Style Essentials: The White Shirt and Black Blazer

Another wardrobe staple that every women and men should have in their wardrobe is the classic white shirt and black blazer. As you notice, most of my style essentials are in blacks and whites because those two colors are the most versatile out of the color palette and will never go out of style. These two items are classic pieces that can be both dress up or dress down.

The White Shirt
The quest for the perfect white shirt is as hard as looking for the right pair of jeans. The classic white shirt is always a good and reliable foundation when it comes to building an outfit. If you just need a casual outfit, a good cotton white shirt can be your starter and later be paired with jeans, skirts or even layered over with a dress. If you're gearing towards a more formal or cocktail look, a classic button down white shirt tucked in with a high-waisted black slacks or skirts then paired with eye-catching accessories and heels can be your option. The list is endless when it comes to styling the white shirt. It has also spawned numerous designs and DIYs such as Camille of Childhood Flames famous shredded white shirt.

Vogue May 2007

Rumi of Fashion Toast in the famous shredded shirt by Camille.

Nicole Richie's casual take on the white shirt

The Black Blazer
I have always been fascinated with menswear-inspired fashion. For the past years we have been seeing this trend hitting the runways and celebrities are also starting to become followers of it. A black blazer is one of the key pieces of this trend. Blazers are my favorite form of outerwear. We normally associate it with formal and corporate outfits but blazers are also great for casual outfits for it gives that chic touch even if you are just clad in jeans and t-shirts. They are also great for toning down those cocktail dresses giving a little bit of edge to it. Finding a great fitting black blazer has been a very tough quest for me. So far I have settled with a crop black blazer and this dark grey blazer that my mom bought. Right now I am eying on the Boyfriend Blazer and hopefully I get to grab my hands on it soon.

Kate Moss
Camille of Childhood Flames
Ashley Olsen

images: Childhood Flames, Fashion Toast, google images

Fashion Muses: Irina Lazareanu and Lily Donaldson

The late eighties and early nineties chronicled the prime of the Supermodels or the "Holy Trinity" (Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell) and the "heroin chic" look as popularized by Kate Moss. For the past decade we've been seeing more of celebrities gracing the covers of top fashion magazines and less of the models. To remember the days when models served as the muse, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art held the Models As Muse: Embodying Fashion exhibit which started last May 9, 2009 and will be in exhibit until August 9, 2009. The exhibit will feature various photographs of models per decade from 1947 to 1997.

The Supermodels: Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford in Giorgio di Sant'Angelo, Vogue British, January 1990

Models are one of the key and essential elements in the fashion industry. They are the serving muses or images for a designer to communicate their respective looks or style and they continue to redefine fashion and also our culture. For this entry, I will be featuring two of my favorite models who I always look out for and they are Irina Lazareanu and Lily Donaldson

Irina Lazareanu is a Canadian model whose claim to fame in the modeling industry is through her acquaintance with Kate Moss. She is known for her quirky, vintage, and rock and roll inspired looks. I've always like this carefree aura she exudes and she always looks like she is having fun in photographs. She has served as a muse for Karl Lagerfeld, Nicolas Ghesquiere, and Sonya Rykiel. She was also handpicked by Kate Moss to model for her first collection for Topshop back in 2007.

British model Lily Donaldson has become one of Britain's most coveted and top models having appear in campaign for top fashion houses such as Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana. She is now considered as a major force in the fashion world appearing in numerous shows and regarded as one of the highest paid models. Lily remains as one of my favorite models and I have always love her versatile look. It can go from romantic and classic then androgynous and edgy the next minute.

Both of these girls are good friends with each other. Offstage, their wardrobe consists of basic and menswear-inspired pieces. They normally stick to black and greys and they both go for the rock-and-roll vibe in their personal looks.

Lily and Irina

images: metmuseum.org, style.com, google images

Style Icon: Kate Moss

There is always something about Kate Moss that makes us be drawn to her. Regardless of all the controversies and scandals being thrown out at her, we still find ourselves being fascinated with her particularly with her sense of style.

Twiggy. Kate Moss

Ever since she hit the modeling scene in the 90's with her waif-ish look and figure, she has become the muse for many top-notch designers and graced numerous covers of top fashion magazines and editorials. She is also regarded by many as a fashion icon and received many awards for her style from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and earned a placed in Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List.

Johnny Depp. Kate Moss

Together with Jamie King and the critically acclaimed Trainspotting by Danny Boyle, she have glamourized the "heroin chic" look which was popular during the mid 90s as characterized by pale skin, jutting bones, dark undereyes, and oversized clothing. Kate Moss wears whatever she wants and likes to break the rules when it comes to fashion. More of a trendsetter than a trend follower, she has developed a style of her own that is ecclectic yet still looks chic, effortless, and put together. She doesn't go for perfection and doesn't limits herself to just a particular style. Her ability to mix unexpected pieces and pull them off as if she didn't even try is seriously inspirational.

Model. Designer. Style Icon.

"Clothes go in and out of fashion, but that's not style. Style has to be classic." Kate Moss

Style Essential: Starbucks and Blackberry

Quite unusual right? But as long you're armed with your cup of starbucks and busily texting or talking to someone in your blackberry while clad in denim cut-offs, loose flowy top, oversized sunnies, and havaianas, then you're right away a target by those pesky paparazzi.

As annoying as they are for these celebrities, paparazzi pictures have become a source when exploring celebrities' sense of style for we get to see how they dress up themselves in their usual selves. These two items always go hand-in-hand and are the apparent choice for these celebrities when strolling around the streets of Hollywood. These two items have also found its way in the runway as seen in Dsquared2's Fall 2009 RTW Collection copying the paparazzi looks of Young Hollywood such as the ones shown above

Lusting for Oxfords

I've been wanting a pair of oxfords since I was 16. Back then I wanted the classic black laced-up oxfords with stiletto heels. I've always envisioned them to be paired with dark skinny jeans and a white men's button down polo. Très Chic

Oxford shoes are traditionally constructed of leather and were historically rather plain. Occasionally they are called as "Balmorals" (reminds me of like another term for Balmain) and is said to originally appeared in Scotland and Ireland. For the past years, the oxfords have come out in various designs such as cut-outs, peep-toe, and two-toned. They have also become a staple when it comes to menswear inspired clothing
Last night after our humiliating and depressing quest in lining up for tickets for Cinemalaya, me and Bunny decided to go to Rockwell to make up for it. While there we went to one of our favorite sections and I saw this pair of oxfords that were reasonably priced in one of the stalls. I've been looking for a pair of flat tan/camel colored oxfords for quite some time rather than the high-heeled ones so that I can wear them to school. However that stall we were in only carried it in silver, chrome, and berry pink. I decided to try the chrome ones and see how they look on me. I actually like how they looked on me even thought it wasn't the color that I was really looking for me. But once I started to walk on them, the material of the shoes were very stiff and the sides of my feet keep on bumping to them. Alas I decided not to buy it since it was not worth it to spend on nice-looking-but-uncomfortable pair of shoes. We left the mall empty handed since we were really broke to begin with due to the sale season (thanks to Topshop and Mango for eating up my wallet) flocking all over the malls. To cap of our disappointing night, we spontaneously decided to have some drinks and enjoyed the rest of the night to make up for it. Hopefully when I go to Hong Kong in a couple of weeks I will finally get to purchase those long awaited oxfords. Wish me luck.

Images: Sartorialist, Le Fashion, style.com

Celebrity Style and Icon: Audrey Hepburn

Most my friends know how much I adore Audrey Hepburn. I still remember the first I saw her picture in one of these stores we passed by while we were vacationing in Sydney when I was around 9. While strolling down the streets on the way back to our hotel, I stopped in my tracks when I saw this poster of her clad in her famous little black dress from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". I immediately asked my mom who she is and told her that she is the most beautiful person I have ever seen and that I aspire to be just like her. From there I've started watching her movies as provided by my grandma who is also a fan of hers.

"I believe in fixing a goal for myself and not being diverted in any way from pursuing that goal. I can’t allow this award or all this public acclaim to turn my head or induce me to ease up.”
- Audrey Hepburn, after winning an Oscar for her role in "Roman Holiday"

Not only do I adore her sense of style but I also truly admire her approach or philosophy in life. One time I watched this documentary of hers and right after watching I just felt inspired by it especially when they were showing her last years. I fondly remember when one of the interviewees asked why her and Dutch actor Robert Wolders are not yet married or thinking about getting married when they've been together for so long. She simply stated that they consider themselves "married" but not formally and that you don't need a piece of paper to justify your love for on another.

She remains as one of the biggest and most influential style icon of our time for the elegance, grace, and wit she carried. In her time, Hepburn epitomized women’s most feminine and dreamy aspirations: to be beautiful, cosmopolitan, slender, charming, gracious, funny, chic Her taste in clothes is impeccable and she sticks to classic pieces and likes to keep things clean and simple. She introduced us to some of what we now consider as wardrobe staples such as the little black dress, black flats that she wear with everything, and men's inspired pieces such as the button down men's shirt

Audrey Hepburn’s incredible style may it be in fashion or living continues to live and inspire women all over the world.

Actress. UNICEF Ambassador. Style Icon
May 04, 1929 – January 20, 1993

Rachel Zoe

I'd die for Rachel Zoe.

She remains as one of the most influential and talked about stylist in the industry. She is best known for working with celebrities which she put into the map of fashion such as Nicole Richie, Cameron Diaz, and Keira Knightley. A self-proclaimed vintage junkie, Zoe is one of the driving force behind today's major trends and have been collaborating with top designers, advertising campaigns, and styling fashion editorials. In her book Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty, and Everything Glamour, Zoe urges her readers to inject glamour in every part of their lives.

"But life’s too short not to pay attention, get up an hour earlier and stay up an hour later, or even to be wide open to all of its amazing possibilities. Life’s too short not to take risks. To glam it up! A life of glamour and style makes everything that much more electrifying, that much more engaging."

Her show "The Rachel Zoe Project" is one of my guilty pleasures. This documentary series follows Zoe both in her professional and personal life. On the side it also shows us her ever not-so-getting along personal assistants and her husband-partner Roger Berman. Not only do I find this show to be entertaining but it is actually very informative especially for aspiring stylists or for those who want to see how it is to work in the fashion industry. She gives us a backstage access in what a stylist does from those phone calls every minute, picking up hundreds and hundreds of items from shops, fittings with clients, and so many more.

From one of her famous catchphrases, Rachel Zoe totally shut it down when it comes to fashion.