Autumn 2007 – Wrap it with a belt!

Posted on by cheryl

If you’re on a budget and you’re wondering what to invest in this autumn, not wanting to buy too many new items to your wardrobe, then the belt might be an accessory to consider.

I walked away from my trip to London a few weeks ago with only ONE purchase. A cream patent leather L.K. Bennett belt which I bought from the store down Bond Street.

Belts have the ability to transform a look from simple to something more glamourous, depending on the kind of belt you use. And for a small amount of money (a belt would certainly cost less than an entire new outfit), the nipped in waist also transforms your silhouette, so you will have a different look with and without just the belt.

Here, I’ll show you how to really stretch your dollar and put that one accessory to good use or overuse. And I’m going to do that with the L.K. Bennett belt I purchased two weeks ago that looks like this:
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I’m wearing it with a black knit top (French make) and vintage wool skirt (Japanese make) ensemble in the picture above.
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Size zero and BMI below 18.5

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There’s been a hot debate about size zero models and underweight models for some months now. A topic that heated up again with London’s fashion week kicking off earlier this month, as reported in London’s Daily Mail.

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Lily Cole is one of the size zero models today. Picture from London’s Daily Mail.

While I think this debate has done good, I think it’s important for people not to simply jump onto the band wagon with this thought altogether and swing too far out with the pendulum on this debate, without considering the other perspective – those who are genetically thin and underweight, with BMI lower than 18.5.

I say this because I myself speak from a 1.65m frame with a 17 BMI, which is considered way underweight. A search on the internet for “Kate Moss + BMI” will render everything from 15 BMI to 17 BMI. Point is, she is still underweight. But since my BMI is 17, would that not put me in that range and thus under scrutiny and criticism since I do now and again, appear in the media and that would mean that I’m a poor / negative role model for young teenage girls?

Well, I’ve actually put on weight since I was 16 where I was 1.65m and weighed 41 kg. An improvement I would say.

And looking at things from my point of view, I would say this entire debate is unfair to persons such as myself. It lands us in hot water for something that is genetic and it gives society something easy to blame, rather than do that research and publish more on genetic thinness. Now that would cost some institutions a lot of time and money wouldn’t it? So it’s much easier to point to a few prominent research already done and a few models who have died on the catwalks and say – out with size zero, out with being thin!

Besides which, research that goes against the grain most often escape funding. I can imagine the answer and gaffaws from the board of directors of some research institute if I said I had a proposal to prove that being thin is not necessarily unhealthy when every other research points in the opposite direction.

But do I have any health problems? Not thus far. Cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels were healthy at my last annual checkup.

So what’s missing in this debate? I think the word local.
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V&A London – The golden age of couture …

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In an article called Modets guldålder i focus, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter today announced that the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum in London will open their exhibition on fifties couture this weekend, entitled “The golden age of couture. Paris and London 1947 – 1957”.

The post war years of the 1950s presented an opportunity for women to get out of the factories and back to their domain of family and home. It was an era that celebrated the woman and her femininity, affording her time and luxury to be beautiful again. One can expect this exhibition to showcase some excellent collections from leading designers of the time and should therefore not be missed. Continue reading “V&A London – The golden age of couture …” →

Louis Vuitton Murakami Mulitcolore Shirley clutch blanc

Posted on by cheryl

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Murakami Mulitcolore Shirley clutch blanc
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro 2006

The Shirley multicolore is a bold, chirpy clutch that is young but doesn’t come across as juvenile. It isn’t really too formal so I think, only because of its white canvas that explodes with Murakami’s signature colours. This was Takashi Murakami’s collaboration with Louis Vuitton for Spring/Summer 2005. It features gold hardware, an S-lock and a velvet-touch burgundy alcantara lining. The edges of the clutch are trimmed in natural vachetta leather which matures and gains a darker shade with use.
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Trust your eyes when buying a diamond

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A light yellow, old cushion cut diamond with a large culet, weighing ca. 1.9 cts.

When I first got interested in diamonds, I started like everyone else on the 5Cs of a diamond – its cut, clarity, colour, carat weight and certificate.

Questions like, which of these Cs are more important if you’re working on a budget was also part of the learning process and a practical question to consider when buying a diamond. And for the longest time, I could not weigh the importance of either of the Cs with each other. I wanted all of them in my stone ranked as high as possible, meaning I wanted best colour, best cut, best clarity, biggest carat and most definitely certified, in the budget!
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Light reflections from a simple blue topaz ring

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The main purpose of a diamond or a gemstone is to sparkle. And by doing so, it brings joy not only to its wearer but to those who look at it.

It is no doubt that the harder the consistency of the stone, the more fire and brilliance it exudes, which is why diamonds are the stones with the most fire, followed by cubic zirconia and sapphires.

But here are some pictures I took of a simple blue topaz ring that I used to own, set in filigree platina.

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The pictures were taken in natural daylight. I’m absolutely amazed at how the blue light literally spills out onto its surrounding.

For a simple blue topaz that is cut right, I think this stone performs very well indeed.