The Summer Stripe - Yigal Azrouel & A.P.C & Marni

It's officially Autumn in DC and I've lined up a whole rack of new outwears for the cool weather. Though not a big fan of Summer but still it's nice to reminisce some Summer special. As obsessed with uniforms as I am, the Yigal Azrouel pants with blue strip is almost exactly as those Fedex guys wear, only cooler.

The Israeli American designer has successfully cultivated the name-sake brand into full blossom. With freestanding boutique opened at Manhattan's Meatpacking district, the brand has caught the attention by Milanese and started international distribution.

His ultra feminine technique of draping in womenswear reminds me a bit of Albert from Lanvin. In his menswear collection though, you can actually feel his ethnic originality. I was wearing an A.P.C strip T-shirt with a Vivienne Westwood Saturn pin. The loafer was from Marni and the material is very-paper like, great for Summer weather.

To browse the full collection of

Yigal Azrouel: Ssense.com; Forwardforward.com; Saks.com

Louis Vuitton VLADIMIR Portfolio in Taiga Leather

Posing with Phillip Lim Over Coat

Posing with Marni Techno-Cotton Coat

The ultimate men's bag has and will always be portfolio bags. I've always wanted a small bag because most of the time, I only need to carry my wallet and my keys with me. It is cumbersome to have a normal handbag just for you keys and wallet. I've spotted the Louis Vuitton Honore portfolio for a long time (Shown below). It's the made of Nomade leather, the finest and most expensive material of Louis Vuitton. I had an emotionally breakdown when I first saw the super organized inside structure of this bag. Yes, I am highly organized. And it is made of suede, which is extra plus plus plus! So I marched into the store and conquered.... another one, the VLADIMIR (shown above). It's several hundreds dollar cheaper (probably because the inside material is canvas, rather than suede) and it has a handle! The problem with portfolio bags is that you have carry it like a clutch, and sometimes it looks a bit feminine (depending on the people carrying it and occasions). The handle solves all the problems. I actually prefer carrying it like a handbag ( first pix) because it is more comfortable and unique.

Louis Vuitton HONORE $1,790

Marni's Amazing Fur A/W 2009

Marni Sl0W M0tIon Picks

Everyone's talking about the economy and every fashion house is advocating their so-called investment pieces. Dubbed as investment pieces, collections from big fashion names are working their tails off to provide customers an excuse to "investment" in luxury. What is exactly an investment piece anyway? Everyone understands that clothing is definitely consumer product, which you never expect any future return. Few exceptions do exist, one of them is fur products made by big names. Marni's fur pieces, in my own little opinion, are more likely to be investment pieces. The quality of the material and the avant-garde design made them so unique among all the luxury fur pieces in this current season. For ready-to-wear pieces, few can made its way into the vintage section. So the only "investment" we can make out of consumer products is to use it as long as you can. Pieces from Marni, especially the ones with fur, can never go out of season. That's probably the only "return" we can expect. Fur pieces from Marni are generally priced between $2000 -$7000 and how many years of usage can break that? That's really up to the customer to decide.

Pix: www.style.com

BIG LOVE for MARNI Spring 2010

Marni Spring 2010 Sl0W M0Tion Picks

Consuelo Castiglioni is the big brain behind Marni. Though without professional training in fashion, she managed to take Marni, founded in 1994, into the mainstream fashion names. No one defines minimalist better than she does. Marni for men has the unique simplicity no other names can copy. Simply simply chic! You can easily sort out pieces by Marni among racks of clothing by its constructed and innovative structures as well as its minimalism.

Marni also does AMAZING furs, elaborate and fashionable. For a brand with only about 15 years of history, Marni has made its way through this picky industry and the future is beyond promising. BIG BIG LOVE!

Pix: men.style.com
Marni Online Virtual Store: http://www.marni.com