chinese zodiac 2014 - part two

title says it all! part two is for those of you born in the year of the dragon, snake, horse and goat!

fash'on... BAM!

fl@me or fr@me: susie lau & steve salter

do you remember the last line of your favourite love story? this was mine...

'now in love, the prince asked snow white to marry him, and the dwarfs reluctantly had to say good bye to snow white. from that day on, snow white lived happily in a great castle. but from time to time, she was drawn back to visit the little cottage down in the forest.'

everyone loves a love story and a fairytale ending. after being a month-old blogger, things can truly get mundane when it's always about looking for the next fashion show or trend. with the massive amount of material available, it does get overwhelming at times but you sometimes do find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

hence in my research for some of the world's best fashion blogs, i came across susanna lau (affectionately referred to as susie lau) and steve salter. who are they?

Susie and Steve

both bloggers (not just any bloggers but uk's best!) and happily attached to each other. it's always warm and fuzzy to know of people in love but more importantly, should we read their blogs?

get your weapons ready, we are going on a hunt (or maybe not)!

form: 

both blogs offer a very clean and structured layout. colour choices are down-to-earth and easy on the eyes. you will not feel that your eyes are being assaulted on both blogs. somehow from viewing both blogs, there is a calmness and rusticity that one senses. if i had to put a more graphic contrast of both blogs to some other blogs that i have seen, both style bubble and style salvage are like the rural landscape against the fashion city's hustle and bustle. this sensibility through form flows comfortably into their content.

in addition, their language is kept simple. no big words, no hard to understand concepts. simple expression to convey their thoughts.

content: 

i have no complaints here. here's a list of what i really enjoy whilst reading (and researching) their blogs.

i) susie lau's balance of views. like the recent drama revolving saint laurent, i liked how she focused on talking about the collection and demonstrated a highly balanced view with how the non-industry players reacted to the collection by doing a quick twitter search. this is a girl who takes pride in her work to a point where it's almost investigative journalism. i've linked the article here.

ii) steve salter's use of quotations. whether it is a literary quote or something that a designer said, i think it gives a personal touch and uniqueness to the article. cross reference also demonstrates thought and depth in material. in using a quote as the foundation to an article, it aids the reader in seeing the material through the eyes of the writer to prevent any loss in translation. 

screen capture from hype beast

iii) his love for her (and i'm sure she does too!) i tried looking on susie's blog for traces of steve but it was much easier on steve's blog. the little hints of affection just conjures up images of boy meets girl, girl and boy fall in love, much like my first love. =) you cannot fault love.

conclusion:

i would get ready my wedding gift for both of them. as people, they are unassuming and as bloggers, they are perfect compliments. i look forward to the day when they combine their talents and blog as a couple. now that would be interesting!

so flame or frame? (if you cannot figure it out by now) FRAME! i would run out and buy a gold frame, encrusted with rubies, emerald and all sorts of precious stones for them. in closing, i leave you with a quote from lao tzu:

'being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.'

this is a power duo in fashion blogging that has strength AND courage. 

fash'on... BAM!

ps: below is a quick look at steve's and mine facebook page (his is definitely better taken!)... we boys love our shoes!

Style Salvage on Facebook

The Online Edition on Facebook

the best and the worst: week 02

if there is one lesson that i can take away from blogging this week, it would be this... not everything that i find interesting is interesting... some of the posts (actually most of them) fell flat. though i claimed to be not too concerned about the figures this week... the whole 'i'm not a fashion writer but a writer of fashion' mantra, it stinks to know that no one is reading your material especially when it was such a good week previously.

so what were the aims and objectives of this week?

1) tap into my asian, national and racial influence which i did, evidently from all the posts...

2) try to find material that would score higher page views with readers from asia. as of now, singapore and the usa dominate my readership but i do hope to write material that people from other asian nations can find relevant as well... this didn't go so well...

3) less fashion, more writer... i deliberately took a backseat on the fashion critique and tried to hone in on viewpoints... more like a bystander of the fashion world and style... perhaps, it's how the posts were pitched... but i learnt. hopefully there will be a better balance in weeks to come.

now that all's been said and done... here's the best of the week:

BEST: i love singapore!

haha, what's not to love about this post? comic relief, trunks, close-up of trunk in trunks, lots of 'glad i'm not the one wearing that' moments, lots of 'what were they thinking?' moments... and of course, we love our country... a little national pride goes a long way... (helps when the thumbnail is of a bunch of guys in trunks too!)

and now, the worst post:

WORST: asia's fashion weeks

this was the second 'heavier' post of the day (third numerically)... usually, the first and third posts are the ones that i put the more interesting content. the post just before this one was about po from kungfu panda... i personally thought that readers of a fashion blog will not take too well to it but surprisingly, it scored pretty high on the views. 

well, my personal prediction was actually romancing singapore... cos it was not a well thought-out post... i had ideas but when it came to writing it, boy, was it tough... 

to conclude... this week was definitely not as good in terms of the readership (which i expected) partly cos the hype is no longer there and the writing was a slight departure from the regular fashion material... but no worries, there will be fashion writing... you just have to check back regularly!

did i mention that you can add me on twitter? i tweet every new post so once there is new material, you'll know... and onto MORE shameless marketing, i also have a facebook page... click here NOW! help me cross the fifty mark... please... hehe 

fash'on... BAM!

@dd it: jade

it's that time of the week again... time for me to indulge in me, me, ME! (truth be told, this week is not really about me. the inspiration came from a breakup that i heard about.) this week (keeping in line with the whole asian theme) i say we should add jade to our closets! 

for far too long, jade has had to bear a negative name. when someone says he/she is jaded by life or love, it is usually a rather bad shape to be in... the heart closes, the emotions harden, people become someone totally unfamiliar. but jade has often been misrepresented. if you want more nitty gritty details about jade, do turn to my dear friend wikipedia.

jade is often used as a family heirloom for the chinese, from one generation to another... as this gift is passed down, so are the stories and traditions. we can never change where we came from, we can only choose where we want to go. instead of trying to 'forget', we can fully embrace our past. while i recommend jade as a trend this week, the greater recommendation is the stories and traditions that accompany every piece of jade...

jade bangle... traditionally handed down to daughters

of course, no one would complain if they were being 'jaded' by these pieces of fine jewellery...

Cartier

Cartier brooch

as the world of fashion moves forward rapidly, perhaps it may be good for one to hold on to timeless pieces of fashion... not because they are great looking but because they remind us of who we are, that we are not random being but products of life's experiences (good or not-so-good)... fash'on... BAM!

i love singapore!

yes, for all the whining and complaining that i do about things that i loathe in singapore, i really do love my nation. my country is unique in its culture and way of life... for a country that only has about fifty years in its history bank, it's pretty interesting... so yes, i love singapore.

BUT there are limits to my passion... 

singapore water polo team, 2010 asian games

up close and a tad too personal

i would need to be dead doing this (not the sport... but the trunks!) even if i am dead, the embalmer who puts those trunks on me will probably be haunted by me and those trunks for the rest of time. so let's try to tuck it in on the daring, fashion forward front when it comes to swimming trunks... but i must mention that singapore's water polo team is one of the best in the region... 24 straight gold medals at the sea games!

you will always have my support as long as the trunks are less 'interesting'...

so the trunks are a big no-no for me... these national costumes, i'm divided... 

Miss Singapore Universe 2008, national costume

Miss Singapore Universe 2011, national costume

i actually like the merlion-inspired dress... the other one just looks like my blanket on laundry day... i wonder if this was the source of inspiration.

Spongebob Squarepants

fash'on... BAM!