PPR Became Majority Shareholder of Christopher Kane

On January 15, the French luxury lifestyle group PPR bought a 51% share in the British fashion house Christopher Kane!

I was really excited to hear this good news and happy for the fashion house! In general, a lot of people see a small company being bought out as a bad thing, but this is not necessary true for small or medium sized fashion companies. The PPR group also owns brands such as Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. Independent fashion designers can definitely benefit from the resources and existing operations of such a large group. It is difficult for designers, as idealistic artists, to run the logistics and business side of their fashion house which leaves very little time for their actual creative process. PPR comes with beautiful showrooms, guaranteed buyer traffic, various supplier connections and established warehouses. But more importantly, it brings a team of creative business people who can preserve and create greater possibilities with Kane's talent!

One of the greater possibilities include the first physical retail store in 2014, which is some designer's lifelong dream! As we are seeing some improvements in the global economy since 2008, by the time Kane is ready to grow big, the world will be ready for it. I can't wait to see the clothes he will create with more time on his hands! His first show under PPR will be in February during London Fashion Week. As mention in the Financial Times, this transaction between PPR and Christopher Kane will likely propel the interest of other luxury groups in buying out independent fashion houses, especially in London. This is great news since the young, cool, and modern clothes put out by British indie designers are what to die for!

Outfit: Fall in Upper East Side

Belt Detail 

Tweed Jacket and bag thrifted from Value Village; vintage belt bought at The Clothing Show in Toronto; skirt from Le Chateau; silk crop top from Yaya & Co

I was feeling very preppy with wearing a bow hairband, tweed jacket and pleated skirt. Somehow I was reminded of how girls dress on the Upper East Side in Manhattan from the TV show Gossip Girl. I loved the fashion in the show and Blair's style. I'm not that interested in the plot anymore, but the fashionable clothes and the talent of stylist Eric Daman in Gossip Girl are still fascinating.    

Favourite Looks from Spring/Summer 2013 Runway

The Spring/Summer shows appeal much more to my aesthetic than F/W ones. I was so happy to see all those beautiful clothes coming down the runways. I picked my favourites this season:

Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane is one of my favourite designers. He is always so innovative. Somehow he manages to inject edginess into otherwise totally fresh and streamline girly looks. Loves his tailored and structurally draped dresses and jackets held together by bolts. I also particularly like the sheer blouse with a bow covering the chest. Some might not think it's new at all, but I love it because too many girls now wear sheer blouses (with maybe a print on it) that exposes the bra, which in my opinion has become very cliche. The fact that this blouse actually maintains the chastity yet looks not at all conservative is very unique to me. The spring/rubber band like texture in the shoes and one skirt reminds one of my rubber band dress, no?

Christian Siriano

I will wear the head-to-toe tone-on-tone blues, lace and satin, short suit to anywhere anytime. I now wish I had money more than ever. And the fairy tale dresses are just gorgeous.  

Marc Jacobs

Who doesn't love a t-shirt that makes you look cool and worth a million bucks?

Nina Ricci

I really like the mix of fabrics and layering in these looks.

Valentino

Valentino never disappoints with prettiness and femininity. The delicacy of the fabrics and sense of ease of the print and colours make me want to treasure these looks in my mind forever. 

All pictures are from style.com.

Beauty of the Understated; Places in Ontario

I could help but amaze at the beauty of an environment outside of a busy metropolis. I took these from when I went on nature hikes and family trips to Northern Ontario. Please bear with my next-to-none photography skills and camera phone pictures, it is what I am trying to capture that counts. 

rainy day and islands 

contrast and blues

trees, mist, and lake

pure waterlilies 

i am always amazed by the ability of waterlilies to grow out of muck and not be soiled at all

German fairy tale castle anyone?

The fact that I can never think of anything to paint bugs me a lot, but I think I just had an epiphany. It seems so simple, but I never realized how much I am touched by the beauty of understated things in my surroundings. I think I will turn some of these photos into paintings when I somehow get the time.

DIY Metal Collar Outfit

Blazer, H&M
Shirt, H&M
Metal Collar Tips, $1, eBay
Tights, eBay
High Waisted Washed-out Denim Shorts, $10, eBay
Pink Envelop Clutch, $10, eBay
Oxfords, Jeffrey Campbell

If you want to know how to find those items on eBay for around $10, feel free to let me know! :)
See the DIY: How to add metal tips to your shirt collar here

Scholastic// First Outfit Post!

Sweater      $10, Thrifted at Black Market Toronto
Bag         Gift

I am a student after all, so I wanted my first outfit post to stay true to who I am :)

I love the beaded chain bag that my friend gave to me as a gift, although she got it handed down to her from a relative. I think the beads were embellished by hand at some point in the bag's life by one of its many owners. Seeing people wear vintage things is so rare around me; I always wish my city and campus were more fashion-forward :P

I wrote about the sweater and thrift shopping in a previous post here

DIY Metal Collar Tips

This is a super easy DIY that everyone can do. It is easy to update your shirt to this season's trends by adding metal tips to the collar!

Materials:
a shirt
a pair of clamps, or any fastening device
a pair of metal tips - can be bought on eBay for $1 plus free shipping

a pair of metal collar tips I bought from eBay for $1

another picture of them

this is the shirt that I wanted to add metal collar tips to, very fitting right?

insert the tips on the collar first. 

as you can see, the collar ends of my shirt are not right triangles,

so we have to adjust the metal tips

use your thumbs to push the two wings of the metal tips closer together,
so they fit the ends of the collar

use clamps or some other device to squish down on the metal wings,
so they are fastened on to the collar

and voila, you now have a shirt with metal collar tips!

And this is why I love eBay.