Saturday, April 22, 2006

WAIST DOWN - SKIRTS BY MIUCCIA PRADA

I just went to NYC to check out the Prada exhibition in their epicenter - the soho boutique designed by Rem Koolhaas.

In my mind, Miuccia Prada designs the most interesting and beautiful skirts among all fashion designers despite the fact that Prada is a highly commercial brand. She is so consistent that you can count on her every single season to come up with new ideas and new prints.

The exhibition showcases Miuccia's best skirt designs from1988 to 2006. Some skirts are hung in store spinning to accentuate the shadow prints, and some are attached to the same piece of material like a camouflage. The collection includes the lip print skirt from 2000 as well as several popular skirts from the successful FW04 season (my favorite Prada season).

Most of the skirts are going to be reproduced for sale, but the amount is limited to three per style (the lip print skirt is not reproduced though). Part of the proceeds will be donated to charity, but $6,000 per skirt appears to be very steep to a regular consumer like me.Like all exhibitions in museums, this skirt event also hands out brochures and pins. The brochures have all skirts printed chronologically with a store floor plan and section at the back. The pin collection, at the same time, includes the most famous Prada skirt designs printed. Both items are free.There are also three styles of Tshirts with skirt prints on sale ($75 each): the green shadow skirt from FW04 season, the lip print skirt from 2000, and the blue/red print skirt from SS05 season. Another interesting item is a book with all skirt designs, inspirations, and material information. It's a must have piece for a design book junkie like me.

Overall, it is a cute exhibition. My only complaints is that all skirts are blended with the current spring collection through the store, so it’s not very easy to follow if your only objective is to look at the skirts. All the goodies coming with the collection are great add-ons, and I appreciate those details.








Sunday, April 16, 2006

Dior Gaucho pumps & tips to make heels comfy

I was so amazed by the details on the pumps when I saw them on runway. Months later, here they are on my coffee table.
They are comfortable shoes, but it takes some tricks to make them the shoes to wear shopping for hours. Those are the things I always add on:
1. Power soles. Leather sole can't take much walking, and a layer of rubber takes them long way. Most of the shoe repair shops do that for you, but you need to ask for beige rubber sole if the shoes are in lighter shades.
2. Pads on forefeet. They reduce the impact on the ball of the feet. You can find them pharmacies such as CVS.
3. Pads on the back of the pumps. Pumps tend to slip on your heels, especially when they are slightly large. The little pads at the back of the pumps will secure the heels and avoid blisters.
All those "add ons" will cost about $30, but the return is priceless.




Saturday, April 01, 2006

The only jacket in this world

Yes, my jacket is the ONLY one, which surprises me and amazes me so much.

After months of waiting, my Balenciaga jacket finally arrived.

I fell in love with this jacket right away when it was shown on Balenciaga's '06 spring runway show. It was such an amazing collection which melts Baroque and Rock & Roll together in an extremely architectural way. I knew that it was THE jacket people see once a life time, and I had to have it.

I even put deposit to order the jacket I wanted. They only produced a couple of the variations showed on runway, but I wanted different combination of colors and details. The special order service got me the exact jacket I wanted, just for me:)

I didn't pose. Imagine Jing as a clothes rack in those pictures. I want you to see how the jacket fits and how the details look. I guess that I would wear that outfit to a nice dinner, or to a nice Rock & Roll concert. That is an evening look, and indeed it is so me, the single Jing with all those rebellious ideas and the Jing who rarely followed norms.

I wore the jacket out shopping today. I dressed it down with white corduroy(my husband got eliminated in a spelling bee contest because of this word) pants and a light grey tissue T-shirt under. I also tried a look last night with the Balenciaga tank under but pairing with a flowy schiffon skirt and killer heels. That would be the outfit worn at my birthday dinner with Mr. Jing, and maybe a dance after.

Life changes, but a jacket like this will follow me for the years to come.