This Week BG is Loving. . .

. . the New LAMB bags by Gwen Stefani!

I've been missing LAMB bags since Gwen stopped collaborating with Le Sportsac. And when I saw these babys on the catwalk last seasn, I practically drooled! They are chic, cool and oh-so-versatile! I am especially loving these two, Capri and Venezia

In addition, they also have matching clutches to go with it! The top stone colored one (top left) is the large Catania, and you can get a sense of its size on the right. Its quite big. I prefer the white clutch/wallet (bottom left) more. It looks so simple and cool.

And of course, there were some cool funky things too like this Signature Carlisle Convertible Clutch Tote. Can you believe it? They are both the same bag! Even though that rasta/saddle print is a little bit too funky for my tastes, I just LOVE the idea behind the bag.

As much as I like this new collection, the thing I miss most about the old LAMB/Le Sportsac collection though is the price- this new collection now ranges from $75 to a whooping $750! Oh, and the light Le Sportsac material. It made them very good for travel. The rest of the collection can be found on the nordstrom website here.

BG's Paris Diary: Week 9

Last weekend HG and another friend of ours came to visit me in Paris, and we had an awesome time. Since all of us have been to Paris before, we wanted to avoid the usual cliche places and instead visit other places that tourists on the go don't usually see.

So, we spent half a day at the Chateau de Fontainebleau, which is only about 45 minutes away from Paris center. Honestly, I didn't think it compared to Versailles or the Chateaux de Loire, but it was an interesting experience. We had oodles of fun imagining ourselves living there back in the days of Marie Antoinette and finally decided that it was too drafty for longterm living. Besides, what would we do without internet connection??
We also went to the Paris Catacombs at Denfert Rochereau. This used to be a quarry, but because of some disease some time ago, they excavated nearby cemetaries and deposited all the millions of bones here to make room. They are all literally stacked on top of each other in neat rows. With the dripping water and it being more than 10 meters below ground, it was quite a creepy experience.Then we went to the Musee D'Orsay, which used to be a trainstation. It was quite interesting with these bizarre statues (left) and works of art by Monet and Van Gogh. Out of them all, we thought this picture (right) by Monet was the coolest, because you literally have to step back to see what it is.
Other museusm of interest you might want to try out that is not the Louvre is the Carnavalet Museum, which is about the Revolution. Although the art inside is really not that amazing or authentic. Like this room here is a replica of Marie Antoinette's room when she was imprisoned for 6 months. Personally I prefer the maison de Victor Hugo, which is really hard to find at Place des Vouges. Its real cool inside as the furnitures in it are designed all by Victor Hugo (he writes AND draws!). He was really innovative and liked to make furniture out of furniture. For example, this dinner table here(center) is actualy a desk (see the drawers?) with a DOOR on top as the surface! He also managed to put his signature very subtly on everything. Like this picture here (right), can you see the VH?I know we said we didn't want to go to any cliche places, but it seemed a crime for HG and I not to go to the Vuitton store together. Of course, it was enormous and awesome. Really more like a museum than a store. And how cute are the mini vuitton kids (right)?
Later that night, we also went to the Buddha Bar, located on this quaint little street next to the Hotel Crillon. A restuarant/bar with a huge buddha in the middle, the ambiance is excellent, a must go if you like barring. Except. . . good luck finding a table!

Du Juan in FW06 Ads

Du Juan (Nationality: Chinese)-The first Asian model to really break out. Hye Park (Nationality: Korean) was already considered successful in terms of Asian models working in the high fashion world, but Du Juan is the one who managed to secure an impressive number of FW06 ads.

Du Juan trained to be a dancer when she was young, but according to articles/ interviews of her, she just wouldn't stop growing tall, so she became a model. (She also won some beauty contest thing.)

And bam! everyone fell in love with her after the high-profile and very first Vogue China cover, also starring Gemma Ward. (Remember back when the cover was first released, I said she was my fav Chinese model on the cover?)

Anyways, so since then, she's been a staple of Vogue China. Also, she's started to appear on runways and this season, quite a few campaigns. Du Juan's FW06 ad portfolio includes:

Gap -She doesn't really look like her in the ad, but it's her. I suppose this is Gap's attempt to reach out to more people, although I'm not sure the whole Gap using low-profile high-fashion models campaign worked.

Roberto Cavalli -I love Du in this campaign. So dramatic and cool.

Swarovski -Sensual, (where is the jewelry on her?)

Louis Vuitton -Another loveable campaign, this one featuring Du and Raquel. Not that you can really see Du's face in the ad, but still. She's like a Vuitton bag hanger in this ad! I wasn't so sure about it at first, but it grew on me!

YSL -Du's outfit here isn't exactly my fav, but it's impressive she managed to get high fashion ads at all. Actually, the contrast between the background and her outfit is pretty cool.

Although according to thefashionspot forums, Du Juan so far, does not seem to have any SS07 campaigns yet. Let's hope she's not a one-hit-wonder!

Volver - 2006 - Film

Monday, November 27, 2006

New Review! Read it in Four Magazine!

Sansho The Bailiff - 1954 - Film

Sunday, November 26, 2006

This is an absolutely amazing movie and it is a crying shame it has taken me this many years to finally see it. Then again, the wait was worth it because I had the privilege of seeing it on 35mm at The Music Box theater, which in case you haven't checked the list of "Best Movie Theaters" on the right scrollbar of this blog, is one of the finest movie theaters in the country.

Thoughts on the film will be brief because I am completely backlogged with other movies to be covered, but I couldn't sign off without noting how gorgeous the long shots are in the forest sequences. In fact, every shot is calculated so meticulously with different scales of light and dark that they are worth noting. In particular though, when I remember the movie the shots that call to mind are the ones of the children trekking through the forest, vines and leaves strewn in the fore, thick tree trunks and foliage in the background--all of which comes together with a clean, matte finish over it. And I haven't even mentioned the story itself, which is a heartbreaking tale of a mother separated from her son and daughter, both of whom go to the ends of the earth to find her again, after years of rape, abuse, slavery and torture.

I can't wait to watch it again, and afterwards I'm eager to get to The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), too. Kenji Mizoguchi fans and experts, please weigh-in for a list of recommendations and favorites, it will be a greatly appreciated guide.

Nara Camicie

In Milan, besides Prada stores everywhere, on every other street there are also stores by this brand called "Nara Camicie" everywhere. Intrigued by the display, we went in and found a gem for dress shirts. They had them in every cutting and color, with chic variations that are just to die for. Turns out, this Italian brand has been specialising in dress shirts since 1984! My friend and I ended up each buying this one dress shirt (her's in black and mine in white) with a built in wrap-around thing, which is super cute. The only complain I have about it though, is that it wrinkles very easily. But I guess I can't expect too much since it IS relatively inexpensive for Milan standards. They don't have a picture of it available on their website (turns out they are available worldwide), so I can't show you guys. But here are a few pieces from their collection that I like:

This is what I like best about them: they transform the classic dress shirt into something more unique while still keeping the clean cut classic quality of a dress shirt.

Their take on frills is also refreshing, adding a soft feminine touch to the crisp shirts.

In addition to dress shirts, they also make more elaborate things that are quite pretty.

Although I must admit, some of their stuff are way over the top and borders on tacky. I guess, we'd just have to sift through all the sand to get the the gems!

FW06 Bag Trend: The Hip Ones

Before I start ooh and ahhing, I want to emphasise that these bags are this season's hip bags, the cool ones. Note that these aren't IT bags. People always want to know which bag is the IT bag, and magazines /websites like to claim a bunch of bags as the IT bags of the season. But the real deal is, there are very very few IT bags and you'll know if a bag is IT. Think back to the days of the Motorcycle, the Paddington and the Stam.

Anyways, so these are some of my fav cool bags this season:

Botkier -Bianca. Not counting Lindsay Lohan pap photos, the first time I saw this bag was in NY Barneys, where the girl in front of me in line was carrying the Bianca medium in brown. I was like, I really like this bag, and went into a Botkier-online-ogling-frenzy phase.

Chanel -This Chanel supersized bag is one of the few Chanel bags that I actually feel is great for young people. Can you just imagine: a girl in black/grey skinny jeans, ankle boots, huge black shades and this simple but uber cool bag. Oop, I might have just described Kate Moss.

Kooba -Carla and Lena. Kooba bags in general give off a more bohemian vibe. So not all Kooba bags are my thing, but I do like these two. They give off a really relaxed vibe (if that makes sense.)

Miu Miu -Vitello Paggy Shoulder Bag. I saw a girl in a very casual outfit -cute shorts, a tee and black shades -carrying this bag back in the summer, and I stared at her for awhile. The bag is so cute and practical. Actually, I like most of Miu Miu's bags this season, but I already squealed about them to my poor, patient (and loyal reader) friend.

Balenciaga -the Motorcycle bag trascends seasons. While it may not be an IT bag anymore, it's still super cool and edgy. I do love how gorgeous the leather is and how light and practical it is. You can tell by the fact that after a few seasons, the young stylish girls, that's MK and Nicole, are still carrying it.

Chanel -A new young stylish girl fav this season (which will probably go on) is the small Chanel classic-looking bag. I've always thought these Chanel bags look old, but the girls sure carry the bags well and look cool.