outfitting: happy halloween!

The Lion, the Witch & the Vampire: Costume Breakdown

My cousin, the scary-lookin' Vampire (aka Amy), made my Chronicles of Narnia Snow Witch dress and shawl. I bought the fabric for about $6 at the swap meet and the fur was left over from one of her previous projects.

I got the crown from Wal-Mart for $2 and spray painted it white. I bought the icicle garland trimming from Michaels for $2 and used wire to attach it to the crown.

My earrings are actually snowflake Christmas ornaments I got at Joe's 99¢ Store. Turning ornaments into earrings are simple, just add earring hooks.

I bought the clear plastic heels from Wal-Mart for $5.

Emil's lion head and tail comes from a damaged kid's costume I found at Wal-Mart for $3.

Amy made her entire costume from scratch, except for her boots, custom-made vampire teeth and freaky contact lenses.

outfitting: v&r ties the knot with h&m

Free People Silk Jumper:
- $118.00 @ Macy's
- I love the detailing of this dress most. The gold and magenta blossom print and the brown piping are eye-catching and the brass buttons and front flap pockets give it a "Home Sweet Home" effect. The dress is cut almost like a cooking apron. I've actually been searching for an actual apron. There are adorably stylish ones at Kitsch'n Glam, but they're a bit pricey for aprons.

Ellemeno Brown Tunic:
- $3.48 @ Mervyn's
- If worn alone this top may look a bit hippie, but it's good for layering.

A&F Brown Leggings:
- @ Abercrombie & Fitch
- I bought these at A&F during the Christmas 2002 season when Heidi Klum was the quarterly's centerfold. That was when I first started to wear leggings and people thought I dressed oddly.

Payless "Koincidence" Oxford Bone Lace-Up Shoes:
- Originally $19.99, with BOGO deal: $9.99 @ Payless
- I headed over to Payless to check out the Abaeté collection and just as Geraldine had said, it was pretty disappointing and not pretty at all (The Winter collection is looking good so far. I want the Xavier cocktail ankle boots! I still have faith!). My visit to Payless was not all in vain though, because I bought a pair of flat suede boots and these Victorian-inspired tailored oxford heels. I love the lace-up bootie style and the best part is the great support!

Xhilaration Ivory Fold Clutch:
- $12.99 @ Target
- Why it's an oxymoron, a giant coin purse. Wait, I did use that term correctly right?

The Wedding Celebration for the Marriage of Viktor & Rolf with H&M:

I was super excited about this back in May. Imagine how I feel now....

A white carpet strewed with petals wrapped around a centerpiece fountain. Photographers and reporters stood on the edge of the carpet. In between celebrity arrivals, press was actually fed served sandwiches, salad, pasta and cookies. Never before have I seen press treated this well by a PR company. Kudos to bluPRint!

The multiple story mansion entry was flanked with large vases filled with white roses. Guests were led through the hallway all the way to the mansion's backyard, where the party was held.

I thought this champagne tower was pretty impressive. I remember trying to build my own champagne tower at a New Year's Eve party a few years ago. My tower wasn't as tall, the flutes were plastic and champagne spilled everywhere, but I don't think anyone cared because it was the New Year and we were all tipsy.

A flat screen TV above a fireplace aired the Viktor & Rolf for H&M commercial on rotation. Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren along with their campaign model, Raquel Zimmerman, stood upon a flower-adorned platform above the pool to greet their guests as they entered the party.

Zimmerman modeled an exclusive wedding gown from the collection, which will retail for under $400. The dress looked great on the model, but not everyone can pull off wearing a gown with a large floppy bow.

Beethoven, Madonna's "Like a Virgin," and Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" were amongst the variety of songs the nine piece orchestra played throughout the night.

Underneath the white pleated silk tent and giant chandeliers, there was a four-tiered wedding cake complete with a grooms and bride topper. The cake was the perfect backdrop for the runway show.

I thought the runway show was a huge success. The clothes looked great and the models looked like they were having fun. The guys were all clones of Viktor & Rolf and sporting cheesy smiles. But of course the stars of the night were the Dutch design duo. I thought V&R looked awfully adorable up on that runway. It's me taking photos and Emil admiring the snazzy outfits.

The fashion show ended in a flurry of white linen petals blown over the crowd like snowfall.

White-gloved waiters began to cut the giant cake as the few petals fell to the ground. I skipped the cake because I was already on a sugar high from all the passed desserts I nibbled on throughout the evening.

This was one of the most extravagant weddings (albeit fake) I've ever attended. I had a really good time!

The star-studded guest list:
- Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen
- Kanye West
- Owen Wilson
- Christina Milian
- Carmen Electra
- Chloe Sevigny
- Mia Maestro
- Reggie Miller
- Alison Lohman
- Shanna Moakler
- Pete Wentz
- Kate Walsh
- China Chow

In the gift bag:
- Framed photo of Viktor & Rolf and Raquel Zimmerman
- H&M Magazine
- 20% H&M discount card

day 5 with kelly nishimoto

I didn't get to attend as many shows as I had planned to on the last day of LA Fashion Week. The lousy traffic made us miss Yana K. and after Kelly Nishimoto, we were too tired to wait around for Kevan Hall. I spotted Samaire Armstrong in a green chiffon dress with her pixie do slicked back.

The Kelly Nishimoto show was held in the very small Lightbox tent, so the hoards of people packed into the vicinity were all breaking fire safety codes. It's a relief that runway shows are only about 10 to 15 minutes long, because it started to feel like a sweaty nightclub inside the tent.

Kelly Nishimoto's spring collection consisted mainly of flirty, feminine dresses. The fabric choices were girly too. There were tons of silk and satin, velvet details, flower and bird prints, bow trimmings, and soft jersey. A few of the pieces looked like they could be pajamas.


The looks I liked most was an Asian-inspired printed jumper with floppy red ribbons, the two baby doll dresses in a brocade blue fabric and cotton candy pink satin, and a lilac cotton gown with velvet ribbons.


In the gift bag:
- Paula Radke Dichroic Glass Pendant
- Upshot Mocha Energy Shot
- Fall 2006 issue of Item Magazine

day 2 with single

During my lunch break on the second day (10/16) of LA Fashion Week, Emil and I attended the Single designed by Galina Sobolev show. Smashbox was pretty crowded even though it was only one in the afternoon and people were already flocking towards the free alcohol. While we were waiting in line, I spotted creepy-"It just got me off"-Vincent from Project Runway. If it was any other Project Runway designer, I would've rushed over for a photo-op, but Vincent, in the words of Catherine Malandrino, is just "No...no, no, no."

The show had a really cool soundtrack with California-themed songs and the gift bag was filled with lots of useful goodies, but the clothing was boring. The collection consisted mostly of unoriginal, printed, flowing dresses. I did like the mosaic stained glass print that was used in a couple of the dresses. I also liked the white linen cocktail dress because of its simplicity. A crowd favorite was the black dress with pockets and the crisscross back.

In the gift bag:
- "Happiness is Being Single" Tee
- Single Candle
- Color Club Nail Polish
- M.A.C. Cosmetics: lipglass in Factory Made, tinted lip conditioner stick, fluidline eye-liner gel in Nightfish, eye shadow in Idol Eyes and Black Tied
- Marilyn Ninyos Round Hair Brushes
- Chaé Organics Skincare Kit and Body Butter
- Blowfish Sushi Restaurant Gift Cards
- Unite Eurotherapy Hair Products
- 95 and Sunny Swarovski Crystal Glass Manicure Files

outfitting: day 1 with evisu

Rene Kasmer Flower Print Pink Dress:
- $1.00 @ Holy Family Christian Closet
- Thoeun calls this the "Chinese Mail Order Bride" dress, but such a description makes me love it more! The dress actually goes a little pass my knees, but I pinned it up to make it shorter and so that I can show off my white leggings. I love the dress' versatility, the bright colors and the light, satin-like fabric.

White Leggings:
- $7.99 @ Marshalls
- Taking a cue from Rachel Zoe, I accessorized a printed summer dress with leggings. I got a lot of compliments on my white leggings in a sea of black ones, especially because I wore them over the ball of my foot so they kind of looked like stir-ups.

White Patent Leather Clutch:
- $2.00 @ Baras Thrift Store
- See YMI Royalty Fashion Show

Turquoise Plastic Hoop Earrings:
- $1.99 @ Urban Outfitters
- See Project Santino

Seychelles She's Back Turquoise Leather Sandals:
- $25.99 @ Marshalls
- I'll have a better picture in future posts where you can actually see these heels. The color and they style give off an 80's retro vibe. The heel isn't too high which is good, but the straps lost its support after a few wears so the sandals have a loose fit now.

I wanted to head to the first day of LA Fashion Week early this morning (Sunday), but things came up and I didn't meet up with John until seven o'clock. I came just in time to catch the Evisu show.

The Evisu show opened up with two musicians banging on Japanese drums against an urban Tokyo skyline backdrop and then a shirtless male model came down the runway in slouchy jeans and carrying denim blocks that spelled out E-V-I-S-U. The collection is a blend of premium denim, funky fits and Japanese silk.


My favorites were the starch white trench with matching gloves and the black denim twisted halter dress. The audience cheered at the sight of a Samurai headdress and the flowing silk Kimono top that closed the show.

Inside the small red gift bag, which reminded me of the ly sy envelopes we get during Vietnamese New Year, there was an Evisu catalog and two bottles of deluxe Evisu body wash (Rock and Forever). I also got a free sample of Smashbox eye shadow from the nice girl at the photo booth.

The Smashbox photo booth has to be the best thing ever! I love it! I take at least half a dozen photo strips each time. John thinks I'm nuts, but I know he enjoys it as much as I do. I'm not denying that I'm a picture-whore! The first step is admitting you have a problem...

During the show I spotted Rex Lee across the runway in the front row. Why does this man go to as many fashion shows as me?


Dr. Torres from "Grey's Anatomy" looks hot with straight hair.

outfitting: gen art's fresh faces in fashion

American Apparel White Tee:
- Free from the Ford Fusion Studio D Tour
- See Go Army!

Wide Black Elastic Belt:
- $0.79 @ Baras Thrift Store
- See Cute Outfit Wasted on Lame Party

Black Taffeta Ruffle Tiered Skirt:
- $7.00 @ Goodwill
- Originally, this skirt was an 80's dress complete with shiny silver fabric. After I washed it, the elasticity of the top part of the dress was lost and the silver of the fabric was rubbed off. It looked horrendous. I didn't want my $7 to go to waste, so I cut off the top and ta-da!, a wonderfully beautiful tiered skirt! The tiered look is very senorita-romantic, but this version is more rocker chick.

Vintage Anne Klein for Calderon Black Patent Leather Clutch:
- $0.25 @ Holy Family Bazaar
- See Yo-ho! Yo-ho! A Pirate's Life For Me, Party to the Xtreme and Donna Graduates

DKNY Black Tights:
- $5.99 @ TJ Maxx
- Black tights are must this season!

Nine West Espadrille Black Peep Toe Wedges:
- $29.99 @ Marshalls
- See Donna Graduates and Team Aniston

Xhilaration Red Plaid Button:
- $2.50 @ Target
- This button is a simple way of adding a bit of plaid to an outfit. Plaid is all the rage this winter, but an overload of plaid is not good for the eyes.

AE Who Loves Ya? Button:
- Part of a packet of buttons @ American Eagle Outfitters
- This is my favorite button of the pack because it's the only one that doesn't have AE logos on it.

Lily Allen Blue and Black Checkered Button:
- Free from "MTV Conference Room Concert Series"
- Lily Allen performed only three songs while she was at the MTV Santa Monica offices. Other artists before her have played at least five songs and were way more engaged with the audience. Lily Allen's sound is all Brit-bubblegum-pop. I rocked her button to Gen Art Fashion event and coincidentally her song "Smile" was played during the runway show.

I was looking forward to attending Gen Art's "Fresh Faces in Fashion" all week and when Friday finally arrived I was not disappointed. The event is to celebrate LA's emerging fashion design talents. For most designers, this would be their first runway show and many designers from the show's past have upgraded to the runways of Smashbox Studios (i.e. Louis Verdad).

The event was held inside the massive Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica airport with an extra long runway, various makeshift cocktail bars and four installations exhibiting the works of four accessories/shoe designers. My favorite display was Hollie Ten's "Le petite écolière." The school room setting felt very girlie, innocent and vintage-inspired. I loved her Chanel No. 5 miniature perfume bottle necklace!

Since there were a total of 8 designers showing on the catwalk, the show was longer than any other fashion show I've attended. The menswear collections all seemed too bold for an average guy. Some of my favorites include the blue plaid dress and the men's vest and pant ensemble by Fremont, all the button details in the garments of Augustine and the periwinkle fabric in a few of Katy Rodriguez's pieces. Even though I wasn't super impressed with the showing, I thought it was rather interesting to see how diverse the collections were from each other despite all the designers being from Los Angeles.

Famous people we saw:
- Reggie! Reggie! (Emil was most excited about this sighting!)
- Macy Gray
- One half of Sister, Sister (I forgot which twin)
- The girl who played Fancy on The Jamie Foxx Show
- Project Runway's Nick Verreos
- A very drunk Surreal Life cast member: Traci Bingham
- Lost's Emile de Ravin

In the gift bag:
- Blackberry Pearl bag (three Blackberry Pearls were given out, but unfortunately I wasn't one of the lucky winners)
- Johnnie Walker t-shirt
- Ecru NY traveling hair care set
- Acura compact
- In:LA mints
- Pommery POP Champagne light-up pen
- Tree Hut Shea Body Butter
- Bawls Guaranexx Drink
- September/October Los Angeles Confidential Magazine
- Audio CD of "Wild Animus"
- Virgin Couture CD sampler
- Sample of Sexy Beast Dog cologne
- "The Rage in Placid Lake" DVD

outfitting: ymi royalty fashion show

Norton McNaughton Button-Up Striped Dress with Pockets:
- $1.50 @ Holy Family Christian Closet
- This is one of my favorite dresses at the moment. It's comfortable and can be thrown on quickly for a casual sophisticated look. I love the pockets and the cuffed sleeves.

White Leather Belt with Gold Chains:
- $1.75 @ Boys and Girls Club of Venice Thrift Store
- I like this belt's military-inspired look and how it cinches my waist. I feel like it's a one-of-a-kind belt because of the three chain drape.

White Patent Leather Clutch:
- $2.00 @ Baras Thrift Store
- When I go out, I don't really like to carry a large purses hence my love for clutches. They're the perfect size to tuck under your arm and have just enough room to fit the bare necessities. This is a fantastic white clutch to match with almost any outfit.

Xhilaration Gold and White Chandelier Earrings:
- @ Target
- The white beads are mod and combined with the gold squares, these earrings are geometric dangles of earlobe fun.

BCBGirls Gold Peep Toe Heels:
- $29.99 @ Marshalls
- See White After Labor Day, Milk Does a Body Good and Party to the Xtreme

I got an invitation to the "Hollywood Style" YMI Jeanswear party at Social Hollywood last night. My usual companions were too lazy to go with me, so I met up with John and his intern, Samantha. Social Hollywood looks like kind of like a warehouse because of its high ceiling and wide space.

The YMI fashion show featured the new Royalty line and was opened by Aaron Carter and his sister (the one that isn't blonde). I'm not really into embellished denim, but some of the stone washes were cool. The runway show closed with the designer and Miss Teen USA waving in the midst of rose petals that were thrown from the second floor onto the people below. After the show Adam 12 from She Wants Revenge deejayed, but the crowd was already dispersing to the front door to grab their goodie bags.

Rex Lee is a big of a party whore as I am because I see him everywhere! Tonya from Real World, Joanie from America's Next Top ModelAmerican Idol were hanging out a few feet from the bar. Birds of a feather, flock together. Samantha was uber excited to see J.Lo's ex, so we snapped a picture with Chris Judd (who looks way better than Marc Anthony):

and Kimberly Caldwell from
In the gift bag:
- YMI Jeanswear denim bags and tank
- Bed Head products
- Too Faced lip plumping gloss
- Izze Sparkling Fruit Juice
- OPI Nail Polish
- Orbit gum
- Jacqua lotion samples
- Splendora handheld purse assistant book

outfitting: museums free-for-all

Paul & Joe Wool Multi-Plaid Poncho:
- $59.99 @ Target
- I was glad that Sunday turned out to be a colder day with some light rain because it finally gave me the opportune time to wear this wool poncho! I like the different colors of the plaid fabric, which can be mixed and matched with tons of stuff. The sleeves can be unbuttoned for a cape look.
- See Right on Target with Paul & Joe

Levi's Boot Cut Stretch Jeans:
- @ Mervyn's
- I've had these jeans forever, so they're pretty worn in. They're stretchy, soft and very comfortable.

Levi's Green Denim Clutch:
- @ Wetseal
- I completely forgot that I had this clutch until I found it amongst other purses I've forgotten about in my big suitcase. Cleaning has its rewards! I love the green color and the Levi's signature durability.

This past Sunday (10/1) marked the second annual "Museums Free-For-All" event. Emil loves going to museums, so we each picked a museum to go to.

Emil's choice was the Autry National Center's Museum of the American West because he took an American West history class awhile back. He really enjoyed learning about Lewis and Clark and cowboys and Indians. The museum was small, but I liked being able to take pictures inside. The gun gallery was pretty neat and the Yosemite exhibit had gorgeous photographs and paintings.

I chose to go to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) because I wanted to check out the "Breaking the Mode: Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection" exhibit. I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit, but it sucked that I wasn't allowed to take pictures. My favorites were vintage dresses from Karl Lagerfeld and Jean-Paul Gaultier. Emil thought that the jacket that was made to look like a Japanese futon (comforter) was pretty interesting. We were both surprised to see the ridiculously tiny waistline of a corset from the 1400s, which inspired Vivienne Westwood in the 80s.

outfitting: white after labor day

Free People Lurex Stripe Gauze Athena Embellished Dress in Ecru:
- $30.00 @ T.J. Maxx
- I like this dress because it has a lot of details including the hem that's trimmed with duchesse lace and the wood and milk glass beads embellished on the crocheted neck line. The dress is light and sheer, so the built in slip definitely helps a lot. And now I don't have to get a slip for my other very thin/sheer dresses. The dress definitely feels very Greek-like with its gold stripes. For a more casual look, the dress can be paired with gladiator sandals or my Jennifer Swii Greek lace-up sandals.

BP Nordstrom Lace Chain with Wooden Heart Earrings:
- $10.00 @ Nordstrom
- See San Diego County Fair

Beaded Ivory Clutch:
- $2.00 @ Baras Thrift Store
- There was an accompanying compact mirror I found in the clutch, which was such a surprise. All the beading is still intact even though the lining has rust marks from the mirror. The clutch feels very fancy and feminine.

Handmade Bracelets with Wood Beads:
- Gift from Di Hai
- Di Hai gave us a bunch of these bracelets from Vietnam. I like that they are adjustable.

BCBGirls Gold Peep Toe Heels:
- $29.99 @ Marshalls
- See Milk Does a Body Good and Party to the Xtreme

Liz, Sweta, Alex and I dressed up in all white to attend the St. Tropez-style nightclub party at the Friars Club of Beverly Hills hosted by Le Carre d'As on Saturday night (9/30). The invitation was in French and it said something about celebrating the musical producer work of a French ladies' man. I thought it was a rather strange and random invite, but what the hell....


Highlights of the night:

- The must wear white policy was broken by many, many people. I don't think the bouncer's stern "You must wear white next time, I am serious!" warning was very effective. Maybe it was the French accent.

- European folks use their entire body while dancing.

- They also like to dance on stilts.

- I didn't get to bring "Sexy Back."

- Men should always wear undershirts, especially if they are wearing sheer white shirts.

- Old men who try to hit on girls half their age are just gross.

- It is NEVER okay for a girl to be crying her eyes out over a lost compact and lip gloss. And stop using ghetto people as your scapegoats!

- I was flattered, but taking pictures of people you don't know is kind of creepy.

- Lingerie is reserved for the bedroom unless you are a super model.

- Sweta should've worn booty shorts.