Dries Van Noten shoes & Zambesi dress

Wore my new Dries Van Noten sandals to get my haircut today, with this black Zambesi lightweight knit tube dress. This dress is seriously the most comfortable dress I own (yes, even comfier than my silk muu muu), it's so light it almost feels like I have nothing on.

Dress: Zambesi
Sandals: Dries Van Noten
Necklace: Peruvian beaded & turquoise neckpiece
Bangles: Miscellaneous Chinese bracelets

I'm so so so excited about the Dries Van Noten Djamilla silk beaded dress I purchased yesterday. The detailing is so incredible, can't wait to wear it when the weather cools down (and even though I don't usually dress top to toe designer, I'd love to wear them with my black/cognac strappy Dries heels):

www.style.com


Close-up pic of the accessories I wore today :

The beautiful pair of Japanese chopsticks were a 'Sweet Fifteen' birthday present from best-friend in Brazil (so many years ago! I still love wearing them in my hair). I'm crazy about this Peruvian neck-piece I bought several years ago from Bauhaus, I'm afraid the bad lighting washed out the vibrant blue of the Turquoise stones...

Recent Buys: via London & Melbourne: Burberry Prorsum, Dries Van Noten & Empire Rose

Burberry Prorsum Military Coat

Last week I spotted this coat in the Elle UK December issue (p.112) (I'm always a month or so behind as I refuse to pay air freight prices), and fell in love. Called my sister (who lives in London), and she tracked it down for me last Friday, and it's now mine! I'm so excited! I have such a love for coats that I'm even eyeing them in summer...crazy seeing it was 110 F/43 C today !!!

It's a Prussian blue military style cocoon shaped quilted trench coat which is double breasted, with buttoned epaulettes, a high collar and two rows of buttons which end at the waist with inverted pleats below.

www.style.com

Dries Van Noten Strappy Sandals

During my visit to Melbourne this weekend for the Australian Open (saw Nadal play, he is incredible), I did manage to squeeze some shopping, and returned to Belinda and purchased a simplified version of the Dries Van Noten multicoloured sandals I missed out on last week (I am still upset over it, see below). Although in no way as stunning as the pair I originally 'purchased', these are a worthy consolation prize (I will still keep an eye out for the blue multicoloured pair), and I love the rich colour of the cognac leather straps (and the fact that they're incredibly comfortable).

(pics via www.style.com)

Empire Rose Militaire Vest Helmut in Chrome

Next to the Belinda store, was Empire Rose, a Western Australian label I have followed/owned/loved since the 90's. This vest was too gorgeous to resist, with its narrowly-cut shoulders and cute pockets, love it!

Thakoon Peony Petal Blouse & Toni Maticevski

Top: Thakoon silk petal blouse
Skirt: Toni Maticevski silk tulle tea-stained layered skirt
Shoes: Chanel ballet pump stiletto heels
Belt: Anna Sui rhinestone gold belt

Top: Thakoon petal silk blouse
Pants: Sass & Bide Harem pants
Belt: Alannah Hill floral silk belt
Shoes: Mauve-pink suede perspex wedge sandals I bought in Brazil 8 years ago
Bracelet: Tom Binns Faux Real cuff

This Thakoon silk top has been sitting in my wardrobe since last year and has never been used. Everytime I would try it on, I felt 'too girly' in it. If only I lived in Alix's (The Cherry Blossom Girl) magical world, I would wear it with a flower tiara and the outfit pictured here.

Instead, I have decided to bite the bullet, and bring it with me to Melbourne this weekend (I am off first thing tomorrow morning). I will wear it in my not-so-girly outfit with my trusty (& comfy) S&B Harem pants. Even though I am going there to attend the Australian Open (tennis), I will try to squeeze some shopping in if possible.

(www.firstview.com)

I love this silk tulle skirt by Australian designer Toni Maticevski, this being from my favourite (and earlier) collection of his. I love the tea-stained colouring, the multi-layer light-as-air silk, and delicate pleating.

Also, I have been a fan of Thakoon Panichgul (Thai-born American designer) since seeing his first collection in 2004, in particular his jackets. In this Spring 2007 collection, featuring this peony-inspired blouse, the collection displayed simple shapes but with incredible ruffles & pleating, which I just loved.

For those in Australia, hope you have a great long weekend, hip hip hooray for Australia Day!

It's getting hot in here...

The weather has been in the high 30's and sometimes 40's (ie. around 100 Fahrenheit) since I returned from my South American holiday, which means I've been trying to chill by the pool or at the beach, or indoors whenever possible...

Wore this to my friends' 3-year old's birthday party (which was great fun!):

T-shirt: Sass & Bide 'A little peace' Jagger tee
Shorts: Stella McCartney
Belt: Alice McCall silk crystal bow belt
Bag: Burberry patent clutch
Shoes: Stella McCartney black pumps (shown below)
Jewellery: Crystal bracelet from Bauhaus

Burberry patent clutch:



As a large-bag fan, I've always resisted clutches as I can barely fit anything in them, but I thought it was time for my first 'proper' clutch, and got it last December.

Please excuse the terrible hair day

Out for drinks at a local pub with friends, was in a 'Resort' mood:

Top: Tigerlily white&red striped with lace straps halterneck worn under
Blouse: Vanessa Bruno cotton-voile top (better pic here)
Shorts: Stella McCartney
Belt: Dries Van Noten
Bag: Burberry Manor
Shoes: White buckle shoes with red heel (purchased 5 years ago in Brazil, still love these, and had to buy them twice, as they were stolen the first time, minutes after I bought it!)

Sunday drinks with friends (was happy chilling at home, but had my arm 'twisted' to come out to a nearby bar for way too much French bubbly...I had 5 minutes, so added some accessories to my comfy 'lounge at home' outfit)

Top: Sportsgirl beaded silk camisole (used to be a dress, but I didn't like the asymmetrical hem and so 'altered' it)
Dress: Ilana Moses silk dress (it's actually a gorgeous deep purple colour)
Belt: Calibre (men's) belt
Shoes: Dior Extreme Pythons
Jewellery: Tom Binns Faux Real cuff & large stone ring from Buenos Aires
Bag: Chloe large brown leather bracelet bag

I am blue...

I am blue, for in the past week I have 'purchased' two separate items from two different online stores, only to be told a few days later that the item was sold out, and hence unable to purchase them. Funnily enough, both items were 'blue'.

First item was a beautiful and elegant Tom Binns cuff I 'purchased' from Browns as a 30th birthday present for my sister E. It's her birthday today (Feliz Aniversario E!!!). I was so sad to hear I couldn't give her this present, as I was so excited about it, and was already picturing it with the gorgeous Vera Wang dress she'll be wearing at her masquerade party this Saturday:

(www.brownsfashion.com)

The second item, I 'purchased' on Thursday, checked my credit card on the weekend and saw that the amount was deducted from my account, so thought it was smooth sailing this time. 4 days later, and I have just read my email, telling me they have sold out of these multicoloured Dries Van Noten sandals in my size, and whether I would like to purchase them in 2 sizes bigger (uhm...thanks, but...no thanks):

(via www.tfs.com)

Oh well, I suppose it wasn't meant to be (but am still upset/angry/sad/frustrated)...

Buenos Aires - Part III: Recoleta & Senor Tango

Recoleta's 'El Cemiterio'

Alvear Palace Hotel:

Wearing the red flower necklace from my previous post, that I bought in San Telmo, with my Akira blue silk/cotton dress. We had a lovely high tea to celebrate hubby's birthday at Alvear Palace Hotel's L'Orangerie (this hotel is Buenos Aires' Waldorf Astoria, it was gorgeous!). For 90 pesos (it was about US$30) you get a beautiful high-tea (the Alvear blend of tea was unreal, and I'm not that big on teas ) with a delightful Kir Royal (subtract 10 pesos if you don't want this beautiful glass of champagne with sirop de cassis)

Senor Tango:

This isn't Recoleta, but I had to show you my sister wearing one of the silk reversible wrap skirts/dresses I bought from Puntos en el Espacio,the pop of blue from my sister's 'dress' is the 'other' side of the silk skirt/dress (the pink side has a beautiful tie-dye effect, and the blue side has a subtle print that isn't shown in the picture).

Senor Tango is 'the most amazing Tango show in Buenos Aires' (or so some locals confirmed this recommendation from someone we met at a restaurant). It was absolutely spectacular! US$100 gets you dinner & show, but we just went for the Tango show for US$30, and the music, the orchestra, the dancing, the singing...just amazing! I highly recommend it, so if you go to Buenos Aires, be sure to check them out at www.senortango.com.ar. Shame the picture is so blurry, or you could see the feather headband I bought in Buzios, RJ (Brazil), as well as the single-flower blue-version of the red flower necklace from San Telmo from my previous post.

Buenos Aires - Part II: San Telmo

On the weekends, the main square of San Telmo, Plaza Dorrego, hosts an amazing antiques fair, and the whole area is filled with music, people, beautiful antiques and street performers (inc. some tango). The guy below is an icon of San Telmo, and it was so hard to take a photo of him with the multitudes around me, so I didn't manage a 'The Sartorialist' shot, but I had to take a picture of him and his amazing outfit:

From old gramophones, to old silk slips, antique jewellery, the San Telmo fair had everything:

Hubby fell in love with this incredibly battered antique leather travel bag, full of character and battle-scars, it came 'home' with us:

I'm not quite sure what this place was, but it was too cute, so I had to photograph it (through the grates of the front gate):

San Telmo was our favourite area in Buenos Aires, it has everything: shopping, tango, music, food, beautiful & old arquitecture, history...not just in the Plaza, but also along Defensa street and the surrounding streets as well.

Our favourite:

Restaurant: El Desnivel, an immensely popular & affordable parilla restaurant on Defensa 855 (for both locals & tourists). I love my steaks rare, and learnt how to order my steak 'blue' ('vuelta y vuelta', ie. seared) or just 'rare' (poco cozido), and the 'bife de lomo' (tenderloin) here was like butter melting in your mouth.

Stores:

• Vicki Otero - funky store with local/Argentinian designers (with another store in Palermo). Hubby bought some shorts & tops by Hermanos Estebecorena and Felix.
• Puntos en el Espacio, Peru 979, San Telmo - a store for rising young local designers. I bought 3 beautiful reversible silk wrap skirts that can be worn in so many different ways...I kept one for myself, and gave one each to my sisters. The idea is not novel, but the print and fabric were so beautiful, I could not just keep one for myself. I later bought this necklace below, in the sister-store on Defensa esq Independencia (and a smaller version with one sole blue flower, and darker 'beads'), and some funky leather wristbands. The ring to the left I bought on the streets of Palermo (it goes perfectly with the bracelet on the right which I've had for years).

• Tacones Lejanos (same name as a Pedro Almodavar movie), Bethlehem 423 and another store on Defensa. Sadly the ladies shoes were not of interest to me, but the mens shoes! Incredibly soft leather and gorgeously funky designs, hubby snapped 3 pairs (encouraged by me, of course, and I also later brought my brother-in-law who bought a more subdued, yet still funky, pair for work). Highly recommend checking this store out! (Juan+, hope this tip is not too late for you. I can't remember when you were off to BA).

There were many more stores in San Telmo, but these were the ones I happened to 'stumble across' that I liked (I didn't specifically search for stores, as shopping is not my main objective when travelling overseas...)

Buenos Aires - Pt I: La Boca/ El Caminito

I am happy to report that I accomplished most (if not all) I intended to do whilst in Buenos Aires as I posted in "Buenos Aires - Here we Come". One of the highlights of my trip to Buenos Aires was El Caminito, in La Boca. I am glad we went early to avoid the crowds, which allowed us to soak in the gorgeous happy colours and architecture of this old area. Later in the morning the La Boca markets started, with jewellery, leather and craft stalls attracting the many tourists.

I heard La Boca was quite an unsafe area, and in most parts of Buenos Aires I had my Chloe Ava bag slung across my body. I looked absolutely silly, but oh well, better safe than sorry I suppose...

Quilmes was our favourite beer in Argentina, and I'm not even a huge beer drinker! It was refreshing and 'clean' and crazily, cheaper than water! You could get a 1l bottle for $3 to $4 pesos!

There were some crazy porteños (Buenos Aires residents) checking us out from their window sills.

I'm back! And already suffering from post-holiday blues...

Alas, my 4-week holiday to South America has come to an end, and I am back home.  It went by so so quickly, and was just amazing.  Particularly spending it with my two sisters, brother-in-law and my parents, we haven't been together like that in two years!   

Thank you so much to everyone who still checked up on my scheduled posts (I'm afraid I did not have time to make any unscheduled posts), and especially for those who left such lovely comments! And OMG! I could not believe it when I read a comment left by Altamira NYC! Is it incredibly pathetic to be blogger-struck?

In order to get over my post-holiday blues I plan to share some of my holiday experiences with you all, so watch this space!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!