isabel marant: surfing, skateboarding and spring.

I find it significantly more enjoyable and intimate to analyze not a trend as a whole, but an individual designer and their personal interpretations. The world of fashion relies too heavily on trends, as if trends should dictate the creative energy and potential of designers. Looking at a single designer and their creations tell you a story, which is what enthralls me the most in the world of fashion. 

 Instead of enlightening myself with shallow general knowledge about the trends of spring (e.g. Lace is in, Ikat is out) which seems to be common lingo to everyone, I took a deeper dive into Isabel Marant's Spring Collection, where I familiarized myself with her inspirations, stories and her timeless flair, which undoubtedly transcends the boundaries of what we label as 'a season.' 

Mesh/Sheer Tops - What struck me most about Isabel Marant's Spring RTW 2011 designs was her seamless 'compliance' with the standout Spring trend of Lace. As you can see in the pictures above, there was no evidence of lace, but rather a more androgynous, modern take on the 'sheer' look. The models were donned in somewhat futuristic, synthetic white mesh shirts, which were matched with complimentary tailored pastel pants for a preppy look, and with a floral tiered skirt for a striking contrast. I can definitely picture those racy tops layered with neon tank tops and tights on the writhing body of a teenager at a disco. The concept of 'muted androgyny' is weaved both consciously and sub-consciously throughout her collection.

Pink Pants - Another huge trend that was evident throughout Marant's collection was the use of pastel colors; especially on the lower half. From youthful, casual pink cutoff shorts to timeless, conservative pants, Marant enthralled me with a rich variety that displayed the fact that there was something for everyone.

Marant took her inspiration for Spring from the restless cities of California. She "fell in love" with California and it's "chill vibe," and thus this season was an "ode to surfing and the early days of skateboarding" in California. The racy (and dare I say, slightly slutty) vibes that some of her looks feature (that are of course, smothered in classic Marant chic) seem to go hand-in-hand with the stereotypical culture of America as we see it. There were also some "fast and furious...Sports references" in the latter of the collection, where we saw "shrunken fisherman" shirts, varsity style baseball jerseys and rugby stripe shirt-dresses (shown in the second-to-last image on the extreme left).

Scrolling through Trend Reports on Style.com, I've realised, doesn't do me much good as a person who's interested in fashion. We have subconsciously redefined the word 'fashionable' because now, 'fashionable' only lasts a mere few months. 

Indeed, it is the snowflakes of winter and the heat of summer that we so effortlessly recall about seasons. Fur jackets and Daisy Dukes? They're gone before you can say 'next season.'

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me and mrs jones - moira coops.

 The owner of Me and Mrs Jones, Addison Dempster (who was also my sponsor/fashion consultant for my Confirmation)

 Some satisfied customers browsing in the cosy store.

 Priscilla, the co-owner of Me and Mrs Jones, doing some touch ups to the store display.

 The gorgeous pool and driveway of Addison's house, which leads down to the store.

 The 'reception desk' where I was stationed for the first part of the night to register guests.

 Moira Coops doing a make-up demonstration on Addison's daughter, Sara (12).

 A fraction of Moira's countless liquid make-up, for use on the airbrush.

 Moira Coops airbrushing some copper coloured eyeshadow on Sara.

 Moira's Swarovski encrusted, Siberian-goathair make=up brushes.

 Moira herself, armed with a glass of bubbly and her airbrush machine!

 Moira's legendary portable chair (with her name embroidered on the backrest).

 Addison's beautiful living room, where the make-up demos were held.

 Another cupful of Moira's many brushes.

A gorgeous, tree lined driveway leading down to the quaint little store.

Addison Dempster, a dear family friend of ours and the mother of some of my closest family friends, is definitely one of my many fashion inspirations. A stay-home mother of two gorgeous girls, Addison and her close friend Priscilla decided to start up a small fashion business- at the bottom of her garden (shown above)! Me and Mrs Jones (which unfortunately doesn't possess a website so I can't link you guys to any other sites) is aimed at the classy, fashion-conscious woman who prefers not to burn a hole in the pocket of her designer jeans just to buy clothing. Addison and Priscilla both operate the store in it's entirety, so these two powerful ladies work in customer service, fashion merchandising, cataloguing and management of the store, etc. Me and Mrs Jones stocks only select, exclusive brands from all over the world, yet miraculously manages to maintain the store looking like a freshly formed rainbow of different clothes. Most of their ultrasoft tees and basics are from Velvet by Graham and Spencer, their black embellished tops and slinky, sparkly dresses are from Magnan and Tse, and all other clothes are from Paul and Joe and many other upbeat brands. Not only does Addison make frequent trips to the sparkling USA for buying trips, but she flies to Australia for scarves, and MOROCCO for bags! 


Addison recently hosted a wonderful night of beauty, fashion and makeup in her beautiful house; she invited one of her good friends Moira Coops to come and do some amazing airbrush makeup demonstrations. Moira is a fabulous make-up artist, and I picked up some fabulous tips from her expertise in make-up. She was the head of make-up and wigs at Singapore's most prestigious theatre facility: The Esplanade for a whopping six years,and she's the owner of Hey, Gorgeous!, her very own make-up business. Check out the link provided below to see my YouTube compilation of Moira's make-up demos and Addison's welcome speech.


 I'm not going to give too much away about Addison and Me and Mrs. Jones in this post because there will be a full length interview with Addison in Moda De La Mode's upcoming magazine which I am contributing to, so if you're interested, contact me via a comment below or email seveninchstilettos@gmail.com for a copy of the magazine.

If you're lucky enough to live in Singapore, swing by the store at 1 Goodwood Hill.

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confirmation.

For those of you who aren't religious, Confirmation is a renewal of baptismal promises, and a "Confirmation" of devotion to the Catholic Church, which most Catholic teens go through. It's a beautiful, wonderful day for us confirmants; from the hours of getting ready to the elegant individual receptions that follow. I had such an amazing day, surrounded by my closest friends and family, and decked out in the most beautiful dress that I had the privilege of wearing. I felt like such a princess, all the stress of getting ready, all the pictures taken, etc. Everyone looked absolutely flawless in white, and may I add that some of the boys were looking fine in their crisp white shirts and dinner jackets! The fourth picture is of me and my gorgeous baby cousin Ryan, and the last picture is of my friend's amazing hairdo on the day.


I wore a Grecian inspired dress from Dressaday, flats from TopShop, my hair was done at Visage.


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