Star style: Rachel Bilson

Recently I've noticed Rachel Bilson has been featured in many fashion magazines and celebrity gossip tabloids, and they're all basically raving on about how she's turning up to events looking severely stylish.

And maybe not every single thing she's wearing I dig, but I give her credit for looking good without being too overdone (former co-star who takes too much style credit, take note!) and most importantly, Ms Bilson isn't afraid of mixing colours! Gotta love her for that.

Loving the maroon-red pumps to brighten up the all-black ensemble. And her hair has that 'I'm-not-too-fussed-about-this-because-I-let-my-clothes-do-all-the-talking' vibe.


















She does the monochrome trend to perfection. I especially love the peep-toe pumps.


















Somehow this look reminds me of Snow White a little bit, but double points for matching the belt with the shoes. Who knew? She did.


















She rocked the zipper and one-shoulder dress trends way early - this was at a function in 2006. I personally think she looks really good in this outfit.


















Love how she's teaming the preppy shirt with a statement skirt.


















And now on to everyone's favourite, the paparazzi pictures. This outfit might look too busy at a glance, but I like the stripes teamed with the busy prints of the scarf. And the cropped jacket wins extra point too.


















Denim jacket looks good with anything. She is rocking the denim trend with statement bag and good-old fashioned boots.


















Loving the yellow scarf adding oomph to the biker jacket. The pumps don't look too bad either.


















I love the colour of her bag, and though I wouldn't do it myself, I somehow like the way it looks combined with the colour of her jumper.


















A sweet and simple look for autumn. The jacket/cardigan has a kind of tough-masculine neckline but it's toned down with the feminine dress. Lovely combination.


















This is probably the simplest of her looks in the batch. But I just have to put this outfit in for the sake of the navy blazer jacket. And it looks good teamed with the tan pumps.


















Loving the rock-band tee and blazer jacket combo. The yellow Dior tote gives the outfit a much-needed dash of colour.


















I personally think this doesn't look much like her usual style, but I like the tough-meets-sweet vibe of this outfit. And the brogues are also really cute.


















This is a really cool, casual look. There are a lot of colours involved, but she pulls it off effortlessly. I think a black-on-white T-shirt is perfect to add that extra boost to almost any outfit.


















This is probably one of my favourite casual looks of hers. The bag's colour is just awesome, and she's highlighted it with the Converse in the similar shade. The scarf dresses up the outfit a little without trying too hard.


















I like the simple-but-effective approach to this outfit. The boots will take her anywhere and the striped jumper is preppy-cool.


















She pulls off oversized jumper effortlessly. And the pewter boots somehow work with the yellow bag. Her scarf is great too.


















This is probably another one of my favourite looks. The scarf is just gorgeous and it gives her whole outfit a lift.


















Summer would be proud of this ensemble. She wears this dress with such ease, accessorising only to bring out the best of it.


















Loving the striped jumper with the denim shorts. Pretty dressing for the changing weather.


















(Images courtesy of rachel-b.org)

By the way...

I bought this dress today.

I'm paying tribute to the art-painting print trend. It's $30 from Valleygirl and it fit me so well.

I also bought that tee from Bonds the other time. I ended up only buying the blue-grey colour, since I didn't feel like buying black or white at the time. :P

(Image courtesy of valleygirl.com.au)

Inspiration: Anglo-mania

From what I see, a large part of fashion has been about rebelling against the rules - mismatched textures and prints, clashing colours and recently, experimenting with architectural structuring. So it's no wonder that the fashion pack is increasingly turning to the origin of rebel, the UK. The punks in the 70s were probably the first taste of pure Englishness, going against the conservatives with statement studs, leather and mohawks. But rebellion in the UK doesn't just mean punks. There were many examples where the British went against what was hip and created their own trend.

I'm drawing inspiration from the boys of the 90s Britpop scene - Noel Gallagher of Oasis with his Union Jack guitar; Graham Coxon of Blur with his large-framed glasses and Doc Martens; Jarvis Cocker of Pulp with his blazer jackets. While the world went crazy for Nirvana's brand of grunge, the Brits hit back with their own style of rock music. And then you start to suspect that perhaps the nautical colour pallette of red, navy and white could well come from the colours of the Union Jack; the increasing amount of women rocking fiery red hair could most probably be inspired by Dame Vivienne Westwood's mane; and those glasses...well, I'd like to think that Mr Coxon owned them way before today's scene kids even developed their eyes in their mothers' wombs.

But however it is, the UK continues to set the (fashion) bar themselves, instead of letting others do it for them. These days, the British are putting together trends from what the rest of the world has to offer - think bohemian prints complemented with preppy, tailored suits or clashing neon colours with textured pieces (thank you, Agyness!).

It's all just my personal opinion, though. But I think the English pride is back. And I love it.

(Images courtesy of americanapparel.net, net-a-porter.com, topshop.com, ninewest.com.au, olsen-files.com, sendmedeadflowers.com, panicmanual.com, flickr.com, contactmusic.com, celebutopia.net, tpgnews.com and elleuk.com)

Accessories, accessories

Some say accessories maketh the outfit. I'd say, go naked and be confident by just wearing these (well, maybe not literally naked, since you're gonna end up in a mental institute and they'll confiscate all these beautiful babies from you).

Hermès peacock bag. So crazy yet so right.

Marc Jacobs red leather clutch. Classic but bold enough to brighten up any outfit.
Nicole Farhi chocolate vintage cracked leather bag. Understated chic.
Pierre Hardy navy suede and black patent bag. Fantastic detailing and pretty colour combination.
Temperley London large 'Trinity' clutch. Such unique detailing that it will turn drab outfit to fabulous style statement.
Christian Louboutin 'Babel' leather boots. Such a classically fine tailoring.
David David scarves. Loving the patterns and colours that will make any outfit look fresh.
Etro multi-coloured clutch bag. This is the piece that people would want to base their outfits on every single day.
Emilio Pucci printed scarf. Loving the contrast pastel colours on the rim with the block monochrome patterns.
Giorgio Armani red clutch. Fantastic texture, fantastic colour.
Alberta Ferretti thin green string detail belt. Such a perfect shade of green.

Alexander McQueen blue python metallic peep toe court shoe. A little 80s, a whole lot fierce.
Anya Hindmarch fuschia, tan and black 'Burton' clutch. Loving the colour combo on this little baby.
BOSS Black gold ring. Midas wouldn't want to turn this into any other colour when he wanted to reverse what he did.
Barbara Bui brown lace-up. Who would've thought berry and tan would look so good together?

(Images courtesy of elleuk.com and net-a-porter.com)

MK upsized

Though I'm no longer interested in the glam 'bobo' look and have moved on to sophisticated quirky (hello, Alexa!), I will always have a soft spot for those who can pull off the look effortlessly.

So MK returns to the radar and boy, did she deliver this week.

In her own translation of fashion, she takes all the on-trend items to the extreme - instead of the normal gladiator-style sandals we all wear, she takes it up to the next level and wears it up to her knees; and instead of the fitted blazer jacket, she wears the oversized version and rolls up the sleeves like she doesn't care.

And I'm loving the red nails too.

(Image courtesy of olsen-files.com)

My next buy

It will have to be this little gem.

It's Boyfriend tee by Bonds. The picture doesn't really do much justice, but it's actually got the horseshoe neckline happening; it's loose-fitting around the sleeves and skims over the stomach.

One word: perfect.

It would be great to wear underneath a blazer tweed jacket with skinny jeans and brogues.

It's available in a range of colours, but I'm thinking to buy the black, white and the blue-grey ones. Obsessed? Moi?

(Image courtesy of bonds.com.au)

Viktor & Rolf Fall 2008 Collection

I just got around to checking out Viktor & Rolf's fall 2008 collection and see what the hype is all about.

And I think I'm liking it.

It's a gorgeous mix between smart tailoring and lady-like sophistication with just the right dash of comical exaggeration (note the "NO" belt and emblem on the top).

And the colour pallette! A rich mix of burgundy-red, deep green, classic grey and metallic-black; so gorgeous.

(Images courtesy of style.com)

Trend: owl prints

A while back, my friend came back from Japan and gave me an owl-pendant necklace as a gift. I didn't think much of it as fashion's favoured print until I started noticing the patterns everywhere, even in some local chain stores.

Then I did some random browsing on the net and I realised See by Chloé released some owl-print tops a few seasons back. The above picture is one of those tops. I also saw Topshop has a T-shirt with an owl picture on the front (which is über-cute, by the way). And Keds used caricatured owls as the print du jour to grace their signature canvas flats.

They're retro-cute and I would certainly want an owl-print top of my own soon, but I guess I won't do like owls do and stay up days and nights to wait on it becoming a fashion boom. After all, it's only another print before it's going to be replaced by other drool-worthy ones.

(Image courtesy of tobi.com)

Star style: Alexa Chung

Can you tell a capital city by its front row? In New York, bronzed limbs and double-faced cashmere prevailed; in Milan, fur and pencil skirts; and in Paris, tousled hair and black tailoring. But in London...there's a melting-pot of current trends, from ingénue to goth, and a host of wacky accessories.

Vogue UK got that right.

And I think this girl best epitomises that London cool. Maybe not so much the goth trend, but she clashes so much texture and colours that there's nothing you can do but to love it. I know I do.

Loving the chic little-girl look. And I can imagine the striped cardigan would work so well when worn over the outfit.

The look is made awesome by the ankle boots. She is, after all, the pioneer in rocking ankle boots.


















Stars are it! But she makes the print more grown-up with leather jacket and of course, once again, ankle boots.

Loving this look - stripes with high-waist skirt. Classic and quirky.


















Who wouldn't want those legs if they looked this good in a mini skirt? She was seen wearing a canvas bag with this outfit in other pictures which gives it an extra street-casual feel.


















This is probably one of my favourite looks. It's so unexpected how she teamed a bohemian floral dress with a very preppy Luella blazer jacket. I also love the pink detail on the jacket's collar. It's simply stunning.


















Another mismatched outfit that's perfect - I love that there's a deep-blue, a grey and a tan mixed into one very pretty ensemble.


















This was her look that first caught my attention. The top tucked into the high-waist skirt, the blazer jacket and the flats - they're all so playfully perfect.

The statement necklaces are so inspiring. It's an effortless nautical look that she's come to master.


















She's really rocking the flats these days. I love the statement huge-ass bag too.


















This is another one of my favourite looks. It's so cool the way she makes thigh-high socks work for a formal night event.


















Her signature mismatched look is shown once again here. I think the key to making this whole ensemble work is the denim dress; after all, denim goes with everything...

There's something so cool and cute about this dress. It's not really visible here, but the top part of the dress is actually lined instead of just plain. Once again, showing that she mixes textures, prints and colours like no one would.

(Images courtesy of contactmusic.com, celebutopia.net, tpgnews.com, flickr.com and elleuk.com)