what do you call a blogger...

...when he's not blogging? 

i stopped blogging because i came to a point of burn out. i thought i could sustain the momentum of three posts a day but i over-estimated my abilities.

then i told myself that i would return once i had some rest. then i realise that rest is never enough. 

anyway, 2013 has been interested thus far. very pleased with the outfits i have presented so far. thank you armani! work has been steady. i am also chairing a new grassroots committee which is a lot of work but i'm enjoying every single email.

the main point of those who know me beyond The Online Editor and as a debates coach, i left a coaching position that i held on to for five years. i had five years but it came to a point where the good could no longer dispel the bad. it was no longer a game of light and darkness, a single beam driving away the curtain of gloom. yes i resigned. i'm still coming to terms with it but...

before i forget... here's an irrelevant half naked man and bikini-clad girl!

shamelessly ripped from another blog

fash'on... BAM!

really fashion

a holiday and a weekend off training later, the mind (and body) is much better rested and i'm back for another week of writing. i've had a lot of time to think in the past week. typical topics would be the blog numbers, the direction and style of my writing, where i want to take this blog. couple of things are apparent: numbers have dipped and my material is no longer original. hence, this week shall be a re-journey to discover the 'edge' that i used to have. (read: feisty writing like this and this!)

after much deliberation and arrangements, this week's posts will revolve around real fashion, but what is real fashion? well, you know that The Online Edition always has a twist to the content that i put out. so this week's 'real fashion' is actually a look at the fashion featured on reality television. from the ultra-chic and glamourous to the theatrical and dramatic, if it was showcased on a reality television series, it might just earn a spot on this week's The Online Edition. all i can say about this week: it's all real.

now, for the irrelevant bikini babes and half-naked male bodies (with a bonus).

Miss Universe New Zealand 2012

8 Days Shirtless Guys 2012

fash'on... BAM!

taking ad-vintage

this week is dedicated to a dear friend who was first featured here. she is into all things vintage and retro. often, i would joke with her that i am bringing my trash over so that she can rummage through it and keep whatever she likes. however, jokes aside, i thought that as the end of the year draws closer and most of us start getting into reflection and recollection mode, it will be good to look at fashion from the vintage and retro point-of-view.

before we go into the fashion proper, we need to understand the terms. there will be a couple more during the week but let's just get the biggest one out of the way first. 

vintage clothing is a generic term for new or second hand garments originating from a previous era. the phrase is also used in connection with a retail outlet, for instance, 'vintage clothing store'. generally speaking, clothing which was produced before the 1920s is referred to as antique clothing and clothing from the 1920s to 1960s is considered vintage. retro, short for retrospective, or 'vintage style' usually refers to clothing that imitates the style of a previous era. reproduction, or repro, clothing is a newly-made, copy of an older garment. clothing produced more recently is usually called modern or contemporary fashion.

as with traditions, here are a couple of topless and shirtless male models with female swimwear models who have zero relation to the rest of the post.

Shirtless Beefcake Hunks for sale?

Maxim Girls: April Rose, Amanda Mertz, Kaitlynn Carter, Melanie Iglesias

fash'on... BAM!

i am jennifer

how many jennifers do you know? jennifer is surprisingly a common name hence i was shocked that i didn't come up with this week's theme much earlier. well you all know how technology is very helpful and each time you type in a word, there will be suggestions. this is exactly what happened to me when i was writing earlier posts. each time i typed in 'jennifer', the suggested matches are pretty lengthy and varied. that got me thinking, how many famous 'jennifers' are there around the world?

therefore this week, we are going to look at all the various 'jennifers' and do an evaluation of their styles. i'm certain that you have your list of 'jennifers' by now hence if i am unable to feature the jennifer of your heart, i beg for your understanding. if you are truly passionate about your own 'jennifer', you can always put up a post on my facebook page as well to share with the various readers of The Online Edition. so whether its jennifer, jen, jenny or just j, we are going to feature well-known 'jennifers' in the week ahead.

but before you get an overdose of 'jennifer', here are some random shirtless dudes and babes.

Manhunt International contestants

Miss World 2012

fash'on... BAM!

men and pants

in preparing this post, there were a list of lame jokes and titles that i came up with. of course, all of them did not meet the final cut (geddit, geddit? final cut!). so some of those titles include 'start panting', 'pant-demonium' and 'penning about pants'. anyway, pants are another article of clothing common to men. a pant in general is a piece of clothing used to cover legs. pants can be made of any material but mostly they are made of cotton, nylon, denim, wool, spandex or polyester.

who moved my shirts? (Abercrombie models - Black Friday tease)

today there is a great variety of different types of pants for men. for men pants are the most important article of clothing as unlike women who can wear dresses and skirts, men only have the option of wearing pants with shirts. still, men’s pants are simpler and fewer in types then women. here are some types of pants used by men:

1) trousers

trousers are straight pants made of cotton, linen, polyester, wool or nylon. usually trousers are made for formal purposes and are worn below dress shirts. trousers have their pockets stitched inwards and can vary with the width of the legs. trousers are widely classified into two categories: pleated and flat front. 

Paul Smith

pleated trousers: these pants are one of the classiest type of pants. these pants have pleats in front and are highly sophisticated, elegant and trendy. pleated trousers can be worn on any occasion whether it’s a dinner, a wedding or a job interview. the best thing about pleated pants is that they have never gone out of fashion. These simple pants go along any dress shirt.

flat front trousers: as the name suggests, flat front trousers are flat from the front. these pants were very popular once, particularly in the 1970s. these pants are made for those who have a slimmer body shape. shirts are usually tucked under the pants when wearing these pants. while buying a flat front pant one must be sure that it fits him perfectly.

2) jeans and denims

jeans and denim

jeans and denims are, by far, the most popular types of pants for men. these are casual pants worn under polo shirts and t-shirts. there is a large variety of jeans and denims available in markets. apart from formal occasions jeans can be worn anywhere, in fact jeans has become dress code for informal occasions.

3) cargo pants

cargo pants are the most comfortable of all the types of pants. these pants are loose and baggy boasting an extremely comfortable and cool look. they are perfect for outdoor activities such as trekking and hiking. cargo pants are made of a hardwearing fabric which is stitched via hard stitching allowing free movements. mostly cargo pants are worn with polo shirts and t-shirts.

hope you are not panting over your pants!

fash'on... BAM!

it's raining men!

like finally! after long last and much postponement, i am going to do features on men's fashion (and no, the inspiration is not from last night's 'fl@me or fr@me'). so yes, for the rest of the week, no corsets, stilettos or dresses! over the week, i'll be breaking down the finer details of men's fashion for you so whether you are reading it for yourself or someone else, you will have notes and pointers to share.

so gentlemen, start your engines as we soldier through a full week of men's fashion, fashion's men, men in fashion and the list continues. 

and here is your highly unrelated half-naked pictures of the week!

Miss Universe contestants

Mister International Top 5

ps: for those into lengthy articles, this is not going to be your week. like their shopping habits, most men want a quick read hence The Online Edition shall attempt to cater to that too!

fash'on... BAM!

broadway bares

it's the start of a new week. the heart is heavy because on the day i celebrate my birthday, i had to say goodbye to my third aunt from my paternal side. it was such a weird day, much of it was an attempt to stay with status quo: working and enjoying a simple birthday dinner. however, the mind was confused and i am truly thankful for the support system that my friends created. i think most didn't know how to react as well but we all made it through. it just goes to show how important good friends are.

anyway, life will have to go on. there is a responsibility that i feel towards the ardent supporters of The Online Edition hence i made the decision to continue with the blogging and the posts. this week, we are going to explore the fashion of theatre. many times, we are wowed by the music, lyrics and the plot of a play or musical but rarely do we sit up and applaud the costumes. costumes within a theatrical performance are the 'fashion' of the make-believe world. through it, the audience is given a glimpse of the life in the world of the play.

throughout the week, we shall place the clothes worn on stage and their makers under scrutiny hence i hope that through this exploration, not only will we grow a deeper understanding of stage fashion but we will develop a greater appreciation of the art of theatre.

in conclusion, the signature pictures of the opening post of the week. once again, i ask myself what they have to do with the post. the answer: nothing. they are just here so that i have sufficient reason to use the labels and have better blog traffic.

Bodypaint Swimsuits (Sports Illustrated)

Jake (right) with friend

fash'on... BAM!

comfort women

if you are familiar with history, the term comfort women is nothing comforting. 

this week, we explore the way fashion has created the notion of the 'comfort women'. instead of liberating the female, the society has created fashion trends and traditions that are highly uncomfortable. yet, within the time and space of that trend, it was deemed acceptable. as we look at some of these 'fashions', emotions will be stirred up and you might ever get angry that such things even exist.

however, as we journey through the entire week, i ask that you take a balanced view of the dis-comforting fashion. like joyce carol oates remarked in a recent interview with the bbc, 'not every woman is a feminist.' just because someone is born a woman does not mean that one naturally has to fight for female supremacy. while we may not agree, i ask that we do not judge. there are hosts of reasons why women chose fashion over comfort. for instance, uncomfortable as it may be, i will still wear skinny jeans just so that my legs look slimmer and give the illusion of beauty.

now, for the irrelevant tradition of girls in bikinis and men who are half-naked. 

FHM Super Seven

Malaysia's Hottest Hunks 2007 / 2008

fash'on... BAM!

the best and the worst: week 07

it's judgement time again. time for me to take a closer look at all the various posts that i put out during the week and evaluate how well they sat with readers. if you are wondering how i go about the decision for the best and the worst, here's how:

1) unique hits: if you were directed here from my twitter or facebook, that would score as a unique hit. blogger has a counter function so i can track exactly how many hits came via that channel.

2) spike in traffic: after a post goes live, some may not click on the link but will visit the blog via the generic web link hence each time i publish a new article, i will track the general blog traffic to see if it is a popular post.

3) facebook likes, shares and retweets: this is the last factor but it is monitored as well.

anyway, back to this week of animals. there were many struggles this week in writing about animals and fashion. the main reason was the amount of material that was planned and then later dropped. for instance, yesterday's discussion on dragons, phoenix and unicorn were really smokescreen posts. the original posts were titled, 'i've got your covered: fur / feathers / hair'. it was meant to be a discussion of the production of fur, feathers and hair but i realised that it was too difficult to direct the material towards a neutral point. hence at the eleventh hour (literally minutes before the first post went live), i pulled the plug and rushed in new content. truly, there is no lack of good reference material for the topic of animal and fashion but until, i was ready (or at least felt ready) to take a stance, which i alluded to here, i rather not deal with certain subject matter.

perhaps i would have a decision somewhere down the road but let's compile the results and give you what you came here for. 

the best: iconic creatures

i liked this article. i really do. it was a 'lightbulb' moment while planning for the week's posts that i realised that many brands and logos used animals. hence i did a little snooping around to uncover the truth behind the animal of choice. the more interesting background stories would have to be the playboy rabbit and abercrombie & fitch moose. anyway, clarence apparently has an interesting picture for abercrombie & fitch singapore so i pulled it off his blog for you... here it is!

Abercrombie & Fitch in Singapore

now that you have gotten your fill of your random shirtless picture (it came two days early this week. i am such a kind soul... thank you, thank you!). i pray and plead with you to read the worst post of the week. every week's worst post never get additional hits whilst the best post always gain greater readership.

so please move your cursors over the link below!

the worst: furry's fit

for a post that has an interesting thumbnail, the hits were shockingly low. in fact, it is an all-time low. even at the time of writing, the unique views remain at a single digit. in case you are wondering who the cat was supposed to be, it's anna wintour from american vogue. maybe we need a pair of shades for the feline fatale! 

so the fates have been sealed. your best and worst posts of my seventh week as a blogger. it's going to be an exciting weekend for me. i'll be at dragonboat races!!! however, circulation of The Online Edition resumes just before the stroke of midnight on sunday with 'fl@me or fr@me'!

fash'on... BAM!

four legs good, two legs bad

taken from the popular novel, animal farm (george orwell), the notion of four legs good and two legs bad expressed the unhappiness that the animals had with the humans. if animals could speak our language, what exactly would they say? in another famous quote, ghandi remarked that 'the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.'

hence this week, on The Online Edition, we are going to put the two together: animals and fashion. the inspirations for this week's theme are my friends who are serious animal lovers. the big question on many of your minds would be if i like animals. i would be honest. i am not an animal lover. if you put a puppy near me, it would take a lot of money for me to cuddle it in my arms. as an events host, i break out in cold sweat when i know that there are animals involved. however, much as i am not a huge fan of animals, i recognise that animals (and pets) form an integral part of society and more importantly, fashion thus it is only fair that we pay attention to our animal friends.

with that said, whether you are an animal lover, hater or neutral, i hope that you will return daily to inform yourself about the interconnectivity between animals and the fashion industry.

now for the totally unrelated half-naked bodies, have fun salivating!

the Carlson twins

ladies from the US Lingerie Football League

fash'on... BAM!

timeless fashion

this week, halloween kicks into high gear. you will hear more talk about events, costumes and parties but that's in the past here on The Online Edition. if you came to this blog looking for material about halloween, please click here!

moving forward this week, we are going back in time! (i love the irony...) i am serious. after a week of just celebration and festive cheer, i think it's time to get back into the mode of fashion and to get us all in tune again, we should get in touch with our fashion roots and heritage.

all week long, we will visit different time periods, different eras, different events and look at how fashion was like back then. you can say that we are going retro or vintage, call it what you want but get your bell bottoms ready as we zip back in time.

like always, well-toned bodies (this time from korea) and they have nothing to do with a word that i wrote about!

image from korea.com

picture from asianbite

fash'on... BAM!

hello-win

halloween is not till the next weekend. so why is the online edition covering this theme so early? well, i believe in preparation and also i don't fancy being the last on the bandwagon to cover the material... haha.

anyway, if you are one of those who 'liked' my facebook page, you would know that i was on sentosa last thursday for the media preview of sentosa spooktacular. my guess is by now, you would also have read up on the media reports by the mainstream media and multiple bloggers. expecting me to not cover the event is like giving me cash and telling me to not spend it. hence, expect coverage on the event here as well but it is your choice whether or not to attend. 

like mentioned by sherlyn, i plan my material way ahead thus i would encourage / plead / beg / bribe / coerce / threaten / (insert your own word) that you come back daily to look at my coverage of halloween. i'm not going to give any more content away because i want you to surprise of the quirky posts and weird angles that i will come up with over this week. 

after all, halloween is when all hell breaks loose and i can lift the reins off my creativity to let it run amok. 

in closing, here's a link from my good friend, wikipedia, on halloween and pictures of scantily-clad chiseled bodies that i did (and will be) putting on every week's opening post just to shamelessly drive up blog traffic.

the Pussycat Dolls celebrate Halloween

courtesy of JustinTimberlake.com

fash'on... BAM!

five models you must know

having a pretty face and a fabulous body is not enough. if you have been blessed with a pleasant exterior, the tough part is maintaining it and using it to your maximum benefit. so if you are reading this post, word-of-caution: the models featured are there because they put in effort for their careers, so hard work is still essential if one desires to make it to the top AND stay there.

that said, here are the top five earning models who are featured by forbes... 

1) gisele bundchen: $45 million

Gisele Bundchen on the cover of Vogue

2) kate moss: $9.2 million

Kate Moss on the cover of UK Vogue

3) natalia vodianova: $8.6 million

Natalia Vodianova on the cover of Vogue Russia

4) adriana lima: $7.3 million

Adriana Lima on the cover of Vogue Brazil

5) doutzen kroes: $6.9 million

Doutzen Kroes on the cover of Vogue Germany

so what happened to the men? how much does the top earning male model bring in a year?

Sean O'Pry, the face of Zara

touted to be the most successful international male model, sean o'pry has a net worth of $6.5 million. so comparatively, the women still have a larger grip over the fashion industry's dollar. technically, such trends should apply to singapore too, right? wrong!

strangely in singapore, we are unable to really name a female model is THE FACE or THE BODY. i guess this is largely due to the use of artistes over models. we like our familiar screen faces... but if i am forced to compare the state of male and female models in singapore, i think the men have it better here in terms of mileage and fame. just try naming the models or where you know them from...

image from rock the trend

image from ifitness

know her?

best model of the world singapore, his name?

fash'on... BAM!

five things you should know

it's monday morning again... another week begins... how is it going to turn out? no one knows but we go on anyway... 

after an entire week of children, this week i invite you to join me on a journey of learning, going back to fundamentals and basics. for the next five days, as i continue my growth, we shall learn some terms and jargons together... for those who have prior knowledge, good for you... but for the rest of us who don't, you are welcome...

so to kickstart the entire week... here are five things you should know about this blog and me...

1) the online edition is not merely a fashion blog. i will do fashion writing. i will tell you about certain trends that are going on. i will tear outfits apart (not literally... at least not everyone's, not every soul looks good naked) but the online edition is more than that. it is an avenue for me to be a writer and explore the world through the medium of fashion. certain posts are going to make you go 'huh, what is he thinking?'. that's the idea... i am expressing thought...

2) compliment, critique, comment, challenge... i invite everything... one of the main reasons why i create this blog is not just to air my thoughts but to have avenues for conversation. fashion is a big concept to digest but if we see it as a constant dialogue, one day we will all understand... i hope to be a participant and not just a bystander. honesty is the best policy, so please give me your frank opinion (just be ready for a discussion if we disagree.) hence, i will tear you apart if i can, you can also return the favour. 

3) numbers matter... more than once, i asked myself why the obsession with page views. first up, it is not because of the advertisements and the possible income. ask yourself, if you are a chef but serve up food to zero patrons, are you still a chef? similarly, for a writer with no readers, i constantly ask myself what wrong did i make that readers don't return... so now you know, i have my insecurities too and the numbers keep me going...

4) i am a techno idiot... everything you see on the blog is my own work. i would love to have fanciful layouts and trench coats twirling around but until i learn how to do it, you have to live with my dull layout. of course, if you would like to help me with the layout, i never turn down help (as of now, i have no budget!)... don't come here and expect perfect shots of my daily outfits... anyway, most of the time, i am rushing to get out of my house and moving around for engagements, i hardly have the energy to stop and pose for the cameras (oops, did i just offend more bloggers?)

5) finally, laugh lots... life is too short and this post is way too serious... there can never be too much laughter in your life. if you have problems laughing, just turn to the person next to you and be glad that you are not him / her... unless the person is God then the joke's on you...

now that you have faithfully completed reading the post... here's are some half-naked bodies and victoria's secret girls to spice up the post... (hey i need to justify the freaking labels right? i would love to have 2000 hits on one single post... haha... did i just insult a fellow blogger? ouch!)

image of A&F models, courtesy of inside retail asia

image courtesy of iamcatwalk.com

want more? google it yourself... haha... 

fash'on... BAM!

me tarzan, you jane

boys blue, girls pink... not sure if it's a boy or a girl, buy green or yellow... but have we ever stopped to think why? after all, if our first outfits came from the natural world, we would be wearing a lot of greens and browns... of course there is animal skin, feathers and fur but there are hardly any blues and pinks in the natural world.

mirabell garden, austria

so why the colour differentiation? well, fashion is not just about the individual... it is (unfortunately) an appearance that we put up for other people. so which is more important? the validation of the self... all about the individual and oneself or should we subject ourselves to the prejudice and judgements of the society?

whether we accept it, lookism exists... we are judged based on first impressions and how we look. so we can play the game and excel or simply try to be the bystander... if you got a chance to re-live your childhood, would you rather be the first to be picked for teams or you really don't bother...

we always assume that only adults judge and children are the innocent ones... we may be pleasantly surprised by how deep-seated some social prejudices are. try dressing a young boy in pink or get a girl to wear a blue tee with denim berms...

real men may wear pink 

but not every boy feels pretty in pink. 

fash'on... BAM!

asia's fashion weeks

i see the hate mail coming! haha...

yes, after two rather lacklustre posts about what i'm going to blog about this week and kungfu panda, i deserve the eggs thrown at this blog for not staying true to the core of fashion... well, good things are worth waiting for!

so no gimmicks... just fashion in this post... we've long associated fashion weeks with london, new york, milan and paris... however there are a few fashion weeks around asia as well... let's start from singapore...

singapore has two fashion weeks... audi fashion festival singapore and men's fashion week... also another fun event on the fashion calendar is fashion steps out @ orchard... 

next, to a more established fashion week... mercedes-benz fashion week tokyo... in fact, it's just round the corner... happening in a couple more weeks... if schedule permits, i would like to attend the fashion week in tokyo next year... if i do, guess where i will be sharing the details?

well, there are fashion weeks in bangalore (mama, this one's for you!), bangkok, jakarta and hong kong as well...

so the next time you travel to one of these asian destinations, why not join them during their fashion weeks? fash' on... BAM!