Monthly Archives: November 2010

29
Nov
Christmas and Holiday Gift Ideas: Gadget Edition
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Fashion Advice


While Dawn has gotten the ball rolling for our Christmas gift ideas with the Travel Edition, I’ve decided to go with something a little geekier. Yes, I will be presenting a list of Gadget and gadget accessories as ideas for Christmas gifts. I fully believe that geeks can be fashionable too.

  • Laptop Sleeves

First up is this gorgeous Alexander McQueen Laptop sleeve which will hold a 15″ MacbookPro really nicely. It’s made of canvas and leather-trimmed which will make it durable and functional while being fashionable at the same time. It’s available for £225 on Net-a-porter.

  • Thumbdrives

Swarovski and Phillips had a collaboration to create some of the most beautiful thumbdrives I have ever seen. The best part is that some of them can be worn as jewellery. Take this one for example, it can be worn as a pendent. There’re many designs available and prices range from approximately US$40-60.

  • Designer Camera Bags

I don’t know about you but I am often annoyed at how utilitarian and ugly conventional camera bags look. This Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite Camera Bag would be perfect for carrying around the bulky DSLRs without compromising your outfit. Available at Louis Vuitton for  US$2,250.

  • Earphones/Earbuds

These are the Heartbeats by Lady Gaga in-ear headphones. I’m quite particular about sound quality of headphones but I really do love Beats by Dr Dre products and I would assume that these headphones would be no less awesome. It even comes in it’s own stylish carry case and are priced between US$99.95 and US$149.95.

Other things you can get for the gadget crazy fashionista:

  • For those who have iPads, do check out our list of designer iPad cases.
  • Designer Portable Hard Disk Drives from LaCie is extremely beautiful and streamlined, there’re so many photos and only so much space on the HDD on your laptop/computer.
  • Designer phone charms and lanyards. We’re really smitten with the ones from Vivienne Westwood!
  • Of course if you know the person well enough, actual gadgets like cameras, iPads, Wacom tablets would be really awesome.

So here we have it, the Monoxious Gadget gift ideas. Do watch out for our other Christmas editions coming soon.

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27
Nov
Outfit Post: Firestarter [Black Outfits]
posted by
Outfits


Sometimes I believe that you just need one article of clothing to make your outfit stand out. In this case, I believe that my H&M bralette did the trick. Please excuse my dishevelment, I’m running a stupid flu at the moment and is currently typing this blog post with a tissue stuffed up my nostril. Glamourous, I know.

Black Outfit Breakdown:

  • Tank Top: H&M
  • Bralette: H&M
  • Jeans: H&M
  • Shoes: Aldo
  • Necklace: Far East Plaza
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25
Nov
Christmas and Holiday Gift Ideas: Travel Edition
posted by
Fashion Advice


It’s the festive season once again! It’s a double whammy of Christmas and New Year (a hat trick for me because my birthday is in January) so I thought I’d list down some of my gift ideas.  From experience, it can be really hard to pick out a gift for someone. Either you know someone too little to not know what they like, or you know someone too well to understand what they don’t like. Either way, it is really a chore to find something you think they will like and use.
There is going to be a few parts in my “gift ideas” series, and I thought I’d start off with a Travel Edition. Here are a few things I think a frequent traveller would appreciate for their jetsetting lifestyle!

  • Travel Wallets and Passport Holders


    • Black Jewel Calf and Red Suede Travel Collection, from Aspinal of London. Approx $160

    A decadent set of travel wallets, luggage tags and passport holders. Also available in colours like camel and baby pink. I find myself always losing my boarding pass and passport in the dark recesses of my bags, and it’s truly a chore having to dig them out when you need it. With this travel set (which matches my luggage by the way!), not only will I have everything I need in a single place, I can travel with unparalleled style.

    Leather Travel Zip Wallet, from Kikki.k. $60.

    This travel wallet from Kikki.K might not be as decadent as the one from Aspinal of London, but it is cute and functional and most importantly more affordable. I like that it comes with a pen holder! That will come in really useful when you need to fill in forms on the plane. I have had items from Kikki.K before and they are pretty well made!

  • Cosmetic and Toiletries Cases

    • Hanging Cosmetic and Toiletries case, from Aspinal of London. $95

    I love this hanging case from Aspinal of London. I think I have pretty much fallen in love with their whole travel series… Anyway, this would make a great gift because there is always one thing everyone travels with -  Toiletries. You can hang this pouch beside the dresser or in the bathroom, making it accessible and organized at all times. Various zippered compartments also minimizes the chances of a spillage!

  • Bag Organizers

    • Travel Bag Organizer, available from most departmental stores.

    They are a lifesaver. Bag organizers come in various shapes and sizes, and you can get them easily in stores like m)phosis and Muji. I carry so many things in my bag when I travel. My laptop, camera, iPad, Blackberry, pens, planner, sunglasses and lipbalm are a permanent fixture in my bag, and everything gets jumbled up. With a bag organizer, I don’t have to dig around forever for an pen anymore!

Here are some other things you can get for the jetsetter..

  • Small empty bottles to store their creams and lotions. All airports now have a restriction for liquids and lotions so make sure that they can bring their favourite perfume and moisturiser on board!
  • External portable chargers for phones and iPods. One of my greatest fears when I’m doing long haul flights is to have my gadgets run out of juice halfway! 

Now here’s some things that I would advise against you getting

  • Skincare Products

    • When you think of someone who travels often, your first instinct is to walk into the Body Shop or L’Occitane or whatever to grab their “travel” skincare and beauty sets. However, chances are that he or she already has a tried and tested brand of skincare that they rely on. Unless you know that person well enough to know what products they use or what they are allergic to, your sets would probably be left at home in a dusty corner of their bathroom.

  • Bath Sets

    • Do you know anyone that carries a full set of towels, bath bombs and 20 different kinds of bath salts around when they travel? I don’t think so either. And face it, a bubble bath (if you even have a bathtub in the first place) is something you only do once in a while. I think the money is better invested in items that they can use more often. And most of the time, those towels in bath sets have bad absorbency anyway.

  • Photoframes and Mugs

    • You might as well get them a Christmas sweater. They are all equally sincere and useful.

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23
Nov
Outfit Post: Miss Murder [Black Outfits]
posted by
Outfits


I have been looking for long skirts for a while now and I finally found one that I like. I think this particular length is known as “tea-length” skirts?

Paired with a Topshop dress/slip. I can only wear it as a top because the bottom is so sheer that it leaves nothing to the imagination. I am really stumped as to how to coordinate it otherwise.

The rows of vertical pintucks on the bustier of this dress reminds me somewhat of vintage nightgowns.

Without the jacket. I have not figured out how to wear the jacket yet. The lapels are asymmetrical and draped and I do believe that there is more than one way to wear it.

I think paired with a pair of warm stockings, this skirt will make a warm Fall coordinate.

Outfit Breakdown:

  • Jacket: Zara, London
  • Dress (worn as top): Topshop
  • Skirt: FemmeX
  • Shoes: Sonia Rykiel for H&M
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22
Nov
H&M to open in Singapore: First store location in South East Asia
posted by
Fashion Review


OMG van brings you not-so-omg news: H&M is set to open its first store in South East Asia in the fall of 2011. The 3,000 square meter store will be located in Orchard Building, along the popular shopping district of Orchard Road in Singapore. There is no more need to travel to Hong Kong to shop at H&M anymore! Information available here

This is really great news to those who have been anticipating the store ever since rumours of them coming here started circulating in 2009. I doubt it will be the only store location in Singapore too. Uniqlo, a recent player in the fashion market in Singapore has already opened its third store, and I foresee the ever popular H&M following suit.

I can’t help but feel a little blasé at all the hype it is generating, however. I remember the same hype surrounding Uniqlo and NewLook a while back, and the insanely long queue at the launch of Uniqlo at Tampines 1. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an insane queue when H&M opens as well, although I think there is no harm in waiting to check it out once the crowd thins out a little.

It is also important to note that not every H&M store will carry the same collections. In London for example, only a couple of stores out of the 5 or more H&Ms along Oxford Circus and Regent street carried designer collaborations. So much anticipated collections may only reach Singapore much later, if they even decide to launch it here at all. Plus, I do believe the pricing here will be a little steeper than its European counterparts. I think I will still continue to buy the bulk of my H&M overseas when I travel.

Store Location: Orchard Building, 1 Grange Road. Locals may recognize it as the building across the road from Mandarin Gallery that houses a large California Fitness gym.

Nearest MRT station: Somerset along the North-South line.

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