All posts filed under: travel

Hello, Paris

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Think Paris and I conjure images of the Eiffel Tower soaring above the romantic city of lights. As the self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, I’ve always wanted to visit France and intimately appreciate the Eiffel Tower surrounded by Seine River and restless streets of Paris, but situate just distant enough to take it all in. Prettily dressed. Picture Perfect. I had finally made it happen this fall. Living in the interconnected world while being social media savvy, I must have seen the Eiffel from every possible angle through a screen (Eiffel Tower steals the show on Instagram as one of the most photographed attractions in the world). But I have to say, nothing levels the dynamic expression of the real thing. Time passed by without me noticing and I ended up spending hours at Champ de Mars with the perfect view. Blissful. Memorable.

Lace & Hollows

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I ventured to Europe a couple weeks ago and visited London and Paris. I have to say it’s the best vacation I’ve taken yet. Not only did I get to walk amidst living history and remarkable architecture, I also got to experience different cultures by playing local – eat street food, attend carnivals/events in the city, take public transit everywhere, hang at a cafe and converse with strangers. I can go on forever about the trip but perhaps I’ll talk about it in a separate blog post and just stay on topic here…(: Below is a snippet of my stay in Paris, the shoot was done at Palais Royal which was one of my absolute favorite sites in Paris. This beautiful place radiates positive energy and intriguingly a calming atmosphere, all of which complimented by an hint of romance. To go with it all I’m wearing a exquisite white top consisted of flattering patterns of lace and hollows. I matched it with a neutral tone bubble shorts belted by a scarf to further augment femininity.

Embroidery

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Whether it is to stand out on the streets, or to feel youthful, embroidery and patches has become the hottest go-to for the younger generations today. Women’s dress shirts and denim bomber jackets are where embroideries or patches are most commonly seen.  And this sunny LA afternoon is no exception. In an earlier post, I’ve demonstrated the rebellious and trendy look of patches on denim bomber, and here I took a different spin on the trend, which touches deeper of the oriental roots. The origins of embroidery can be traced back to Ancient China, where people would sew and capture the beauty of nature (i.e. flowers) and animals (i.e. dragons) on garments as decorations. Because they’re often patched onto silk garments, it was considered a luxury and only the wealthy had the privilege. When I spotted this jacket from Zara, I was instantly drawn to that very combination nostalgically presented on a modern bomber. 

Day Out With Florals

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As part of my LA trip, I prepared many outfits to take advantage of the gorgeous weather, and so I bring you a summer outfit in the middle of winter! If you follow my blog you’ll know I love off-the-shoulder anything; It’s feminine and simply impossible to mess up. I went for a casual day out vibe and matched my floral off-the-shoulder top with shorts and sneakers (Shoes matter! you’d change the vibe to “sexy” by just wearing some strapped heels). Florals and warm toned accessories together is a match made in heaven, so I wore some dainty gold accessories and made sure they’re subtle so they don’t add onto the busy-ness, including this beautiful minimal choker from Lucky Jerks – an accessory e-shop with everything hand made in Paris! I’ve always been a fan of gold coloured accessories, it’s versatile and timeless. In comparison, gold also offers a wider range of options i.e. white gold, rose gold, etc. while silver accessories tend to make a bolder statement – so depends on how you feel that day, accessorize accordingly. 🙂 Thanks …

Patched Denim Jacket

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Beautifuls, I bring you a recent favourite of mine – denim jacket with patches. Designers often look to the past to design for the future, and here’s a product of that. I remember in grade school I used to love decorating my sweaters and jackets with pins and stickers, who’d think that I was one futuristic cookie? 😎 The jacket I’m wearing is from fashionmia.com – If you love sales and deals like I do, then you’d love this site. I was ultra excited to discover them because they have trendy and affordable pieces without compromised quality. When I received my jacket I remember being so impressed with the material considering I got it on sale for only 15 dollars, such a steal! Definitely check out their site, I just bought another item from their flash sale going on right now! The key to style any contemporary pieces is to embrace simple compliments in the outfit to turn down the loudness, like the monochrome croptop and skirt I have here. It’s also critical to at the same time have other bold elements in the look to turn up the chic, may …

Sport Chic (Montréal)

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I was pretty tomboy growing up. I’ve never had hair past my shoulders, and only wore sneakers and shorts pretty much until my senior high school years.  It’s not that I thought long wavy hair, lipsticks and pink teddy bears were weird – they just weren’t me. If we fast forward some time, though my style now is different, it’s not the opposite. It is generally feminine, but my tomboy years certainly left some trace as I’m a bit of a rocker girl, and am also into cute sporty looks. My top may look like a sweater but I’d consider it a shirt because it’s actually so thin! This was about $13 from H&M, what a steal! 🙂 I was instantly drawn by the sporty feel combined with the eye catching blue. You can already tell that it isn’t a crop top, but a tied up knot secured by my hair band. But as I mentioned in previous posts, I like to  wear pieces in different ways, depending on how I feel that day, and on this day, I thought making this a …

Vivre Montréal

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As part of being Asian, I’ve visited many places with my family as tourists who do touristy things, such as: Wake up early so we have a whole day ahead of us to cover all those places mentioned on the internet Endless amount of photo taking only to look the same in every photo Everything is on schedule with lack of spontaneity Due to #1, we always sleep early, because we’re just way too cool for night life No souvenirs! Cuz you know, they are overpriced and are Made In China anyways It’s good to be organized while on vacation, but rules take the fun out of it! I’ve been to Montreal several times, but this time, I headed over to experience something else 🙂 What didn’t disappoint was definitely the fact that I could make my own schedule – visited places include landmarks (I tried Uber!), bars, downtown streets, steakhouse, icecream store and arcade! There are also so many cool places to take pictures at! Having heard a lot about people always looking fancy dandy over here in Montreal, I certainly wanted to impress, not …

Final Chapter – Memorable Little Hut

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Hi beautifuls! This is going to be the last post from Cuba series…finally! These are taken at the beach near the resort. It’s funny, the first couple times I went there I never noticed this cute little hut! But good thing I paid attention to it during my last visit because I find it so artistic! And I thought below shots did it justice! The dress I’m wearing is from H&M! It was about $30 dollars. It was one of those purchases with zero hesitations. It is cotton material and is extremely comfortable to wear. It has a high point split just little below the thigh, which I thought made this seemingly conservative dress a little more interesting. What matches a casual summer maxi at the beach better than a straw hat? 🙂 Love, Val ❤

Counting Down

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Counting down to my second last post of Cuba series! This was the last day I spent in Cayococo before heading back home. I decided to spend chunk of my last day around the resort and catch glimpse of beautiful corners that I might have missed. Here I am wearing yellow and white, isn’t it a great summery combination? 🙂 The skirt was $50 from Dynamite, not cheap, not too pricey, but it is well worth it because of the great quality and the comfort it brings me. I don’t travel often, so this was a precious experience to me. I loved the gentle breeze, the warm sunlight, and the night sky full of stars.