The Final Destination

As I write this blog post, sunlight is streaming through my living room windows. I'm letting the sun warm my back as I sip on a blackberry smoothie and listen to "Dangerous Woman" by Ariana Grande. Despite dealing with a sore throat and the coughs, I'm overcome with a feeling of peace and happiness. I want to crystallize this moment - right here, right now - as a reminder of why the past five years of my undergrad have been so memorable. For the umpteenth time, I am ever grateful for the opportunity to study away from home and pursue my goals.

Today was an especially good day because I went out to explore the city one last time. I had brunch with a friend, discovered a quaint maze-like bookshop, and revisited our local farmer's market. My friend felt tired afterwards, so I found myself with a free afternoon. I decided to top off my day with a trip to the mall for a final window shopping experience in this city. Here's what I tried on:

Banana Republic

Metallic Boyfriend Cardigan

To start off casual, we begin with a Banana Republic metallic cardigan. Oversized cardigans are becoming a bit of a trend lately, but I was lucky enough to already be on top of things a year ago with two oversized cardigans I found in my mom's closet. While I don't really need a cardigan right now, I wanted to try on this metallic knit version from Banana Republic. Sadly, after putting it on, I learned it had an unflattering rectangular shape, and the metallic knit was very rough against the skin.

Forever 21

Faux Suede Shorts

Suede is a popular fabric these days, so I thought I'd give it a go in the form of shorts. The faux suede on these Forever 21 shorts were buttery soft to the touch, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well it fit. I liked the length of the shorts and the slight high waist, as they make for a relatively more modest take on summer shorts. But of course, being Forever 21, there were quality issues. The zipper on the back was close to breaking, so I predict these shorts have only a couple washes worth of life.

Ribbed Lace-Up Bodycon Dress

Yup. I gave in to the lace-up trend. Ribbed lace-up dress - you can't get more on trend than that. As I've said, I actually do enjoy lace-up and think it's sexy, so I did like how the lacing looked across the chest. The ribbed fabric was awfully thin though, so the bottom half of the dress was a disaster. I also wasn't entirely fond of the awkward length of the sleeves.

Cutout Midi Dress

I picked this dress up for fun because I noticed it had such little fabric around the torso area with its backless cutout, and was curious to see how it would actually fit on the body. As I expected, the chest area was too loose, but what I didn't expect was how the skirt zipped up snuggly around the hips. Nonetheless, the fabric was once again very thin, and I would've preferred a maxi length instead of a midi length to balance out the revealing upper half (the front also has a deep V-neck). Would not recommend unless you want to try something on for the laughs.

Contemporary Belted Mini Dress

Continuing on my track of testing trends, I tried out exposed shoulders. I've been seeing a lot of off-shoulder tops lately, but since I've never liked fully exposed shoulders (no strapless tops or dresses for me!), I thought the open shoulder sleeves on this Forever 21 mini dress would be an appropriate compromise. While the overall concept is good, I found the sleeves to be too low and baggy. The dress looked like it was about to fall apart. If the cutouts were tightened up, I could see this being a good look.

Guess

Lace-Up Top

What's this? Yet another lace-up top? Yes. I thought the gold hardware detailing on this Guess top was so unique I just had to try it on. Nevertheless, yet another design concept good in theory, but poor in execution. The gold pieces weren't all consistently flat against the chest, and they ended up disrupting the criss-crossing shape of the lace-up, which is arguably what makes lace-up so alluring in the first place.

Galena Sleeveless Dress

I love floral anything. So much so I have been known to wear floral pants to the office. Therefore, no surprise the pretty watercolour floral on this Guess dress caught my eye. The placement and colour of the flowers were impeccable, although I wish the dress didn't come in a sleeveless high neckline. I know it's a contemporary look, but something more classic would have been great.

BCBG Max Azria

Fabiana Long Sleeve Prairie Dress

I find prairie dresses to be endearing in their modesty, even though I clearly don't have the body type to pull them off. I thought the corset-like waist would help give me some shape, but the rest of the dress was still too overwhelming and matronly on my frame. Funnily enough, despite my preference for elegant covered up pieces, my body shape is the type that does best with more revealing, body-con silhouettes.

Rayah Sequin-Embroidered Draped-Back Gown

Now for the grand finale. I tried on this gorgeous white gown from BCBG. It is the kind of gown I would seriously consider as a wedding dress if it were custom fit. I've never been a fan of typical wedding dresses, and have always envisioned myself walking down the aisle in a chiffon, Grecian dress with long fluttering sleeves extending from the shoulders. The winning feature of this gown, however, is the sequined back. I actually felt like Cinderella at the stroke of midnight when I had to take the dress off and return to the commoner's attire of jeans and a cardigan...

Who Wore it Better

FYI, I've been absent for a while because I've started working full-time for the summer again! I'll try to keep up this blog, but between my new summer job (which I am LOVING, by the way) and my continued involvement as Managing Editor at a fashion company, I'm left with few hours in a day. I do have a lot of blog ideas though, so check in occasionally!


It's been a long time since I've been to the mall to try on some clothes. The last time I documented my window shopping adventures was during the summer in Dressing for the Occasion, so when I went out shopping with a friend last month to help her pick out a dress for our banquet, I thought it was time to bring back my ever-classy changing room selfies.

P.S.: I take these photos with my ancient Blackberry 8520, so you'll have to bear with me on the photo quality. And full disclosure: the photos are edited in order to bring out the colour that gets washed out when you pair a Blackberry camera with changing room lighting.

BCBGMAXAZRIA Suzy Draped Asymmetrical Silk Dress

I saw this BCBGMAXAZRIA dress displayed on a hanger and fell in love with it. It had so many design elements that I adore - sheer silk, gloriously long butterfly sleeves, a belt to create shape, and an asymmetrical hem - all done in a pretty pale pink. I had to try it on.

Sadly, the dress was no longer a shining image of perfection once I put it on. Don't get me wrong, the top half was fantastic. The sleeves were so ethereal and elegant that I am now contemplating including butterfly sleeves on my dream wedding dress. But the asymmetrical hem? That needed to go back to the drawing table. You can see in the photo that the skirt criss-crosses over itself - looks decent in the photo; looks messy in real life. The shorter tail of the skirt flapped awkwardly around my right side, and my legs did not look flattering with the odd placement and shape of the slit. Unless you plan on doing the Angelina Jolie pose all night, this dress is better left on the hanger.


Forever 21 Bejeweled Chiffon Suplice Romper

If you've been with this blog since its early stages, you'll probably know by now that I never buy anything from Forever 21. However, I do have friends that shop there, and as a regular window shopper, I try on everything - from high-end to low-end. I picked up this romper from Forever 21 because the embellishment and plunging neckline caught my eye.

I do tend to prefer lower necklines, as higher necklines make me feel constricted, but even so, I have never worn a V-neck this deep before without a camisole underneath. While I would definitely need tape to keep the neckline in place, I found the long sleeves and bejeweled strap helped keep the look classy and more within my comfort zone (and the fact that flat chests make plunging necklines look high fashion helped...). As for the rest of the romper, my friend commented on how short the shorts were, but I actually didn't mind because they were done in a fancier fabric and looser design. What I did have a problem with was the shape. The ultimate cheap quality of the romper caused the shorts to flare out and the elastic waist to look bulky. But luckily, it doesn't matter because my conservative mother would never let me out of the house in this anyway! (Love you, mom)


Forever 21 Metallic Knit Maxi Dress

There is an obvious colour difference here, but I honestly can't remember what the true colour of this maxi dress was. Nonetheless, I don't think I remember it being as light as the photo on the right. This dress was actually decent - I have no major qualms about it (but no major praises for it either). The only thing I personally didn't like was how the arm holes cut in. I find my upper arms to be a little chubby, and I hate it when tops cut in to reveal my shoulders. As a result, I thought I looked slightly top-heavy, and along with the showy metallic fabric, found myself strangely feeling like Lady Gaga with her shoulder pads.

Image Source: Bloomingdales, Forever 21