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SeasonOF PLAITS

Which WayHALSTON?

TipsFOR FALL

ForeverYOUNG

2011

SHE IS RANKED 8TH GLOBALLY...

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FOR FALL

FASHION TRENDS OF THE

CELEBRITY

NOVEMBER 2011

URBAN

SWEDE AND SIMPLE

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JUDY WONGURBAN EDITOR

One thing struck me during a trip to Stockholm last month: The Swedes aren’t big on luxury labels. You hardly se anyone toting a loud branded bag; those who do are likely to be tourists.

Neither are you greeted by designer duplexes at every turn in the key shopping districts. Around the hip Nobis Hotel downtown where I stayed, cafes outnumbered chi-chi shops. I made these observations to my Swedish host, who replied matter-of-factly: “We are a practical people. We would rather spend the money on our homes.” Yet, while the average Maja and Oscar may not be a fashion plate, everyone looks pulled together without trying too hard. The clothes fit well, the colour palates show flair and subtle accessories..

The style is classic yet witty, as befitting the Scandinavian reputation for a well-honed design aesthetic. It’s not about the brand. Their dressing is bred of good taste, good sense and a good dose of insouciance. As celebrity blogger Susie Lau of Style Bubble puts it, the Swedes ooze “a sort of intangible cool nonchalance.”

If you ask me, that is a style template worth importing. Sure, it is good news that Singapore has broken into Global Language Monitor’s Top 10 list of fashion capitals. Whether it deserves the accolade is open to debate. Even the definition of fashion capital itself is debatable. Does it mean stylish denizens? A thriving host of local labels with global appeal? A strong commercial network from production to promotion? All of the above? It’s not so clear how many of those criteria this nations fulfils, but at least the little red dot is now on the world’s fashion radar. Even if it weren’t, so what?

Fashion is just a part of life – a fun part, no doubt – that neither merits worship nor deserves mockery.Even French designer Yves Saint Laurent was once quoted as saying: “Over the years, I have learned what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.” It is far more important to develop an attractive identity – style or otherwise – and wear it with confidence, as the Swedes do.

Incidentally, Stockholm was ranked 28th in the Global Language Monitor study.Does it make the city any less cool? Nope.Do you think the Swedes even care? Heck, no.

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SINGAPORE RANKED8TH FASHION NATION

TIPS FOR FALL

FOREVER YOUNG

LIGHT TOUCH

SEASON OF PLAITS

SLIM TRICKS..

WHICH WAY NOW?

quick tips for man! the lastest hairstyle trends!

amy, janice, jim... tricks on how to act classy...

feather costumes fashion! halston faced problem...

URBAN 4

CONTENT

DO THE MATHS

The beauty of a is that we get to have a reason to de-clutter and only take out the things we TRUELY need. It’s a wardrobe staple for the smart lady who’s always on the go.But just in case we can’t decide on those essentials, some envelope clutch can fit an A4 magazine easily and comes with detchable straps( 2 designs to choose from) to make it a messenger bag.

The envelope clutch is classic piece that’s destined to never go out of style. There are so many different versions floating around out there, all varying in price by different designers, but when it all comes down to it — they all share the envelope style. The envelope clutch have come into trend during the 2011 spring fashion season, as it is convenient and trendy for outings and dinners, especially for ladies. It also comes in bigger sizes which is suited to place documents inside for event such as meetings for working adults. Therefore, get a new clutch now, be involved with the latest trend!

The classic Hermes Jige Elan clutch for spring 2011 is being featured in bright tonal and two-tone colors which are right on trend for spring 2011. The Hermes Jige Elan clutch is a timeless envelope clutch with Hermes signature “H” closure on the front of the flap. The Jige Elan clutch is made in either one color of leather or two-tone leather where the second, darker color is found around the edges of the bag and on the closure. The fresh colours feature the new season of the spring with a total refreshing new look. Therefore, get one now and be involved in the latest trends!

ENVELOPE CLUTCHES

IT’S ABOUT CLUTCHES

TIMELESS CLUTCH... HERMES JIGE ELAN

“I love clutches. As working adult, I can’t get enough of them. They’re perfect for carrying my necessities with me to work, and are made for nights out..”

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FLASH

ASK

2.1.

3. 4.

First, keep stickiness at bay with Ettusais’ Aqua Splash Body Mist ($25) from its counters including those at BHG Bugis and Isetan Scotts. It is a body lotion that contains powder particles to absorb sweat and excess sebum so your skin feels fresh and smooth.It comes with a light grapefruit scent to combat stale odours.

The most flattering lip tones will be one or two shades darker than your natural lip color, according to makeup artist Bobbi Brown.To test shades, apply lipstick or gloss to one lip. If that color is just a shade or two deeper than your bare lip, then you’ve found your shade.Yes, it’s a simple as that!

First, when you go shopping, you may not decide which designs suits you better. However, you may ask the sales promoter to recommend bracelet that suits your wrist, as they have served lots of different customers and might have a better recommendation as to which design suits your wrist better. Should you have mroe doubts, you may ask your friend along for shopping, as your friend could provide you with more suggestions too.

Go for sleek, handsome and lightweight designs that combine form with function. You can consider the tote bag, a hand-carry bag with top handles which multi-tasks as a work, weekend, gym and travel bag.I’d suggest leather designs with a more structured look as these are more polished and manly.The washed leather of this black calfskin Saffiano Travel Tote bag from Prada ($2,680) with a rugged appeal.

I am spending a weekend at a chalet, which involves beach activities and BBQ.What products will keep me feeling and smelling fresh?

How do I know which colour of the lip gloss suits me better? Which colour do I use for each occasion?

How do I choose the bracelet that best suits for wrist? I love Hermes Collier bracelet, but seems that it dosen’f fits me.

How do I choose a good work bag for men that can double as a casual weekend tote?

URBAN 8

FLASH

URBAN

FALLIPS FORT

FLASH

F ashion is a cyclical industry. Big style trends in 1995 could be outdated by 1998, only to come swinging back in 2003. There are also certain styles that were thought to be gone forever, but have returned on the

scene in a big way – as ‘throwbacks’ or ‘nods to classic fashion’ instead of merely being retro. This fall features several trends, has-beens of men’s fashion that have been given a new lease on life.

Three-Piece SuitsAlthough this style of suiting was common up to the 1960’s on both sides of the Atlantic, it fell from favor during the anti-establishment and experimental decades that followed. Now that men’s fashion is once again placing a premium on the well-dressed gentleman, three-piece suits have returned to the top rung of business formal attire.

In addition to the suit jacket and trousers, the vest or waistcoat adds an extra balancing dimension to the outfit. A three-piece suit, for example, is visually stronger than a two-piece equivalent, and can thus work better with a bolder shirt-necktie combination. It’s also a good investment – along with the bolder neck ties and shirts – because it gives you more suit separates to work with on less formal days.

Three-piece suits have outgrown their stuffy and fusty reputations. In men’s fashion today, even the youngest of the fashion-savvy – red carpet celebrities and style bloggers alike – have taken to donning vest, jacket and pants.

Brass ButtonsA jacket’s buttons are small things, to be sure, but their impact is far from insignificant. Switching out and mixing up the little details on your clothes – the color of the buttons, the stitching on a pocket – is a quick but subtle way to give the garment personality. You’re still wearing the same item, meaning you’re still sticking to the dress code, but you also add a stamp of personal style to an otherwise generic piece.Changing the buttons on a navy jacket to brass – or any copper color metal hardware, for that matter – brings a slightly preppy and majorly nautical tone to your outfit. It’s great for pairing with a pique polo and khakis for a true sailor vibe, or with shorts and a tie for a quirkily affected East Coast feel. Brogued Shoes

Another fashion relic from a different era and across the Atlantic, brogues used to be the footwear of choice for country gentlemen. They then became popular with the white-collar crowd, but disappeared from popular view about the same time as three-piece suits and bowler hats (which are still relatively off-the-scene today).

Nowadays, brogues have found favor with the fashion set as a shoe style that’s dressy yet has a distinct personality and character. They’re found paired with neckties and suits as often as with jeans and plain oxford shirts. In brown leather (and with matching brown leather accessories), they’re the style of choice for the adventurously fashionable man.

These wardrobe details are by no means essential in every man’s wardrobe, and have only occasionally solidified as trends. Their reappearance in popular men’s fashion, however, shows that they’re ready to be inducted as ‘classic’ style pieces – the kinds of things that look good on every man, regardless of location or decade.

“The only way you’ll really learn, is if you go out there and try new things. I make an effort to try something completely out of my comfort zone whenever I’m at a store – many times you’ll end up loving something you never thought you would”

URBAN 10

FLASH

QUICK TIPSFOR MEN

NEIL BARRETT

SARA BERMAN

OSSIE CLARK

Semi formal wear. Blazer with shorts and shoes. Futuristic shades makes the whole outlook more attractive.

Brown suite with three-quarter pants. Long and fluffly scarf brings the whole outlook to be semi-casual, yet formal.

Checkered shorts, with flowery shirt. A compliement of different patterns to make the person look quirky.

HEY!GOOD LOOKING...

FASHION

LOUISE BLACK

GARETH PUGH

JAKE CONRANCool turqoise jacket with floral print shirt. Details and colour of the clothing makes the pair of white shoes to stand out.

Floral print shirt complements with the strips at the bottom of the shirt. The grey pants ties everytime up for a casual formal overall outlook.

A leather jacket with bermudes. Trendy and smart outlook. Organic and neutral colours throughout from top to bottom.

FASHION

FEATURED

8SINGAPORE

RANKS

FASHION NATION

It’s official. Singapore is one of the world’s most fashionable cities so says a survey by Global Language Monitor (GLM) In its annual list of the top 50 global fashion capitals released last month, the Texas-based research film ranked Singapore eighth, one spot above trendy Tokyo. The news has drawn both delight and disbelief, with detractors saying landing the lucky eighth spot is just that– a fluke. Says London-based Singapore designer Ashley Isham in an e-mail interview: ”How can Singapore beast fashion cities like Tokyo and Berlin when half the population are in T-shirts, slippers and shorts?” Mr David Wong, 43, the vice-president of the Textile and Fashion Federation (Taff), is also unconvinced Singapore deserves the accolade.“Though I would really like to say ‘That that’ to the perennially hip Japanese, I definitely do not think it’s due to that fact that, overnight, our nation of mainly bo chup (Hokkien for couldn’t care less) denizens has morphed into fashionists,” he says.

FEATURED

WHY SINGAPORE AS A FASHION NATION?

FEATURED

S ingapore has achieved its success by having singular focus during this year. A quality product, a unique offering and a very supportive business because of a government

community,” says Mr Payack, 61, a Harvard-educated comparative literature major Singapore.He cites events such as the Asia Fashion Exchange (AFX) and the efforts of government bodes to promote Singapore as an Asian fashion hub as examples of the “singular focus”.Inviting top designers and balancing that with a showcase of Asian talent added to Singapore’s fashion cachet, he adds.

Ms Tjin Le, 38, who organised the annual Audi Fashion Festival (AFF), sees the accolade as a coming of age for local fashion. AFF falls under the government-backed AFX initiative, which touts Singapore as a gateway for Asian fashion.The disbelief about Singapore’s good showing has been a surprise, she says.“People say we are not stylish enough, we can’t be in the Top 10. The question really isn’t about how stylish are we or how many designers we have.

These are not the key performance index for the GLM study. It’s about how many people are talking about Singapore.”She adds: ”It’s not any one event propelled us to No.8 but years of laying the groundwork by both the private and public sectors.”The 12-day AFX in May generated more than $86 million worth of media coverage in 163 international publications and over 1,000 websites, she says. The presence of celebrity fashion bloggers such as Susie Bubble and Liberty London Girl also boosted Singapore’s profile.

The inaugural Singapore Men’s Fashion Week, held as Marina Bay Sands in April featuring local labels such as Raoul, Reckless Ericka and ATZU, added to the fashion buzz.Despite the hype, well-known British fashion commentator Colin Mcdowell, who writes for Britain’s will be attending this prestigious event.

The Sunday Times, notes in an e-mail interview that the fashion landscape here lacks a buzz among the young “that makes for a true fashion, as opposed to a buying, capital”.Shopping districts such as Knightsbridge and Mayfair aside, London’s fashion scene is driven by its vibrant street scene and art colleges’ aspects, which he says, are sore missing here.

Mr McDowell has been the creative director of AFF since 2009 and was also a regular face at its predecessors, the Singapore Fashion Week and Singapore Fashion Festival.While there are no hard and fast rules on what defines a fashion capital, insiders agree that a city should support a sizeable industry that runs the gamut from designers to manufacturers.

And this is where Singapore falls short.Ms Sue Evans, senior catwalks editor of London-based trend forecasting site WGSN, observes that while Singapore encourages young talent and offers great retail of opportunities for global brands, it lacks the cachet to be a fashion hub in a global platform.“Singapore is more of a fashion follower than fashion leader,” says the 63-year-old.Her advice:”

And buyers from Beijing, Perth, Seoul, Taipei and Vancouver picked at least four of them, including Depression and Ling Wu, up.The Parco Next Next incubator Project Millenia Walk also shows promise.Launched last year by Parco Singapore and TaFf and supported by Spring Singapore, it has given 38 budding designers a retail platform so far. A fresh batch of 16 young designers will get to peddle their works next March.

Although Singapore is making “giant strides”, Mr Mcdowell says it will be many years before it can be seen as the fashion capital Asia.“What is missing are high-end or very young and bold designers who would interest buyers and the press to come and see,” he notes.

How long a wait exactly?

How did Singapore which ranked 15th last year, crack the Top10? GLM’s president and chief word analyst, explains via e-mail that the findings were culled from tracking the fashion buzz

URBAN 18

FEATURED

DISCUSSION WITH FASHION INDUSTRY INSIDERS

FEATURED

DISCUSSION WITH FASHION INDUSTRY INSIDERS

Singaporeans are inveterate shoppers. Sales figures of apparel and footwear recorded a 12.4 per cent jump in June over the same period last year.For the first month of this year’s Great Singapore Sale, consumers upped their year-on-

year spending by 49 per cent to $830.7million, reported a MasterCard study.Singaporeans’ knack for shopping has drawn both high fashion and high-street labels.

Louis Vuitton will debut in first floating boutique at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) next Sunday, while Fendi Chose to launch its baby collection at its MBS store last year after its Rome debut.

Topshop’s largest Asian flagship is located in Knightsbridge mail, a stone’s throw from H&M which opened in Orchard Building last week. A new Luxury mall, Scotts Square, will open next month with brands such as Michael Kors.

1. NEW FASHION EVENTS. It may have been slow in coming but the local scene is finally a viable platform for homegrown and Asian talents. What is today the Asia Fashion Exchange began life in1988 as fashion Connections, offering Asean designers a venue to showcase their works. In 2001, the event was renames Singapore Fashion Week (SFW). That same year, the Singapore Fashion Festival (SFF) was launched to position Singapore as a shopping paradise.

Asia Fashion Exchange was started in 2009 to replace SFW and SFF, with the Audi Fashion Festival and the Blueprint trade show added to the line-up. Blueprint aims to make Singapore a centre Asian fashion trade: 30 per cent of the 105 brands hat exhibited this year clinched deals on the spot with international buyers.

The inaugural Men’s o Week next month- both the ideas of Singapore business Frank Cintamani- will add to the line-up on the fashion calendar here.

2. HOT LOCAL DESIGNERS. Among the nation’s biggest fashion exports are Alldressup, Raoul, Ashley Isham and Andrew Gn. Last month, Raoul was nominated by the London-based fashin forecasting site WGSN in the breakthrough Brand or retailer category at its annual Global Fashion Awards.

Young upstarts are grabbing attention too. London-based womenswear dsigner Tze Goh, who started his eponymous womens’ label last year, is a critic’s favourite for his structural designs and has been featured in cult magazine Dazed & Confused and fashion retail site LN-CC.

3. MORE FASHION SCHOOLS. If London has framed fashion institutes such as Central Saint Martins in New York has Parsons The New School of design, Singapore is not far behind. At least five schools here- from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts to First Media Design School- offer a fashion curriculum on tertiary and post-tertiary levels. They look to be producing some promising designers.

Everyone, it seems. Has something to say about Singapore’s new-found status as a Top 10 fashion capital.In a roundtable discussion held at Bar Stories in Haji Lane last week.

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FEATURED

SINGAPORESTREET FASHION

whatever the reason for fashion’s obsession with the street, keeping an eye on it has never been easy. Strolling around town is tough on the shoe leather, and only insiders know just where to look. The print media, meanwhile, has been of little help. Fashion editors are more likely to devote what pages they have to the fashion establishment. Until now, the best-known exception has been the Sunday New York Times, which for more than 10 years has been running—at a small size, on lackluster newsprint in the Style section—Bill Cunningham’s candid shots of stylish New Yorkers. But an exciting new development is making it easier than ever to follow.

Fashionistas have long fetishized the street. Yves Saint-Laurent led the way in 1960 with his scandalous Beat Collection, which paid tribute to the beatniks who

moped around Paris’ Left Bank in motorcycle jackets, black leotards, and flats. Designers—who had traditionally associated themselves with high culture and the beau monde—have ever since been finding inspiration in the vulgar masses. A cynic might say that by co-opting rather than creating trends, haute couture has been trying to defend its prestige and authority in an increasingly anarchic fashion world, one in which the forces of

FEATURED

FEATURED

SEASON

SEASON OF THE PLAITS

In-Style

Sayonara micro braids. Long, chunky braids are having their moment and the effect is all-out boho sophisticate, not like the Hansel and Gretel-inspired

little girl braids of your youth. For a decidedly grown up look, wear one thick braid pulled to one side so that it dangles over one shoulder, with bangs smoothed over and swept to the opposite side for balance. Or pull it over the top of your head for a halo effect. Try on chunky braids in our virtual makeover studio.

Your chunky braid should start at your ear and continue to your ends. For a slightly messy look, pull a few tendrils out around your face and ears and curl them with an iron if your hair is pin-straight. Fasten the ends of the braid with a piece of leather string or any material with an organic texture. Or simply

If you prefer a more untraditional look, try pulling one chunky braid taught across the top of your head in lieu of a headband and securing it with bobby pins. Sun-kissed highlights will add radiance to a thick braid like Jessica Alba’s . Try on highlights and long, side swept bangs in our virtual makeover studio. --Stephanie Simons.

Braids have been picking up steam over the last five years or so, thanks to Lauren Conrad, Nicole Richie, Mary-Kate Olsen, and other famous boho girls of Los Angeles. Since hip designers featured braids on the spring runway, they are officially the It hairstyle of the season. “It’s a braid frenzy! My favorite variation was Alexander Wang’s because it’s sexier, Bohemian and anybody can do it,” celebrity hairstylist Sally Hershberger told the

But how do you look cool and stylish and avoid looking like Pippi Longstocking? That’s the tricky part. Sally Hershberger provided tips on how to create the Alexander Wang look, so you can check them out here. I have recently been experimenting lots with braids lately (especially since Style.com blogged about fishtail braids), and developed a few unofficial rules:No pigtails. In fact, I’m a firm believer no one should wear pigtails past the age of 10. The looser the better.

Braids can have a way of making you look either uptight or very formal, so I lay off the high French braid action and start around the nape of my neck unless I’m going to a fancy event.Off-center braids look less dorky. I can’t really describe why, but like the old trends of wearing a baseball hat to the side or

URBAN 24

SEASON

Eve lavin, feather plaits at Paris fashion show

SEASON

Jessica Black, long fluffy plaits at London fashion festival

URBAN 26

SEASON

FOREVERYOUNG

SPECIAL

P oor Amy Winehouse. She was certainly a victim of her fame, which attracted both oppressive media attention and “hangers-

on” who told her what she wanted to hear. But she was also, more simply, a victim of a not-uncommon mental illness – addiction – that is poorly understood and claims many non-celebrity victims, too.

Even before Winehouse had been buried, there were tabloid reports of a trip to a drug dealer on the evening that she died. What pernicious lies people make up and peddle; there were no illegal substances in the singer’s body that night. Today, however, it was confirmed that Winehouse’s death was caused by the vast amount of vodka she had consumed.

Winehouse’s last concert before her death had been a shambling and shameful affair, which saw her step onto a stage too drunk to stand. So it is no surprise that alcohol binges still featured in her life after a “successful” stint being treated for “drug addiction”. It’s a silly idea, that “drug addiction” is somehow a different thing to “alcohol addiction”. The problem is addiction, and the idea that an abusive relationship with legal alcohol is of a lesser order than an abusive relationship with illegal drugs, is one of those

Winehouse’s parents, in the wake of her death, said how proud they had been that she had beaten drugs. Though worried by her less decisive break with alcohol, they did not seem aware that continued use was every bit as perilous as her use of drugs had been before she accepted the need for intervention. Who can blame them, when the wider culture is so geared to believing that drugs are killers, to be banned, while alcohol is a necessity at any social gathering?

I’m not against drink. I’m not against drugs either. But I am against the distinction between legal and illegal, safe and unsafe, when it clouds the real message: that addictive substance abuse is addictive substance abuse, whether it’s legal or illegal, or even if, in the case of Michael Jackson among many others, a doctor is prescribing it.

Mind-altering substances are no more dangerous to some people than flower arrangements. Other people can build addictive behaviour around the food that they eat, or the idea that they might not have switched off the gas ring before leaving the house. It’s all a threat to those who are susceptible, a threat to quality of life if not to life itself. The misunderstanding

She was known as much for her distinctive style as she was for her powerful voice and neo-soul music. Her signature style comprising 1950s retro dresses, dramatic eye make-up and tattoos energized young women across the world and even made her a muse for renowned designer Karl Lagerfield.

AMY WINEHOUSE

URBAN 28

SPECIAL

JANICE JOPLINAmerican soul-rock singer of Piece Of My Heart, who was

ranked 28th by Rolling Stone magazine on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Died of a drug overdose in Los Angeles in 1970. The ultra-cool feminist hippie’s eclectic dress

sense comprising tie-dye shirts, fringed vests, bell-bottoms and tinted sunglasses made her the belle of the Woodstock ball. What separated her from other hippie musicians was her fearless commitment to pilling on mountains of bracelets, necklaces, and rings in one outfit. While on some, that would look gaudy and messy, on her, it was a defining look that would make her an icon in the years following her death.

Bracelets and bangles stacked together, rings on every fingers and layered necklaces. Boho-inspired items like tinted sunglasses as well as fringed vests and bags add colour to the look. Let’s not get carried away with the whole hippie, bohemian look. The point is to look carefree, not like you are wearing a costume. Go for a sexier look by pairing denim shorts with a flowing floral blouse. Throw on a fringed vest to lend a bit of authenticity to the whole ensemble.When it comes to accessories, chunky is the way to go. Complete the look with a pair of wedges or clunky heels. Stack bangles on top of one another for a statement look that is hard to beat.

SPECIAL

A gray day in Paris last week, there was one place you could find a crowd of tourists from places as varied as Rome, Siberia and Orlando, Fla.--Jim Morrison’s grave in Père-Lachaise cemetery.

Forget Frédéric Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and the hundreds of other luminaries interred among its chestnut trees. The frontman of the Doors has been the cemetery’s headline draw ever since the rock star’s untimely death in Paris at the age of 27 in July 1971.

Thirty-six years later, the anniversary of his passing is still one of the cemetery’s main events, as fans gather around the tombstone to light candles, sing songs and remember an artist and an era that are still very much alive to them. Earlier this month, the band’s keyboardist, Ray Manzarek, and guitarist, Robby Krieger, flew in to mark the day. “People are always interested in his life, and of course his death and his words and music,” the Doors’ manager, Jeff Jampol, told TIME. “All but his life lives on.”

Céline Sauls, a 31-year-old Parisian who emigrated to Orlando 10 years ago, was back to pay her respects. Just before she moved from France, one of the last things she did was to sit atop Morrison’s tombstone, tell him about her plans to live in the U.S., and say goodbye.

Such heartfelt individual meditations have taken a collective toll on the cemetery. Vandals long ago dismantled the outsize bust of Morrison that once topped the grave. By then, the grave site had been covered in graffiti by fans. Other tombstones, vandalized with arrows labeled Jim that directed the way to Morrison’s grave, have since been wiped clean.

Cemetery staff blocked off the plot with metal barricades a few years ago. Asked for directions, a staff member sniffs: “We are a cemetery, not a tourist service.”Père-Lachaise is not just any cemetery. It has been a stage for grand episodes of French history for centuries.

JIM MORRISONI see myself as an intelligent, sensitive human, with the soul of a clown which forces me to blow it at the most important moments.

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SPECIAL

SLIM TRICKS,CLASS ACTS

TRICKS

On some days, Ms Han Yiquan finds it a chore to get dressed for work. No outfit, it seems, can make her feel good.“On those ‘feel-fat’ days when

nothing fits well, I’ll reach for an oversized top or dress thinking it will make me look slimmer when all it does is make me look pregnant.

Hers was one of more than 50 pleas that streamed in after we asked readers to post questions about their wardrobe woes earlier this month of the year.

We will pick another reader for a makeover next week using clothes and accessories from Robinsons’ new store at B2-02 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

The store stocks more than 20 labels that are not available in its other outlets. These include New York accessories brand Botkier and British cult accessories brand Lulu Guinness. Besides style advice, the two lucky readers also go home with shopping vouchers worth $300 each from Robinsons.Ms Han, who teaches English at a secondary school, says she is bothered by her jiggly arms and tummy bulge.

So she often falls back on a trapeze dress and tights to hide these flaws.Her biggest critic, she says, is her mother who constantly tells her to “dress properly and stop wearing all those rags”.“my mother is on a mission to throw away all my ‘trash bag’ clothes but before she does that, I need some help,” she says.

“The makeover has been very educational. I don’t know if I can pull them off. This session has expanded my options,” she said.

The latest edition of French Elle is arriving on newsstands this weekend with a picture of model Tara Lynn wearing a white jumpsuit on the cover. Lynn is a plus-size model who sports, it says, “adorable belly fat” and inside appears with three other larger models for 32 pages of a “special edition” dedicated to plus-size fashion.It comes a month after Italian Vogue launched an online section called “Vogue Curvy” dedicated to fashion and beauty for larger women. In January US glossy magazine V ran a plus-size-themed edition featuring Lynn and other models under the headline “Curves ahead”. And last September the issue was again in the spotlight after British designer Mark Fast’s London show caused a storm when his stylist allegedly walked out over a decision to use larger models.

Some see French Elle’s decision to challenge the national stereotype of slender, chic Parisian women as breaking down the last bastion of a super-slim aesthetic that has gripped the fashion world. However, many doubt that the French will ever accept a larger body as an acceptable look and several fashion insiders told the Observer that the French Elle shoot was simply a “gimmick”, not a trend.Others disagree. Velvet d’Amour, a US model who lives in Paris.Shops and websites for larger women are becoming highly visible parisian fashion

“It’s almost unbelievable to see such a huge magazine cover a real plus-size woman. Along with Vogue dedicating a section to curvy women, it’s the most shaking news I’ve seen,” she said.“Fashion has created a gap between itself and real women. From skinny, to curvy, to fat, the population is made of very different bodies and the contrast between the women represented in fashion or advertising has been so important that most women don’t feel good about themselves. I, too, have had body issues: I tried to fight what I genetically am because I always thought that being beautiful could never mean being curvy.”She added: “The fashion industry is evolving, but slowly.

Elle is considered as a magazine that steps out for women, so I want to believe this is not only a one-off. The famously Parisian chic is a fashion spirit, certainly not a weight or a body shape.” Although far behind the US and the UK, the French are getting significantly bigger. Statistics show that 42% of French women are overweight. But one Parisian fashion industry insider, who did not want to be named, said French Elle was acting less out of desire for change than “to respond to the criticisms directed at them for showing only thin models”.He told the Observer: “It’s a gimmick. Having one edition that you fill with big girls is like world

In the first of a two-part makeover series, Rohaizatul Azhar shows a teacher how to dress smart and look slim even on those feel-fat days

URBAN 32

TRICKS

LIGHTTOUCH

T he fashion flock seems to have developed a fancy for feathers: They are decorating cocktail dresses and bohemian

jewellery, and being braided into hair.They are statements of feminity and luxury – without being too frilly, experts say.“I think feathers are the ultimate in flirtatiousness,” says designer Peter Som. “There’s a sense of movement and feathers take colours really well.”

Guess that means the sky is the limit.Mr Som likes to see a knee-length feathered skirt paired with a simple white menswear-style shirt or camisole.“Show some leg,” he advises, “and wear a strong shoe.”Mr Naeem Khan, who has twice dressed United States First Lady Michelle Obama for black-tie state dinners, says in a phone interview with The Associated Press that he favours the “cloud effect” you will get from ostrich feathers on a

This autumn, look out for style commentator Mary Alice Stephenson wearing a delicate top tipped with feathers around the neckline to offset high-waisted trousers, or a feather tank under a jacket with a pencil skirt.“ Feathers inject glamour into clothes that are more straightforward, edgy or masculine,” she says.She also gushes over designer Alexander Wang’s sexy sandals with pink feathers at the toes: “My feeling about feathers is, if they’re done in a subtle, sensual way, then it’s something you want to embrace for fall.” But too many tufts run the risk of a Big Bird effect.

“That’s easy for me to say, being 1.83m tall. If I was swathed all over in feathers it would be too much,” Ms Stephenson says.“Taking the runway to your life is about seeing the feathers at the Pucci fashion show and see how to wear a feather purse from Talbots, or a statement necklace with a feather.

TRENDS

THINGSIN HER BAG

5

This was a gift from my husband I’ve been using it for a bout four years. It wasn’t for any special occasion. He just decided to give me a present one day. It have a lot of compactment which is very convenient for placing and bringing all my cards out for shopping. The materials is very durable also.

I need this everyday, due to the sorching sun. I am afraid that I may get freckles walking under the sun, so I apply this every 3 hours. It helps to prevent sunburn, and also it can be used as a make-up base. Moreover, this comes in covenient size which I can use slip it into my handbag and bring it around with me.

This keeps me connected to everyone, especially my daughter. Sometimes, I cannot take her to work with me so I call her instead. It also keeps me up-to-date on the current social issues and news. Moreover, it can entertain me when I’m bored too.

This is my confidence booster. I may walk out of my house without make-up but my eyelashes must always be curled. It makes me feel more dressed up. It somehow, makes my eyes looks bigger and more energetic, however, usually I would give it a touch of mascara to boost the curl and ength of the eye lash.

I rarely wear gloss because I have to carry mu daughter around and I’m afraid they might stain her on the clothes. I only use it occasionally when I;ve got a dinner to sttend and when I want to looks better than normal. It helps to moisturize my lips also, as sometimes, my lips will be dry and cracked.

STORY

Evelyn Olsen

WHICH WAY NOW,HALSTON?

Now presided over by chief executive Ben Malka-until recently the resident of the solidly middlebrow brand BCBG- Halston is expected to announce a

new creative director, Ms Marie Mazelis(until recently the creative director of BCBG), to lead it. After a series of ill-fated corporate manoeuvres that began even before Halston himself died of complications from Aids in 1990, expectations are not high. Since then, the rights to license and make Halston products have been bought and sold five times and seven fashion designers, as well as creative advisers, including stylist Rachel Zoe and actress Sarah Jessica Parker, have failed to breathe new life into the company.“Everyone is looking for someone to save it,” said Mr Malka, who is said to have invested more than US$20 million (S$24 million) into the enterprise.The most recent attempt to make over Halston, somewhat improbably by masterminded by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein in 2007, Ms Parker’s exit buried in the August issue of Vogue and Mr Weinstein telling The Daily Beast last month Parker, whose movies he has produced, “

Roy Halston Frowick moved to Manhattan in 1957 and worked as a milliner, designing the pillbox hat for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Within a decade, he opened a successful boutique at Bergdorf Goodman, creating slinky pantsuits and ultrasuede shirt-dresses.He cashed in on his famous name, cutting a deal with J.C. Penney in 1983 to sell cut-rate clothes. But the association cost him dearly: Bergdorf dropped him and the average Jane was not too enthused, either.

In 1996, the New York clothing manufacturer Tropictex International bought Halston’s licenses(except for the fragrance business), investing about US$30 million and hiring Mr Randolph Duke, former design director at Henri Bendel.Mr Duke hsowed his first collection, to some critical fanfare, in fall 1997and at the 1998 Oscars, sheathed actress Minnie Driver ina sultry crimson gown. He quit after the brand was sold to a private equity fund, which in turn sold it in 1999 to a small men’s clothing manufacturer, Neema Clothing, owned by former Burlington Indsutries executive James J. Ammeen.Mr Ammeen said he terminated

Some board members wanted to hire Mr Ford as creative director. Ms Mellon was lobbying for Mr Marco Zanini, who for eight years was Donatella Versace’s top designer, while Ms Zoe wanted to hire Mr Giambattista Valli, Mr Weinstein said.Mr Zanini wa named creative director in July 2007. Halston hired a chief executive, Ms Bonnie Takhar, the former chief commercial officer at Jimmy Choo.

Once the new team arrived, Ms Zoe said she felt shut out. “There was a lot of conflict,” Mr Ammeen said.On Feb 4, 2008, Mr Zanini made his Halston debut as the Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea. The couture show organized by Ms Takhar was spare yet elegant. But behind the smiles and the congratulations, the event’s US$850,000 price tag was a sore spot with Mr Weinstein.

“Her point was to come out guns blazing on the first show,” he said of Ms Takhar. “I thought it was too high.”The collection received mixed reviews. By July 2008, Mr Zanini was gone. London-based designer Marios Schwab was being hired in May 2009. However, things become worse and turns wrong.

The once- dominant fashion house is now in the doldrums because of a lack of direction. More than 250 design companies will be showing at New York Fashion Week, which began yesterday. But the once-storied

fashion house of Halston will not be among them.

SCENE

ON THECAMPAIGN

TRAIL

Former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld shows why she is one of the best in the business with this tongue-in-cheek campaign fronted by Freja Beha Erichsen. Shot by Karl Lagerfeld in a Parisian photo booth, it features the Danish model in well, er, a catsuit. Those ears are actually Chanel’s iconic camellia brooches.

Prada continues its habit of plucking a cast of relative unknowns and kick-starting their fashion careers. This time, the draft picks for the campaign are Kelly Mitttendorf, Julia Zimmer, Ondria Hardin and Antonia Wesseloh. Splayed on the floor and couch like well-behaved mermaids in paillette dresses, they are the innocents at the wrong party.

Eccentric actress Helena Bonham Carter seems to have rabies in this picture snapped by juergen Teller. Sca-ry. This time, Marc have designed a series of quirky fashion collections for this season, and the fashion show was held last month in Paris.

1970s glamour is what the lounging models project in this campaign starring 24-year-old Australian model Abbey Lee Kershaw. Shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, what do you know, it’s that glamorous gang from 1970s disco nightclub studio 54!

Dozens of canines reportedly auditioned for a supporting role in this throwback to the 1950s. Seven pairs of pedigree Japanese chins finally made the cut to share a slot with models Daphne Groeneveld and Anais Pouliot. As they say, modeling is a dog eat dog world.

The models go feral in this campaign blitz. Naomi Campbell, Natalia Vodianova and Kristen McMenamy have snarls that match the signature panther prints on the clothes. Those silk printed cushions are just darling, by the way.

CHANEL

PRADA

MARC JACOB LOUIS

VUITTON

GIVENCHY

GUCCI

TRAIL