Hey readers!
So whether or not you're living in my area of the world, I'm sure you'd have heard it's the Lunar New Year. Just saying, I'm perfectly happy to be chinese, although I do admit sometimes I forget that I'm chinese (I mean, speaking English pretty much 24/7 and having lost touch with the language since a year ago). Chinese New Year, or as I will affectionately term it, CNY, is one of the most awesome occasions/holidays ever, especially because of the food. Pineapple tarts, bak kwa, roasted cashews, salted egg butter cookies, tapioca chips etc. Oh drools.
Anyway, this year I've done something different for my CNY; it's what I'd like to claim as vintage reclamation. So last year end I went for a short trip to Japan and had a haul of vintage stuff from the thrift store there, one of the pieces being a midi (or maxi for the uh petite ones) dress with a bishop raglan sleeve. I tried it on and it felt so old, both literally and in terms of the age at which someone might be seen wearing it, so when I brought it back I knew I wanted to edit it somehow cause after all I really liked the print and the colour. And not to mention, I have a terrible habit of not wanting to take a photo of the original piece whenever I do DIY-ing, so here are pictures to show the piece now at least :)
(Yes, photoshoot time.)
I particularly loved the styling for this outfit as it seemed to all just fall into place nicely, although it's probably ironic that for a CNY outfit I'm taking on a vintage style since people usually anticipate and love buying their new clothes just for the Lunar New Year. Doesn't matter to me really, DIY-ing makes my clothes re-newed + perfectly unique => fabulous, as summed up by my first picture.
Honestly, the most time consuming part of this DIY session was probably the beading. Now I know why embellished stuff are so expensive; it takes time (and bruised fingers).
To describe my styling for this outfit, it's definitely be along the lines of my own take on vintage. The trendy halter neck style dress meets the bold prints that function both on the vintage side and the modern. The complementary blue-green and cool silver beads against the red of the dress add a different dynamic without clashing. Shoes were self-explanatory: cut-out brogues take a fresh spin on the vintage look too. Tortoise-shell sunglasses? Check. Ladies' bag? Check. And not to mention, the simple studs kept the look young, so no over dramatised accessorising to take the attention away from the beading.
Decided that hair-wise I was always slacking off by just letting it down, so I tried to be vaguely more hardworking this time round. Nah, just kidding, a messy dutch braid was all it took to neaten the look. In terms of make up, I did my usual eyebrows and brown cat-eye, but this time round, I tried a darkish lip so as to balance out my face with the strong print of my dress.
What I'm Wearing: Vintage DIY Dress, ASOS Marzie Leather Cut-Out Brogues, Metal Detail Bag from Hong Kong, Studs (own), Tortoiseshell Sunglasses from Japan, Estee Lauder Hot Kiss Shimmer Kipstick
Have a blessed CNY! :)
Much Love,
Jubitai
