Beautiful Girl

You know how certain nationalities have a certain look which is instantly recognizable. Hence some people often gets the "Are you Japanese/Korean/Scandinavian etc" queries?

Well french style is of course much admired and emulated but the attitude (as with flair) falls strictly in the category of either you have it or you don't.

Diane Birch could easily pass off as long lost daughter of Jane Birkin and hence half sister to Lou Dillon and Charlotte Gainsborg. But she's actually American, a great singer with a (seemingly) wonderful wardrobe to boot. Extremely quirky and chirpy video, check it out here.

The Eye that Sees

Honour the miraculousness of the ordinary

-- Andrew Motion

Beautiful blog by a Tokyo inhabitant. The loveliness of Tokyo captured through the eyes of one who looks upon the world with wonder.

(All pictures from Jollygoo)

Button Up and Petal Shorts

I am not a shorts person at all, as all my friends and family can attest to, but am suddenly in the mood for sheer shirts, shorts and flats. I want to say its spring and all its associations of lightness and breeze but I don't actually live in a place with seasons.

(Surface to Air Top, Rachel Comey Shorts, Marc Jacob Flats. All from LaGarconne)

and the key to world peace is...

Mahjong!

And Koizumi.

At least according to the Japanese.

The Legend of Koizumi portrays the Japanese ex-premier as mahjong whizz and all round super hero out to save the world against the North Koreans (who just don't play fair) while George W Bush buzzes around on a Segway with a couple of tumbles (well, at least some things are constant even in the world of fantasy)in a world where diplomatic relations are resolved through games of mahjong.

It's ingenious satarical nationalistic fantasy all bundled into non-stop hyper-activity, artfully blending the dramatic and the kitsch. Armchair philosophers could of course get all wrapped up in a discourse at length as to what the creation and success of such a manga reveals about the modern Japanese psyche, but really, just sit back and marvel at the free play of imagination without self-censoring boundaries which is such a trademark of Japanese creativity and hopefully always will be.

Good stuff. Watch it here.

cats and swallows

MiuMiu Spring/Summer 2010 is so whimsical, impractical, girly, pracically lolita-ish and really not suitable for anyone who actually has a desk bound day job and is not 18. And yet, I want! Sigh. It's either a sign of the allure of great design or an immature personality. Maybe both... :p (Right, that's a reaaall mature way to end off a post)


And really that's why I love beautiful shoes. Cos it's a great way to incorporate whimsy into one's wardrobe and anybody can inject some fun into an ensemble in this way and still not be laughed out of the office, I think (hope). Mulling over which pair to get....

(Illustration by the wonderfully talented Krisatomic and rest of pics were shamelessly filched from her post as well)

men with sticks

we wandered around in our dreamscape, trying to find the secret passage to our next fantasy.

(Laurence Winram Portfolio. More here)

slow and steady

"Today, we rush ­everything, but architecture is slow, and the landscapes it sits in even slower. It needs the time our political systems won't allow."

-- IM Pei

Believe in the strength of one's vision and the absolute necessity of getting it right; slowly and painstakingly.

(Read rest of IM Pei interview here)