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!

the best and the worst: week 08

what an interesting week this was! in particular, president barack obama was re-elected into office for a second term. 

hugz!

in the last forty years of american history, no incumbent has been returned to office with a national unemployment rate over 7.5%. the current unemployment rate in the usa is 7.9%. of course, here in singapore, most that i spoke with are happy with the win. i do have certain opinions about both camps but i shall reserve them for coffee talk.

anyway, this week was a return to fashion writing. though i need to confess that there was not much writing that needed to be done. a large portion of it was to copy, paste and format. that said, it was a good return to talking about clothes as compared to history and animals. 

so, any lessons that i learnt this week? definitely! i am no longer an over-achiever but i have gone past that to become an over-doer. i just keep doing. keeping an exercise regime, going to work and writing... i have somewhat figured out a system that i have to strictly adhere to in order for my life to not spin out of control. *pats on the back* i live another week to write you the best and the worst. 

*drum roll* the results!

best: haute, haute, haute

everyone loves a title with a double meaning. i guess it's always encouraging to have readers appreciate the wit. i can write nasty and flaming posts like these but i do it not out of spite or malice. instead, it is to make readers laugh. laughter, i strongly believe, is the best medicine. anyway, it's good to see the opening post of the week make it to number one again (the last time this happened was in week four). personally, i actually like the first post of the week because it usually coveys my personal thoughts and the 'writer' in me speaks more freely. once the rest of the week's material come about, i am often bounded by the content.

as for the worst post of the week...

worst: massaro

why, why, why? i actually like the material in this post and i thought it would be refreshing for readers to realise that haute couture is not all about clothes. shoes form an integral part of couture fashion as well. plus, massaro does have an entire range of pretty footwear. it was a tad disappointing to see the post fall flat with a single digit readership. hopefully it gets better. this is the third time that the final 'content' post hit rock bottom. well, let's hope that it doesn't happen too often.

in closing, i truly appreciate ALL your support of The Online Edition. it's wonderful to see unique views daily but what gets me going are also all the return visits that you make to this blog. that shows my writing is interesting and relevant enough for a second glance. i will try to better myself with each week!

fash'on... BAM!

fl@me or fr@me: fashion feline

'the last man on earth sat alone in a room. there was a knock on the door.' knock (world's shortest horror story), fredric brown 

what a crazy weekend this was. for those of you who follow me on twitter, you will know that i was down at dragonboat races on both days. these are usually full-day affairs but that is no excuse for not writing. hence, The Online Edition kicks off week eight with one of the signature features... 'fl@me or fr@me'!

so the entire last week, i had to research intensively on animals and i came across the target of this post. the blog was chosen simply because of the name. i know, you are probably rolling your eyes at how shallow i am for not putting thought into blog selections but after you read my assessment of the blog, you will realise that i am not the shallow one. *sniggers*

so let's get right to it. the blog that is going to receive the royal evaluation is... 

form: 

the form is constant. irrelevant title, outfit photos (this, i shall discuss in the content section), and a couple of irrelevant lines. that constitutes the regular posts plus the font size is tiny so you hardly notice the writing if there is any.

content:

1) it's amazing: everything fascinates our writer. for goodness' sake, you are not three! grow up.

2) the clothes: oh, someone strap me in a straightjacket before i burn the outfits. i know you want comfort and not carry the 'out-of-bed' look, but that is no reason to wear your dining room out. a large number of the clothes look like they lack cutlery. if you didn't understand what i was alluding to, one word: tablecloth.

conclusion:

this is a short flaming entry because there is hardly any material on the blog to burn up. fashion feline should re-name itself to fashion mayfly. a cat has nine lives, suggesting longevity and variety. the blog however fails to deliver on the intrinsic meaning of its name. instead, it is brief and bland.

i wished that i am the online magician or something so that i can magically create material for the blog to burn. however, that remains a wish. 

so as this blog gets toss to the flames, fear not because it is like a match. the fire brings temporal light but burns out extremely quickly.

fash'on... BAM!

man's best friend

you know when you have a best friend, you just want to be just like him or her. everything they do is just so right, from the food they eat to the clothes they wear? what happens if your best friend is your house pet? wouldn't it be interesting to see your sibling become best friends with the dog? you have two living beings fetching your daily paper instead of one. i would love to see a certain sibling of mine become best friends with a mayfly. in case you are wondering why, a mayfly's lifespan is about thirty minutes. i am dead serious and honest.

since we are wrapping up this week's talk of animal and fashion, what better way to end the week than by showing you some of the hilarious animal and human look-a-likes? you will have the tough call of deciding who is the more fashionable between the two.

image from vir4l

pink pups

picture from regal advice

Cher and Afghan hound

baby Alpaca and Taylor Lautner

Akita and Jackie Chan

fash'on... BAM!

unicorn fashion

the unicorn is a legendary animal from european folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard and cloven hooves. first mentioned by the ancient greeks, it became the most important imaginary animal of the middle ages and renaissance when it was commonly described as an extremely wild woodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace, which could only be captured by a virgin. in the encyclopedias its horn was said to have the power to render poisoned water potable and to heal sickness.

two unicorns crossing horns

in the world of fashion and beauty, we often hope to find the next 'unicorn'. we want to dazzle and wow people. sadly, unicorns do not exist but there are still ways to be that shimmering star and yes, they involve animals.

1) snake venom cream

snake venom cream

inkanat created snake cream, which contains syna-ke a polypeptide similar to that which contains the snake venom, which has a proven effect on wrinkles by acts in similar to botox but without the side effects, and it also contains collagen. as you get older, your skin is aging with you and the signs become more visible with age, wrinkles are marked around the eyes and forehead and your skin begins to sag with the rest of the body, especially in the neck, chin and upper arms. this is due to elastin and collagen, which have kept your skin firm so far but are leaving. lines caused by facial expressions are always visible. we use about sixty facial muscles to communicate through speech and facial expressions. frowning, raising eyebrows, laugh and make faces are some of the typical facial expressions we use to communicate. over time and with frequent use of these facial movements, these wrinkles persist and become deeper and permanent wrinkles in the forehead, laugh lines and wrinkles around the eyes.

2) ox bone marrow shampoo

ox bone marrow shampoo

brazilians have a knack at everything flashy and tacky. take for example the 'tutannol' - a shampoo made from bone marrow that came straight from the insides of an ox. this shampoo promises strong and shiny hair through natural ingredients laden with essential oils. tutannol is also salt free hence users need not worry about their hair smelling like the ocean.

3) snail ooze cream

snake ooze cream

the 2008 january edition of the journal of the international society of skin pharmacology corroborate the molecular basis of snail secretion’s regenerative compounds. this secretion has been used as a natural skin care treatment for many ailments and skin conditions since ancient times. the special properties of snail serum according to studies protect the snail’s body from hazardous elements like sun radiation and the surfaces they so slowly slither on. regenerative properties found in snail secretion contain the same structural elements of human skin like water holding molecules, collagen and elastin, etc. this protects and repairs their skin, shell and organs when affected by outside elements, and according to studies has the same affect on our skin. additionally, snail secretion is used frequently and proven to be reliable in skin damaging treatment as a consequence of treating skin cancer with radio therapy. 

4) snake massage

watch only if you have nerves of steel!

fash'on... BAM!

dragon fashion

a dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures. there are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the european dragon, derived from european folk traditions and ultimately related to greek and middle eastern mythologies and the chinese dragon, with counterparts in japan, korea and other east asian countries.

Fantasy dragon from fanpop

although dragons occur in many legends around the world, different cultures have varying stories about monsters that have been grouped together under the dragon label. Some dragons are said to breathe fire or to be poisonous. they are commonly portrayed as serpentine or reptilian, hatching from eggs and possessing typically scaly or feathered bodies. they are sometimes portrayed as hoarding treasure. european dragons are more often winged, while chinese dragons resemble large snakes. dragons can have a variable number of legs: none, two, four, or more when it comes to early european literature.

dragons are often held to have major spiritual significance in various religions and cultures around the world. in many asian cultures dragons were, and in some cultures still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature, religion and the universe. they are associated with wisdom - often said to be wiser than human - and longevity. they are commonly said to possess some form of magic or other supernatural power, and are often associated with wells, rain, and rivers. in some cultures, they are also said to be capable of human speech. in some traditions dragons are said to have taught humans to talk.

the biggest question is: why a sudden departure from the animal talk to a mythical creature? i guess the answer is in the dichotomy of the dragon. in one culture, it is respected whilst in another, it is feared. this is probably a parallel of my take of the usage of animals in fashion. i am in-between. would i like to pick a side? i do but each time i choose a side, i think of the valid arguments of the other side so i guess i have to stay put in the middle for a little longer. 

since it's going to be a while before i finally decide, here's how the dragon has been infused into the fashion world.

dragon brooch

Versace Year of the Dragon handbag

Dragon fashion: single ear cuff

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happy feet

nope, i'm not talking about dancing penguins this afternoon. instead, since the focus of the earlier post was on shoes for animals, more specifically dogs, this post will continue looking at shoes but for the humans. this time round, we will be looking at animal shoes! this is going to be one of those image-intensive posts. you have been warned!

for the ladies...

shoes by Iris Schieferstein

heels from Dior

dog shoe by Kobi Levi

now onto the gentlemen...

Volta Men's animal print boot

image from followpics

add style and height!

last but not least for the courageous!

taken from designswan

fash'on... BAM!