Make Me Beautiful

“One World One Dream”, this is the theme of the upcoming 2008 Beijing (China) Olympics which will be held on August 8-24, 2008. As of today, China and other countries seems to be Olympic-themed and focused when it comes to fashion. Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar magazines as well as Polo and Adidas comapanies set up a fashion shoot, presented campaign ads and created special collections to follow the crowd.

For China Vogue August 2008 Issue :
The magazine seems to be having some fun with their idea of Olympic fashion. The following shots are remarkable because of a fine selection of exquisite and colorful sporty apparel and sports equipment.

For Harper’s Bazaar:
Lucy Lui have teamed up with Harper’s Bazaar to create an Olympic themed spread. The photos aimed to demonstrate that it doesn’t matter whether you lose or win, it’s how you dressed that counts.

For Adidas: According to Adidas, Impossible is Nothing because:

• I never lift alone.
• Alone I jump, together we soar.
• Ever seen a nation fly?
• I run with 600 million legs.
• They see me, but they’ll feel us.
• No one gets up when a whole country kicks.

For Polo:
Inspired by the rich past of the Olympic Games, Polo Ralph Lauren brings an elegant and contemporary style to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams. The collection offers casual sportswear styles in patriotic combinations of red, white and blue adorned with the U.S. Olympic Team and iconic Polo Pony logos that Olympic fans will surely adore.

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Shirt dresses are the best. They are smart, sophisticated but still very feminine and daytime perfect. Tailored, clean cut, prim and pretty, they are the sisters to classic DVF wrap dresses (and can even be worn by girls less well endowed in the chest area!). These kind of shirt dresses, like the ones shown from Ralph Lauren, will never go out of style. But in a more casual atmosphere, as I almost always find myself in, sometimes these shirt dresses make me feel slightly too dressed up, even if they are designed to be perfect for the daytime- like a sore thumb who somehow landed on the streets from the country club.
Luckily for me, the newly updated shirt dress this season neatly solves my dilemma. They are less structured, more casual, with fun, youthful details. And yet they still manage to maintain the very proper and put together effect of a classic shirt dress! These two are from DVF (left) and Sass & Bide (right). I especially love how they made it into a high collar instead on the Sass & Bide dress.
Over at Paul and Joe Sister (left) and Derek Lam 3.1 (right), they turned in the buttons and switched it for laces . Usually I’m not a fan of this type of lacing up (too Pocahontas!), but I think it works here. It gives it a more casual, outdoor-sy feeling to the whole look.
Here are two of my favourite reinterpretations of the shirt dress from Top Shop (left) and Corey Lynn Calter from Nordstrom (right). The Top Shop dress barely looks like a shirt dress with its wide round collar, bubbly sleeves and scrunching. But all the crucial elements are still there. With the right accessories i.e. big colorful necklace, this dress would look so cool and now. Going in the opposite direction, the dress from Nordstrom is loose but still structured in a futuristic kind of way. The addition of the bright yellow belt is absolutely genius. It completes the look. I DEFINITELY wouldn’t mind owning this dress!

Image Source: Ralph Lauren , Paul and Joe Sister , Top Shop , Nordstrom and Net a Porter

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I came to know Gossip Girl TV series through a blog of a Filipina celebrity where she cited Blair Waldorf’s fashionable outfits. After reading her post, I got curious with the series so I do some online search and finally watched the whole Season 1 episode.

I admit that I am so into it because of the show’s fashion statement. Outfits of Blair, Serena, Lily, Jenny and others appealed to me so much that I enjoyed watching it. I can’t just can’t get enough with the crested blazers, layered polo shirts, kilts, argyle sweaters, daazling jewelries, plaids,knee socks, high boots and most of all headbands!

It’s good to hear the news that the Gossip Girl’s 2nd season will be aired on September 1. However, amidst the “much anticipation” of fashionistas and glamoristas, “Gossip Girl” is getting lots of attention because of its sexy new ad campaign that depicts its main characters in steamy situations with negative quotes from the Boston Herald (”Every Parent’s Nightmare”), the Parents Television Council (”Mind-Blowingly Inappropriate”), the New York Post (”A Nasty Piece of Work”) and the San Diego Union Tribune (”Very Bad for You”).

As for me, inspite of the critics and negative comments, I will continue to watch closely at what Blair and Serena will be wearing for the rest of the season. Why? Because I’m already 25 years old and I’m totally old enough to be subjected under Parental Guidance..hehehe

By the way, Gossip Girl has already an online store where you can find your fave outfit worn by your fave character.

Here’s a slideshow of the Gossip Girl stars with definitely superb outfit:

Photo Source

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In a parallel universe I would have all these shoes because I would have all the money in the world to afford them. For now, I drool and figure out a way to thrift myself chic. Here is my dream shoes for fall 2008. (Note, for the most part I found most of the shoes in Fall’s collection to be pretty heinous. But, there were a few winners among the crowd)

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by Leanne Wumoult

Are you plagued by wrinkles on your faces and bodies? Most of our facial expressions and movements make our skin prone to wrinkles. People who frown a lot might develop frown lines, while people who laugh a lot might get creases near their mouths and foreheads. Luckily, there are many anti wrinkle cream treatments on the market that target facial wrinkles.

Wrinkles inevitably come with age. They cannot be avoided completely. When our skin grows older and loses its ability to retain moisture and lipids, it also loses its firm, smooth texture. Sunlight and pollution also speed the aging process along.

Natural Wrinkle Therapies
Some face wrinkle creams not only diminish the appearance of wrinkles, they also delay the effects of the aging process by replacing the moisture and vitamins in our skin. With extra moisture and fatty acids, skin is less likely to wrinkle.

A healthy, balanced diet is one natural treatment for facial wrinkles. We should consume the right foods to nourish our skin from the inside out. When you get the right amount of vitamins and fluids in your system, you make it possible for your skin to regenerate its cells. Proper diet can also stimulate collagen production.

There are other steps you can take to protect your skin. If you are a smoker, give up the habit to prevent premature wrinkles. Smoking restricts blood flow to the tissues, including the skin. This keeps the skin from receiving the oxygen it needs, and results in an aged, weathered appearance. Over consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs can also dry out the skin and make it vulnerable to sores, infections, pimples, or diseases.

Many skin care regimens include vitamins and minerals in addition to topical creams. Dermatologists recommend vitamins A and E. These vitamins produce soft skin and help the body produce more collagen. Do not overuse these vitamins, though. In particular, too much vitamin E in the system might have unwanted effects.

Always use sunblock on your face when you go outside. Put it on your arms, hands, neck, and any other region that might be exposed to the sun. This will prevent cell mutations caused from ultraviolet rays. These mutations lead to wrinkles. Look for a face wrinkle cream that contains sunscreen, and keep it on whenever you go outdoors- particularly between 9am and 3pm.

Start Today
Do not wait until you get your first wrinkle to start using face wrinkle cream. By starting young, you can prevent the formation of many wrinkles. Even though wrinkles are a fact of life, early prevention will minimize their appearance in later years.

About the Author
Pick up proper anti-wrinkle treatment tips at http://www.wrinkletreatmentsecret.com. Our report on wrinkle causes won’t be available forever”. Get these secrets today absolutely free and find out how you can.

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I usually walk past the Urban Renewal section of Urban Outfitters, thinking it is vintage stuff, which is not really my thing (not unless they come from a member of my family anyway). At the back of my head, I’d always wondered exactly how they got so many vintage items of the same style in different sizes together in one place. I mean, aren’t vintage items supposed to be unique? But I’d never really been interested enough to read the fine print on their website and find out how. It wasn’t until my friend mentioned it the other day that I realized what it was. Apparently what they do is collect vintage clothes/fabric and put them together to form new, more updated clothes. That is how they come up with so many pieces of the same style in different sizes. You can buy it at the store or online, where they claim you can even choose colors and they’d make you a completely unique piece using different materials in the same cutting as shown. The whole idea is to re-use materials and it has been around for over 20 years (before the whole go green craze!)- I didn’t even know that Urban Outfitters have been around for over 20 years, let alone this division.
One of the reasons I don’t like vintage clothes is that whenever I see them they almost always look very dated, hippie and bohemian like, which is so over - thank god! And indeed they do have such stereotypical vintage clothing in this collection here (above: ugh). In fact, most of the collection is like this and I was not impressed. However, there were a few pieces that are intriguing- like this denim vest (right). The extra trimming is quite sharp and refreshing! I’m not really sure how this black blazer (left) is vintage, but I like the cutting.
The ruffled tunic shirt (left) is feminine and romantic looking. Perfect paired with that crisp cropped blazer above! And the floral skirt is cute, reminds me of the floral skirts in the Prada ads this season. Though one should be careful when wearing that in case you look like you’re wearing your curtains. Paired with something smart, tailored and modern, it would look stunning.

The thing is though, I’m still not really sure how I feel about this concept of “Urban Renewal.” Besides the fact that you still do not know who the previous (many!) owners are, I heard that the renewed material is very scratchy and not very comfortable. On the other hand, we do use recycled paper and bags……so why not clothes? Thoughts?

Image Source: Urban Outfitters

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