Merry Holidays!

Warm holiday wishes, everyone!  Hope you all have been keeping dry...I've been trying to here in sunny stormy California!  Thankfully the sunshine has returned.  As you might be able to tell in the picture above, the attendees of D&G's Turin Winter Olympics-inspired show of Fall 2006 experienced a bit of (artificial) snowy weather.  Lovely to find some Christmas spirit on a February, right?  Not for the guests wearing black under that snowfall!  As kitschy as the show was, the models, including Gemma Ward and Tatyana Usova, looked quite cute in their outfits!

With the season's positive vibes, I would really like to thank you all for your readership.  To know that people are still reading and commenting my posts REALLY means a lot to me!  I've been juggling multiple priorities and unexpected domestic duties (living off campus calls for much experimentation in the kitchen!) so it's been really hard for me to update my blog.  But please know that I'm ALWAYS keeping Rags to Reverie in consideration, whether I am throwing together an outfit or passing by a shopping center. There are so many things I'm excited to share, so I hope you'll continue visiting my blog for the rest of 2010 as well as 2011!  Unexpectedly, I've been updating my Tumblr a lot so head over there if you need an eye candy or music fix, but be warned of my lolcat speech and unabashed tendencies to fangirl!

I also hope that John and Yoko's Happy Xmas (War Is Over!) video in the right column didn't bring you down too much, though it does make a point that war only causes more pain and conflict.  To lift your spirits up (hopefully at least a bit!), here's an updated rendition of the Saturday Night Live holiday original, I Wish It Was Christmas Today, as performed by Julian Casablancas, The Roots, and SNL alums Horatio Sanz and Jimmy Fallon.  I've never found SNL amusing but this is probably one of my favorite songs to listen to in December!  Enjoy!



Illustration made by me with images from style.com

Grace-ing Glossies

Meet Grace Gao (高国芝), hailing from China's Jiang Su province*.  Grace may remind you of Sun Fei Fei but those piercing eyes make her unique amongst fellow Chinese models.  Grace is relatively new to the industry, just starting as a model last year*, but she's already making it big, appearing in every issue of Numéro China thus far and just recently signing with Viva Paris*.  Can't say she's at the same level of Modeldom as Du Juan or Liu Wen, but Grace is bound to get there someday!  Let's hope she walks the Fall 2011 runways!

Looking mysterious in monochrome for Mei Yuan Gui's "Less is More" editorial featured in Numéro China #1.

Trying to hide from the spotlight in the Beauty section of Numéro China #2, shot by Tiziano Magni.

I just LOVE this editorial.  Those textures and the colors of the braids, dimly lit like that...IT'S JUST PERFECT.  From "Snow White", shot by Mei Yuan Gui for Numéro China #3.

This editorial, entitled "Heiress", totally reminds me of that amazing, artsy editorial from the June 2008 issue of Vogue China, which I actually bought. Shot by Mei Yuan Gui for Numéro China #2.

Yes, she smokes.  SAD FACE.

*Facts are according to tFS forum posts.
Images: tentalicious and Faith Akiyama of tFS

Like I Mean It

I can't sit or stand still for my picture to be taken, even if it's in a studio, where, you know, I'm supposed to pose for photos.  I'll either have to stick out my tongue or hold up a peace sign as a way to appear natural around the photographer and whoever happens to be nearby.  Probably means that I wouldn't make a good model.  Then again, perhaps the people who have photographed me are just not very good at making their subjects feel comfortable!  I'll stick to that reason, just to make myself feel better.  I somehow managed to pull a serious face for the photograph below, maybe because it was my younger cousin who was taking my picture.  My friend and I were held an amateur photoshoot in her neighborhood's private lot, which is pretty much a quiet hillside that overlooks the city.  Thorns and thistles were aplenty and the season's super early sunset provided us some ethereal lighting and annoying shadows.  Forget ethereal lighting, I just want the sun to stay out longer.  Shorter days mean less outdoor playtime.

Scarf, Jacket, Shirts, Gifts bought in China.  Jeans, J Brand.  Shoes, Doc Martens.

Celebrating Vogue China

I've been told that I look "rich" because of the clothes I wear, which is REALLY a strange thing to hear since I strove so hard to break out of the cheap kids clothing that my mom bought me in middle school.  What will really make me look like a spoilt, rich kid is this iPad I have floating around my house.  Yes, a 32 GB iPad.  I swear, my family is still low income.  My uncle, who has the best luck, won this grand prize at a company raffle.  Since then, he's been letting the youngin's in the family play around with it.

Recently, I added Vogue China's Fifth Anniversary image album to the iPad and it's absolutely gorgeous!  Vogue China is one of my favorite fashion magazines in the world and it's amazing that it's distributed in the country my mother grew up in.  High fashion was pretty much nonexistent in China during the Cultural Revolution and now, beauty ads plague the nation!  The world's most dedicated fashion clients are Chinese!  The first issue of Vogue China sold out!  It's a strange shift, and I'm not ready to say whether it's good or bad.  I will say that this app is definitely worth looking through and it's free if you have an iPad (search "Vogue五周年" on iTunes).  But if not, here's a video preview of what the app looks like:



I start flipping through the images pretty quickly towards the end so feel free to pause and jump through the video.  Can you believe that Vogue China almost never reprints spreads?  Can't say the same about Vogue Australia!  There's a gallery of all the Vogue China covers and some short biographies of Chinese models, including Du Juan, Liu Wen, Shu Pei Qin, Emma Pei, Fei Fei Sun, and way more.  Glad my cousin can translate for me!  I really need to start working on my Chinese again.

Congrats, Vogue China, for five years of groundbreaking style!

To my lovely readers, I can't finish this post on a Black Friday without leaving you with some deals!:

1. Beyond the Rack - $5 shipping for the entire day + 5 sales every 5 hours
2. Threadless - $10 tees sale!
3. Gilt Groupe - Designer Final Sale + Free shipping on orders of $50 or more
4. Poketo - Free shipping on orders of $50 or more + 75% off at Los Angeles warehouse sale on Dec. 4
5. Editor's Closet - Up to 82% off clothing, shoes, and accessories from Azzedine Alaia, Bulgari, Chloé, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, and more
6. The Outnet - Free worldwide shipping
7. ideeli - Multiple sales featuring Bill Blass, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Emilio Pucci, and more
8. Borders Bookstores - Free coffee or latte (TODAY ONLY!)

Punk'd, Halloween edition

So what happened to October?  It was Halloween before I even knew it!  I kept telling my friends that I wasn't doing anything for Halloween weekend other than writing a paper, but I did attend a productive little get-together at a nearby lake on Sunday.  Don't think I've ever mentioned this before, but Halloween is my least favorite holiday.  I don't enjoy having the living daylights scared out of me and I needn't mention how these teenage trick-or-treaters smashed my jack-o-lantern when I was 10 because my mom shut the door on them when we didn't have the candy ready yet.  Oddly, I've been dressing up for every Halloween since I was a kid and I think I only ever skipped my 6th grade Halloween (I was that traumatized by the event).  Every other year, I have a bad costume moment and last year was one of them.  I mean, is it that easy to mistake a Beatle as a business person?  Should've gotten a wig. This year, per my roomie's suggestion, I went as my psuedo-alter ego...a punk!

Jacket, Valerie Stevens Petite. Shirt, Yellow Rage. Necklace, Skullcandy. Lanyard (not that it matters), LACMA NexGen. Belt (which you can't really see), Borrowed from roomie. Necklace as bracelet, Brighton. Chain bracelet, Gift from Aunt. Green bag, Free gift with Teen Vogue subscription. Blue bag, The Sak. Shorts, Mom's vintage from China. Tights, American Apparel. Shoes, Doc Martens.

One picture featuring my face is really enough.  Do you know how embarrassing it is to pose for a picture while 10+ people raise their eyebrows at you??  I don't know how you fashion bloggers do these outfit posts!  I love how my costume turned out but my friends didn't get it at first glance.  Not that I really care!  Despite the stiffness of the jacket and the fact that my shoes still hurt my feet, it was liberating to dress up like this!  No wonder I do this every year!