Your Festive Season

Thanksgiving is quite a strange concept for Indonesians. We question everything about that holiday. What does the turkey look like? Is it good? Why do you guys hold each other’s hand before eating? Why do you serve pumpkin pies? How to make one? What is Black Friday?

Those are questions that we really want to know, and also show how annoyingly curious we are and the fact that we know close to nothing at all about Thanksgiving. I do know one thing about Thanksgiving season though: it’s the beginning of festive season in Western cultures (please correct me, if I am wrong). And, yes, we don’t really have the same holiday manners, but when it comes to festive, all I (and everyone) can think of is food. Please, don’t get mad to me for using the ‘festive season’ reason to drive all the way down to Nanny’s Pavillon and ate this superb Uncle Harold’s steak fettuccine.

It’s not turkey, but quite a close one.

I also have this feeling that this is absolutely definitely not my last festive meal. More like the appetizer. Oh, come-on! Everyone is waiting for the great Christmas Feast, right?

Images taken from Gimme Good Style

Stack Me In

When I was in Japan two years ago, I was standing in the middle of downtown Tokyo and thought to myself; How can they live like this? Those Japanese are so hardworking and strong and live in such a small space called apartment. Honestly, I can’t stand the thought of living in such a small stacked building. I’m sure, I am going to have at least one nervous breakdown or a lot of homesick moments.

Time to look for  a real solution, which I can’t really find (real estate world? Not good), but there is this one thing that looks like a viable answer. Okay, actually I think I have heard about this one before in one of many articles I have been gathering from the internet like a total freak, but again just to be save, I am going to give it to you.

A stacked house.

Please don’t imagine a dirty, grimy stack house with mafias waiting around the front door, bringing marijuana and hiding their guns. Ah, no (even though I would love to make a movie about that). What I mean by stacked house is the one designed by Tetsuo Kondo Architects and located in Chayagaska, a growing urban area in Japan, where mafias never really understand where to head out for drinks (or kills).

The house looks pretty much like a clean concept of the future. Three metal boxes piled carefully, shaping a modern yet warm space. Sliding glass doors, gigantic windows, minimalist walls, and clean floors give the house a stylish edge, while the owners can lay their heads in ease, enjoying patches of sun lights and fresh airs. Such a healthy way to live!

For those of you who are really concern about what others will think when they see you living in a stacked house… well, don’t worry. Even though it is indeed built by three giant metal boxes, it looks more like a new, solid home for small family. The boxes shapes add even more artistic sides. Instead making people talk endlessly about the-ones-who-live-in-boxes, you are going to make people turn green with envy and contact the nearest architect office.

I haven’t heard anything about the price. And, yeah, I know it is expensive (it’s more like a prototype I guess), but you know.. it’s better than nothing at all.

Images taken from Decoist

Walter Mitty

Meh, Movies. I am not interested anymore in box office movies, even if it’s Catching Fire. The last blockbuster movie that I saw was… Gravity. And, okay, I kinda liked it, but the after-effect is not really worth to mention. Yeah, sorry Sandra!

It doesn’t mean that I hate watching movies. Please, who hates watching movies?!? I am just waiting for a really good movie. You know, the one with solid plot, talented actors/actresses, amazing settings, and enough special effects. But, seriously, these past few months every single movie seems talking about either a match to death… or vampires. Or both.

Fortunately for me (and everyone who is sick of vampires), there is this one movie that really attracts my attention. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Yes, this one is a remake (I never watch the original though) and I know there are a lot of possibilities that this movie is going to flunk right after the big release. I just can’t help but hanging to this little movie-freak-hope.

I like the simple plot (a really boring man with boring job (photo editor for LIFE magazine) suddenly jumps into a whole new adventure he has been waiting for his whole life, because one missing negative film yada yada yada).

I like Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig chemistry in the last 3 trailers (well, there is nothing really new from those three trailers, but I can feel it. Kristen and Ben are both great by the way). And the settings! Ah, the views! The places! The nature! Everything is just too good to see (MY EYEEEESSS!!!!)

The last good thing? It is scheduled to release on Christmas, which is my favorite year of the year and the only time when I praise everyone and everything I see/touch/hear.

Ah, take me in the same boat with you Mr. Mitty (the name’s a bit funny, don’t you think?)

A Card For Ya

It’s holiday season already! How fast! It feels just like yesterday I sent my friends and family holiday cards… well, okay, more like digital holiday cards (Yahoo has something that looks like a card?) But it happened because no one wanted to go out of their homes and do me a favor by putting it to the post office, assuming that the post office was willing to send my cards.

Okay, maybe I was a little bit late last season.

This time, I won’t make the same mistake again. Never. Partly because I have found my perfect holiday cards. Yes! A bunch of super-simple, cool, quirky, artsy cards from Card-Ya, a Japanese (!) postcards and design company that I found out on Instagram. Ahh, the life of 21st century teenagers (ignoring the fact that I still like to send cards to people….)

It’s a bit unclear what kind of cards they have because their website is written in… uh, pretty much bunch of odd lines, circles, and copyright signs (my laptop has been acting out these past few hours. Jeez.) But, I figured that as long as you have your Visa, complete address, patience, and good Asian attitude (means no shouting or calling anyone ‘bastard’ or well, you know the rest of the words), you will be able to order one.

Well, good luck and Happy Holiday!! Hip Hip Hooray!

Images are taken from Card-Ya

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Queen Ann’s Last Bow

“Black is not sad. Bright colors are what depresses me. They’re so… empty. Black is poetic. How do you imagine a poet? In a bright yellow jacket? Probably not.” 
― Ann Demeulemeester

Ann Demeulemeester, best known as ‘Queen Ann’ or ‘Ann from Antwerp’, left her own brand approximately a week ago with tearful goodbye letter.

Queen Ann declared that the brand is mature enough without her and able to continue it’s own way while she will be spending more time with her other personal projects (your life is personal project too, I guess…)

It’s sad to wave goodbye to Ann Demeulemeester because, even though her work is slightly off the radar these past few seasons (especially in country like Jakarta)(you can roll your eyes here), her contributions to fashion industry is truly vital.

We wouldn’t be able to wear beautiful gothic dresses, if Ann weren’t around all those times. She is the inventor of high-gothic-fashion and introduced the style to the world (creating quite a vibe and history and some awards and some beautiful quotes.)

Ah, so many good designers left the playground! I just hope there are also a lot of new talents ready to fill the empty holes.

Images taken from Google Image. Edited by Gimme Good Style.

Bigger And Not Better

Is bigger always better? We all know the answer is NO.

In some cases, it’s better to go smart and choose a simple thing than choosing an over-decorated, bigger alternative. What people don’t know is same principle is used in fashion.

Bigger is not always better.

Okay, okay, I have a lot of examples that range from clothes’ sizes (gasp!) to more business like matters like prices, etc. But this is Monday aka Monster Day aka The Gloomiest Day of The Week, I need something a little bit more refreshing than clothes’ sizes.

Let’s have a small talk about big-accessory-is-not-always-a-better-accessory instead. 

As you already know from the beginning of this little blog: I adore big accessories. Some people may say big necklaces, bunch of tiny bracelets with different colors, super-huge pendants, and oh-la-la earrings are not their things.

Well, I am not one of them!

When it comes to styling people (read: making a collage in Polyvore and critically judging my sister outfits), I always go big in accessory-hunting. My sacred rule is only one; no more than one big accessories. Oh, okay, one more thing: look out for the clothes (not all clothes are big-accessories-friendly).  

And it works all the time, like a magic charm. 

The thing is I have shown you how good simple style is, but I just realized that I have never given a bad example of ‘over-the-top’ style. So, here we are….

Big HAPPY necklace (it’s happening I think…), big earrings, a skully body-type (no offense), yellow dress with brave cuttings. All of them are too.. full for me. Too wrong.

Ah-ah, not my style. 

Just take it easy guys. Apart from art, fashion is just a mix between simplicity AND functionality.

Hail to the likes of Jil Sander and Alexander Wang, I say!  

Image taken from Jak and Jil 

Valentina Liernur

Valentina Liernur’s work feels more like digital art than abstract painting. Still love it so much though.

Image taken from Blogaart

Gaga-esque

I went to sleep last night and a sound popped inside my brain: I feel like Lady Gaga. It was not a crazy idea I used to have all the time (for example: hey, why don’t you buy all those Sharpie markers and make a super cool DIY t-shirts?)(almost happened before I suddenly recovered my healthy concept of art -also my DIY skill is below average- and canceled the purchase.)

It was more like a.. concept.

Okay, it was weird.

So weird until I had to wake up and made a collage about Gaga style (the blue skirt is from Versace combined with very cool yet strange plaid blouse. Plus, I ditched all accessories and chose to go ahead with red heels and um, lace-mask?)

And I still don’t know why I felt like Lady Gaga.

My first answer is obviously because her album is selling everywhere and people have been talking about it for weeks (Artpop? So…bad/good/messy/neat/electro/pop/rock (?!?!)/strange/genius!) And I did listen to it a few times (okaayy…addicted), but I also used to listen to Born This Way a year or two ago and never felt like Gaga or, at least, had a concept about feeling like Lady Gaga.

So… I have to go with my second answer: my week was so boring and monotone. I didn’t even blog or wanted to make a style collage. Tests, homework, shitty movie project, and tons of arguments had worn me down until my brain had to make a quick survival decision: go ahead and wreck something, you HAVE to feel like.. um,  ah! Lady Gaga!

Uh… okay, brain.

First of all, I never want to be -or feel like- Lady Gaga (even though I am a big big fan of her!) Second of all, I am perfectly fine with pressures. Third…. well, thank you for injecting me with exciting adrenaline to face oncoming hard days. I need it.

There I said it!

Afterall, it’s not bad to feel like Gaga once in a while (don’t expect me to wear anything outrageous though!)

Ten Thousand Shades of Style

What goes around comes back around.

Yes, thank you Beyoncé. What goes around indeed comes back around in term of love. Same business in fashion, even though critics and reporters fiercely tell us that ‘fashion is always new’, we can’t deny that, at some point, fashion becomes quite repetitive.

We’ve seen that dress before, we’ve seen that pattern before. And don’t get me started on ‘inspired by archives’ press releases.

Aw, come-on! It’s like telling the whole world you are basically remade the whole late collections into its newer, more glamorous, more expensive, and less classic versions. I am totally not buying it.

In short, fashion is not that new.. and so do we.

I am not saying we need to buy new clothes every day in order to become ‘exciting’ or ‘sensual’ or ‘fashionable’. Nah, sometimes it’s okay to accept the fact that you don’t have many options when it comes to fashion (especially budget fashion).

It is not okay, if you accept the fact that you can only pull of one style all the time (aka you are boring.) I dare you to say NO aloud to the sky (very cinematic, I know.) We are definitely not boring. We may be broke, but we will NEVER be boring.

To prove my argument here, I give you Shini Park, the extraordinary blogger/photographer/web designer behind the successful Park and Cube.

I’ve seen her in plaid shirts a few times before (not always, but quite memorable), which is quite rare considering her ‘ah-so-fashion’ blogger status and her quite unlimited DIY skills. What interesting is, even though I have seen her plaids again and again, I never feel that she is playing the same style.

And that’s not because I have a weak brain cells when it comes to memorizing facts and tiny little details.

Anyway, Shini’s plaid sometimes can be sporty, feminine, work as supporter, work as main item, work as main item and accessory and supporter.

It’s so versatile in exciting manners!

I totally fall in love with this fact and create a new fashion philosophy:

Fashion is not about how many clothes that you have or how many collections a designer can make. Fashion is creativity, and to challenge another side of yourself. 

… Pff, I know I am a genius. I just know it.

Image taken from Park and Cube

From Dead Photo Society

I am single. You are single. 

Why don’t we make a date? 

Eating ice cream and laugh like, 

two foolish teenagers we always want to be. 

via Tumblr http://deadphotosociety.tumblr.com/post/67662377299