Monday, June 14, 2010

Dress up your carry-all for the beach

SUMMER holidays at the beach can be traced back to the Victorian era when it was often associated with activities such as building sand castles and donkey rides. Today, when you talk about beach holidays, the thought of exotic far away islands or beaches come to mind.
There will be beach parties, summer gigs or concerts, and loads of other fun activities. Beaches in the summer are akin to sandy catwalks, where everyone parades the latest fashion.
For spring/summer 2010, jet-set fashion designers drew their inspiration from summer beach holidays. Hawaiian influences are obvious in Ashish spring/summer 2010.
Other fashion brands like Prada and Maison Martin Margiela were also inspired by the beach. Typical beach-inspired motives such as palm trees, tropical flowers and birds were used as prints, embroideries and beading work for their 2010 collections.
Most of us probably have great memories of beach holidays. Let’s all do our part to help protect our beaches and stop the pollution, so that the future generation will still be able to enjoy them!
You will need:
The tools you need.
Straw bag, canvas bag or any kind of bag that’s suitable for a beach holiday
Coloured buttons in different sizes
Sewing needle
Nylon fishing line
Soft pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Step 1
Based on a beach theme, arrange and design a motive using the buttons on a clean surface.
Step 2
Measure the width and length of your design to make sure it fits the surface of the bag which you will be sewing the buttons on later.
Step 3
Use the soft pencil and draw your design on the bag.
Step 4
Sew the buttons onto the bag based on the design you have just drawn using the sewing needle and nylon fishing line.
Step 5
You can have all the buttons slightly overlapping each other in order to create a three dimensional effect. Voila! Your very own cool beach bag is done.
Fashion tips
Do mix and match the beach bag with simple vest (you can wear a colourful bikini top inside), holiday-inspired printed long skirt, ethnic beaded flip flops, big straw hat accessorised with lots of Indian bangles or a couple of chunky wooden ones.
Don’t forget your big sunglasses to protect you from the burning sun. Don’t bring the beach bag to work to match your executive suits even though you will be catching a plane after work to an exotic place for holiday.
Another no-no is mixing and matching it with evening dresses for a formal party, even if the buttons you used on the bag are “bling bling” ones!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A shirt isn’t just a shirt anymore

THERE are many great cinematic moments that stay imprinted in our minds long after the plots of the movie are forgotten. Who can forget the kids “flying” on their bicycles in E.T., Ripley fighting with the alien inAlien, or the landing of the spaceship and the haunting music in Close Encounters Of The Third Kind? Back in those days, the look of the movie was as crucial as the script itself, and the wardrobe of the actors and actresses told a story.
Think of Faye Dunaway in Network, Lauren Hutton and Richard Gere inAmerican Gigolo, Robert Redford in The Way We Were, Warren Beatty and Julie Christie in Shampoo, and Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair, and you get the picture. That’s the premise of Raoul’s Fall/Winter 2010 collection.
Based on the premise that the shirt is as an essential item in one’s wardrobe, every look is designed to evoke the spirit, elegance and ease that transcend those cinematic moments. The shirt is not only reinterpreted as a category by itself, but also seen as different versions such as the jumpsuit, or a one-piece dress with the top bit derived from the shirt.
For the women’s collection, the shirts and blouses are made of soft and elegant silk georgette. The washed silk blouses come with ruffles and bows. Velvet T-shirts and silk tops come with gathered necklines trimmed in velvet cord. Add to that simple raw-edged crew neck tops in leather and you have a totally new interpretation of the garment.
Among the notables for jackets are the collarless wool felt jackets with three-quarter sleeves and covered buttons. Or, try on the camel wool belted wrap coat for size. If you don’t like wool, than try the unstructured blazers in silk velvet and baby corduroy, or the tweed and suede cape.
Line-up: Sampling of the Raoul Fall/Winter 2010 collection.
Ready to jump right into the season? Try the jumpsuits in contrasting colours or the one-piece dress that’s a combination of a silk shirt and wool skirt. There are also knee-length, A-line skirts with a uniform appeal.
When it comes to pants, these are washed silk or light wool, and come full and high-waisted. They are worn with silk or georgette full-sleeved, ruffled or tucked blouses. Washed velvet and corduroy trousers can be worn as part of a suit or as separates.
The colours are earthy and ocean-inspired with camel, bottle green, midnight blue, moonlight, smokey blue, slate, mushroom, brown sugar, ginger orange, russet and iris.
For the men, there’s a reinterpretation of Raoul staples such as the “work” shirt, striped shirts, and the tucked and collarless dress shirt. These come with details such as contrasting collars and plackets, detachable bibs and contrasting print combinations. They are made in soft and relaxed materials such as cotton chambray, washed silk, and washed silk twill.
For the suits, three distinct silhouettes are introduced. There are two button jackets with narrow trousers, and double breasted jackets with strong shoulders and fitted body paired with high-waist baggy trousers. Finally, a more classic straight cut suit.
Take your pick from the wool felt peacoat, herringbone tweed or suede cropped Harrington jackets. Dryer and rugged fabrics such as flannel and tweed contrast with the washed silk parka. Leather and suede are also used in combination with wool jacquard front T-shirts and wool-knit sweater vests.
This season, Raoul also introduces a new concept – its capsule collection. This will be a rotating collaborative project whereby a guest creator is selected to design a category which they specialise in. For this collection and the next one, Tom Scott was chosen to do a knitwear capsule for both the men and women.
Scott is a New York-based designer whose designs are characterised by architectural constructions that are simultaneously modern and understated, sophisticated and feminine. Many of his pieces blur the line between garment and accessory, fusing elements from both, and are designed as such that wearers can manipulate them in ways that are like the clothes themselves – unexpected.
Prices for the women’s collection start from RM299 and RM249 for the men. For details, call 03-2141 6136.
RP | CU | PH | RR | TCU | MFB | BM | BM | TAW | RM | SM | MLW | QL | QTS | SR | TR | TCR | HR