Blanc et Rose

For some reason, my mind has been quite the mess as of late. 

It was very challenging trying to pick out an outfit for this location - none of them really sat quite right with my inner fashion critic. All the pieces I put together looked a tad gauche when matched with the high ceilings and slate coloured shutters. To my surprise, it was in one of the most unexpected places from which I drew inspiration and assembled this getup, ironically, in a matter of minutes - my mom. I usually never borrow anything from her; her style is markedly different than mine. I know not what possessed me to decide to have a look in her closet, but it was in those two minutes that my outfit woes came to a sudden close.

If you're a seasoned reader, first of all, thank you. Second of all, you'll know that there was a point back in time where I completely refused to be dressed in any form of all white, nude toned outfit - much less a midi skirt, the horror. As such, this colour palette of white, blush tones, and just a splash of black is probably the antithesis of my style circa 2012.

Not only was this outfit hard to put together, writing for it was also ridiculously hard for some reason. Believe it or not. I've spent the last two weeks, dusting out the far corners of my rather fried brain, frantically trying to wring out any last dredges of literary inspiration. It has been drafted, re-drafted, scrapped, rewritten more times than I can remember. A couple nights ago I went out on a last minute meeting with a long-time friend, which I was actually planning on postponing due to other commitments, but ended up not doing so. Said friend and I don't talk much, save for our meetings which are few and far between. But as we got talking, the conversation of the night was what got my creative juices flowing. And here I am the next day, words bursting out of me faster than I can type, and too much than appropriate for one blogpost. 

So what exactly, is the point of me rambling on about how this post came to be, you ask? I can hear the thought bubbles hovering above your heads: " I honestly can't be bothered about how you put this together, much less how you had a writers block and dumbly resolved it by engaging in social interaction. I just kind of want to laugh at what derp faces you have for me in this post. "

My point is this: Serendipity happens. Those of you who know me in real life will know I'm a right cynic about the way the world works and the way in which good things come into fruition. But the past month has just been filled with constant reminders that little good things will come to you, even if you don't think they will. Like finding the fifty dollars I thought I lost while very reluctantly cleaning my room, or meeting an amazing person at an event I was rather dismissive of and only decided to go to five minutes before my dad left for it. To loosely quote Mitch Albom - miracles happen quietly every day. 

SHOPMYCLOSET 

White Crochet Midi Skirt similar here | White Chiffon Crop Top; Vintage | MiuMiu bowler bag

Monochrome Heeled Sandals similar here | NARS Sheer Lipstick in Dolce Vita | MUFE Aqua Lip Liner in 03C

Photos by the talented Randy Tan of Lovelens. Find them on Instagram and Facebook! 

UNICORN LOVE, 

- R 

Banking On The Basics

I'll be frank with you, I am thoroughly not an early 'LET'S GET EVERYTHING DONE' morning kind of person. Say hello to your next-door night owl whose optimal functioning hours start from midnight and onward. As such, the waking demands of  a typical nine-to-six job don't sit very well with my notorious nocturnal tendencies, which have resulted in many a day of oversnoozing and blatantly sleeping through alarms. You can imagine how that would put my morning routine into absolute chaos. I am all too familiar with trying to wash my face and brush my teeth at the same time, having an eyelash curler in my right hand and trying to apply blush with the left (which did end badly), or precariously hopping around on one foot as I try to simultaneously gather my things and put on some socks.  I mean, there's no one there to witness my morning mishaps, thank god, but I'm sure they look pretty funny. 

As I more or less embrace the ups and downs of working life, I also find my wardrobe transitioning more into the muted hues of whites, blacks and the occasional pastel, just because a whole wardrobe of basics is so much easier to match when you have the, for me, maybe not-so, occasional morning mishap. This post documents the essence of my go-to basic pieces whenever I'm in a time crunch and can trust will match, no matter which pieces my hands touch first.

Gents, you have it easy - slip on any office dress code appropriate shirt and pants and you're pretty much ready to go. I'm not too sure if anyone would notice if you wore the same white shirt three days in a row, though if you start to smell, I'm quite sure I would. And no, copious amounts of deodorant is most definitely not a shower replacement. 

So to all the ladies, here's my take on the closet basics that you need to invest in: A pair of nude heels, a fun coloured minimalist bag, a shift dress that is work appropriate or can be glam-ed up for a night out after, and since I've never been one to be frugal with the sparkles - a versatile statement necklace. 

So everyone, pray tell, what are the basics you can't live without? I mean, besides coffee, of course. 

SHOP MY CLOSET

Girls On Film Shift Dress | ASOS Nude Heels  | Bimba and Lola Crossbody Bag

Indiesin Statement Necklace | NARS Sheer Lipstick in Dolce Vita | MUFE Aqua Lip Liner in 03C

Photography by the talented Randy Tan - Also on Instagram and Facebook

UNICORN LOVE, 

- R 

Colonial Charm

If you've read my previous blogpost, you'll know that I was quite taken with the brand spanking new interior of Victoria concert hall, which got me musing about the predicament of living in a globalizing and shrinking world. As such, I have been on the hunt for locations in this concrete jungle that still retain a touch of their colonial charm.  The next place on my checklist was the Singapore Art Museum, another old haunt pulled out from the memories of my teenage years spent on school excursions and relishing in the fact that there was no work to be done that day. 

This location is arguably one of my favourites yet - lots of clean, white space with an added touch of benches and artwork for you to go about questioning your quarter-life existential crisis. The museum displays a significant collection of work by quite a number of Southeast-Asian contemporary and modern artists. The beautifully restored colonial-era mission school is also now house to a variety of cafes and restaurants as well as quaint little stores that sell local crafts and products. 

You've heard me complaining countless times on my blog about the sweltering heat in Singapore - I know not what possessed me to purchase this outerwear, and wear it on this shoot with my photographer Randy whose camera was SO SHARP you could zoom in to see the beads of perspiration on my upper lip. Not glamorous at all, I can tell you that. In retrospect, my first mistake was probably just trying it on - trying things on does no favors to your wallet, believe me. 

The clean lines of this architecture remind me oddly of ZARA tailoring, which is why I chose to wear the mid length tailored blazer and the white blouse I'm sporting - two of my newest wardrobe additions. That, and every time I step into either the Singapore Art Museum or a ZARA store, look around and take a deep breath, everything seems right in the world again. 

SHOP MY CLOSET 

ZARA Long Tailored Waistcoat | ZARA White Top | Black Lace Trim Shorts

New Look Solitaire Double Strap Heels | Prada Mini Alma in Chrome

Photography by the talented Randy Tan of LoveLens - also on Instagram and Facebook 

UNICORN LOVE, 

 - R 

Whitewashed

As a cityscape country, Singapore is quite well known for it's modern and abstract architecture, with a touch of avant garde. But as I (rather ashamedly) took on the role of a tourist in the country I've practically lived my whole life in, I realized there are little pockets of old colonial architecture that hasn't yet been obliterated by skyscrapers, apartment buildings and the like.  This place, Victoria Concert Hall, is one of them. Granted the building has just been restored, but the architecture is still in place. 

I haven't been to this place since my choir days in primary and secondary school, circa 2003 to 2010 when we used to practice for days and weekends on end in preparation for the annual Singapore Youth Festival competitions, or for performances we were going to. I distinctly remember the dressing rooms had mirrors with light bulbs in front of it - old Hollywood glamour esque - and nine-year-old me was probably more excited about those grimy backstage mirrors than the actual performance. 

There is something rather enthralling about high ceilings and clean walls that stimulates thought - though I think it is more of the space than anything else. So bear with me as I spew my two cents worth. Living in a sardine can, it's pretty hard to find such quiet and clean space in which you can just take some time for yourself to reflect and breathe. Every day is a race of finishing work, doing things, running errands - trying desperately to get somewhere or something done - that we are constantly living in the future instead of the present. I don't mean to say the future isn't important, but it's a right shame we too often neglect the present; we live in it. 

P.S: Spot my new baby, featured in more posts to come! 

SHOP MY CLOSET 

Bug Print Top ZARA | Textured Midi Skirt Topshop | Prada Mini Alma in Chrome

Photography by Edward - check him out!

UNICORN LOVE, 

- R  

Red Letter Day

You can never go wrong with a bright lip colour to spice up a duller colour palette, is what I learned when I moved to Australia. My terribly overdressed self used to reside in a much more conservative asian country, where a bold red lip would earn me stares and whispers in malls and on streets, so you can understand why I have only just begun to appreciate it's beauty. 

Due to my forever bad planning, I arrived home, absolutely grungy after a sleepover, with just over 40 minutes to take a shower, put my face on, dry my shaggy mane of hair, AND pick out something to wear. (I can hear you scoffing, "ha! I can do that in half the time!" But trust me, when you are as indecisive as I am, that is no small feat.)  So you can imagine my surprise when I turned to this as a last resort and it brought such life to a hastily thrown together outfit. 

Lily and I headed off to an annual vintage charity sale at Como House, South Yarra. It was held in the ballroom of a 19th century mansion with the most beautiful gardens. You should have seen us, practically foaming at the mouth at the sight of such a multitude of photo ops. Which resulted in probably my most photo-heavy post to date. Both Lily and I picked up some gorgeous vintage finds at a fraction of the usual price, which totally made our day. Keep an eye out for them in coming posts! 

Cheap shopping, beautiful setting, good company - I couldn't have asked for more. (Well, not getting lost on the way there and back would have been another plus point, but you get what I mean.)  

SHOP MY CLOSET
Black Shorts with Lace trim similar here | Underground Triple Sole Creepers | White Rock Ring 
White Chiffon Top similar here | Leather Satchel (Lily's) similar here | Skull Collar Pins 
Checked Sweater similar here | Leopard Print Sunnies | Revlon Lipstick #725 Love That Red

Photo Credits to Lily: Check her out here to give her some unicorn lovin'.

UNICORN LOVE, 

- R 

Pastel Hues

I've always been on the fence about spring and summer in Melbourne, despite the glorious array of blooms the gardens have to offer and the cafes advertising gelato and iced coffee. If you haven't read in my previous post already, I'll have you know that I'm probably not the firmest advocate of glaring sun, heat or tanning. I'm that girl, always putting on sunscreen and scurrying into the blessed shade of trees or buildings, where there is any to be had. This is mainly because I have developed enough sweat glands for a whole mens football team, which is not ideal. 

Not entirely sure what the whole point of that paragraph was, besides providing too much information about my sweat gland activity myself. 

January through March saw the peak of the kimono trend - I honestly did not think these bathrobe lookalikes could look flattering at all, but hey, here I am, jumping on the kimono bandwagon. I must say I've been pretty attached to this item of clothing recently - it shields against the burn of the sun, and is heaps of fun to twirl in. 

My most recent adventure into the sun with this piece was to the annual Moomba Festival, held along the banks of the Yarra river. I intended to catch the evening sun, but my inner pig won out and I spent a good amount of time chowing down on a massive hotdog and a cup of hot chips, zealously guarding the latter against the throngs of little children running around. Chasing the last dredges of light, I stumbled upon this little garden  filled with beautiful blooms that matched my kimono to a tee. The delay as a result of my gluttony was actually a blessing in disguise - the warm backlight of dusk is so beautiful.

See, I knew the hotdog and chips were a good idea. 

Cotton On Paisley Print Kimono | Black cami similar here | Round Leopard print Sunnies here and here 

Zara black shorts | Steve Madden Blunna Bag | Patent Leather Creepers similar here and here

Lovisa necklace similar(ish) here and here

Photo credits: Lily ! C'mon. Go on. Show this girl some unicorn lovin'. 

UNICORN LOVE, 

- R