For the love of (my) dog ^_^

I got big feet. Well - at least I think I got big feet.
When I was in asia,  I could never find a proper pair of shoes that would fit. EU42 or UK9 was predominantly unheard of. Either too narrow or too short that it cuts into my heel, causing massive blisters that would burst even before I get to my destination. OUCH.
Not to mention the bunion that develop over time. Grrr...
That did not stop my passion for shoes. I relished every visit to the shoe shops, buying every pair in the biggest possible size, hoping the next pair would fit better than the last. So I had a enviable cupboard full of shoes that I love to hate.
Living in England means I could finally get shoes that fit length and breadth of my 'hooves'.
And boy did I indulge!

I never really like flats since I got strong calves and knobbly knees (lousy combination really), oh not to forget wobbly thighs. If I sound like I don't like my legs much, well - I don't. In fact I hate them.
Not one to go under the knife I just learnt to work around them by wearing shoes that lengthens my 'trunks' visually. Which is why I never really like flats. Looks wrong with my jeans (be it skinny, straight or bootcut), accentuating me in all the wrong way.

Then came Bagel. My collie-alsatian-crossbred.

Found him abandoned, just had to bring him home.
Which meant taking him on walks and running around with him in the garden becomes part of my daily routine. Not one to risk falling flat on my face wearing my platform heels with the bowwow, I started to hunt around for flat shoes.
Which then led to the hunt for a pair of jeans that would flatter my lush bottom half with flats on.
My roving eyes fell on a pair od light blue Suzy Radcliffes Hamptons.
It is exactly the jean type missing in my wardrobe - the boyfriend.Slouch fitting, straight leg; it is what magazines warn us pear shapes about.
I remember reading that they best fit boyish hips; which proves untrue in my case.
With a shirt tucked in loosely at the front, letting the back and sides drape nonchalantly over the top of the jeans with the hems turned up, showing the slimmest part of my legs - the ankles; the flats finish off the look quite nicely. Hooray!
I can now walk Bagel without having to worry about falling over and looking like a fat cow.

Tigger with my worn in black pumps with horsebit detail.

Just £8. These pair from Primark, a store known for cheap fashion. I find most stuff either to tacky or badly made; but occasionally you will find some real gems, like these pair of Gold Brogues. They really perk up a neutral outfit. Will be tad much when worn with colour outfits. I wear these lots when I wear my whites and beiges.

At first glance I thought these Bow Tartans from New Look are not my style but they won me over when I tried them on in my usual white tee and blue jeans. Feminine and rather chic without being overly girly.

George Black white zebra with bring pink edges and bows. I like the quirky combo. Just £6.

Qube studded Red Brogues - great when walking Bagel in town. Looks similar to a pair Sienna Miller wore in London I much covet. Just £25. Would have gotten the black pair but was sold out dammit.

Sneakers in Silver and Red. Great in parks or short walks; especially useful when Bagel decides to sprint I can easily catch up in these. The Silver pair looks like my oven mitt lol

Hunter / Jimmy Choo Croc Shiny Wellington boots with wellie socks - a must when walking in mud with Bagel (yuck) but at least I look stylish at it! Cost me bloody £250 ((I get a mini seizure every time when it gets mucky) but comfy and soft compared to most wellingtons in the market . I swear Wellies socks a must in Winter, really keep the toes toasty.

Then of course a pair of animal wellington boots for a touch of glam! Snapped these up at Trago Mills at just £20. The make is very good, rather heavy too which is helpful when waddling on mud grounds with the dog.

Make It Absolutely Personal

Honestly. I no longer wardrobe envy.
I don't covet anything out there in the shops.
I know so because I breezed through racks in shops with such ease I impress me.
My husband no longer dread shopping as I am in and I am out in a snap.
"Nothing interesting?" he asked, eyeing my empty arm.
"Nope. Just a browse. Things that caught my eye, nothing I don't have already. And other things, I just can't be bothered." And I admit I look smug saying that.

Considering the number of magazines I buy each month, I am proud to say I have finally rised above all the hype, frenzy and trends to conclude that fashion is mere recycling the old. By adding a new touch or colour, the shops and magazines attempt to make us believe that we need to be in those togs or own a certain IT bag ro shoes to be acceptable.
At least for that season.

And if you are among ones who bought into that frenzy, trust me I have been there.
There was a time that we are young and clueless which make us gullible and vulnerable as we are still seeking to be accepted in that certain group we would like to be associated with; OR that we are not aware of our body type, shape and what suits us.

And how liberating it feels to finally come to my own!
And I want to share my journey with you and let's stop wasting good money!
Shall we start?

On your next shopping trip, think of it as a day out with mates and you are just going to have a good time. And a good time does not mean that you need to buy something to be happy. Hanging out, spending time catching up or sharing thoughts is time well spent.
It is important to start every trip to town with a proper mindset.
So you saunter into a shop and your eyes are drawn by so many things around you that you feel that you need to grab something. Before you pounce on that new bag (or dress, or shirt, or skirt...whatever) you saw in the shop, stop and think:
-DO YOU REALLY LIKE IT?
-WHY DO YOU LIKE IT?
-WOULD YOU USE IT?
-HOW OFTEN WILL YOU USE IT?
-DOES IT GO WITH THE THINGS ALREADY IN YOUR WARDROBE?
-DOES IT FIT INTO YOUR LIFESTYLE (are you student? working? housewife? be realistic and practical, chasing after a Hermes birkin if you are a student; unless you are uber wealthy with bucket-loads of money to spill on anything you want, is not only extravagant but who are you trying to impress?)?

Ever shop around with a picture of a celebrity or a model in mind?
Please stop and revisit the questions above.
Reason is simple: you will NOT look like them. Period.
You are you.
You should look just as you, with the things you adorn yourself with; look a BETTER you.
Make sense?
And bear in mind those people you admire, develop their own style. Not mimicking anyone else's.
Which makes them individual and desirable.
Mind you, I do admire Victoria Beckham, Jane Birkin and Kate Middleton for their dress style and how they carry themselves. I am well aware that I will look frightful if I get into any one their outfits. But I refer to them for inspiration and I am proud to say that my wardrobe has come together nicely in time. Everything goes with every other item in there, dressing up for an event or day out is a breeze.
Muses should be an inspiration for us to develop our own, based on things that suit us and being contented with what we got and be comfortable and happy with how we look.

Many people I met, especially the younger set (teenagers to mid 20s), makes the same mistake of wanting and buying things that simply does not suit them. And when asked why did they get that skirt (for example), they would say their friends bought it and they liked it. Be it they are clueless whether it suits them or not, they just NEED to have it.
 To me, it is a choice they made so they fit into their group, so they would feel accepted or that they would look just as good as their friends or celebrities or models.

Ever chance upon your parent's old pictures to see their fashion faux pas?
Bet you had a good laugh, didn't you?
"It was the IN thing to do back then, everyone was doing it.", your embarassed parent explained.
If they can make that mistake, so can we.

If you know you are clueless or have a vast wardrobe but still cannot find something to wear; try this process:
-WHO do I want to be accepted by?
-WHY bother?
WHAT matters: do you know your body (tall, short, thin, chubby), do you know what is your body type (pear, apple, straight, triangle), what is your favourite colour (if you have been buying all sorts, but end up wearing that same colour time over time, that IS your favourite colour; at least at that moment. It change with time and age though); does it work with your skin colour (pale, olive, dark)?
Do you find yourself wearing a certain type of clothes from your wardrobe most of the time?
It would be a shirt or skirt or a dress, find out the best cut for your body type and build on it, coordinating with things that goes with the item; in the colour that works for you.
(That is how I built my capsule wardrobe, anyway)

Do not be persuaded by magazines to get the new bag or hair colour or the new black biker jacket.
Those people working in there has to satisfy their clients (advertisers) or social friends (designers) and try to sell their products as much as possible. BE SMART while you turn the pages.
You do not need another pair of skinnies just because it has zips down the sides or the new black biker jacket should have spikes to be in. You are not on the catwalk, you do not have a limitless budget and most importantly...YOU HAVE those things already.  And you still wear them, and you look great in them.
Enough is ENOUGH.

Once you sort yourself out, accept yourself AS IS; you would realise that shopping is really a stroll in the park. You will browse without the need to own, you will come home happy empty handed, knowing that you do not have something to contend with in time to come.
*as you read this, I have a sack of white tshirts I need to send to the charity shops. Not that they don't fit me, but it is so hard keeping them white since I have many pets. White still works for me though, just need to get a good bleach for my existing (undamaged) white tops.

Igor and André

Danny Roberts.

Just saw his illustration 'Girls in Chanel Glasses' (and I got the exact pair!) and completely balled over by it! (If you are reading this, Danny...LOVE LOVE LOVE your work!) Gonna get my hands on the tshirt! £30 I heard. Worth every penny.

He scribbled on a piece of this work that 'life is stuck halfway in real life and the other half in a day-dream'. Just looking at his work and being a part of that dream for a while takes my breath away. How I wish I could put my dream world & real life out on paper like you...

Am still on the hunt to collect more of pictures of Danny's work to put on here, so meanwhile, check out http://igorandandre.blogspot.com/ and read about him. Only 24 years young (blinkin' cute too) and fantabulously talented... can't waaait to see more from him (and more OF him too eh!) ;)

GirlsInChanelGlasses (gorgeous...)

Thanksgiving (amazzzing...)

SofiaCoppola

A MarcJacobs Print

Ladies Of Dior

Susie Stylebubble

Facehunter

Gemma

QueenLily

Danny's self portrait

An wallpaper he put on his blog for this fans. How generous is that...

Woman in Dior

This portrait is exceptional. I love Lee and thus was truly stunned to see how Dan managed to capture the late maestro, reflecting strenth yet fragility at the same time.

Danny's Tribute to the late Liz Taylor

His experiment with different mediums. Ethereal...I LIKE.

From his earlier character sketchbook...gritty, raw, edgy but still so beautiful. (I put this as wallpaper on my computer) ^_^

Yet another self portrait

Yet another wallpaper from his blog

And another...

Dan's adaptation of P/S Spring 2011 (photo below), honestly prefer the illustration more...

By Carrdora, Artonfix.com

Californian Danny Roberts, a 24-year-old artist thinker, as he defines himself, signs the unique fashion-inspired illustrations, mostly done with fine tip pens on paper displayed on his personal blog http://igorandandre.blogspot.com. With a lively, whimsical style that takes you back to childhood’s enchanting tales, Danny draws what he loves: glossy magazine covers, doll-faced supermodels (Lily Cole, Gemma Ward), dream-like designer collections (his favorites being Alexander McQueen and John Galliano) and portraits of inspiring fashion bloggers.

While the name of his artistic brand “Igor+André” is a well-kept secret there’s no mystery on how he got into fashion illustration. A creative nature, he began drawing as a young child, started his own clothing company at the age of 13 and ran it till college where he first studied Photography but it wasn’t until he started Fashion Design studies at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, that he discovered he wanted to be an illustrator.

Danny’s artwork has been already featured in fashion publications around the world including Vision (China), Marie Claire online (Spain) or Dazed and Confused (UK), but his artistic goal is to draw a cover of Vogue, bringing back the old style of the illustrated 1920s magazine covers, an era he’s much inspired by. Until then you can acquire your own Danny Roberts original painting or fine art print from his Etsy art store and check on his latest creative projects by following his personal web pages.