The Necessary Accessory - Style.Com's Fall/Winter 06.07 Report

Yup I'm not going to bother about the fact that I've grown up with British English and yet here I am wielding the word "Fall". As far as I'm concerned, they're interchangeable (in fact, I'd even go to the extent of declaring "Fall" a word solely for fashion purposes and "autumn" solely for referring to the season - but no, it's not worth offending the two major groups of native English speakers).

Ok on to the actual topic. It's me again with another "The Necessary Accessory" post. This time I'm going to pick out accessories that catch my fancy from the long list that Style.Com has chosen.


First on the list we have this Alessandro Dell'Acqua shopping bag. Style.Com refers to this as a "coulisse gold mirror leather shopping bag".

Unfamiliar terms. The dictionary comes in handy.

Alright here we go. According to Dictionary.Com, "coulisse" is defined as:

1. A grooved timber in which something slides.
2.
a. A section of stage scenery placed in a wing of a theatre.
b. The space between such pieces of scenery, through which an actor can make an entrance or exit.
c. A backstage area in a theater.

The theatrical definitions clearly don't apply here so I'll just assume that some part of the bag (most likely a compartment) works by things sliding here and there.

Anyway, I've picked this bag to display because the gold leather look is total eye-catching. The design of the various strings and buckles that crowd the sides of the bag gives it a sophisticated feel. Certainly, "shopping bag" is too basé a way of describing this glitzy accessory.


Next up: Manolo Blahnik. Yup, it's a shoe, but a very stylish one at that. From the angle this pump was shot, the silhouette looks very new and refreshing. It looks somewhat strange for an item that goes on your feet, but a closer look and the imagining of a foot (plus the leg, of course) slotting into this shoe gives you an idea of how it's going to be worn. I know it's a no-brainer but hey! - I'm a guy after all, give me a little bit of poetic license to figure out how girls wear these shoes. The toes go into the blue patch right at the front tip of the pump (duh) and the top part of the pump that's a khaki colour and has a belt+buckle coming out of it is where the ankle goes. The small leather belt goes around the ankle and is tightened with the buckle.

There, not too bad, yeah? Now let's look at the description that Style.Com gives.

"Purple suede and gold ruched-leather ankle-strap Drusiana pump."

Parts of it are made of purple suede - checked; there're gold (ok fine, so it's not khaki) leather parts (I don't know what "ruched" means) - yup; there's an ankle strap - good; it's a pump - duh; now what the hell is Drusiana - does that mean it's a shoe that Dracula's sister wears ... ? Hmm. Anyone can enlighten me on this? Post in the comments for this post.

Just one unknown word to define by dictionary means, then - "ruched". Here goes:

"A ruffle or pleat of lace, muslin, or other fine fabric used for trimming women's garments."

Ahh ok. If I'm not mistaken the "ruched" then refers to the folds that appear in the leather, or rather to the fact that the leather is folded? The latter, probably.


Yeah it's Dior, I know. Stop it. You must permit a teen like me (and a blogger, at that) his own little biases (something which John Galliano is well-known for cutting - ok fine - I'm a fanboy, alright?) - and I never fail to weaken for Dior by Galliano. Here we have what Style.Com describes as a "Python and crocodile gaucho bag" - a very concise and no-brainer of what the bag's about - it's a gaucho bag that's made of python skin and crocodile skin (the reptiles. Eeargh. I hope the material's synthetically made). It basically follows the design of the gaucho tote bags from last season's RTW show (in case the calendar messes up, that would be Christian Dior's Spring/Summer 06.07 Ready-To-Wear, or Prêt-a-Porter show - the one which featured the Dior Nude collection), except that the materials are different.

I can't help but admit that this bag fits perfectly into the rock-and-roll gothic chic(k) thing that the Fall/Winter 06.07 RTW show was. I can picture Kate Hudson, who gushed about how she could wear one of the outfits in the show to a rock show, clutching this bag and hanging out at the next MTV Awards (if she attends them; I'm not too sure. Don't really follow the entertainment news - read: gossip).

Ooh hehe I just realised I talked about the python/crocodile skin bags in my last post.

Hey I'm a fanboy, ok? Chill out.

The Necessary Accessory - Christian Dior Fall 06.07

I'll never own any of these (I'm a guy y'know, so hush up) but I'm still going to review them anyway. Here we have today a slew of accessories paraded during the Christian Dior Fall/Winter RTW 06.07 show! (All photos from Style.com)




First up is a python-skin gaucho bag. The gaucho bag, which debuted in the Spring/Summer '06 collection, is making it big because it's a very unique bag that, as some TFS users have said, doesn't "scream "Dior"" - which is something I wholly agree with. I mean, it's Dior, but in a subtle sort of way. And the design is slouchy but chic.

The original gaucho bags came in a variety of colours, but I suppose to fit in with the rocker-look theme, Dior chose to create a python-skin variation. That's cool because it does look very rocker - it's very "tough-looking", so to speak. Kind of like, "I can fight snakes and rip their scales off for my handbag, so watch out."



I like this variation of the gaucho bag. The python-skin version was a little too rough-looking for my liking and this is just plain class. The marble-looking fabric used for the main parts of the bag just adds a touch of elegance. The brown lining reminds me of the border used in marble frescoes, or the frames surrounding masterpieces of art.



The sunglasses ... how does anyone actually SEE in them ... ? Did Hana Soukupova actually manage to see where she was going on the runway with these pair of diamond-studded sunglasses on, I wonder? Gives new meaning to the phrase "I'm seeing stars", like totally.

But the cross! The cross! It's absolutely gorgeous, and the best thing is, it's not just for girls! Gimme one! Or two! Or three! (No wait, I want some of the other crosses they have too!)



Like, for example, this one (the three-nail construction just rings with the word "Goth") !!!



Or this one (which I think looks wonderful in that bright shade of blood-red - I desire it)!!!

And now for the Dior accessories featured in the accessories report on Style.com ...



I think this is a very gorgeous pair of pumps (especially the inverted perfume bottle thing used as the heel).

Ok I think I'm only ready to review one of the accessories featured on Style.com - I either don't feel like there's much to say about the others (not that I don't like but just that I don't have a lot of feelings about them) or find them unworthy of review (haha ok not much of that - I think there's only one - was it one of the boots, or? - I don't know).

I think that's about all I have to say for now. I'll can't wait for the next couture collection Dior by Galliano's gonna send down the runways. I hope it's gorgeous and revives the class and craziness that they used to exude.

Oh yes by the way, I never realised until about two weeks back that the outfits I'm featuring in my blog design in the logo up there were actually from Dior's Fall 2005 collection. (I'm slow, ok?)

Autumn/Winter 2006 Trend Observations

I've got a trend observation for this autumn season, but it's probably inaccurate since I'm only basing it on a few collections (whose designers I love to no end hahaha - especially Galliano).

The trend I'm noticing: FORWARD TO THE PAST. Basically what I'm noticing is that a lot of collections aren't going forward; they're taking inspiration from a past period and expanding a lot on it. Designers I've seen done this include Dolce and Gabbana (their Pride-and-Prejudice inspired Napoleonistic military-looking collection), Versace (a collection that strikes as being somehow retro - especially the use of bubble-gum colours like a bright and light shade of teal for a dress, vaguely retro silhouettes, etc.), Dior by Galliano (80s rocker-chic with a gothic touch), and Alexander McQueen (especially the use of a grungy-coloured palette, ruffles around the neck, and certain Edwardian dress silhouettes with a little modification).

Dunno if it makes sense. Here're a series of photos from Style.com. From top to bottom: Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, Christian Dior, and Alexander McQueen.

Exams. Again.

It's exactly one month and one day since my last post. It's been very hectic and my computer life hasn't been energised enough for me to blog.

Well here I am. But I'll probably be disappearing again for about a week or two from my blog because I've got my Mid-Years. Yes, my Mid-Years. Currently, my Elementary Mathmatics Paper 1, Social Studies, Chinese Paper 2, and Biology Paper 2 are over.

History (Elective). Eee. I wonder how I'm going to study for it.

Ok ok relax. Don't get stressed. Dooonnn't get stressed.

Anyway, to digress, I've managed to come up with a list of my favourite models. Here goes, in no order of merit:


1) Gemma Ward - She looks absolutely fabulous in this "Merry Christmas" outfit with a red velvet skirt for the D&G Fall/Winter 2006/7 show!





2) Snejana Onopka - Her eyes are absolutely beautiful. It's the dreamy way she stares (sometimes it just looks like she's bored) - her eyes look like they go very very very deep into an unknown space and you're just drawn to it.





3) Doutzen Kroes - Her eyes too! They're a very brilliant shade and her irises look like some precious gem that's been cut into a million shades. Also she has what they term very "sensuous lips". She's just gorgeous hahaha.





4) Unknown Guy in D&G Ad - I don't know his name. He's the guy who appears in the D&G ads for Spring/Summer 2006/7 - he's the one who's lying on the floor and propping his head against the wall. He's got a very hot figure and yes, it's his eyes again. Very very sharp-looking eyes that seem to drill (in both senses of the word) and scorch you over and over again.


That's about the people I can think of for now. I might put up pictures at a later date.

Update: Pictures of Gemma Ward, Snejana Onopka and Doutzen Kroes up. Pictures from Style.com - Gemma Ward's photo is from D&G Fall/Winter 2006 while Snejana Onopka and Doutzen Kroes' pictures are from Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2006.