Who's Charlie and Why I Chased A Dragon...

While in Cali, I stumbled upon the store Charming Charlie where I found a hat me likey, black with lines of silver sequins. I  decided I need the leopard print cuff, too. Wishlisting both these accessories.

I want my closet to look like a Charming Charlie store organized by color.

I reach the turquoise heaven section of the store!

Mei-lan and Sui rocking the fedoras. I was visiting Sui the weekend her baby was blessed.
It was a special weekend for so many reasons. 

I arrived into San Fran in the Financial District on the day of  Chinese New Year's.  To celebrate the Year of the Dragon I set out to find a dragon resembling fashion piece for good fortune. My cousin and I bought silver bracelets that had a scale-like texture for $8.99 in Chinatown. Close enough. I love our matching bracelets and it makes me think how much I miss random adventures with my cousin. Here we're snacking on an appetizer from Osha Thai at Embarcadero. When I got back home I took my boys to see a Chinse dragon dance and gave them money to feed give during the traditional lion dance for good luck in 2012.


Wishing you much happiness and prosperity in 2012....

My Battle for Versace... The Wicked Queen Inspiration... And DIY Glitter Shoes for a Happy Ending

I was among the throng of crazies lined up hours before H&M opened this morning on Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Today Versace officially lauched it's collections designed exclusively for H&M. I flew threw the doors half excited, half fearing for my life as I scanned the collection with laser sharp focus. I shamelessly snatched up the last size 6 kimono inspired dress on the rack just as a lovely, fresh faced college student reached for it. We exchanged fierce looks, but she sensed the warrior like strength and stamina of a mom that battles two boys daily about eating vegetables and jumping on the beds after non-stop workdays. The college girl signaled retreat by moving her eager hands to another rack. Alas my arms were full with my favorites!  Here they are:

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PIECES FROM THE VERY BEST OF VERSACE FOR H&M COLLECTION.

Dress - from H&M

http://www.hm.com/us/s/021SRB

Versace. Short, figure-fit silk dress with short sleeves with a unique cut, patent tabs at sides with large gold-colored buttons, and a concealed back zip. Chiffon lining.

www.hm.com

Dress - from H&M

http://www.hm.com/us/s/020I27

Conscious Collection. Knee-length satin dress with 3/4-length sleeves. Seam at waist, embroidered section at front, and elastication and a tie at back. Front pockets. Lined.

www.hm.com

Ring - from H&M

http://www.hm.com/us/s/023U8I

Embossed metal ring with a large stone.

www.hm.com

So that was a total lie and I didn't go to the H&M store. Instead I enjoyed the online shopping experience this morning and only browsed. The last dress is not a Versace but at $34.95 from H&M, looks like that's on my hitlist for black friday. And this recent pop culture revival of Snow White (i.e. Once Upon a Time) I'm looking for dramatic, Victorian-slash-touch-of-Medieval, type rings. You can't beat the black ring for $5.95!!! 

Also along the lines of fairytales... Let's spend five minutes focusing our mental energies on holiday party shoes. Cinderella would have never had the happy ending without the right pair of FABULOUS shoes, just saying. 

Here's an easy and affordable DIY Glitter Your Shoes tutorial. Courtesy of FabSugar.

Co-Hosting in my Hometown...

This weekend my Dad and I hosted a scholarship pageant on the Big Island. I got over my cold just in time : ) The zumba spirit in me wanted to jump in on the opening production number of dancers dressed like wild animals but I stuck to the more conserved role of emcee. The new Miss Aloha Hawaii and Miss Kona Coffee will compete at Miss Hawaii in June 2012.  Here are some photo highlights:

My turquoise sequins top from EXPRESS with a black blazer and skirt.  I actually got my hair did.... I never get it styled but the kind backstage hair stylist attempted to do loose curls. You can't tell but my pedicure was done in plum so that fulfills my promise from a previous post to pair turquoise with plum at some point this fall. The former executive director and a few friends in the audience asked if I trimmed down a bit since I hosted last year... Mahalo"Body By Vi". 

Lacey Deniz

Corinne Quinajon the talent winner and new titleholder

Kayli

Cheynielle

I just wanna say one more thing... the MAC makeup artist guy (who was nameless but wore two huge rhinestone earrings) suggested I pair coral sheen supreme lipstick with smoky neutral eye makeup. He said coral is the exact opposite of turquoise (the color of my top) on the color wheel. I was reluctant, but the shade did work with my skin tone and another makeup counter chick insinuated I need to "step out of my box" in terms of makeup. And so... I was pleased with the pops of color when I stepped out of my comfort zone. Step outta yours this holiday season. Peace.

A cents of style... plus FREE shipping

I had one solid hour of TV in the past month where I sat down and watched a TV show. It was the Nate Berkus show, in which he featured my fave finance guru Suze Orman and featured two coupon clipping maniacs called the Coupon Divas. Long story short, I stumbled on a website offering a special discount code for free shipping to Hawaii and Alaska at mycentsofstyle.com. 

Saw these cute peacock earrings that reminded me of one of my earliest blog entries that may not even be on this blogspot forum... but I featured an outfit I had with peacock earrings when I attended a BEAUTIFUL wedding at Waimea Falls where peacocks freely roam. I'm a bit obsessed with the teal/ turquoise/ ocean blue family of hues and yes I painted an accent wall in my living room in that shade (fail). But now I've seen the pairing with plum as a fashion statement and I'm thinkin', "Yeah, this fall will be a good time to experiment." If I wear that purple hat to work I'm also wondering how long I'll have before someone mentions that it's not exactly "professional attire." 

Note to self: pair plum with turquoise and peacock earrings. It's ok if someone accuses me of perpetuating my
Filipina-ness with the dramatic color combo.

The peacock earrings remind me of another pair of peacock earrings I own that I bought off ebay for 99 cents. Can I get an "amen" for finding a bargain?  I wore them to a wedding where peacocks really walk around in these lush gardens with waterfalls.  Can you tell I kinda like peacock colors? 

And while I'm in the spirit of penny pinching... here's a link to another blogpost from the Budget Fashionista on Suze Orman called Celebrity Style Deconstructed.  And I'll read this once as a proof read. Done.

To Be A Princess

I couldn't really get into the excitement of the royal wedding and couldn't stay awake long enough to see it aired live on television. But Kate Middleton and that prince of hers undeniably left impressions on the global fashion world. For me, it translated into this...

I attended a jewelry party hosted by my Stella and Dot jewelry stylist friend, Lyla. I told my husband that morning I was going to a jewelry party. I saw a lot of PRETTY stuff, but I was told these classic earrings were inspired by the timeless elegance of Kate Middleton's wedding earrings. I didn't see the wedding so I wasn't sure if they were telling the truth or if I was being sold a bill of goods. All I knew was I could see myself using the earrings for work and play and if it would bring princess fashion sense into my world, I was sold.

I paid $44 plus shipping and handling. I normally get cheapy stuff on sale  in the two-for-eight-dollars price range so this my friends, is my accessory splurge of the year.

So here's Kate on wedding day and a closeup of the earrings

So I figured a girl that marries a prince is called a princess, right? Yeah, no, she's called Duchess of Cambridge.

 I was excited to receive such a pretty box in the mail. When I showed my husband my splurge I asked him if I looked like a princess. He smiled and rolled his eyes. Pfft, whatever, men don't get it. Here's some other stuff from Stella and Dot that I am drooling over:

Chantilly Lace Cuff

Clover Single Leather Wrap Bracelets

Charms! I think the mom one is cute...

Even though I didn't see the actual wedding ceremony, I caught the footage of the lady guests wearing lovely and at the same time strange hats. One day I will waste twenty minutes of my life getting educated on the tradition and history behind the royal guests wearing hats that don't really give them any measure of shade from the sun. I did see feathers and noticed Kate Middleton wore feathers in public appearances leading up to the wedding. So while strolling through an accessories department I saw a peacock feather headband for $4.95 and thought I could add princess flair to my wardrobe if I added it to an outfit.

I wore it on a sunset singing gig near poolside on the Big Island of Hawaii with a turquoise and black dress. I was being experimental so naturally I asked everyone if it looks fabulous or silly. Funny, because that's kind of the royal wedding hat effect-- not sure if it's cool or ridiculous. My sister-in-law said it was cute. My brother said it looked like someone trying to make a big deal out of themselves. Well, I already bought it so I wore it.

Feathers are aflight in the fashion world. Get it... hahaha! My hairstylist chick offered to "attach" feathers to my hair. I saw some chicks in a photo shoot somewhere sporting long feathers in their hair. I don't think that would "fly" with my boss... as we're supposed to air on the conservative professional side at work so I passed. (I must be tired, I'm making lame jokes in my blog). I'm noticing more feather accesories gaining trend momentum.

 I wore this peacock feather headband while singing. It's a headband but it's the same size as the "royal" hats. Hmmm.... am I wearing a hat? (Photo courtesy of eliascallejo.com)

Two weeks after my experiment with my feather headress, I don't think I was too far off the trend because there's an entire display in the front of ICING with feather accessories.

And now my royal friends, I ask you, how are you adding the princess touch to your fashion statements? This Cinderella needs to get back to cleaning.

PR comes to my purse

Last month my girlfriend hosted a Thirtyone party. It was like a tupperware party for purses. It's not like anyone had to twist my arm to look at bags so I went and ended up buying CUTE stuff. The company will embroider on most of the bags and I got this black tote with my blog name on it. That's my first branding and PR move for goodgirlglam. And how appropriate that it's on a purse. I really like that it has pockets on the sides for my watter bottle. I got an organization tote to carry around housecleaning products and supplies in a diva-like way. I had a large letter Q embroidered on the front. Love it so much I've packed my kids stuff for church, stuff for the pool, and to games and haven't even used it for the intended purpose YET. My girlfriend, RaeJean is going to host a catalog party this month and I am planning on buying two large totes with their june special where you get a Large tote for $9. I'm gonna support the lady that conducted the party since she sent me an email with her website and I'm kinda big on giving the business to the person that sold me... so click here if you wanna check out thirtyone bags.

Here are pics blog readers and friends sent in that I meant to post weeks ago, but didn't until now.

In my constant search to organize accesories i am particularly fond of repurposing a wire trash can as an earring holder. Mahalo to my kumu hula (hula teacher), Aunty Karla, for sharing her wisdom and very bright idea.

My friend bought this Kate Spade bag at an outlet in Vegas. This is actually a diaper bag so it has many pockets and can carry her house. That's my kinda bag. She doesn't even have kids so no one even guesses it's a diaper bag. It's got a water resistant exterior so you wipe it down if it gets dirty. So cute!

My shoe addict friend, Lyla, turned me on to these shoes that deserve a Nobel Prize for genius idea. You buy the base of the shoe and the tops are interchangeable. I am liking the camo straps sister. Way cool. See the website for onesole.

Guinevere hangs a frame border on her wall and hangs her necklaces and earrings directly on the wall inside the border to make it seem like her accesories are a work of art. I am loving this! I would either need way more frames or a really massive frame border to display all my junk. Thanks for sending this one in, sister!

Oh, hey, random picture of me. I'm posting this puppy because I'm stoked I bought a Calvin Klein button down dress for $29.99! Plus, it's the kind of fabric you never have to iron. I am a happy shopper. I added my red belt just to be bold, but people thought I was trying to be patriotic and get a headstart on 4th of July. Slight fail.

Oh, look, a dashing young man. Actually, my girlfriend Vaune shared this pic of HER SON who modeled in the latest issue of Luxe Hawaii. I told her he was so fashionable I would find a way to include it in my blog. Random, I know.

And now my 15-minute blogging window has now turned into 22 minutes. I'm done. Peace out.

Smart and Sexy

With all the swimsuit features in magazines, I stumbled on a reasonably priced item that led me to smartandsexy.com. It’s a wannabe Victoria’s Secret-ish online store at a fraction of the price. The swimhalter dress on the left seemed interesting (mostly because it's pink with push-up engineering) from their swim collection, but I'm more of a "mix-and-match with my boardshorts" kinda girl. I also got a few of my friends excited when I told them there are pretty bras for only $15 when I have bought my last three from VS for about $40 or more a pop. I haven’t bought anything yet, but I thought this would give me the opportunity to share my two cents on the subject of underwear.

When I was teaching modeling school the personal grooming wardrobe session began with an in-depth discussion about the importance of wearing the right underwear. Rather than pontificate I thought I’d just share the comments I never had the nerve to make to people’s faces that will shed some light on recent underwear observations:

-- “Seriously, why are you wearing white pants with a green thong?”

--“Gravity takes it’s toll on all of us, but there are bras that will lift some of that up toward your chest and off your waistline. Plus, it will instantly slim you.”

--“Do you want to borrow my Spanx? ...Cause that type of outfit is begging for control."

--“If you’re going to wear the kind of skirt that looks like you stole it from a 16-year-old , then why am I seeing your pantylines that look like you stole your underwear from a 75-year-old?”

I’m not going to spend much time talking about sexy, however, the title of the blog gave me platform to make one comment: I think women of all ages need to know there is a difference between sexy and skanky. Yes, there is a difference. Think on that….

By the way, I want to thank mochimojo for sending me a pic of her jewelry display. She stores her jewelry on a wall in the borders of a frame so it looks like art. That’s genius! I will post it soon...