I woke up early on the 12th with an IM from my friend about the designer Alexander McQueen’s death the day before in London. My sister on the East coast confirmed it was suicide before I had a chance to look online for the details. If you are interested in fashion you have probably already read something (if not a lot) about his larger-than-life contributions to the industry.
It’s been a week and I am just now processing his passing enough to write about it. I never met him, never attended his fashion shows, or even heard too many soundbites from this rather shy man…unlike other designers who are so adept at pushing their brand. He’d surfaced on the fashion radar in the latter part of the 90s–right around the same time when I started to get serious about buying to collect–and quickly found a cult following in fashion fans like me who cheered him on through both his struggling and triumphant collections. We couldn’t get enough of his imagination. Even his run at the revered House of Givenchy was brilliantly irreverent.
While I found his runway collections incredibly creative, I’m sad to say I couldn’t fit into any of his clothes. So I dabbled in his accessories. It’s passé to talk about skulls now–until they come back around again that is–but I believe at one point I had his skull scarves in all colors and textures. The skull jewelry and clutch don’t go out much but they are there, just so I could claim to have a piece of his mind.
And I was mad about his collaboration with Samsonite; the line of ribcage luggage was just right up this nomad’s alley. Creepy and quirky and insane, in a mad genius sort of way. Just like everything else that came out of his head. Of all the incredible collections that are churned out season after season, his was always the highlight for me. It was over the top and exactly what a fashion show should be: controversial enough to inspire creativity. There’s no one like McQueen.
It’s so sad that he’s gone.
Tags: Alexander McQueen, ribcage luggage, Samsonite, skull
I have a feeling some of you are still shoveling your way out of the snow, but here in my corner of the world it feels like summer already. People were out in droves in their shorts and tank tops this weekend in Old Town Pasadena. The heat was exactly what Jamba Juice and Pinkberry were praying for; the lines wrapped outside their respective doors. I’d just like to know what happened to Spring?
When it’s warm enough to wear flip flops outside, my first fashion thought is always of the white pants, even if we are still 3 months away from Memorial Day, the point in time when we are supposed to pull out those white pants. I say to heck with all those fashion rules. If Coco Chanel ever taught us anything it’s that convention is to be bucked…but all in good taste. Right?
So when all my girlfriends are talking about getting back in shape for swimsuit season, I’m secretly thinking about doing extra exercises (squats and situps) to get into the unforgiving linen pants or skinny capris. White pants are a royal pain to master, but when you find a pair that fits just right, it can be the backbone to your entire warm-weather wardrobe. So here goes today’s experiment.
Test Item: white linen theory pants
Business: I’m pairing my pants with a Chanel tweed sleeveless tunic and patent cap-toe slingbacks. Nobody does black/white like Chanel.
If your workplace like mine is more lax in its dress code and allows sandals, I’d also go for the whole Havana all-white look with a white linen shirt and black accessories:
Casual: this is what I call my weekend uniform when I’m on the road or at home. Give me a pair of linen pants and Converse sneakers and I’m a happy camper. Here, I am wearing this look with a grey JCrew henley top. My white leather sneakers are courtesy of Converse. I have a rainbow of these sneakers, but this is why I am in shopping rehab.
Play: Raise your hand if you have a hard time transitioning your look from work to an evening out. For me, it usually means just swapping out a pair of heels and grabbing my clutch or a metallic bag. But it’s even harder with white pants because they are so…bright. I know I live in LA where it’s OK to wear swimwear to dinner so it shouldn’t be a problem to carry white pants over into night, but it’s still tricky. So what I’ve done is layer it with a silk Gucci scarf top in rich colors and patterns then throw a black cardigan on top. Black cancels out white (in my head anyway) so I’ve gone from day to night. See how my messed up logic can get you out of just about any fix?
Anyway, last word about white pants. The reason I love white pants is because they will go with just about any pair of shoes. But especially black and white shoes.
Tags: Chanel, FIMTSO, JCrew, theory, white linen
It’s rare that two holidays fall on the same day, but today we get to celebrate both Lunar New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Tradition has it that you are supposed to do today what you’d like for the rest of your year to be. Which means no working, no bickering, and no spending money unless it’s for eating out or handing out red envelopes. Translation: family time and eating time. Lots of eating in fact. It’s the one day you get a pass on your diet! It’s also the one day you should be wearing a brand new outfit, preferably with red in it. I’m not a superstitious person so I don’t know if all these traditions bear any on your luck, but it’s a good excuse as any to dress up!
The first pic is of my baby niece Lil A in the traditional áo dài and her first pair of heels. I know, she’s not a year old yet but we are very early to fashion in my family. I heart Lil A.
As for me, I’m still debating over which ensemble makes the cut, but it won’t matter anyway. Because my New Year/Valentine bag I got a week ago (technically before my resolution started!) is so bright no one will notice anything else I’m wearing but this bag:
I love the chevron pattern on the delicious patent leather. A bit retro, a bit modern, and a lot of sass. Just the right way to start the Year of the Tiger.
Tags: ao dai, chevron, Valentine's Day, year of the tiger
By the time you read this the Year of the Tiger has already begun in Asia. Here in LA, it is just the eve of Tết (Vietnamese lunar new year) so I’ll take a quick break from the FIMTSO series to blog about one of our new year traditions: the bánh chưng, a salty cake made of glutinous rice stuffed with pork and mungbean…
and wrapped in lá dong (leaves), which are sometimes substituted with banana leaves.
The lore behind this cake is that King Hùng Vương had a competition for all of his sons to determine who could create the most delicious dish to be offered to the ancestors at the altar. The reward for first place was the throne to the land. Legend had it that the bánh chưng was created by the king’s poorest son who had no money to buy expensive ingredients like his brothers did. Instead, he wrapped the common ingredients of pork and mungbean inside rice flour, in the shape of a green-leafed square to represent the earth…
The bánh chưng was accompanied by the bánh giày, a plain cake of glutinous flour in a round shape to represent the sky. King Hùng Vương was so moved by the delicious concoction made of simple, every day ingredients, presented in way so respectful of the universe and ancestors that he deemed this dish a national dish, and our pauper prince Lang Liêu won the throne.
So to this day, the bánh chưng is associated with Tết and you will find it on most if not all Vietnamese altars and dining tables. But these days you can buy it year-round at Vietnamese stores. For a few Vietnamese churches and temples it is a big fundraising event around the lunar new year. At my parents’ church in Texas earlier this month (where these pictures were taken) I was lucky enough to volunteer a few hours one afternoon with the parishioners whose assembly line has been perfected after all these years. In a meeting room, tables are set up as stations. Volunteers are assigned to cutting leaves, cleaning leaves, preparing the ingredients, forming the cakes, wrapping the cakes, and tying the wrapped cakes. As a newbie I was only allowed to clean the leaves but next time, I’ve got my eye on building the cake inside the bamboo molds.
Their bánh chưng has been (mail) ordered by families around the country and even shipped across the continents to sons and daughters serving in Iraq and unable to celebrate Tết at home. I didn’t go through the proper channels to get permission this time so I can’t identify this church. But next year I will so that I can plug them a little bit more here…not that they need my help. Their wait list is a mile long.
The bánh chưng is literally cooked to death for 14 hours, and if you are lucky enough to eat it fresh, steaming warm, then it’s moist and sticky to the taste. You can freeze the leftover and re-steam it after a year without losing any flavor. But my favorite way is to flatten then pan-fry it till it is crispy:
My mom has special ordered a vegetarian one for me and I’ll get that in a couple of weeks when she comes out here. My mouth is already watering thinking about it. There is a cool way to open this cake and I’ll blog about it later.
At the risk of identifying a few faces here, I thought I’d post this video showing the last step of tying the bánh chưng so you can get a glimpse of this wonderful tradition:
Happy New Year everyone!
Tags: bánh chưng, bánh giày, Hùng Vương, Lang Liêu, Tết, year of the tiger
So I thought I’d start the FIMTSO (From Imelda Marcos To Suze Orman) series with the one item that every man, woman, and maybe child probably have in their closets. And that’s the black shirt. I don’t care if it’s the Johnny Cash or Tom Ford kind of black shirt, but you know what I’m talking about. The one that you hide behind when you feel bloated. The one that makes you look polished on your first date (this applies to both men and women). Or the one that you have to wear because you can’t keep a white shirt clean for more than ten minutes.
I probably own more black shirts than any other item…or store, but that’s why we are here talking about making outfits out of a single existing item so that we (by we I mean me) don’t have to keep hoarding. Below I’m presenting three looks with the test item for business, casual, and play. Another way to look at this is to say one outfit is for the work week, one for the weekend, and another to transition into an evening event, whether that’s a cocktail, formal, or just special event. Let’s see how that goes, and if you have a better idea, do leave a comment or email me.
Test Item: Banana Republic Monogram black tuxedo shirt.
Business: paired with a Chanel A-line skirt and patent slingbacks and Barbara Bush size south seas pearls. Maybe I should say Nancy Pelosi.
Casual: starched shirt tucked into jeans finished with a nice belt so that the look is casual but not messy. If I’m not wearing sneakers I’m usually in the platform slingbacks that are more forgiving for busy weekends. And that’s a tiny Hermes scarf that I still don’t know how to tie properly.
Play: matched with a crinkled silk skirt and metallic heels. Nothing fancy because I want my necklace to be the center of attention.
Now, ladies, if we could use the same bag for all three looks it’d be a miracle. Am I right? My vote is on the black reissue flap with gold hardware, though for evening I prefer a little clutch. I wish my bags were Transformers!
Tags: black shirt, Chanel
