Urbanscapes & Fashionista Alchemist

I had been counting the minutes, hours and days to Urbanscapes since last week. And I had just returned from the event with mixed feelings. A mixture of disappointment because not many vintage stuff to my liking and gladness that I did not spend a lot this time. Or perhaps I got there about 7-ish or near 8 pm whereby all the good stuff may have been purchased.

Just realized that I used many gold colour based accessories for my look today. I love the print of the dress. It is very artistic and modern and it makes me feel like I am wearing a work of art.

The look:
Vintage dress
Gold belt
Gold cocktail ring
Thrifted bag
Gold sandals

Another well spent Saturday. Tiring but fun.

Inspiration: Swinging 60's

Note: Pictures taken from Dressmaking International edition no:25 (1968)
by the Kamakura Shobo Publishing Co. Ltd.

While looking through my magazine shelves, I came across couple of long-forgotten dressmaking magazines. All these magazines are dated back in the 1968, 1978 and 1980. I did not realise that I have hidden treasures amongst my magazine collections. How cool is this?

V-day and flea market (again?!)

V-Day
V-day? Is it Valentine's Day? No. V-day is Vintage Day. Would like to commemorate vintage fashion on every Saturday. The look must have at least one vintage item either dress, blouse, skirt, pants, belt or bag. Let's the first V-Day begins...

The look:
Checked vintage dress
Yellow/Black belt
Vintage bag
Flat ballerina shoes

Flea market: Pick n Grab
Yes, another flea market. This time I thought that I would not buy anything but guess what?! I purchased a pair of black oxford shoes and two dresses at a very, very good deal. My friend and I have been looking for oxford shoes for a long time. And finally we found them! One item to cut off from my wish list but I still need to look for brown / tan oxford shoes and also oxford heels.

I heard that Urbanscapes (26th June) is an event not to be missed. It's an event filled with music, performing arts and shopping. Another temptation?

Note: Apologies for poor quality photos. Photos were taken using mobile phone camera.

Oh what a weekend!

This weekend was almost a perfect weekend filled with good company, good bargains, interesting book and serendipitous discovery despite my cough, which at times is killing me slowly. What a torture.

Good Company & Good Bargains
I've enjoyed the company of my hometown friends for dinner on Saturday night and friends from work for drinks after dinner. My friends and I were early for the drinks, so we decided to check out boutiques in Bangsar. I am bad in resisting a very great deal - RM10 for a dress! Very tempting indeed. Taking the risk of not be able to give it a try, I purchased the dress anyway, knowing the fact I have loads of them.

Earlier today, I had lunch with friends from work and we checked out Bijou Bazaar in Solaris Dutamas. Hoping there would be more vintage stalls but to my dismay, there were one or two. Somehow I purchased three items from some of the stalls there. They are not vintage.


Interesting Book
Currently I am reading 'A Vintage Affair' by Isabel Wolff. And I am almost finished reading the book, just left about quarter of the book to go. The story is revolved around a girl who owns a vintage dress shop - her family, her work/business, men in her life.... It is a typical chic lit, I would say. But it's a good read as it is light and easy to relate to since I'm into vintage dresses.


Serendipitous discovery
I discovered LOOKBOOK.nu by accident whilst browsing another blog. I think it's a cool site and contemplating whether I should give it a try or not... hhmm...

Another weekend has gone and Monday is around the corner. The word 'work' just came straight to my mind. Keeping my fingers crossed that I would not have Monday blues.

Fashion experiment: White tank top

One of my must-have items is white tank top. It is not only cheap but also very versatile. It can be styled into different looks from casual to work.

Chic casual
Switch the usual denim pants to cotton like skirt and add a belt. Accessorize with necklace or bangle. Statement necklace would add more 'umph' but I chose to be minimal for this look.

Vintagey
Three vintage items are used for this look - skirt, belt and bag. Let these items speak for themselves.

Climbing corporate ladder
Replace the usual blazer with long vest. Pair with red shoes to add sexiness. The look is tough yet sexy.

Ready for appraisal
Layer a tank top over a dress. It is a bit preppy though.

For those who love wearing pants more than skirts, just pair the white tank top with a pair of black/grey/navy blue pants. Add accessories and you are ready to go. Wear a blazer for a polished look.

Tank tops are good for layering too - layer over a shirt or over another tank top. Get few them in different colours - black, blue, red or any colour you fancy - because you will never know when they will become handy.

Who's that girl? Part II

We’re back with the second half of the interview. Happy reading :-)

What are your bitter sweet memories of setting up or managing VP?

Mostly are the usual cases sellers would face: backout buyers. I’m okay with backout buyers, thinking that maybe it’s not my rezeki this time, but I don't like a person who goes MIA (missing in action). It will leave us wondering, whether to keep the stock for her or not.

Managing VP is fun, knowing people, dealing with them made me know how and what to improve in myself. Yes, there are some dissatisfaction and satisfactions arise from customers, but through these experiences I’ve learnt how to survive in business.

Any future plans for VP?

VP is based in Kuantan right now, in my home, so there’s not much chance for VP to participate in bazaar or flea market, which of course, can improve the promotion and sale. Maybe when I get my job later (which maybe in KL), I will get the opportunity to join flea market every weekend :)

VP will take things step by step for example; maybe we'll go .com, open an offline vintage store, but all these would depend on my job placement and money, of course :D

Who is your fashion icon and why?

Fashion icon? Hmm. I don’t have specifically an icon because I will dress based on my mood and what makes me feel confident. I like to browse through the independent fashion blogs to get inspiration and sometimes, Korean series influences me too :D

What are you must-haves in your wardrobe?

Most of my clothes right now are vintage finds; from shoes, dresses, tops and bags. I'm not really into designer/branded items. The least would be jewellery and accessories, unless they are cute and weird one.

Last question; if you could turn back time and live in a certain era or year, which era or year would it be and why?

An era when we could get fixie bike and minicooper with a cheap, cheap price. Do we have one? :D

I would like to thank Ana for her time and photos. Wish you all the best in everything you do. Do check out Vintage Packstocks for one of a kind vintage finds.