The Right White

Unlike a black dress where you can hardly go wrong, a white dress can easily hit you in the wrong places.  I figured you need a lot of "smart cover-up" when wearing white.  Here's a few (you may have seen this in a previous post) of my white dresses that can camouflage your not so appealing parts :-P.


This dress is actually tight fitting, but there is another chiffon layer on top of it that drapes around my body that is flowy, giving a "light" effect.  The V-neck also helps elongate my features. (Dress: Biyan)



This dress is extremely hard to put on and is so figure hugging.  But again, that extra chiffon layering helped a lot to make me look light. The different shoulder designs, with one draping, helps disperse focus and also make my arms look smaller :-P. (Dress: Daniel Yam)

Strapless Dress

I always find strapless dresses make me look like a sausage.  It just sorts of binds you all together and give the impression you can't breath.  Throughout the years I figured that what is really critical when choosing a strapless dress is the style.  If you have large thighs like me, a bondage dress will not work.  If you have broad shoulders, a straight-cut strapless top will make you look squeezed-in rather than flattering.

Here's an example of a strapless dress that I love so much.  It is from Sebastian, an Indonesian designer, and it is an empire cut (gets wider from the waist) to give a slimming effect.  The top part is curved in (and I wore simple jewelry), so focus is on the neckline rather than the chest line. 

PS. Not sure why I wasn't smiling, maybe because I was trying to hold my breath :-P

Bring On The Night

There are many tips out there on how to transform a day look to night.  You can add more eyeshadow, change accessories, wear different shoes, etc.  But what if you don't have time and all you can afford is whatever you have on you since the morning?  Here I have a few of my favorite tops that I can easily 'justify' from day to dinner.  But yes, you still need to blot your face, add more lipstick and powder you nose!


This is one of the simpler ones.  But what is important to note is the material.  This is cashmere and it gives a nice, rich look.  It can be used for the day and pass for dinner with friends in the evening.  Casual, but still chic.



I love "Greek-inspired" tops.  This top can be worn with a pencil skirt or over trousers, and can go from day to night, even with the "day" accessories.  It can also be dropped to one shoulder for that off-the-shoulder look. 



This ruffled sleeveless shirt may seem too much for the day, but it actually isn't.  Worn over trousers it looks very stylish but not over the top, and can easily go to evening.



Fun with Stripes

Wearing stripes is always tricky. It can make you look heavy or thin, tall or frumpy, confusing or elegant.

Stripes is a great fashion tool to give an "optical illusion" that a person is thinner and taller than she is.  However, not all vertical stripes can make a short person tall or a heavy person thin. It all depends on the design, color, width of stripes and your complexion.  When you are thinking about wearing stripes, look at your ensemble as a whole.  Just because it looks good on someone doesn't mean it would look fab on you.  Try it on, wear different shoes, shorten the sleeves, try different hairstyles...it is a lot of work but who doesn't want to look good?  The last thing you want is to look like a box :-P

(Dress: Marni, Shoes: Charles & Keith)

This dress is really unuser friendly.  The stripes are mainly vertical but then there is this huge DNA helix-structure-look-alike in the middle. I bought this dress because of the color and because it was a sack dress but I sort of regret it.  It was sitting in my closet for sometime until I finally had the courage to take it out and experiment with it.  It had long sleeves and if I roll down the sleeves, I look super boxy.  I tried it with strappy heels (which was what was shown on the catwalk trend), but it looked soo 'confusing' on me.  It wasn't clear whether I wanted people to look at me, my dress or my shoes.   So, I rolled the sleeves up, wear simple pumps and put my hair up. Focus is on the center of my body, rather than all over the place causing people to get cross-eyed.