bewitching 'Beautiful Creatures'

all comic geeks, sci-fi lovers, & toy nerds alike attended the New York Comic Con over the weekend, the biggest pop culutre convention in the east coast. I was lucky enough to go on Saturday to experience the spectacle of everyone, young and old, dressed in their favorite comic/anime/cartoon/fiction characters, parading through the aisles of video game & fantasy film glory. (if you need halloween costume inspiration, I suggest checking out the comic con steez from the weekend here or here)

the upcoming fantasy film, Beautiful Creatures held a press conference that I got to attend. the film is based on the young adult novel, which is in fact part of a series (may this be the next "Twilight"?) written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. in short, the plot centers on this supernatural love story between Ethan & Lena, a mysterious new girl who happens to be some type of witch. they uncover dark, hidden secrets about her family & future as a "caster" while also trying to survive this "Romeo & Juliet" type relationship in their small, southern town.

the conference featured the director, Richard LaGravenese (an Oscar nom) and some cast members: Emmy Rossum who plays Ridley, a badass (as she described) "dark caster", Alden Ehrenreich who is the film's leading male protagonist (Ethan Asher), his best friend played by Thomas Mann, and Zoey Deutch who plays Ethan's angry ex-girlfriend - quite the 'spell' for a love triangle!

Thomas Mann, Richard LaGravenese, Alden Ehrenreich, Zoey Deutch, Emmy Rossum

during the intimate gathering, the cast talked about how they prepared for their roles (developing the southern twang & such), the process of adapting a mythological novel to the big screen, etc. (the entire panel can be seen & heard via youtube, part 1 & 2)

what I found interesting was Emmy's character, Ridley which she calls a "vicious goddess" but in the best way possible - Rossum described her character as a "badass, dark, heroin, witch," who also embodies elegance, class, and chicness. the film took this character to a whole new level with the costumes.

with LaGravenese's inspiration from 1930s-70s films and culture, Ridley was given multiple personas that reflect each time period just by her wardrobe; from Rita Hayworth to Doris Day, Ridley can embody practically any look of a film icon (perhaps even becoming one herself?)

below are some screenshots I took of the Beautiful Creatures "casters," all dressed intricately and seemingly from a completely different era:

 

My Fair Lady meets The Fifth Element? kind of loving it.

to see more bewitching costumes and learn more about "Beautiful Creatures," watch the featurette here and the official trailer here

'beautiful creatures' opens february 13, 2013

eye for an eye

today is World Sight Day and TOMS created a new eyewear line that gives sight to those that need it; same idea as the "one for one" shoes, but this new program gives in exchange either a pair of prescription glasses, sight-saving surgery, or medical treatment with the purchase of TOMS sunglasses.

each of the sunnies have a unique TOMS feel to them, with markings of stripes along the stems (each represent something about giving - one stripe represents you, the middle TOMS, and the edge is the person in need), and not to mention are very chic. here are some of my favorite pairs from their collection:

the Maverick in gold . the Marisol in tortoise . the Lobama (can't help but think of Barack and Michelle with this pair haha!) . the Deoria in crystal sea foam

the TOMS website for World Sight Day is educational and interactive, giving us a 'look' at what it's like to see through different sight illnesses & the chance to print out and design our own eye charts. below is a chart made by DJ SoSuperSam, via her tumblr:

to design your own, click here and share your work of art with the hashtag #GIVEsight
to learn more about TOMS eyewear and World Sight day, visit this website

b-comfort, b-green, b-Burnetie

you must know this feeling: to walk for miles and miles, minutes beyond minutes (even hours), having your legs turn to jello and your feet give up because the shoes binding your feet are just too uncomfortable. 

walking is something almost unavoidable in New York City and you need to be able to survive on your feet the entire day, tourist or not. if you've never experienced the pain that completely exasperates your feet after a long day of walking, I am envious of you. I can only assume that 1) you have hooves that can mold to any shoe you put on, or 2) you only & always wear Burnetie shoes.

I got my first pair of Burnetie high tops last week and couldn't wait to wear them. with some friends in town visiting from SF, I thought a day playing tourist with them would be perfect to break in my new kicks. to my surprise, they needed no breaking in whatsoever.

just as a disclaimer: my feet are quite delicate. it's not uncommon for me to get blisters and soreness within just a couple hours of wearing shoes (don't even get me started with high heels..."beauty is pain" is an understatement). within a few steps in my new Burnetie's, I already felt like I was walking on clouds. kind of unbelievable, considering the last few pairs of shoes I bought have been a pain to wear - what a relief.

for starters, the fit was perfect. I'm usually a 6½-7 so I ordered the size 7 Burnetie. I had just the right amount of room and was a solid width for my feet. once I slipped on the high tops, it was like a natural feeling that my feet belonged in them. like the "glass slipper" if you may. not to mention, the zipper on the side makes it so easy to slip on & is SO convenient for days when you have to rush out the house! (aka everyday for me)

but in order to pass the comfort test, I had to take these pink high tops (the color btw is uber cute) out on the town. a full day of walking in NYC. now if you've ever walked more than 3 hours straight in the city, just trust me when I say you are guaranteed at least two blisters and an ice bath for your feet once you get home (if you ever make it home). believe it or not, I needed no such pain relief for my feet after a day in Burnetie's.

I made my way around the East Village, to Williamsburg via metro, gallivanting for God knows how long, to the Brooklyn Bridge, walking the entire thing to Manhattan. it was such an easy stroll along the bridge, I could've gone back and forth in my shoes, they were that comfortable. plus the view was incredible.

my day didn't end at the other side of the bridge. while my friends were already feeling exhaustion after the BK mile walk, I was the opposite. I was thoroughly surprised by my feet's stamina. of course, the only difference was that I was wearing Burnetie's.
a brisk walk to City Hall for the train led us to Chelsea for some pizza at Grimaldi's. perfect meal to equal out those calories burned throughout the day, am I right? story short, I literally walked for 3 hours straight in these shoes and I didn't complain, stop to sit down, readjust the lacing, air out, massage, or attempt to cut off my feet once. I'm officially a fan.

as a plus, ALL Burnetie shoes are made with zero waste & it's the only brand that utilizes vulcanized rubber to make completely new shoes [watch a video about it here]

not many manufacturing companies are eco-friendly, so I'm thrilled to have found a sneaker line whose mission is to reduce the amount of chemical products and toxic waste in the environment [read more here]

it most definitely is possible to be stylish, comfortable, and green all at the same time!

there's a ton of styles to choose from, for both men and women; you can find multiple colors, patterns, high tops to slip ons & they're all made with natural or recycled rubber.
I can't forget to add among being a great alternative shoe, Burnetie's are totally budget-friendly. the shoes range from just $20-100 & in this economy? not bad at all! 

here are some looks I created on polyvore, for other ways to wear these chic Burnetie pink high tops:

for a girly girl on a casual day

AX Paris owl dress, $29 / Green lapel vest / A|Wear lace handbag, $32 / ASOS engraved ring / Crystal stud earrings / Alexander Wang round sunglasses / Waist belt / High Top Vintage

perfect fall day outfit

Pull&Bear pull bear, $29 / Alice + Olivia leather shorts, $600 / Socks / Cross body handbag / Miso feather earrings, $11 / Triangle ring / 2b fedora hat / Burberry / High Top Vintage


want to see more?

shop the entire Burnetie collection here

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off the runway

leandra medine, commonly known as "the man repeller," wore this t-shirt last week (the text reading: all blogs post the same stuff)

in my hopes of being "different" and separating my blog from others (which essentially is the point of having a blog, to showcase yourself, correct?) I will not post traditional runway photos from NYFW but instead, share these brilliant snaps New York Magazine shot during.

these are a reflection of what we don't normally get to see when scrolling through each show at style.com, trying to find which Spring '13 outfits we liked best. while it's all about being in the know of the upcoming trends, it's also great to get a perspective of the present. what is inspiring people right now, and who is currently relevant? why do we care so much and why are we drawn to certain images?

this collection of photos hopefully gives you all a good aspect of what I'm trying to get at...

see more of the 50 Best Images from NYFW @ the cut

do the creep

no, I'm not talking about The Lonely Boys' SNL skit, "the creep," with nicki minaj...

rather, in fashion terms the creeper shoes are what I'm referring to (though it's very possible to do snl's "creep" dance while wearing creepers)

thanks to the late 1940s - 1950s teddy boys, us fashionistas can strut around the streets in these rebellious-looking, yet upmost trendy shoes. of course, they're nothing new (designer Nathan Jenden even featured them in his 2007 runway collection) but like all fashion, each trend seems to relive itself more than once. so here we are again & creeper shoes are back.

I was inspired by Oyster Mag's article on 'top 10 creepers' to blog about these iconic shoes & compile some of my favorite designs:

underground 'camaro' $170, sold at asos

BANK fashion 'bronx' $120

topshop 'underground $250

AX paris 'brogue' $50

jeffrey campbell 'kipper' $84, sold at solestruck

UNIF 'grim' $196

what is your favorite creeper style? or do you even dig it? tell me in the comments.

livin in a barbie world

what happens when you mix fashion week and a girl's most loved toy together? the answer is Barbie's Dream Closet, a special pop-up exhibit at the Lincoln Center Atrium right across the street from the tents.

I went yesterday with my childhood friend, which was only appropriate! even if I'm family-less in NYC, I still have friends here that I've known for ages and that's the closest family I have here.

the "closet" is the definition of pink madness. we had no idea what to expect, but it's safe to say that we left Barbz closet satisfied - playing with the interactive wardrobe feature (which I chose not to partake in...though it was tempting) and admiring some stylishly dressed life-size dolls. definitely felt like a kid again :)

unpierced

as some, or none, of you may know I have zero piercings on my body. yeah, you read that right. ZERO. unlike every other asian mother out there, mine never pinned me down to a chair at the mall to get my ears pierced. however, now it seems as though all the lost years of having a daughter without pierced ears caused strife and occasionally she'll say "you'll look good in earrings" or something along those lines.

so here I am, turning 23 in half a year still without piercings - though I did dabble in a little rebellion as a sophomore and got my nose pierced but that lasted for a good year or so. in the working world filled with cubicles and briefcases, it's taboo to have visible piercings in unconventional places like your lip or eyebrow so those are out of the question.

living so long with bare ears has made dressing up a ton easier, as I don't have an extra body part to accessorize. of course, I can opt to wearing just one pair of earrings a day but what's the fun in that? so the million dollar question is: will I ever get my ears pierced? perhaps... but just so I can wear these from Chanel:
 



besos.

90s looks

sources: google, tumblr

cute kids modeling. 'nuff said.

When I was 6 years old, I can clearly remember the feeling of having a mother that is obsessed with fashion dressing up her one and only daughter (me) in the poofiest of poofy dresses, play clothes with a hat to match every color and pattern of the ensemble. It was a treacherous ride for the, nearly 8 years it took me to learn how to dress myself and develop my own sense of style, which you can imagine went the extreme opposite of the Gymboree or Nordstrom get ups my mom would force me to wear. Though I hated it at the time, I look back on old photos and think, "hey, I looked pretty cute in that polka dot jumper"...and sometimes I even wish my mom continued to dress me throughout middle school where my style got progressively Nike oriented (my tomboy phase). That is why, when I saw this article about the kid models for the Australian line Witchery, I couldn't keep silent.






Circling the world wide web is this photo controversy of the child models posed in Witchery's lookbook for kids. As you can see, the tots are not stanced like Gap Kids models, who are cheery and bubbly - just as kids should be...right?

When I first saw these pictures, I couldn't get over how cute the kids looked in their cargos and booties. My thought process went a little like this: "OMG! ... I would probably wear that ... how cute! ... this is a little weird, though ... I wish I was that cool looking when I was 5 ... I wish I looked that cool now.."

Nowadays, I get the feeling that kids are growing up way too fast. The availability of cell phones, the ridiculous television shows they watch (in comparison, my '90s generation shows had it made), their increased curiosity/experimentation of sex now begins as young as kindergarten, from what I've heard. Knowing this, I was not surprised to see these "disturbing" images from Witchery.

Personally, I love the photos. If anything, it shows how good these kids can model and how chic they look in these clothes. On the other hand, I do see the arguments being made from neurotic parents and children's charity spokespeople that hate the photos. One said, "The whole point of early childhood is to be joyous and free." So true in this case where the child models keep straight faces and hold high-fashion inspired model stances. In all honesty though, do the photographers expect children to act this way naturally? I'm sure a great amount of direction was made to achieve these vogue-esqe images, being that kids run on sugar constantly. Still, it surprises me how good the children are at posing this way, maybe they've been interpellated to believing this is how a model should look like - even at age 5.


>


Witchery says "the next generation is here," and it really is. Think of how many child actors we have today.. there barely are any that are at least relevant to me. Still the only person I can think of is Dakota Fanning and to my dismay, she has grown up. Maybe the problem here is not with Witchery, but with society in general - it is moving fast, the economy may not be, but I'm sure as hell that the population is and their obsession with media and technology is along for the ride.

Also, how often was it before (aka 1999) to see kids in gossip magazines for adults? Every other second we see Suri Cruise or the Jolie-Pitt clan on the glossy pages. Do kids even read Bop or TigerBeat anymore? Do those magazines even exist still?

My whole point here is that the images are far from disturbing because they are highlighting the type of grown-ups that kids look up to these days. Models, bikers, hipsters...whatever you see posed in this spread is a reflection of the "coolness" society is heaving on its jovial offspring.

images via The Cut, Witchery

nicole is "priceless"

last wednesday, Nicole Richie came out to The Grove in LA for a book signing to promote her latest, "Priceless"

hoping that I would at least have one companion to travel to West Hollywood with to attend this once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity, my luck was shot as none of my LA friends were available. BUT I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me from meeting my celebrity girl crush. so I made the trek alone.. nervous, anxious, and so fucking excited.

thankfully, I got to Barnes a little early and the line wasn't extremely long, to my surprise. I waited for over an hour and finally...it was time to meet Nicole.

she's seriously even more gorg in person than she already is in pictures or tv...I heart her.

I'm about 5 chapters in and so far, so good! I honestly was not expecting much from her (or I guess, even her ghost writer's) writing skills but the story has me hooked and the dialog between the characters is very amusing and even hilarious at times. I can't wait to read what happens next!

until then, here's a bit of her latest from House of Harlow 1960 tribal collection:

really affordable and chic. to see the full line, visit the Trend Boutique

long live McQueen

Sarah Burton carries on the McQueen name and ever so beautifully. check out her first Spring 2011 collection:








see the rest here

via modelcouture

consumerism

there's definitely truth in both sayings, not gonna lie

from the unif spring 2011 collection via