A Jacket You Can Sleep In

When it comes to draped neckline, very few contemporary brands can compete with Helmut Lang. And this has been confirmed with my new purchase.

I can't express how much I love this Helmut Lang Sonar Wool Shawl Collar Jacket. The minimalist silhouette is both streamlined and fluid. The stretchy material is so soft and comfortable that I can literally sleep in it. It has the coziness of a cardigan and the attitude of a neatly cut jacket. You can easily dress it up for office or dress it down for a casual weekend. If temperature drops and you want more warmth, you can always zip it up and the hidden magnet will make sure that everything is in its right place. Honestly, this is the piece that finally set my mind to fall after a flighty summer.

Here I styled it with a couple of old pieces in my wardrobe that you've seen before and tried to play with different patterns and texture. Heads up: this jacket is so versatile that you may have to put up with many many outfits with it until you have to throw up... :)

Jacket: Helmut Lang Sonar Wool Shawl Collar Jacket (here, here, here, here)   

Tee: JCrew Painter Tee (old, this season)

Lace Skirt: Club Monaco Rowan Skirt (also seen in this post)

Sunglasses: Karen Walker Super Duper Strength

Purse: Louis Vuitton Damier Hampstead PM

Chicwish: A Not So Romantic Experience

I follow quite a few fashion bloggers, but I rarely go with their recommendations. Inspiration is good; copy cat is no fun. More importantly, my training and experience as a finance professional make me extra aware of conflict of interest. If a fashion blogger profits from her follower's purchase, chances are she is willing to compromise her integrity to collect every penny. Photogenic items may turn out to have crappy quality, the blogger may use hidden pins to fix the goofy fit, the photographer may shoot from a specific angle to make the picture look nice, and there may be many other details not disclosed even in the fine print. After all, blogging is a grey area that is not regulated.

That said, once in a blue moon, I do fall to my knees at the beauty of those carefully edited pictures and take the bait.

Chicwish is a brand that has apparently launched a marketing campaign through collaboration with many fashion bloggers recently. Their midi skirts in dreamy prints wowed me with every picture. After months of resistance, I decided to give it a try. As this was the first time I purchased from this brand, I did consider two important questions: 1) what is the shipping/return policy? 2) what is my size?

Chicwish offers free shipping, but the customer has to pay the return shipping label. The "About Us" page states that, although their headquarter is in Hong Kong, they do have an office in California. The address of this California office is shown at the bottom of every single page (CHICWISH STUDIO, 612 Alabama street, San Francisco CA 94110, United States). OK, shipping back to California is no biggie. $11 flat rate priority mail would be the maximum shipping I have to pay. I was fine with that. So I ordered midi skirts in two prints. I like this Turn Back Time Scenic print so much that I ordered both XS and S (because some online review suggests sizing up), just to make sure that I got the right size.

Two weeks later, I received nothing.

I contacted Chicwish through their website. They apologized for the delay and promised that the package was on the way.

Another week passed, and I finally got the package. The shipping label said it was originated from China. My heart sank.

I opened the package. Three skirts of two prints and two sizes were all wrinkled from the packaging and shipping, but the prints were as beautiful as what I'd seen online. The fabric was not the best, but did maintain its puffy retro shape as desired. Size XS and S were not that different, although size XS did fit me better than S.

So now I needed to return one of the two Turn Back Time Scenic Print Midi Skirts to Chicwish.

The invoice had the return address. It was not in California, not even in Hong Kong. It was in Shenzhen, China. And the invoice stated very clearly that all returns must go to China.

Did I want to pay international shipping to return a $43 skirt? No. I guess no one would even bother. I listed the skirt on mitbbs and poshmark, and sold it at a marginal loss. And I truly believe that this is exactly what Chicwish wants me (and other consumers) to do. You've got an item you don't want? OK, sell it to others. Don't ship it back to us.

I'm utterly disgusted by this business strategy.

And I'm equally disgusted by the fashion bloggers who've sung the praises for this shady online retailer.

Don't tell me that this is normal for international shopping. I've made purchase on stylebop before, and the online retailer: 1) never pretends to be a US-based company, and 2) covers the return international shipping cost to Europe.

Here is my full disclosure of Chicwish shopping experience:

• Colors and prints - as shown online;
• Fabric - you get what you pay for;
• Shipping - expect delay due to international shipping;
• Online customer service - submit your request online and they will get back to you within 24 hours;
• Return - given the expensive international shipping cost, all sales are essentially final. 

Top: JCrew Bateau Tee in Stripe
Skirt: Chicwish Santorini Print Pleated Midi Skirt (also bought this Turn Back Time Scenic Print Midi Skirt, more amazing prints: poppy field, London eye, neon lights)
Necklace: Anthropologie
Sandals: Pedro Garcia Xola Ankle Strap Sandals in almond/white
Clutch: Prada

My First Purchase from ASOS

As many of you already know, ASOS is an online store that offers quick fashion at reasonable price. I decided to try some midi to tea length skirts from ASOS thanks to its friendly shipping and return policy. And here is my review on some pieces in my first ever ASOS package... Not exactly what I want, but seems OK.

Many of their so-called midi skirts are just 1-2 inches below the knees, a little shorter than I expected. Look at this ASOS Midi Skirt in Tweed Check with Pockets (see left): it sits low on the waist and just hit below the knees. If I pull the waist line up and make it high waist, it will look even shorter. This is a little disappointing in that midi skirts tend to make people look short, unless they are long enough and sit high on the waist, which will visually lengthen the legs and create a better proportion. But its material beats my expectation. So I've decided to keep it. I may do some alteration and make it work. Stay tuned!

This ASOS Midi Skirt in Ponte with Pocket Detail in fuchsia (see right) has a high waist (a plus!), but again hits just below the knees. If only it were two inches longer! Anyway, I like its color and fabric. So this is also a keeper.

I ordered ASOS Full Midi Skirt in three colors. Well, full+midi, sounds so in for this season, doesn't it? But the result is not that encouraging. This chartreuse color looks more greenish yellow than the color displayed on my monitor. Think about the color of a butterfly... no, I mean a worm, before it morphs into a butterfly... or the color of green cabbage heart that is wrapped tightly and has never seen sunlight... You've got the idea. Really hard to pull off. This fuchsia pink color is also off. These two are going back. The only one I'm going to keep is this pastel pink full midi skirt. Pastel pink or baby pink, whatever you call it, is just a bit pink-er than blush or nude. It goes well with the light flowy fabric.

I also ordered two mesh skirts, one maxi and one midi, both in nude color. Sheer is another theme of the season. The maxi dress is a little long on my petite frame, but I like its airiness, and I have some clever way to make it work. The midi one is again just one inch short of my expectation. So maxi stays and midi will go back.

This ASOS Midi Skirt in Sheer Burnout is a bummer. The material is stiff and does not flow with the body. Absolutely terrified.

Oh, did my eyes fool me? This ASOS Pleated Midi Skirt is already sold out? Well, the material is OK and the blue color is OK (green is blindingly bright, FYI), but the pleats are so wide that it looks cheaply made. The Club Monaco pleat skirt is 100 times better than this.

Overall, I have to say that you get what you pay for. ASOS has good price, and friendly shipping/return policy, definitely worth a visit once in a while for some quick fashion stuff.

Left
Black cashmere Henley: Rugby
Tweed skirt:  ASOS Midi Skirt in Tweed Check with Pockets
Sunglasses: Karen Walker Super Duper Strength in black
Scarf: Yarnz Zebra Print Scarf from Bloomingdale's
Belt: Alexander McQueen
Boots: Prada

Right
Floral print tee: Anthropologie
Midi skirt: ASOS Midi Skirt in Ponte with Pocket Detail
Sunglasses: Miu Miu Cat Eye
Belt: JCrew
Silver pumps: JCrew Everly Cracked Metallic Leather Pumps in metallic silver

Cropped Top in Office

Temperature is soaring every day and spring is finally here. I can't wait to change to my colorful spring/summer outfit, and today, I'm in the mood of cropped tops! But wait, it's not weekend yet , right? You are not supposed to go crazy and bare your midriff... Hm... Guess what? I managed to put together a quite office-appropriate preppy outfit with a cropped sweater. The dress has a sleeveless faux wrap shirt top in blush, with a tie-knot and collars. Throwing my crew neck cropped sweater on top of it seems quite seamless. :)

Off-white cropped sweater: Free People (similar)
Faux wrap dress: Leifnotes from Anthropologie
Black short boots: Prada
Sunglasses: Miu Miu

For your curiosity about the dress, here is a throwback from 2012. We don't have to wear new cloths every day. It's so much fun digging into the closet and fitting old pieces into new fashion trend!

Spring 2014 Trend (2): Metallic Shoes

上周提到了金属色的鞋子，这个风也是从去年就开始刮的，今年愈演愈烈，除了银色的镜面鞋，今年还出了不同的颜色和质感，金属色不光被应用在高跟鞋上面，还广泛出现在平底 坡跟 牛津 和运动鞋上，可以说是全面开花。金属色的鞋子非常好穿，几乎能搭配任何颜色和风格的服装。只要没有用力过猛，可以画龙点睛，迅速提升整体的时尚感。

You can't call yourself a shoe maniac if you haven't got a pair of metallic shoes yet. Metalwork was a huge influence to the SS/2013 catwalks. The shoes are the easiest way to re-introduce metallics into your wardrobe in preparation for spring. The trend of metallic shoes stays strong this year.

While silver pumps have been a running favorite so far, this year we see the trend expanding in color (silver, gold, rose gold, gunmetal, or even colored metallics), texture (e.g. cracked, perforated) and style (flats, sandals, oxfords, sneakers, wedges, flip flops, etc.). Pick whatever excites you. The good news is: metallic shoes go with almost everything! Just keep in mind that the beauty of metalwork is their subtle statement factor. A hint of sparkle goes a long way in a simple day-time ballerina shoe, while effulgent heels will add a fancy, fairy-tale feel to an evening look.

Almost all premium shoe designers offer wide range of metallic shoes: Nicholas Kirkwood has metallic pumps in both high heels and low heels. Giuseppe Zanotti offers a two-tone pair with an edgy heel design. Absolutely beautiful. Saint Laurent and Brian Atwood, instead, have a fun play with texture. Prada adds a cute bow to its sleek silver stilettos. Jimmy Choo continues to offer its highly acclaimed Agnes, and has extended its metallic collection to super chic and sexy Able Metallic Suede-Toe Pump, Black Silver. Only interested in classics? One can't go wrong with a simple pair of Manolo Blahnik, either in high heel or in mid heel.

At a more accessible price point, JCrew offers a suite of metallic shoes. Besides its highly successful strappy mirror metallic pumps, it also offers Viv metallic flats, Lucie slingback flats, Lillian metallic low wedge, Tybee metallic slide sandals, Rio metallic sandals and many more. Among all these, this Viv mirror metallic bow flats really stands out! Everly pumps and Valentina pumps have been updated with new texture, but I prefer the simple sleek mirror metallic version offered last year. Club Monaco also has a silver pair this year on the shelf. And of course, Kate Spade is always a brand to check out if you want a less expensive substitute for premium designer bags or shoes.

Too shiny and too edgy for you? A pair of stilettos with a metal toe-cap (or other metal details) can have just as much as an impact. Isn't this Nicholas Kirkwood pair cute?

Photo credit: bittersweetcolours, pinkavenueblog, oliviasstyle, vintagebeautyxox, wendyslookbook, crazystylelove, fashionindie, chictopia

Go Skinny! Go Waxed!

卫生间自拍实在是光线不好，本来今天的主题是讲这条裤子的，结果拍出来黑乎乎一片，啥也看不到。我讲我的，请大家自行脑补。

Club Monaco Carolina Skinny Waxed Pant 的布料挺特别的。的确是斜纹布，但是没有牛仔布那么厚重，延展性也比一般的牛仔布好得多，所以加上coating以后一点也不厚重，非常轻盈贴身，比市场上的大部分waxed jeans要服帖柔软。wax也不是特别闪亮的那种，很subtle，阳光下隐隐有光泽，室内就显得比较含蓄，所以我有胆子穿到办公室来。我家里有好几条waxed jeans，有的太硬太厚，有的太闪太亮，都不如这条合我的心意。这条裤子号码略小，如果你在他家跨号的话，也许需要size up。这裤子很versatile，可以在办公室配西装配衬衣配毛衣蒙混过关，也可以休闲的时候配宽松的大毛衣大衬衫大套头衫，很修饰腿型。我知道自己图上腿不细，那是铁架上面练出来的肌肉腿，真不能怪这裤子的。

配的毛衣来自JCrew，冬天的时候买的，穿出来不少美国人大赞充满爱国情怀，建议我在Memorial Day穿，晕！

Club Monaco Carolina Skinny Waxed Pant is made of very unique fabric. It looks like denim at the first glance, but is much lighter and more stretchy. Even with the coating, it still feels soft and comfortable on the skin. It moves with your body and highlights every bit of your curve. And the wax is quite subtle as well. Nothing flashy or over the board. I have a couple of waxed jeans at home, and this is definitely my favorite. It's a little on the tight side. So if you are between sizes, you may consider sizing up. It goes well with both office staples and casual pieces.

Here I paired it with a JCrew merino wool sweater, in a very patriotic color combo. :)

sweater: JCrew Tippi Sweater in Pop Art Dot
black pants: Club Monaco Carolina Skinny Waxed Pant
boots: Prada

A Tale of Two Schoolboys

上次Wardrobe Staples for Business Woman一文中推荐了JCrew Schoolboy blazer，其实JCrew家有两款Schoolboy blazer。上次那件海军蓝的叫"classic schoolboy blazer"，是他家的经典款，今天这件burnt orange的叫"schoolboy blazer"，是他家的改良版。这两款的区别在于：

• 改良版更长，身长有25 1/8英寸，经典版只有24 1/4英寸。
• 改良版右边两个口袋都是带翻盖的，经典版右侧上面的小口袋没有翻盖。
• 改良版袖口4颗扣，经典版袖口3颗扣。

主要由于身长的不同，这两款各有千秋。改良版因为长了那么一点点，扣起来更服帖，看起来更正式，也更适合配裤装。经典版是短款，所以更适合搭配裙装。两款我都觉得不错！

看来最近两周都只能卫生间自拍了，这段时间那个办公室都有人用。:)

In my previous post titled Wardrobe Staples for Business Woman, I recommended JCrew Schoolboy blazer. One thing I forgot to mention is there are actually two different schoolboy blazers by JCrew. Well, it may be confusing, but we love schoolboys, and the more the merrier!

The one I wore last time is called "classic schoolboy blazer", and the one in today's picture is a more updated "schoolboy blazer". Compared to the original schoolboy that is now referred to as "classic", the new kid has the following updates:

Length: The body length is now 25 1/8'' and the classic length is 24 1/4''.

Pocket: the new blazer has two flap pockets on the right while the classic one has one flap pocket and one welt pocket.

Buttons: the new blazer has four gold buttons on the sleeves and the classic one has three.

"So which is a better schoolboy?" You may ask. Well, it depends on your personal preference and body shape. Compared to the relatively minor changes in the pocket and buttons, this less-than-an-inch change in body length makes significant visual difference. The new one fits better when it is buttoned up, goes better with pants, and creates a more formal business outfit. The classic one is more or less a shrunken fit and goes better with dresses and skirts. Busty ladies may find it difficult to button up the classic schoolboy blazer. I own both styles (in the same size) and find both quite versatile.

Blazer: JCrew schoolboy blazer
Silk leopard print shirt: Joie
Black riding pants: Paige
Boots: Prada