monogrammed taxidermy

this may be old news to you Europeans, but I just recently came across these images of three dimensional animals made completely out of Louis Vuitton leather goods. the artist, Billie Achilleos, began this project in June '11 but now there are even more monogrammed creatures making their way onto LV window displays and whatnot.

see more Louis critter creations here

& watch a video of the artist making these designer sculptures here

NYFW: furs

fur is always a difficult subject for me to talk about. on one shoulder, I have PETA scolding me for even looking through collections that contain fur & hence, dedicating a whole blog post to them. on the other shoulder is a fashion god that praises the sight and texture of each fur piece. what a dilemma.

despite this consequential, ethical debate with myself every time I see a gorgeous fur coat, here is a plethora from NYFW. I'd love to own each if they were in faux. but I mean, the real thing would be cool too...damn you PETA

Nicholas K, Ralph Lauren, Peter Som

TSE, J.Mendel, Michael Kors

Theyskens' Theory, Hervé Léger, BCBG Max Azria

Rebecca Taylor, Michael Kors, Tory Burch

Yigal Azrouël, Y-3, Marc Jacobs

Jason Wu, Doo.Ri, Vivienne Tam

Rag & Bone, Prabal Gurung, Reed Krakoff

Michael Kors, Christian Siriano, Badgley Mischka

images via style.com & fashionising.com

NYFW: patterns

autumn/winter 2012 is in store for amazing prints featuring good old ROYGBIV  

Peter Som, ICB, Nanette Lepore

Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta

Betsey Johnson, Oscar de la Renta, Calla

Jen Kao, Prabal Gurung, Mandy Coon

Jill Stuart, Brood, Anna Sui

images via style.com

look into my eyes

in the past month, I've frequented the eye doctor after having this reoccurring redness in my right eye. it turns out that my overuse of contact lenses lead to an inflammation in both eyes, plus a bacterial infection of some sort. no bueno.

I don't remember when I started using contacts, but I do remember vividly in high school my obsession with colored contact lenses. I'd switch between turquoise and grey lenses, regaling in the fact that I could confuse people with my race just by changing the color of my eyes.

blue-eyed creeper pic

perhaps this contributed to my identity crisis growing up into my almost-adulthood, never remembering the real color of my eyes unless I wore glasses (which was a public rarity, and still is). one of my friends here gave me a nickname after my "green eyes" but once I switch back to clear contacts it will no longer have purpose. 

I've built this identity surrounding my unique, yet fake, eye color. I can't tell you how many times a guy has approached me just because he thinks my eyes are beautiful. "sorry to break it to you, but they're contacts." what. a. boner. kill.

now that I'm almost 24, I think it's time for me to move on and out with the fake eyes. my doctor told me that a majority of people with eye problems are usually those that wear colored lenses. they're thicker, which prevents more oxygen from hitting your eyes. hence, the inflammation and redness I've experienced. I'm down to my last few pairs of turquoise lenses and after that, I'll be done & ready to move on. part of being comfortable with yourself if accepting the fact that you were not born with blue or hazel or violet eyes, whatever it may be. this leads to why I'm writing this post. 

I came across this Korean website called Candy Lens, where you can buy literally any type of colored contact you can think of, even designs! every anime lovers' dream, pretty much. (that's not meant to be stereotypical...in my defense there's a whole section of the website dedicated to anime contact lenses)

there are literally hundreds of these lenses, ranging in all colors of the spectrum. but why the frenzy? and specifically, in Asian cultures?

typically, Asians have either brown or black eyes. having the option of colored lenses is a way of extending our personal style, in addition to begin separated from the rest. but I feel that aside from personal feelings on wearing colored contacts, the fact that yes, they are fun to wear and are less boring than flaunting your own pair of brown/black eyes, there is some kind of cultural dilemma Asians face in regard to changing their eye color.

in college, I tackled this issue of upper eyelid surgery, aka blepharoplasty, for asians in a sociology class. this concept of "whiteness" as a heralded race in Asian cultures is bothersome, especially when many Asian men and women undergo surgeries like this to enlarge their eyes, essentially. this is of course, a further step than simply getting colored contacts to look presumably less Asian.

what do you all think? are there ethical issues to wearing colored lenses, or is it just for sheer pleasure?

for me, there's always an underlying reason why we dress the way we dress, how we want society to see us. it wasn't my intention to get all psychoanalytical about my contacts, but it's an issue I, myself have to grapple with.

as for the future of my eyes, I'd like to experiment with clear lenses and rediscover who I am and what I was born with.

roses are red...

happy valentine's day!

I'll be honest, I hate this holiday but I wanted to create a little parisian inspired outfit for this day of love & hallmark cards

click here to see this set on polyvore.com

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 :)

r.i.p. whitney houston

the Grammy Awards are tonight and it is not the same without Whitney's presence. one of the greatest voices to ever grace radio waves, we are lucky enough to have lived in her era and experience listening to her music while she was alive.
I will always love you