Du Juan in FW06 Ads

Du Juan (Nationality: Chinese)-The first Asian model to really break out. Hye Park (Nationality: Korean) was already considered successful in terms of Asian models working in the high fashion world, but Du Juan is the one who managed to secure an impressive number of FW06 ads.

Du Juan trained to be a dancer when she was young, but according to articles/ interviews of her, she just wouldn't stop growing tall, so she became a model. (She also won some beauty contest thing.)

And bam! everyone fell in love with her after the high-profile and very first Vogue China cover, also starring Gemma Ward. (Remember back when the cover was first released, I said she was my fav Chinese model on the cover?)

Anyways, so since then, she's been a staple of Vogue China. Also, she's started to appear on runways and this season, quite a few campaigns. Du Juan's FW06 ad portfolio includes:

Gap -She doesn't really look like her in the ad, but it's her. I suppose this is Gap's attempt to reach out to more people, although I'm not sure the whole Gap using low-profile high-fashion models campaign worked.

Roberto Cavalli -I love Du in this campaign. So dramatic and cool.

Swarovski -Sensual, (where is the jewelry on her?)

Louis Vuitton -Another loveable campaign, this one featuring Du and Raquel. Not that you can really see Du's face in the ad, but still. She's like a Vuitton bag hanger in this ad! I wasn't so sure about it at first, but it grew on me!

YSL -Du's outfit here isn't exactly my fav, but it's impressive she managed to get high fashion ads at all. Actually, the contrast between the background and her outfit is pretty cool.

Although according to thefashionspot forums, Du Juan so far, does not seem to have any SS07 campaigns yet. Let's hope she's not a one-hit-wonder!

Nara Camicie

In Milan, besides Prada stores everywhere, on every other street there are also stores by this brand called "Nara Camicie" everywhere. Intrigued by the display, we went in and found a gem for dress shirts. They had them in every cutting and color, with chic variations that are just to die for. Turns out, this Italian brand has been specialising in dress shirts since 1984! My friend and I ended up each buying this one dress shirt (her's in black and mine in white) with a built in wrap-around thing, which is super cute. The only complain I have about it though, is that it wrinkles very easily. But I guess I can't expect too much since it IS relatively inexpensive for Milan standards. They don't have a picture of it available on their website (turns out they are available worldwide), so I can't show you guys. But here are a few pieces from their collection that I like:

This is what I like best about them: they transform the classic dress shirt into something more unique while still keeping the clean cut classic quality of a dress shirt.

Their take on frills is also refreshing, adding a soft feminine touch to the crisp shirts.


In addition to dress shirts, they also make more elaborate things that are quite pretty.

Although I must admit, some of their stuff are way over the top and borders on tacky. I guess, we'd just have to sift through all the sand to get the the gems!

FW06 Bag Trend: The Hip Ones

Before I start ooh and ahhing, I want to emphasise that these bags are this season's hip bags, the cool ones. Note that these aren't IT bags. People always want to know which bag is the IT bag, and magazines /websites like to claim a bunch of bags as the IT bags of the season. But the real deal is, there are very very few IT bags and you'll know if a bag is IT. Think back to the days of the Motorcycle, the Paddington and the Stam.

Anyways, so these are some of my fav cool bags this season:

Botkier -Bianca. Not counting Lindsay Lohan pap photos, the first time I saw this bag was in NY Barneys, where the girl in front of me in line was carrying the Bianca medium in brown. I was like, I really like this bag, and went into a Botkier-online-ogling-frenzy phase.

Chanel -This Chanel supersized bag is one of the few Chanel bags that I actually feel is great for young people. Can you just imagine: a girl in black/grey skinny jeans, ankle boots, huge black shades and this simple but uber cool bag. Oop, I might have just described Kate Moss.

Kooba -Carla and Lena. Kooba bags in general give off a more bohemian vibe. So not all Kooba bags are my thing, but I do like these two. They give off a really relaxed vibe (if that makes sense.)

Miu Miu -Vitello Paggy Shoulder Bag. I saw a girl in a very casual outfit -cute shorts, a tee and black shades -carrying this bag back in the summer, and I stared at her for awhile. The bag is so cute and practical. Actually, I like most of Miu Miu's bags this season, but I already squealed about them to my poor, patient (and loyal reader) friend.

Balenciaga -the Motorcycle bag trascends seasons. While it may not be an IT bag anymore, it's still super cool and edgy. I do love how gorgeous the leather is and how light and practical it is. You can tell by the fact that after a few seasons, the young stylish girls, that's MK and Nicole, are still carrying it.

Chanel -A new young stylish girl fav this season (which will probably go on) is the small Chanel classic-looking bag. I've always thought these Chanel bags look old, but the girls sure carry the bags well and look cool.

More wearer reviews of the Squeem Waist Cincher

I’m wearing the Squeem Waist Cincher Vest. I’ve provided a rather informal, and rambling, review on 11/23/06.

To see more wearer reviews of the Squeem Firm Compression Waist Cincher and their High Compression Waist Cinchers:

Take this link to

Click here to visit Galapagos Boutique


  • Select "Squeem" from the horizontal menu bar
  • Look down the right side of the center of the page and
  • Select either the Firm Compression or the High Compression waist cinchers
  • Scroll down a bit on either to read the reviews
  • Both have wearer reviews!


The High Compression one is designed to be made to wear while exercising! As well as to make clothing fit better, as one wearer review states.

I’m wearing the vest style waist cincher. For my current informal test, I will not add exercising to my current activities till the month is up. That will be a 1 month test as of Dec 18th. Besides I normally ice skate twice a week. I’m behind in everything else. I can wait till the 19th to begin exercising too.

This vest does make me feel like exercising though. My normal form of exercise had been ballet grand plies. It’s the Ballet version of the deep knee bend. I’d work up to about 10 sets of 10 daily. About 6 days a week.

NEVER DO THIS ON A CONCRETE FLOOR. NEVER. You hurt the pads of your feet, tendons and ligaments in your legs if you do. I did. They are almost always better now. Almost.

It helps to have good posture to do a grand plie right. It’s hard to start with good posture when you are out of shape. It’ll be the first thing I do after I put my vest on Dec. 19th! Makes for strong, springy legs! This vest’s posture help makes this something I’m looking forward to! And stronger legs! Always an asset when trying to keep up with a 7 year old. Ok. I’m 47 and I’m tired.


I’ve worn mine a little over a week now. And during that time I wrestled with my energetic daughter as usual. And moved more boxes of, mostly books. As well as miscellaneous stuff and furniture. From my friend’s second story apartment to our 3rd floor attic. Wearing this waist cinching vest all along. My back still feels great!

I’ve gotta say it again. I really don’t care if it does reduce my waist size in a month or not. I just feel better with this shaper on. So does my back!

But it seems I’ve somehow damaged the poor thing. A stay is sticking through the inside. And it’s still not poking me! I first noticed it over the weekend, but only got to inspect it this morning. Well at least the moving is finally over! So perhaps it won’t incur further damage. Unless it was from wresting with my daughter.... There again I've been wearing mine for an average of 13 hours a day. It's recommend use is 8 to 10 hours.

I may seem a bit too focused on the NO POKING thing. Because once, years ago as a temp worker, I had to wear a back brace for a job. It was the company’s insurance that insisted on this. A vest like this. But did not made to conform to the body. And it’s stays constantly poked me in the chest and legs. I finally gave up and wore it open, hanging off my shoulders by it’s straps. This is Squeem waist cinching vest is what they should have provided.

Another Squeem waist cincher advantage I’ve found:
It alleviates the pressure of a tight waistband! It’s firm pressure seems to distribute the pushing back of my fatty gut. So instead of the slim, single waist band cutting into me, my waist cincher compacts it all back a bit. But no cutting edge feel of just the tad too tight waist band.

Read my informal reviews, and the other wearers. Choose carefully and ENJOY!

FW06 Trend: Winter Hats

I was about to devote a blog on how much I love all the winter beanies just floating around everywhere this season and recommend a few that I liked. But then I went out and tried on a few and it occured to me that winter beanies are just about the hardest thing for anyone to wear- especially the ones this season! They looked so different on me than on the mannequin (and the next girl) that I realised that one simply cannot tell from pictures whether a hat is cool of not.

Even here on the Burberry Prorsum runway, the same hat looks so different from one model to another. It looks SO much better on Gemma (left) than on Hye Park (right). Maybe its the head shape, I have the same problem. I found a similar hat and it looked awful on me, which is just too bad, because this picture of Gemma is what inspired to me write this blog and go look for a cool slouchy looking beanie like that to begin with. Perhaps I haven't found the right one yet?

Other hats from Burberry Prorsum. She looks cute with that navy ridged beanie with a cap thing (left) but I can't quite see it looking good on people in the streets. Sasha (right) looks kind of scary here, but its probably just her expression. That beanie doesn't look too bad on her.

On the Marc by Marc Jacob's runway we have these wider rimmed hats. I rather like the wide rimmed beanie thing he has there (left). She looks effortlessly cool there. Then there is the patent leather fisherman hat thing (right). It looks alright, but I think I've gotten over the whole fisherman hat thing back a few years ago and am not ready for it to come back yet.

And these two pictures are the ones that sometime makes me doubt whether the designers have tried the whole outfit on the model properly before letting them on the runway. Because she looks dreary and childish with that droopy white hat (left: burberry prorsum) usually seen on an enfant and she just looks too old to be wearing that cutesy cap thing(right: J Mendel).

And some trends are just destined to remain on the runway. I love the Balenciaga FW06 collection and all, but if I see someone on the streets wearing this, I will laugh so hard.

This Week HG is Loving...

2 Things this week: Ashley Olsen at the Teen Vogue cover party and Nicole Richie's brunette do.

Ashley looks absolutely AMAZING. That Calvin Klein dress is so sheer, so hard to look good in, and she managed it. And very importatnly, she managed to look sensual, as opposed to slutty, in that rather revealing dress. (It could be that the CK dress was simply extremely well designed too.)

I'm still undecided on her new dark brunette do though, so hopefully there'll be more photos of her soon.

Nicole's brunette locks may be less glam than her previous blonde one, but I'm loving the stylish edge it gives her. I've always wondered, how does she achieve those perfect bangs? Must be a lot of hairspray for them to stay in place!

Since we're talking about Nicole, for those who are out of the loop, Nicole fired Rachel Zoe and hired a new stylist this week. It's not exactly the most grateful thing for Nicole to do, afterall, Rachel Zoe did transform her from a rather trashily-dressed, BFF of Paris Hilton, to the ever-fashionable, stylish Nicole, whom we all look upon now (for style inspiration). But Nicole fired Zoe to get rid of bad influence, so that's definitely a good thing. Look out to see if Nicole's 'style' changes!

BG's Paris Diary: Week 8

Since there has been an overload of "Paris Diaries" lately, I figured I'd make this one more focused. So this week, I am going to concentrate on the shopping in Paris. Personally, I like my shopping focused so I can compare easier and know that everything is from a reliable source, hence I like department stores.

And what does one think of when one thinks of department store and Paris? The Galleria Lafayette of course! According to my guide, it was the second department store in the world (since Marshall Fields claimed to be first, but I'm not too sure about that). Anyway, the point is, that it is so famous that it is practically a tourist attraction in itself. Although I don't think the clothes in there are that great. They're ok, but nothing worth braving the crowd for. And when did Hello Kitty become a fashion brand???

I prefer Printemps next door more. Their contemporary designer section is better. And it is less crowded.

But my favourite department store of all is Bon Marche. It is like the Barneys of New York. The atmosphere there is more upper-scale, elegant, relaxed and well. . Parisian!
Plus, they have the most fabulous shoe collection. I absolutely adore everything! I am considering getting this pair of grey ankle boots (circled on the left). It has a bit of a platform, has a perfectly rounded pointy toe and I love the fold. Thoughts?

Steet shopping wise, I haven't done much of it, but one of my favourite streets is Rue de Juillet where Colette (a super trendy store that sells make-up, cd's, clothes, shoes, phones and has a cool "water bar" that has a gazillion different types of water from around the world in adorable bottles), Sandro and a few other French fashion brands are. Right next to the Tuileries metro stop, it is super convenient and is also near a street full of restuarant/bars and boasts a delicious rotisserie chicken place called, "La Poularde Saint-Honore," which I adore. Other great areas to walk around for fashion is Saint Germain des-Pres and Saint Sulpice.

So these are basically all the areas I've hit so far. Any other suggestions?

Mademoiselle Parasuco

Its Thanksgiving! Too bad they don't celebrate it over here in Paris, because even though this is a fairly new holiday for me to celebrate, I still miss the turkey. And the holiday. Anyway, today we are going to introduce you all to Mademoiselle Parasuco collection by Parasuco. Created by two Canadian designers: Salvatore Parasuco & YSO Siphay Southidara, it is simple, elegant, feminine, wearable and yet still unique and refreshing. Here are a few of the pieces:

Perfect for in and out of the office.

Different but still very wearable.

These two looks are my favourite, because they're just so cool and girly. I WANT that black shirt and culottes! They look good together and I can totally imagine them to match perfectly with things in my wardrobe.
And isn't this coat adorable?

You can find all this and the rest of the collection at their flagship store in NYC and the Westfield San Francisco Centre. Doesn't the rest of the store look so chic?

In addition to this gorgeous collection, Parasuco also makes denims. And for those who were complaining last year about the lack of worthy things to buy on Black Friday here is our Thanksgiving present to you: from Nov 24-26th they are having a 20% off regularly priced merchandise from any of their collections in both their locations.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Kei This Waist Cincher is Great! And Comfy!

Lets put it this way, it’s Thanksgiving morning. I’m going to a big dinner with lots of deserts, and I’ll be wearing mine all day.

Or I could put it another way. Due to an ordering fluke, a second one is on my dresser. It is the same size as the one I'm wearing. If their claim is true, about reducing one’s waist size, I’ll need a smaller size in a month. If it’s not true for me, I’m keeping that one too! Though this cincher does have 2 hook and eye rows for adjustment. And it’s sizing is hosiery style, height and weight. So I might need the same size anyway. Well with a 90 day guarantee to see how it goes, I’m not concerned.

I started wearing mine last Saturday. I wore it for 11.75 hours. Now I wear it daily. One day as little as 8 hours. One day, the one with my daughter’s skating class in the early evening, for 15 hours. It looks like my average will be 12 hours a day. Because that’s just the way my day runs. Don’t have a lot of time to change. I won’t know about the claim of waist reduction after 1 months wear till December 18th. Till then I’m keeping records.

As for the comfort of this waist cinching vest, the day I wore it for 15 hours. I could have changed out of it. It just never crossed my mind. That night I skated in it, as I did for about 1 ½ hours to first day I wore it. At last I knew my posture was right while skating! I don’t do any fancy skating, but I don’t want to look stupid either.

I really like the posture thing. It makes me feel better. It makes me feel like I look better. And it smooths out my large gut nicely.

I feel better, and for me that’s what’s count. Besides, that’s gotta show in some way. I’m pretty sure the better posture thing makes my bust look better. But I can’t feel the part between my shoulder blades at all. In future, I might go for the cheaper waist cincher without the vest part.

As for the question I had about can a cincher reduce you one jeans size:
I was wearing a size 16, way too loose. Even before the waist cincher. I had put off shopping for a while.

With the cincher on and off, well rolled up, I tried on both sizes 14 and 12 in Levis jeans.
In several styles. It seems Levis is consistent. Across my big gut the difference between a size 12 and a 14, cincher out of the way, is approximately 3 inches.
No. The cincher won’t pull me all that way in. So I went with the 14s.

Why I like mine:
I feel better.
I feel like I look better.
My lower back has not hurt since I've been wearing it daily!!
My bulges are largely smoothed and NO POKING AT ALL!!
Lots of going through boxes of hastily stored stuff at a friend’s apartment from back when my father died. My friend has to move now. I’ve be BENDING A lot, and still no poking. I’ve been moving furniture. My back feels better than normal!!

It does not feel bad in anyway. It does not smell or feel like rubber. Because it’s cotton lined. The rubber smell is very subtle.


Extra added benefits for me in particular. And perhaps you too?

I have a lot of bikini undies I would not wear because they’d roll down on me. After I sat down and then stood up again. The cincher kept them up when wearing it. But after I’d take it off for the evening, they’ve remained up. No matter how many times I’d got up and down. With a child, I assure you, that’s a lot. For all I know it’s reducing my gut already. Hard to get a good consistent gut measure. Yep I tried that already.

It help protect me from the cold wind on the hill where I pick my daughter up from school.
Yet it’s not so warm that wearing it in the summer might be unthinkable.

With that in mind, I went looking for a simple denim vest I saw. I’m a jeans or shorts and t-shirt person in the warm weather. This cincher will look like a corset under a tight t-shirt. Well I was too late. But I’ve got till it heats up to get more loose t-shirts or a vest to wear over my tight ones.
Yes I’m planning to wear this cincher vest, or just the waist cincher, as a standard. All year. It make me feel that much better. For me, it think it’s the posture. I do feel that I look slimmer. But I wear loose clothing so it’s hard to say.

This is most likely to be a just me and my daughter thing but here it is.
We’ve joked about getting me body armor. My little Tigers, (her 1st nickname, and it holds) head buts me. In my gut. Even with her hockey helmet on. That can really hurt. And some times punches me there. Climbs all over me, all the time. And she’s 7 now. Over 50 pounds and strong.
This works. Now I’ve got a little protection! This is my body armor!

So it seems I could go on and on about this.... well it’s that good for me. Some other things you might want to know:

1stYes you can eat a lot in it and feel comfy. I did. I was cold this week. So I ate a lot. That’s what I do when I’m cold. And while I won’t diet to loose weight I do try to eat high fiber foods for heart health reasons. For me that’s lots of brown rice and bran muffins. Pretty filling after breakfast nachos.

2nd Yes it is CINCHING. You can tell when you put it on. It’s REAL HARD to get the first hooks and eyes closed the 1st time. Once it’s on you can see you look smoother. Well I could. It’s in no way seamless though. Think nicely draping shirts. Or vests.

3rd Don't buy the waist reduction cream they sell to use with this. The insturctions say do not use cream or lotion under your waist cincher.


I also feel my back fat is all smoothed out.

Will write more about it if any other benefits of this waist cinching vest occur. And of course I’ll give a report about the waist reduction shortly after December 18th.

If you have any specific questions about this feel free to ask and I’ll respond as soon as I can.

I’m pretty impressed with mine. I’m also pretty cheap. I Won’t spring for a good winter coat. I Wore a size to big jeans for about a year. Waited for the vest I wanted to go on sale till it went out of stock. So for me to buy one of these waist cinchers, and have another sitting on my dresser. While I’m on the brink of buying my daughter her 1st pair of hockey ice skates. NOT cheap, but she’s toughed it out wearing crummy rentals for almost a year now. That just might say it all.

FW06 Trend: Ankle Boots

This season they amp-ed up the classic ankle boots usually worn under jeans (for me anyway) to a fashion must have designed to be seen! On the Stella McCartney runway (left), she cut out the front to form cute half heels/half boots worn with stockings. And on the Versace runway (right), they cleverly cut out a bit on the side to reveal footless stockings!
Other more innovative designs out there include these Alexander McQueen (left) kick back ankle boots, which I think has a weird slanted heel (is that physically safe?) and these funky Report Signature (right) ankle boots from Shop Intuition.
My favourite ones are these two from Miu Miu (left) and Paul and Joe (right). I love the perfectly rounded toes and the adorable designs. I want them both!Then there are these darling soft grey slouchy boots from Urban Outfitters (left) and green pointy boots with a v from Roberto Cavalli (right).
I also like these ankle boots with what looks like scoop necks. It makes them look so chic! I especially like the design of the Steve Madden one (right), it looks so elegant! (left: Nine West)

For something less adventurous, more versatile but still trendy, try these more subtle styles from Christian Louboutin (left) and Shop Intuition (right). They can be both worn to be seen or under jeans.
And of course there are the platform ankle boots which are absolutely everywhere. These ones are from Pedro Garcia (left) and Steve Madden (right).As I said, these boots were made to be seen. Here are some ideas as to how:

  • With short sweater dresses/short winter shorts and tights- this one is my favourite way. (left)
  • With skinny jeans- I do that a lot with my classic ankle boots too (right)

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  • With tight rolled up jeans- this is probably best if you were tall (left)
  • With cropped pants (center)
  • And just right out with a skirt or shorts!

I can’t wait to go home to my funky ankle boots and try all this out!

BG's Paris Diary Week 7: Part II

So to finish off my week 7 diary, here is an account of Venice and Geneva.

After a 3 hour ride in a cabinet styled train (as in Anastasia- unfortunately they are not as cool as it looked in the movie) we finally reached Venice where water was everywhere. How gorgeous is this picture of sunset in Venice (right)?
Everything was so pictueresque, especially the gondolas. Unfortunately, we didn't go on them because they were a whooping 100 euros for 45 minutes. Besides, I've already been on it before, I'd rather have a pair of boots. On the left, we have a picture of the "Bridge of Sigh." And no, it is not as romantic as it sounds, because it is the bridge where prisoners used to pass through on their way to prison or to executions. Other touristy things to see is the Basillica of San Marco (left) and the Palace of the Doges (right). I love how the architecture in Venice is so different from that of Paris and Milan. In times of high tide, the piazza (left) is actually flooded and gondolas can actually float on it sometimes. I know, hard to believe. When we saw the postcard pictures, we thought they were computer edited! Oh and that lamp post was where we took a twirling around the lampost picture :P.
So again, all the touristy things were basically concentrated in the San Marco Piazza area where we lived. While the piazza looks pretty, in real life it is not quite so. The floor is slippery even though it didn't rain, because of the excess amount of pigeon poop on the floor. Pigeons were everywhere. We saw them all sitting on the ledge in the morning (left) and the amount of them was terrifying. People should stop feeding them (right).

Another place to go to in Venice is the island of Murano, where the glass factories are located. There, you get to see them blow glasses. George (left) here was fabulous. He made a vase in 5 minutes and literally pulled a horse out of that burning red thing with a few clever moves. These excursions are usually free because they want you to buy something from them afterwards and everything is super expensive. Red glass (right) is most expensive because the coloring is made of gold. And that purplish/brown color last one on the right is the official Venetian color. For cheaper options they have some "second rate" glass work around which are not too bad.
Another very Venetian thing to buy is masks. They have them in all shapes and prices. There were some very intricate and gorgeous ones. But I settled for a simple white and gold half mask . . maybe for halloween?
Our next stop, which took a grueling 6 hours train ride to reach, was Geneva. Highlights in Geneva include this Jet L'eau spring thing (left), this clock (right)(the missing numbers of the clock are on the outside). .
. . and the United Nations headquarters. Unfortunately they blocked off this official entrance, so we could only take pictures from this angle (left) and had to go in the back way. A tip for anyone planning to go in as a group, enter seperately, so they'd give you your own visitors badge with your picture on it. A great free souvineer. There we took a tour and saw a PEACOCK just wandering freely on the grounds. It was bizarre. Turns out the land used to be a peacock garden owned by the originally owner.
So really, Geneva is not much of a touristy spot. One day is more than enough to see everything. What they are more known for however is watches. All the famous brands are here: Patek Phillipe, Rolex, Charriol, Piaget, Swatch. . . . you name it. Although they are all very expensive of course. Oddly enough, Swatch was actually more expensive there too! In the end, we ended up with engraved Swiss Army knives to bring back home.

And that concludes my 7th week diary. Overall it was an awesome experience, but my favourite places were Milan and Lugano. Milan because it was just so much fun. And Lugano because it was so different from places I usually go to. Getting to drive a speed boat in the middle of a beautiful lake (even though it wasn't going too fast) was definitely memorable ;).