictopia.com. I was clicking through page after page of girls in oversized white t-shirts, black leggings and black boots. Every single ChicBlog was exactly the same. My legs began to hurt as if the sight of so many bland outfits was physically painful and I suddenly woke up in actual pain. Lying in bed, I began to wonder if I go on Chictopia too much.
Chictopia.com is a social network based in San Francisco designed for users (mostly women) to showcase their most stylish outfits. Deemed the “people’s fashion destination,” users rate and comment on each other’s outfits. Teen Vogue called Chictopia “the next big thing” and Nylon declared the site to be “totally inspiring, despite the cheesy name.”
On Chictopia, users are able to browse the pages of other users with the same age, body type and even skin tone. Members post reviews on specific items of clothing, from Hanes T-shirts to Ksubi jeans. Each month, members with the most “fans” (other users who add them as a favorite Chictopian) become style icons and receive prizes.
What’s the point of Web sites like Chictopia? Blatantly put, they are places for people to fish for compliments. You post up a picture of yourself and people comment with things like, “Your hosiery are amazing!” and “Yeah, those tights are the bee’s knees!” (Both of these are real comments, by the way. Thanks, Zahara22 and spencerjacobs!) A cynic would say that Chictopia.com is a massive cesspool of narcissists. We judge each other based solely on our outfits and make friends with the people whose outfits we like. Of course, we talk cyber-trash about people in ugly outfits, right? Wrong.
Contrary to popular belief, fashion nerds, at least the people who are truly interested in fashion rather than shopping, appreciate quirkiness. We are less interested in Louis Vuitton monogram purses than we are in clothing that is unique, eccentric and often anachronistic. Take drop-crotch pants for example. I go on Chictopia to see users proudly don pants that would look horrendous on me and have an extremely slim chance of being seen in Orange County (the land of year-round flip-flops), and I admire them for it. I crave the eccentric. Chictopia users are more encouraging and praising than someone would expect a community of the fashion-obsessed to be.
One could argue that this is shameless self-promotion, and I agree completely. In fact, that’s entirely the point of fashion. Dressing is a form of self-expression, and showing it off online is akin to an artist showing off her portfolio on deviantART. I’m not ashamed to admit that on most days, I put thought into what I put on my back and getting feedback — especially if I’m trying something new or particularly quirky — is very much appreciated.
Having a place like Chictopia, where people can ask for advice by creating polls and posting in the Chictopia forums, is also helpful for the style-challenged. I log on when I’m feeling uninspired or bored with my wardrobe. This brings me to the one qualm I have with style websites — the notion of originality.
Everyone knows the adage, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” So what happens when people are inspired by each other’s outfits? Everyone starts to look the same. This is simply the nature of trends; they may seem obscure at first, but they gain popularity and soon you can’t escape them. Posting on Web sites like this with the expectation that people will like your “original” outfit often guarantees that people will copy elements of it, which led me to realize that people are rarely, if ever, truly original.
We take inspiration from each other, from art, from movies, from the runways. Chictopia is a place to see how this inspiration shows itself in our everyday lives.
Random photo because this post would feel nakie without one: Sasha P. in January's Vogue UK, looking like a cooler, less racoon-y version of Jenny "I'm Not Little J Anymore" Humphrey
My first column article came out this week in UC Irvine's paper, New University! (That's my school in Orange County, California.) I'm excited about writing it, but a little nervous because I have no idea how I got the authority to write about this stuff. Haha. It's called "Suburban Outfitter" because I live in the Irvine bubble and I have an incredibly lame sense of humor. Har har har. Well, read and let me know what you think!
SUBURBAN OUTFITTER
Less Trashin’, More Fashion on Social Network Chictopia.com
BY LOUISE LAO
VOLUME 42, ISSUE 12 | JAN 05 2009
Last night, I had a nightmare about Chictopia.com. I was clicking through page after page of girls in oversized white t-shirts, black leggings and black boots. Every single ChicBlog was exactly the same. My legs began to hurt as if the sight of so many bland outfits was physically painful and I suddenly woke up in actual pain. Lying in bed, I began to wonder if I go on Chictopia too much.
Chictopia.com is a social network based in San Francisco designed for users (mostly women) to showcase their most stylish outfits. Deemed the “people’s fashion destination,” users rate and comment on each other’s outfits. Teen Vogue called Chictopia “the next big thing” and Nylon declared the site to be “totally inspiring, despite the cheesy name.”
On Chictopia, users are able to browse the pages of other users with the same age, body type and even skin tone. Members post reviews on specific items of clothing, from Hanes T-shirts to Ksubi jeans. Each month, members with the most “fans” (other users who add them as a favorite Chictopian) become style icons and receive prizes.
What’s the point of Web sites like Chictopia? Blatantly put, they are places for people to fish for compliments. You post up a picture of yourself and people comment with things like, “Your hosiery are amazing!” and “Yeah, those tights are the bee’s knees!” (Both of these are real comments, by the way. Thanks, Zahara22 and spencerjacobs!) A cynic would say that Chictopia.com is a massive cesspool of narcissists. We judge each other based solely on our outfits and make friends with the people whose outfits we like. Of course, we talk cyber-trash about people in ugly outfits, right? Wrong.
Contrary to popular belief, fashion nerds, at least the people who are truly interested in fashion rather than shopping, appreciate quirkiness. We are less interested in Louis Vuitton monogram purses than we are in clothing that is unique, eccentric and often anachronistic. Take drop-crotch pants for example. I go on Chictopia to see users proudly don pants that would look horrendous on me and have an extremely slim chance of being seen in Orange County (the land of year-round flip-flops), and I admire them for it. I crave the eccentric. Chictopia users are more encouraging and praising than someone would expect a community of the fashion-obsessed to be.
One could argue that this is shameless self-promotion, and I agree completely. In fact, that’s entirely the point of fashion. Dressing is a form of self-expression, and showing it off online is akin to an artist showing off her portfolio on deviantART. I’m not ashamed to admit that on most days, I put thought into what I put on my back and getting feedback — especially if I’m trying something new or particularly quirky — is very much appreciated.
Having a place like Chictopia, where people can ask for advice by creating polls and posting in the Chictopia forums, is also helpful for the style-challenged. I log on when I’m feeling uninspired or bored with my wardrobe. This brings me to the one qualm I have with style websites — the notion of originality.
Everyone knows the adage, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” So what happens when people are inspired by each other’s outfits? Everyone starts to look the same. This is simply the nature of trends; they may seem obscure at first, but they gain popularity and soon you can’t escape them. Posting on Web sites like this with the expectation that people will like your “original” outfit often guarantees that people will copy elements of it, which led me to realize that people are rarely, if ever, truly original.
We take inspiration from each other, from art, from movies, from the runways. Chictopia is a place to see how this inspiration shows itself in our everyday lives.
Random photo because this post would feel nakie without one: Sasha P. in January's Vogue UK, looking like a cooler, less racoon-y version of Jenny "I'm Not Little J Anymore" Humphrey
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
2009
What makes a woman beautiful?
I think inner turmoil makes a woman beautiful. It has nothing to do with being sad or depressed or angry. What I mean is that you always have to have a certain kind of restlessness in you so that you’re never really contented with the way things are. You’re always striving for something better, striving for perfection…
What is your beauty secret?
[A] beauty secret—do you really want to know?—is being in love with the wrong man. Having this grand, impossible passion for the wrong person.
--Interview with Gemma Cruz, a journalist, museum curator, jewelry designer and the first Filipina to win a world beauty title in 1964.
I found this interview recently, and while it doesn't have much to do with fashion, it gave me something to think about for 2009 (the first part, at least). I don't have any resolutions at the moment, except this one: Keep up with my blog! I am going to be a lot busier this quarter than the last, but at the same time, I need this space to say what I feel like saying as well as whatever I can't say in the newspaper or elsewhere.
I think inner turmoil makes a woman beautiful. It has nothing to do with being sad or depressed or angry. What I mean is that you always have to have a certain kind of restlessness in you so that you’re never really contented with the way things are. You’re always striving for something better, striving for perfection…
What is your beauty secret?
[A] beauty secret—do you really want to know?—is being in love with the wrong man. Having this grand, impossible passion for the wrong person.
--Interview with Gemma Cruz, a journalist, museum curator, jewelry designer and the first Filipina to win a world beauty title in 1964.
I found this interview recently, and while it doesn't have much to do with fashion, it gave me something to think about for 2009 (the first part, at least). I don't have any resolutions at the moment, except this one: Keep up with my blog! I am going to be a lot busier this quarter than the last, but at the same time, I need this space to say what I feel like saying as well as whatever I can't say in the newspaper or elsewhere.
Happy New Year! Party like it's 1993 (and you're Kate).
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