Vintage: Is it just a fad?

If you pay attention to advertisement these days, you can't help but notice a trend of buying preloved clothings everywhere, from shops to pop up stores around town. Does it ever occur to you why the owners of these beloved items decided to let go of their treasures, and what were the reasons they bought those items in the first place?

I have always loved anything VINTAGE but mind you there are different ways of interpreting the word. Vintage could mean expensive designer label items previously owned by someone  or it could mean something 'old' / 'worn' which you could find in charity shops that cost a fraction of the original retail price. I am sure each one of us can relate to one designer or another, adoring one brand over another. I am a die-hard Chanel aficionado and to me, it is the essence of the label, the timelessness of the designs which attracts me at the start; and only after I read about Coco Chanel and her life did I fall for the brand even more. Her personality is imprinted in her designs and products; even long after her death, not to mention the superb craftmanship and her legacy which I personally find extraordinarily impressive.



I can't afford Chanel, nor am I a woman of high maintenance. As a personal stylist, I enjoy expressing my authenticity through mixing and matching my treaure finds in second hand shops. Inspired by the Chanel runways,  I am at a passing phase of donning classical, Chanel-ish personality which captures the spirit of Coco, so recently my wardrobe is filled up with lots of pearls and tweeds, minus the Camellia and Chanel No.5..


Making an investment in designer label clothings is all about weighing up the pros and cons. It is haute couture vs fast / cheap fashion. I appreciate the care and meticulousness of the seamstresses at the atelier put into individual garment. However, not only our tastes and preferences change and evolve over time, the high maintenance of those garments including dry cleaning and proper storage must be considered before making purchases as such.

Having an online boutique where I sell unique pieces handpicked from Europe and Australia, I am attracted to the Spanish designer label DESIGUAL lately, something on the opposite side of the spectrum to Chanel. It says a lot about my attitude and personality at this time of my life...a need of colour and sparkle, diversity and looking youthful, the texture of some of the dresses I bought might even suggest a change of my lifestyle to come!

I have nothing against designer labels but admire the designers for their creativity and sense of style. However, I don't advocate buying the limited edition unless you have the extra money for indulgence in high end fashion.Instead,  I encourage my clients to delve into their psyche to re-discover themselves (through my style personality analysis) and wear her essence with the existing pieces that they own or which they found in second hand shops. Talk about sustainable fashion...

 

 

Do I really need make up to look good ?

I was in my final year of high school when I became a regular customer of Clinique and started my daily make-up routine and for a few years I couldn’t allow myself being seen sans make-up. I was short-sighted and contact lens were my saviour as I could still look pretty without the glasses. In a nutshell, my make-up kit took its special spot in my handbag until my third year at university.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate make-up per se. As a matter of fact, I decided there and then that I looked great (who doesn’t at that age) anyway without the tedious routine and extra time applying and removing make-up. I was so young, full of energy and being a straight A academic were enough to boost my confidence and I was far too lazy and busy to be bothered painting my face.

And I have never visited another make-up counter ever since. It’s been more or less 20 years now. I wear decent clothes and never leave home without my fragrance (It was Tuscany to start off with followed by Chanel Bleu and Narciso Rodriguez). Instead of spending on make-up, I invest in quality skin care products. I’d rather have beautiful skin than having to put my face on with loads of makeup to look pretty.

 

Experimenting is the key. Expensive and luxurious brands might work or not depending on the ingredients of the products and how they perform on individual skin types. Personally I don’t fare well with commercial labels and after trying a gazillion brands, I find Aesop, Neals Yard Remedies, Nuxe and Lancome work best on my skin. I love the smell of essential oils in my Aesop products, the therapeutical effects from NYR, the face cleansing milk from Nuxe and the eye cream by Lancome. Yes, they are not cheap but affordable for anyone who cares about having beautiful skin in their middle age.

This is my personal upkeep which is worthy of my time and money. I don’t think I am high maintainence as I don’t do manicure / pedicure (as long as you are not in a habit of biting your nails), I would never let myself go under the knife regardless, I do my own facials at home and I am about to quit visiting my hair stylist as soon as I have my head shaved. Colouring / highlighting cost me a fortune even though I only have them twice a year.

Why am I telling you all these? I honestly don’t believe that you need cosmetics to look great. Keep up with your maintenance regime with the right skin care products and you are ready to brave the world with your natural beauty!

Would you now consider ditching your trusted make-up content and focus on your skin instead? Let me know your beauty routine you swear by...more women should be doing the same!

Who says women over 40 can't be glamorous?

Carrie Grant, 50
Monica Bellucci, 51
Carrie Fisher, 59
JK Rowling, 50
Iman, 60
Helen Mirren, 70
Diane Von Furstenburg, 69
Ellen Degeneres, 57
Viola Davis, 50
Jane Fonda, 78 (she is the ultimate icon who shows that style never fades)
Isabella Rossellini, 63
Loretta Lynn, 83 (check out her spectacular fashion moments!)
Carina Lau, 50
Cherie Chung, 55
Iris Apfel, 94
Meryl Streep, 67
Mary Barra, 54

Carina Lau



















                                                                Monica Bellucci

 

And who says women over 40 can't be glamorous? These are some of the women who refuse to let age stand in their way. They know all about styling and making the best clothing choices to flatter what they have regardless. These iconic women are perfect examples of how to age gracefully. These are non-conformist women who dare to be different, who embrace the essence of what makes them unique and stop worrying about what others think. 

"40 is good, 50 is great, 60 is fab and 70 is fucking awesome." ~ Helen Mirren



I can't help but admire the 94 year old geriatric starlet Iris Apfel, an intellectual who knows herself well enough to live a life of style and authenticity. She wears what make her happy and what she can carry off and she doesn't try to look young when she is not. She is always learning which keeps her youthful. 

Being fashionable (following trends) and good-looking (it's all in the DNA) and looking well (with make-up and surgery) all the time is not equivalent to having personal style. Style is about originality, thoughtfulness and self expression. It is very much a matter of attitude which has got nothing to do with red carpet looks or designers' labels. I highly recommend getting a copy of 'Advanced Style' by Art Seth Cohen for inspiration in which you find women who unapologetically express themselves without trying to look like anyone else other than themselves.

"When you embrace your personality and reflect it through your own outfits, you are communicating what is important about you to the world, and that is truly stylish." ~ Iris Apfel


And who says women over 40 can't be glamorous? These are some of the women who refuse to let age stand in their way. They know all about styling and making the best clothing choices to flatter what they have regardless. These iconic women are perfect examples of how to age gracefully. These are non-conformist women who dare to be different, who embrace the essence of what makes them unique and stop worrying about what others think. 

I am working on it and I wish I could look as good as L Lo and Patricia Arquette at my age!
 

Are you susceptible to marketing gimmicks?

I can never understand how people can buy fashion apparels online without the physical contact with the garments and fitting. There is no doubt that technological advancement has improved some areas of our lives to a certain extent but have you even noticed the many downsides to living in the digital age? For one, my eyesight has deteriorated drastically as I spend most of my waking hours fixated on monitors and screens-laptops, smartphones, tablets, LCD TV, etc… it is unprecedented that humans are exposed to blue light to the point of irreversible eye damage.

As we are all ‘busy’ people, shopping online seems to be a time-saver and a blessing especially before the festive seasons start and during the sales period. Unfortunately, thanks to the return policies offered to expedite successful e-commerce transactions, there are a lot of wrong purchases, regrets, and hence returns when the orders that arrive fail to match our expectations, the most obvious includes an ill-fitting size or hue which is far from what you see online. Have you any idea how much of our purchases are being returned and hence the financial and environmental costs involved in the entire process? The returns don’t go back to the retailers’ shelves but end up in landfills, a huge and ever-growing environmental burden which can no longer be ignored. The promise of the return policy encourages customers to buy and indulge without giving much thought or planning.

There are so many different marketing gimmicks used to entice customers to buy more, be it online or at a brick and mortar store. Pop-ups are a hit recently (to test the water and saving long term rental) and some retail shops have a strictly no fitting policy. To maximize the turnover of their stocks, some of the shops allow customers a grace period from 3 days to 4 weeks for return and exchange. As one of the victims who succumbed to the fast fashion mentality, I have made numerous trips back to the shops to exchange for something which turned out to be defected / plain wrong, and I had to spend hours rummaging the racks for something of similar price (if not more) which was not easy and ended up paying more (the price difference) for something I didn’t even want or need in the first place. How ironic is that?!

And there are retailers using tactics which are psychologically based to draw our attention in the vast sea of consumerism. Have you ever walked into a shop only because of the big bold sign that says: ‘Buy 1 less 10%, Buy 2 less 20%, etc…’, or ‘Buy 3 and get the 4^th free’? Why force yourself to pick out 3 items when all you need or want is one? Is the ‘freebie’ really free and worth the extra purchases? Sounds too good to be true right and you have already lost before the battle starts! Why would anyone want to be on a shop VIP list only after you have made a certain amount of purchases upfront to qualify for future discount of a meager 5%? Would the shop even exist in a month considering the skyrocketing amount of rent forever on the rise?

I have had an experience recently which I wish to share with my readers in closing. Having been a market enthusiast all my life, I found and bought a black slip dress of ideal length the other day for less than the price of a coffee until I handwashed it and the pigment started running so badly that it stained my hands! Imagine all the dye and chemical attached to your skin (if you end up wearing it) and the water pollution that entails from washing it in your machine…What I initially thought a bargain was money totally wasted; and now I have to find a way to get rid of the stain… 2

WHAT THE F**K IS ETHICAL FASHION?��✂️

Making-of the Fall-Winter 2016/17 Haute Couture CHANEL Collection

The demise of high couture???

I have been watching some of the best DVDs including ‘Dior and I’ and ‘The September Issue’, which give a glimpse of the world of fashion which I otherwise know nothing about. It seems to be a glamorous job every single creative fashionista is dying for and who doesn’t envy the life of Miranda Priestly in ‘The Devil wears Prada’? I do admire and appreciate the craftsmanship of high couture especially what Chanel does in its own revered couture atelier but only recently does haute couture and the notion of seasonal change are threatened by the rise of ready-to-wear and the commercial impact of fast fashion, which might bring about the imminent demise of the fashion system. Is digital technology the culprit to blame?

Not convinced? Think for a second of what has happened in the past few years, with fashion blighted by designer dismissals, breakdowns and suicide. McQueen’s suicide, Galliano’s departure from Christian Dior, upheavals at various fashion houses and the changes of creative director at major designer label houses; all of which are symptoms of a faulty fashion industry which need to be addressed. The speed of the current turnover is alarming when Elbaz and Raf Simmons left the vast machine of Lanvin and Christian Dior respectively. How about Grace Coddington stepping down from her role as the US Vogue Creative Director? I highly recommend watching the Vogue documentary ‘The September Issue’ (if you haven’t already) in which Grace came across as the guardian of artistry in the face of Wintour’s pragmatic commercialism. What haute couture was i.e. the beauty, dreams, poetry, high craftsmanship and luxury that transcend the passing of time, is no longer cherished in this brutal new reality. Instead of being artisanal with a sense of grandeur, fashion feels more industrial and banal. Fast fashion is not a niche but an attitude affecting the industry at every level conceivable. Why is it that everyone is obsessed with speed? We have fast food, fast cars, fast decisions, fast fashion, but does making things available faster make them better or more desirable? All these so called conveniences which drive the economy to a frantic dizzying vortex in acquiring more at a quicker rate is simply wrong, when you really think about the quality of the products, the affects they have on the society and the environment, and the unspeakable suffering of both the consumers and those involved in fabricating the products.

Have you read or watched the DVD of the legend Coco Chanel? Have you researched the intricacy of the finished Hermes masterpieces? They are what they are for a reason: being timeless and superb craftsmanship which can’t possibly be imitated or overridden by mass production of fast fashion. It must be confusing and difficult for established luxury brands to distance themselves from the vagaries of ‘fashion’ and trying to create something eternal but ever-changing at the same time. The culture of couture is vanishing before our eyes, both on the supply and demand sides when they are no longer appreciated for the expertise and knowledge, the qualities and exquisite beauty which haute couture values. Gosh, it is exhausting just to keep up with the fleeting trends unless you are a fashionista with a Swiss bank account of unlimited funds. No wonder the designers are struggling when they are no longer admired by customers as an expert in the field but machines to be turned on and off at the customers’ disposal. If I could afford it, I would always choose a well-crafted hand-made Chanel handbag over any replicate which you can find in chain stores. Don’t you think there is a reason for the expensive price tag?

Isn’t it obvious that we have a saturated market which doesn’t require any more clothes any faster. I am getting tired just reading the fashion magazines, displays in retail stores which keep changing on a weekly basis, images on Instagram, to name a few. I have a wardrobe full of clothes with price tags still attached and I have no intention to make further purchases in a very long time. And you? Do you need some breathing space too before you are overwhelmed and submerged under the sea of cheap fast production which falls apart at the seams after a couple of wash?

Share your thoughts with me.