Du Juan in FW06 Ads

Du Juan (Nationality: Chinese)-The first Asian model to really break out. Hye Park (Nationality: Korean) was already considered successful in terms of Asian models working in the high fashion world, but Du Juan is the one who managed to secure an impressive number of FW06 ads.

Du Juan trained to be a dancer when she was young, but according to articles/ interviews of her, she just wouldn't stop growing tall, so she became a model. (She also won some beauty contest thing.)

And bam! everyone fell in love with her after the high-profile and very first Vogue China cover, also starring Gemma Ward. (Remember back when the cover was first released, I said she was my fav Chinese model on the cover?)

Anyways, so since then, she's been a staple of Vogue China. Also, she's started to appear on runways and this season, quite a few campaigns. Du Juan's FW06 ad portfolio includes:

Gap -She doesn't really look like her in the ad, but it's her. I suppose this is Gap's attempt to reach out to more people, although I'm not sure the whole Gap using low-profile high-fashion models campaign worked.

Roberto Cavalli -I love Du in this campaign. So dramatic and cool.

Swarovski -Sensual, (where is the jewelry on her?)

Louis Vuitton -Another loveable campaign, this one featuring Du and Raquel. Not that you can really see Du's face in the ad, but still. She's like a Vuitton bag hanger in this ad! I wasn't so sure about it at first, but it grew on me!

YSL -Du's outfit here isn't exactly my fav, but it's impressive she managed to get high fashion ads at all. Actually, the contrast between the background and her outfit is pretty cool.

Although according to thefashionspot forums, Du Juan so far, does not seem to have any SS07 campaigns yet. Let's hope she's not a one-hit-wonder!

Du Juan in FW06 Ads

Du Juan (Nationality: Chinese)-The first Asian model to really break out. Hye Park (Nationality: Korean) was already considered successful in terms of Asian models working in the high fashion world, but Du Juan is the one who managed to secure an impressive number of FW06 ads.

Du Juan trained to be a dancer when she was young, but according to articles/ interviews of her, she just wouldn't stop growing tall, so she became a model. (She also won some beauty contest thing.)

And bam! everyone fell in love with her after the high-profile and very first Vogue China cover, also starring Gemma Ward. (Remember back when the cover was first released, I said she was my fav Chinese model on the cover?)

Anyways, so since then, she's been a staple of Vogue China. Also, she's started to appear on runways and this season, quite a few campaigns. Du Juan's FW06 ad portfolio includes:

Gap -She doesn't really look like her in the ad, but it's her. I suppose this is Gap's attempt to reach out to more people, although I'm not sure the whole Gap using low-profile high-fashion models campaign worked.

Roberto Cavalli -I love Du in this campaign. So dramatic and cool.

Swarovski -Sensual, (where is the jewelry on her?)

Louis Vuitton -Another loveable campaign, this one featuring Du and Raquel. Not that you can really see Du's face in the ad, but still. She's like a Vuitton bag hanger in this ad! I wasn't so sure about it at first, but it grew on me!

YSL -Du's outfit here isn't exactly my fav, but it's impressive she managed to get high fashion ads at all. Actually, the contrast between the background and her outfit is pretty cool.

Although according to thefashionspot forums, Du Juan so far, does not seem to have any SS07 campaigns yet. Let's hope she's not a one-hit-wonder!

Nara Camicie

In Milan, besides Prada stores everywhere, on every other street there are also stores by this brand called "Nara Camicie" everywhere. Intrigued by the display, we went in and found a gem for dress shirts. They had them in every cutting and color, with chic variations that are just to die for. Turns out, this Italian brand has been specialising in dress shirts since 1984! My friend and I ended up each buying this one dress shirt (her's in black and mine in white) with a built in wrap-around thing, which is super cute. The only complain I have about it though, is that it wrinkles very easily. But I guess I can't expect too much since it IS relatively inexpensive for Milan standards. They don't have a picture of it available on their website (turns out they are available worldwide), so I can't show you guys. But here are a few pieces from their collection that I like:

This is what I like best about them: they transform the classic dress shirt into something more unique while still keeping the clean cut classic quality of a dress shirt.

Their take on frills is also refreshing, adding a soft feminine touch to the crisp shirts.

In addition to dress shirts, they also make more elaborate things that are quite pretty.

Although I must admit, some of their stuff are way over the top and borders on tacky. I guess, we'd just have to sift through all the sand to get the the gems!

Nara Camicie

In Milan, besides Prada stores everywhere, on every other street there are also stores by this brand called "Nara Camicie" everywhere. Intrigued by the display, we went in and found a gem for dress shirts. They had them in every cutting and color, with chic variations that are just to die for. Turns out, this Italian brand has been specialising in dress shirts since 1984! My friend and I ended up each buying this one dress shirt (her's in black and mine in white) with a built in wrap-around thing, which is super cute. The only complain I have about it though, is that it wrinkles very easily. But I guess I can't expect too much since it IS relatively inexpensive for Milan standards. They don't have a picture of it available on their website (turns out they are available worldwide), so I can't show you guys. But here are a few pieces from their collection that I like:

This is what I like best about them: they transform the classic dress shirt into something more unique while still keeping the clean cut classic quality of a dress shirt.

Their take on frills is also refreshing, adding a soft feminine touch to the crisp shirts.

In addition to dress shirts, they also make more elaborate things that are quite pretty.

Although I must admit, some of their stuff are way over the top and borders on tacky. I guess, we'd just have to sift through all the sand to get the the gems!

FW06 Bag Trend: The Hip Ones

Before I start ooh and ahhing, I want to emphasise that these bags are this season's hip bags, the cool ones. Note that these aren't IT bags. People always want to know which bag is the IT bag, and magazines /websites like to claim a bunch of bags as the IT bags of the season. But the real deal is, there are very very few IT bags and you'll know if a bag is IT. Think back to the days of the Motorcycle, the Paddington and the Stam.

Anyways, so these are some of my fav cool bags this season:

Botkier -Bianca. Not counting Lindsay Lohan pap photos, the first time I saw this bag was in NY Barneys, where the girl in front of me in line was carrying the Bianca medium in brown. I was like, I really like this bag, and went into a Botkier-online-ogling-frenzy phase.

Chanel -This Chanel supersized bag is one of the few Chanel bags that I actually feel is great for young people. Can you just imagine: a girl in black/grey skinny jeans, ankle boots, huge black shades and this simple but uber cool bag. Oop, I might have just described Kate Moss.

Kooba -Carla and Lena. Kooba bags in general give off a more bohemian vibe. So not all Kooba bags are my thing, but I do like these two. They give off a really relaxed vibe (if that makes sense.)

Miu Miu -Vitello Paggy Shoulder Bag. I saw a girl in a very casual outfit -cute shorts, a tee and black shades -carrying this bag back in the summer, and I stared at her for awhile. The bag is so cute and practical. Actually, I like most of Miu Miu's bags this season, but I already squealed about them to my poor, patient (and loyal reader) friend.

Balenciaga -the Motorcycle bag trascends seasons. While it may not be an IT bag anymore, it's still super cool and edgy. I do love how gorgeous the leather is and how light and practical it is. You can tell by the fact that after a few seasons, the young stylish girls, that's MK and Nicole, are still carrying it.

Chanel -A new young stylish girl fav this season (which will probably go on) is the small Chanel classic-looking bag. I've always thought these Chanel bags look old, but the girls sure carry the bags well and look cool.

FW06 Bag Trend: The Hip Ones

Before I start ooh and ahhing, I want to emphasise that these bags are this season's hip bags, the cool ones. Note that these aren't IT bags. People always want to know which bag is the IT bag, and magazines /websites like to claim a bunch of bags as the IT bags of the season. But the real deal is, there are very very few IT bags and you'll know if a bag is IT. Think back to the days of the Motorcycle, the Paddington and the Stam.

Anyways, so these are some of my fav cool bags this season:

Botkier -Bianca. Not counting Lindsay Lohan pap photos, the first time I saw this bag was in NY Barneys, where the girl in front of me in line was carrying the Bianca medium in brown. I was like, I really like this bag, and went into a Botkier-online-ogling-frenzy phase.

Chanel -This Chanel supersized bag is one of the few Chanel bags that I actually feel is great for young people. Can you just imagine: a girl in black/grey skinny jeans, ankle boots, huge black shades and this simple but uber cool bag. Oop, I might have just described Kate Moss.

Kooba -Carla and Lena. Kooba bags in general give off a more bohemian vibe. So not all Kooba bags are my thing, but I do like these two. They give off a really relaxed vibe (if that makes sense.)

Miu Miu -Vitello Paggy Shoulder Bag. I saw a girl in a very casual outfit -cute shorts, a tee and black shades -carrying this bag back in the summer, and I stared at her for awhile. The bag is so cute and practical. Actually, I like most of Miu Miu's bags this season, but I already squealed about them to my poor, patient (and loyal reader) friend.

Balenciaga -the Motorcycle bag trascends seasons. While it may not be an IT bag anymore, it's still super cool and edgy. I do love how gorgeous the leather is and how light and practical it is. You can tell by the fact that after a few seasons, the young stylish girls, that's MK and Nicole, are still carrying it.

Chanel -A new young stylish girl fav this season (which will probably go on) is the small Chanel classic-looking bag. I've always thought these Chanel bags look old, but the girls sure carry the bags well and look cool.

FW06 Trend: Winter Hats

I was about to devote a blog on how much I love all the winter beanies just floating around everywhere this season and recommend a few that I liked. But then I went out and tried on a few and it occured to me that winter beanies are just about the hardest thing for anyone to wear- especially the ones this season! They looked so different on me than on the mannequin (and the next girl) that I realised that one simply cannot tell from pictures whether a hat is cool of not.

Even here on the Burberry Prorsum runway, the same hat looks so different from one model to another. It looks SO much better on Gemma (left) than on Hye Park (right). Maybe its the head shape, I have the same problem. I found a similar hat and it looked awful on me, which is just too bad, because this picture of Gemma is what inspired to me write this blog and go look for a cool slouchy looking beanie like that to begin with. Perhaps I haven't found the right one yet?

Other hats from Burberry Prorsum. She looks cute with that navy ridged beanie with a cap thing (left) but I can't quite see it looking good on people in the streets. Sasha (right) looks kind of scary here, but its probably just her expression. That beanie doesn't look too bad on her.

On the Marc by Marc Jacob's runway we have these wider rimmed hats. I rather like the wide rimmed beanie thing he has there (left). She looks effortlessly cool there. Then there is the patent leather fisherman hat thing (right). It looks alright, but I think I've gotten over the whole fisherman hat thing back a few years ago and am not ready for it to come back yet.

And these two pictures are the ones that sometime makes me doubt whether the designers have tried the whole outfit on the model properly before letting them on the runway. Because she looks dreary and childish with that droopy white hat (left: burberry prorsum) usually seen on an enfant and she just looks too old to be wearing that cutesy cap thing(right: J Mendel).

And some trends are just destined to remain on the runway. I love the Balenciaga FW06 collection and all, but if I see someone on the streets wearing this, I will laugh so hard.

FW06 Trend: Winter Hats

I was about to devote a blog on how much I love all the winter beanies just floating around everywhere this season and recommend a few that I liked. But then I went out and tried on a few and it occured to me that winter beanies are just about the hardest thing for anyone to wear- especially the ones this season! They looked so different on me than on the mannequin (and the next girl) that I realised that one simply cannot tell from pictures whether a hat is cool of not.

Even here on the Burberry Prorsum runway, the same hat looks so different from one model to another. It looks SO much better on Gemma (left) than on Hye Park (right). Maybe its the head shape, I have the same problem. I found a similar hat and it looked awful on me, which is just too bad, because this picture of Gemma is what inspired to me write this blog and go look for a cool slouchy looking beanie like that to begin with. Perhaps I haven't found the right one yet?

Other hats from Burberry Prorsum. She looks cute with that navy ridged beanie with a cap thing (left) but I can't quite see it looking good on people in the streets. Sasha (right) looks kind of scary here, but its probably just her expression. That beanie doesn't look too bad on her.

On the Marc by Marc Jacob's runway we have these wider rimmed hats. I rather like the wide rimmed beanie thing he has there (left). She looks effortlessly cool there. Then there is the patent leather fisherman hat thing (right). It looks alright, but I think I've gotten over the whole fisherman hat thing back a few years ago and am not ready for it to come back yet.

And these two pictures are the ones that sometime makes me doubt whether the designers have tried the whole outfit on the model properly before letting them on the runway. Because she looks dreary and childish with that droopy white hat (left: burberry prorsum) usually seen on an enfant and she just looks too old to be wearing that cutesy cap thing(right: J Mendel).

And some trends are just destined to remain on the runway. I love the Balenciaga FW06 collection and all, but if I see someone on the streets wearing this, I will laugh so hard.