Random Summer Pictures

I can't believe it's already the end of July. The summer's almost over. Boohoo! Some random photos from my summer so far.

Burmese New Year Festival - People splashing each other with water to wash away bad luck!

Shaved Ice with Grass Jelly, Peanut crumbs, wintermelon candy, rose syrup not sure what the green syrup is.

Craigslist Findings

Ah Craigslist, such an awesome site! Although, at times the listings can be a hit or miss, it's still so useful and even entertaining (ever read the missed connections sections?). My friend, who knows my penchant for vintage clothing, forwarded me a post by a women giving away some of her clothing in exchange for a bottle of wine. She listed that there were some big name designers and mentioned some Levi's & F21 skinny jeans in my size. I figured, heck why not? So I exchanged a few emails with her, and dropped by her apartment. I handed her an inexpensive bottle of sauvignon and I received a white plastic Key Food bag stuffed with clothing. "There's a really nice dress, but you'll probably have to take it in. You're so tiny!" she said apologetically.

Oh shoot, is any of the clothing going to fit me? I resisted the urge to rip open the bag in front of her. When I got home, I inventoried my goodies. There were no skinny jeans! Disappointment. Bloomingdale's brown silk and cashmere, fringed scarf. Ok, not my color, but not bad. Giant Banana yellow shirt with rainbow collar that looks like it could fit three of me in there - hmm. Medium Banana Replublic Button shirt...argh...getting worse. So much for "designer" clothing. Where is that dress? Ahh...what's this I see? A pretty white dress by Floreat? I fear that it will look like a sack on me. But lo and behold, it fits like a glove. Awesomeness! Now to google the retail price...hehe. Krasna Dress from Anthropologie - retail price $188. Cool.

So it was a typical Craigslist experience- a bit of misrepresentation, some weird junk, but luckily I was able to find a little treasure :)

Fatty Crab

Went out last week with my friend to try Fatty Crab on Hudson Street. We were seated very quickly, but the wait to order food was a bit long. Perhaps it was because it was early Saturday, but they only had one waiter? We ordered the Pickled Watermelon and Crispy Pork Salad. It was really different and quite delectable and refreshing. The watermelon cubes were flavored with some herb (sorry for the non-description, couldn't place the flavor, should have asked the waiter!). The pork was really delicious. Crispy on the outside, and fatty, melty lard in the center. I usually don't enjoy fatty pork, but this was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. We also ordered soft shell crab - it was good but not amazing, and a duck dish. The roasted duck was decent, but the sauce that was drizzled on the rice was way too sweet. I thought the restaurant was a bit overpriced, but I'd definitely recommend the salad!

Myanmar - Land of Pagodas

I just came back from a 2 week whirlwind trip through Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Myanmar. It was exhausting but amazing. One of my favorite memories from my travels were the pagodas in Myanmar. The most spectacular one that I visited, Schwe Dagon, was located in Yangon. Keep in mind that traveling in Myanmar is not for the faint of heart. It was steaming hot, dusty and grimy. By mid morning, I would be soaked in sweat. What made it worse was that I  had to wear a sarong most of the time (it's a conservative country where women wearing shorts or dresses stood out like a sore thumb).  When I wiped my face at the end of the day, there would be a layer of soot on my face (I broke out like crazy right after my visit). I usually wound up taking 2 showers a day.  But getting to see the gorgeous pagodas was totally worth it for me.

Native Burmese have free admission to the pagodas. But I was obviously a foreigner and included in the admission price - the ticket office lent me a sarong to cover up my gams.

This Pagoda was about an hour outside of Yangon. I believe it was the Kayauktan Pagoda, which is actually in the middle of a lake. Top (actually a short dress) bought in Krabi, Thailand, Thrifted Sarong from Housing Works. Steve Madden Sunglasses. 

Fun at Carnival

I'm going on vacation - woot! And my vacation started today at Carnival to check out a fashion show fwith a group of Asian fashion designers with the theme circus. Unfortunately I missed a lot of it but was able to catch Cheng-Huai Chuang's clothes which were amazing. I also loved the atmosphere in Carnival because I love street fairs. It really looked like a carnival inside with carnival games such as shooting water guns to make water balloons pop. Really fun!

Noir Sample Sale

I stopped by the Noir Sample Sale (350 W 38th St, (btwn 8th & 9th Ave), 5th Floor) after work today. There were $5, $15, $25, $45 bins of earrings, bracelets, and rings. In addition, there were animal themed rings from $45- $95. If you can't make the sale, I noticed a few Noir rings on clearance at HSN.com that they were selling at equivalent or for less than the sample sale prices. This snake ring was selling at the sample sale for $25 or more and on HSN, it's $19.95 + 4.95 shipping. Probably the best deal is the simulated pearl cluster ring for $12.95 on HSN versus $25 at the sale. The crystal pave goldtone flower rings were going for $45 but are $29.99 + shipping.

Breakfast at Club 21 with André Leon Talley

Not much will get me up before 6am in the morning, but when my friend Melodie invited to the Breakfast at Club 21 with André Leon Talley at 8am this morning, I jumped at the chance. After a delectable breakfast and plenty of coffee, about 150 of us were introduced to Mr. Talley.

Wearing a mustard-hued, custom made robe by Chado Ralph Rucci, André looked very much like a guru, fashion guru that is. Affectionately known as ALT in the blog world, he spoke to us in the intimate setting about the mix of high and low fashion, and what luxury meant for him. He recalled growing up under the influence of his grandmother, aunts, and uncles. Glamour was learned from his grandmother and Mr. Talley reminisced about her fantastic drawers brimming with elegant scarves and gloves. He mentioned his uncle who owned only 2 pairs of dress shoes that were polished to gleaming perfection. Sunday was a happy event for his family when they could dress beautifully to attend church and socialize. His early life had a profound effect on him and luxury to Andre means childhood memories of the scent of freshly laundered white sheets hanging from a clothesline.

After attending college at Brown, he worked for Diana Vreeland in New York. One of his first assignments involved macaroons (the hair style ala Princess Leia, not the pastry). He wanted to make the macaroons stand out and went shopping at Woolworth’s where he spotted hairnets (which reminded him of his grandmother) at a bargain price of 25 cents for 3. He thought that the macaroons wrapped in hairnets would cause the hair to sparkle in different lighting. Diana Vreeland loved it.

Finally in the Q & A session, I told him briefly about RunwayPassport.com and asked him for advice for a new magazine. He said we had a great name which was a good start. As for advice, he could only tell us to follow our dreams.

Other ALT nuggets:

Fashion in airports - is “sad” – He finds it humiliating to take off shoes at security checks. André said he dresses like a homeless person at the airport, because he doesn’t want people to recognize him (but of course they still do). The exception? If he were on a a plane with Karl Lagerfield, he would arrive overdressed because "some people have such high standards". Apparently Karl Lagerfield wears those high collars even in the St. Tropez heat that would make us ordinary humans wilt. “Must take him hours to get dressed”, mused Mr. Talley.

Reality TV: André has never watched American Idol and thinks that reality TV shows are “brutal”. He hated to see people cry when he was judging America’s Next Top Model and said that he wished that reality shows were more uplifting instead of about rejection. And he was horrified by the “potty mouths” of ANTM contestants.

New and notable designer: LaQuan Smith

Worst Fashion Trend: Wearing jeans over underwear – “like your mama didn’t tell you how to keep your pants up”.

On Education: He stressed the value of education and being a well read person. Learning French helped him connect better to different designers. He mention Jackie O who could have conversations in a French and Spanish when on diplomatic trips with President Kennedy.

On his success: When someone asked him how he achieved his dreams, he said he has always been fearless and was never afraid to work hard (e.g. time spent as receptionist for Andy Warhol).

About First Ladies: Jackie O and Michele O are his favorites.

Michelle Obama’s fashion choices: Michelle chooses new and upcoming designers such as Jason Wu and Thakoon because she likes the undiscovered and new. "We don’t tell Michelle Obama what to wear. Michelle tells Michelle what to wear. "