Paris Finale

Some last words on Paris. Walking around knowing that you had nothing pressing to do but just to enjoy yourself for the last two days in Paris is a luxury.

This must be like the millionth time I've mentioned the LV store, but this time I actually have something interesting to share besides how awesome I think it is. From now until some time soon (not sure when) there is a Louis Vuitton Exposition on the 7th floor in the LV building. Very few people know about it, just go in through the scary official looking side entrance and they'll take you up a completely black elevator (seriously, black felt covered with NO LIGHT) and drop you off at the exposition where they have awesome displays of LV coolness, like this hot air baloon hanging bag, flat screen suitcase, the MJ room, the Vuitton bag columned terrace, sleek designs, LV wallpaper...totally gorgeous.

Another thing I loved about Paris was the food. And since I have a sweet tooth, the chocolatiers especially. There is Pierre Herme here, where I bought this delicious chocolate lollipop thing (right) with caramel inside.

The Maison du Chocolat. I had high expectations for this after all the raging from my friends. The chocolate cake was delicious.

But my favourite was the Jean Paul Hevin which I had with HG. We sat down and each had a chocolate cake. They were completely DIVINE.

Another thing I had with HG was this very good valued 6 course meal for 38 euros off Lourmel. It came first with a pumpkin mousse thing.

Then a soup.
Duck and Foie Gras (i still have not acquired the taste for it)
Scallops and lobster thingys thats like small prawns which I cannot remember the thing of. Lagoustine? Well anyway, this was my favourite.

Shephards pie, which was better then I expected. And the my friend had deer meat (right) which i heard tasted "not bad"
Cheese and a chocolate cake which was so good I forgot to take a picture of.

At night, may I suggest the bar at the Hotel Plaza Athenee where they filmed Sex and the City? We didn't even realise it was here. But the decor was totally chic (although the drinks were all a whooping 24euros!)

For something slightly cheaper, there is the Mandalay Club(did I spell it right?), which is a restuarant and a club (after 12ish). Cover charge is around 20euros with a drink including. But then you can stay there all night...where you can head over to Quick afterwards for a quick bite!

On my last day, I spent 5 hours on the Eiffel Tower (the lines are horrendous!!!) and 1 hour taking pictures of and with it from the Grand Palais area where this gorgeous bridge is. It also sparkles for 10 minutes every hour. And that concludes my adventures in Paris. Goodbye Paris!

Christmas 2006: Friends and Parties

Many people have asked us to write about what to wear to Christmas parties with friends and family. So this post is about what clothes would be great for casual partying with your friends. Personally, I think jeans and a pretty top is the best outfit. While this may seem casual for some people, I think overdressing is the worst thing one could do, so stick to the basic combo!

So the key to making the outfit is the incredible top. Barneys Girl and I have been obsessed with silk lately because we think it makes a top look really classy. Another great thing about a cool going out top is that you can wear it for so many occasions afterwards. Anyways, so here are some tops that I like:

Bright, bold colours are definitely good choices -fashionable and eye-catching. Tops by Sunner (left) and Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent (right).

Another bold colour but for the cool skin tones, blue. Tops by Nieves Lavi (left) and Top Shop (right).

Pretty, casual kimono tops by Urban Outfitters.

These two tops are perfect for office parties or say, nice Christmas dinners. Tops by Marc by Marc Jacobs (left) and Rebecca Taylor (right).

With the androgynous look being all the rage this season, you could def try that look for parties. I love the tops above. They just give off this really cool (and slightly unfriendly) vibe. Tops by Rachel Roy (left) and Top Shop (right).

It is winter afterall, so some people may prefer long sleeves. That's absolutely fine as long as the tops don't look too stuffy and have nice details on them, like the flowy sleeves in the top by Foley for Foley + Corinna (left) and the serious prettiness of the top by LaROK.

Pictures from topshop.com and shopbop.com.

So, keep an eye out for that oh-so-incredible top!

BG Shop's Intuition!

So as a treat for myself I decided to do some virtual shopping over at Intuition, and here is what I would get if money was no object.

This fabulous looking leather cropped jacket from Mike and Chris. I've been wanting a cropped jacket and a leather jacket lately. This one has both. It looks so cool. For something more classic, there is this hoody pinstriped blazer from True Religion, which I think would be great for looking smart in a sec.

Then there is this awesome striped boyfriend sweater from Cristi Conaway. The stripes are cool yet somewhat different from all those one sees on the streets lately. This black sweater here (right) is plain (so it matches everything) with just the right amount of feminine deatils to make it interesting.

The perfect winter shorts. Here we have Charlotte Ronson short shorts and tweed gaucho shorts. I think they are both at the perfect most flattering length.

For the night, I am lusting after this sexy Yumi Kim scoop back shirt. And I just LOVE the back pocket of Brown Label jeans, they look interesting yet flattering. Unlike the True Religion ones which in my opinion just makes the butt look big.

I know these are the same style, but the beige one with the floral trim is great for the day and the black one is just polished enough for the night. I'd like them both please!

For evening wear, I am still crazy about silk dresses. I think these two grey/silvery ones are gorgeous for a winter's night out. Matches the snow, you know? LOL.

To hats, I rather like these knit berets, because they remind me of the ones Melrose was wearing in ANTM. Even though they said it was trying too hard, I thought they looked cute. And this beanie here is just classic.

I am a sucker for hoops. I am loving these double hoops and tear drop hoops. Oh and this Love Letter Ring is just soo adorable. You can get it personalised with your special someone's alphabet on it!

Other random things I like are these O Deer! patent black slingbacks, this Mike & Chris wide belt and this adorable looking Devon travel case.

Aren't these all just oh-sp-tempting? In case you'd like to do some actual shopping at Intuition, right now you can get 20% off your purchase by entering the code "FASHIONISTA." Oh and they're even offering free gift wrap with every order- perfect for the holidays *hint*hint*!

FW06 Trend: Tunics and Smocks

OK, so first of all, those of you lovely readers who cheak in regularly may have noticed that our blogging has been a bit... off, timing wise. Here's what's up with Barney's Girl's and my life: Last weekend, both of us packed up and flew back home to Hong Kong from London and Paris. I arrived home to my newly refurnished home and room, which was piled with everything I own, so I literally had to jump over boxes and stacks of books to get to my bed and desk. So obviously, I've been busy putting everything away and finishing the refurnishing (still lots to finish up on). Today, Lane Crawford's sale (the equivilant of Saks) had just begun so I spent some time doing very important shopping. As for Barney's Girl, she landed in HK on Monday, dumped her luggage home and went straight to the eye doctor, Bobbi Brown counter and hair salon, where I mamanged to catch a quick chat with her for 10 minutes. Then last night, she flew off to Australia for a family vacation. See, we were SO busy that I spent less than half an hour on the Internet in the past few nights, which is just weird for me.

So anyways, onto tunics and smocks. According to British Elle, the definition of smocks is 'a cute, loose shirt that stands away from the body.' I wasn't bothered to check what tunics meant, but I think we can just think of them as long tops (which aren't as loose.) Both tops are long and brilliant to wear with skinny jeans (or mini skirt with full leggings).

Chloe is one of the main reason for the trend. Cute and babydoll-like.

Marc Jacobs is another brand that does such tops, although Marc Jacobs' is darker and not quite as cute.

Tunic by Sunner. Such a fantastic top -you can wear it casually or for a nice night out.

This very casual long vest by Velvet is great for super casual wear. It feels sort of LA-ish. A great way which I've learnt to make tops like this less casual, or simply to add more city-feel is to add a blazer over it. I mean, this must be the reason why designers made so many great cropped jackets and blazers this season -to go with all those long tops!

Top Shop as usual, makes loades of trendy yet affordable tops. I bought this one last week in my Bye-Top-Shop-For-One-Month shopping spree. I love those big buttons and the rib design. It's also another top perfect for me to roll out of bed, put on and run to (enter next desination).

Here's another smock by Top Shop.

Mark and Estel have some very simple, long flowy tees, which are also great for the look. This brand is now relatively known thanks to MKA Olsen wearing shirts by the brand a while ago.

For those who like the trendy, preppy look, wear a mini polo dress with jeans. The one above is by T.

Some of the tops are quite 'flared' so may make you feel like a preganat woman. One way to make this better is to wear a belt around the waist. (The belt should go around the narrowest part of your waist.) The belt will even instantly add style points!

America's Next Top Model Cycle 7: Spoiler!

Its been like almost a week late, but I've been SO busy packing to fly back home and packing again to fly tonight tonight (god my skin is so dry) that I haven't had the time to watch and review it until now.So here I go, so don't scroll down if you don't want to know. Frankly, I thought that as this show progesses, its getting m0re boring and redudant. The reason why I keep watching it is because I am always impressed by how creative their challenges, prizes and shoots are. Plus, they give you good tips for posing in front of your own camera ;) So the winner of America's Next Top Model Cycle 7 is. . . .Caridee! Frankly, I feel apathetic towards the results, because I wasn't vouching for anyone in particular. I didn't think any of the girls were particularly good or deserving to begin with. They all had their ups and down. Caridee's last performance on the runway was awful, from her walk to her scream- it was painful to watch. And the one thing that irritated me the most was the bull shooting episode where she insulted Nigel. First of all it was an unclassy thing to say to begin with. Secondly, her apology letter was lame and unnecessary. And lastly, stop tapping your legs!! She really was all over the place!
Despite all that though, her shoots were indeed effortless and has been consistently good. I thought this was pretty cool.
Second runner up Melrose was quite the bitch. But you got to admire her drive. She got the most go-see's done, her runway walk and scream was amazingly elegant and pretty, she got everything down to an art. Unfortunately for her there really is something such as trying too hard. It made her shoots unnatural and breaks down really easily.
I thought this was one of her better shots.
Then there was Eugena. I didn't like her at first, because I kind of related her to Monique that immature girl who rubbed her panties on people's bed, but she started to grow on me towards the end. That piece she said about the contest being a journey for progress was very insightful. And her commercial was pretty good once she got out of her shell.
This shoot here was amazing. Too bad she didn't get out of her shell earlier. Ithink she just needed more time to improve. And just because she's quiet and doesn't proclaim she wants to be the Next Top Model every other minute doesn't mean she doesn't want it!

I am always impressed with the make-up and hair whenever I see the twins, because they looked so plain and awkward in person- even after the make over. Was amazed at how long Jaeda managed to last in the competition. Felt sorry for Brooke, I thought she looked good as a brunette. And was very surprised that AJ got kicked out so early. I thought she was really good. Oh and I thought they put the models in unneccesary risks too. I mean, if they were going to super impose the bull into the picture closer to her, than is it really neccessary to have them pose with a bull in the arena to begin with? And what is with them shooting in the freezing pool? I am sure heated pools are easy to come by. Its not like the scenery beside the pool was needed anyway. The shooting in the flying room was ugly too, I'm sure they could've just wired them. The photos turned out real ugly with distorted faces and all. Overall this season was average.

BG's Paris Diary: Week 10

So here are a few random things you should do if you have the luxury of spare time in Paris.

Just wander around the Louvre by yourself. It is a liberating experience and there are SO MUCH one misses when on a quick tour. I am especially glad I didn't miss this sculpture here, it soo romantic and touching.
Next to the Louvre, there is the Palais Royal. It is an absolutely beautiful garden. On a sunny day, it is especially beautiful and a Parisian crowd gathers to play ball and walk around with their kids. It is charming.
Just so you can say you've been there, there is Montmarte and this building here is the Sacre-Coeur basillica. This is where that scene with the carrousel was filmed from Amelie! Personally I didn't like the area much. Too crowded and there were loads of people accosting you on the street trying to tie strings on your wrists.

Odd things I've seen in Paris. The signs there say, "Greedy Hamster,""Chat Gentil,""Mixed WC,""Chat Vorace" and other bizarre things like that. And this ad, is absolutely EVERYWHERE in the Paris metro. It advertises a museum exhibit. I swear that she looks like Paris Hilton!

Everything in Paris are tiny. Their smart cars are so tiny, they can be parked like THAT (left) on the street. I've honestly never seen that done before until now. I hear that when they park so close they can't get it, they just get four guys on the street and lift the car out, though i have not seen this phenomena yet. Oh and the other day, people were crowding on the streets staring at this little rat eat. It was crazy. I've never seen one so small before, granted I don't see a lot of rats period. . .

And I also find it fascinating that everywhere I go there are restuarants and street names and areas named after people I've studied in class. Descartes, Voltaire, Diderot to name a few. Although I really shouldn't since they name streets after presidents all the time. But still, I thought it was kind of cool.

Now, I am off to enjoy my last two days in Paris- work free! Since HG and I are both going to be busy packing and leaving to go back home, we are going to be taking a break from blogging this weekend. But we'll see you all on monday!