Shoe Galore: GUCCI Fall/Winter '09 Collection

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Someone told me that I got a hell lotta shoes of a lifetime. Well, I can't deny that. In fact people even nicknamed me 'Imelda Marcos' due to number of footwear that I've collected. To me (and to any shoe fetish :D), you can never have enough shoes. It's very important to have good footwear, simply becoz feet is at the lowest part of the body which provide support. Bad shoes will cause bad posture which can lead to health problems too (not to mention bad taste! LOL!)

And since I love shoes, and I love Gucci too... these lots really seduced me. The new Fall/Winter '09 collection by Gucci. Since I like only two things abot Gucci footwear: the boots and moccassins, so these collection is massively gorgeous!

Which one I like? Which one I wanna have? Which one I think looks good? These are some of my picks (and hoping it will be in my shoe closet too)

Black leather moccassin with squarish horse-bit buckle.

Very streamlined and chic.

Gonna be true neo-classic, Gucci longevity...
(Hope I could get one!)

Black moccassin with roundish horsebit buckle.

I already got similar one with black horsebit hardware. Great fit.

I always love Gucci's tassel.
This one has across between dressy and boat shoe feel.
Very delicious indeed!

Similar design but in midnight blue. Looks smashing!

A very simple and minimal design black loafer.
Yet the twist is given at the strap with interlocking GG design.
I just love the plain horizontal no-fuss strap!

A must have! I love the brogue motive and zippy thing.
And the back-ankle buckle that give it kinda funky feel.
Maybe I should also get this one?!

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I've Touch 3.0

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I finally bowed to the fact that I'm an Apple fan even if it's only a little. I own the 32Gb iPod Touch (not to mention the 1Gb 2nd gen Shuffle). An ultimate boy's toy apart from iPhone; from having the PIMs (personal information management, not the apple cider!), notes jotting, gaming, web surfing (if wifi permitted) and of course movie and music playback. Love it. It's a great companion when travel down the Tube. I shunned iPhone altogether due to its fat size (it's slightly thicker than the 'Touch).

So, last week I have upgraded to the 3.0 version at £5.99 from iTunes. (Free? Huh..I wish!). Btw, issit any good? Splendid. These are some of my highlights:

• Landscape Keyboard

Before, landscape keyboard only exist in Safari, now I can type in landscape mode both in email and notes. Perfect! really useful coz I don't have to cram my big fingers in portrait. Besides, Mail can also be viewed in landscape.

• Select, Select All, Cut, Copy & Paste

This is by far the most welcomed features by myself. It's great that you can highlight some word or phrase and cut/copy/paste it somewhere else.

• Shake to Shuffle

Something that I never knew would happen when the JT's 'Sexy Back' suddenly stopped and goes to Take That's 'Patience' (which is 20 tracks apart!) while I made a groovy move to the tune. When I read in Apple's website, yes, it's shuffle while you shake it babe. It will actually give a 'bleep' sound indicating the shuffling mode.

• Spotlight Search

This thing appears on the page before the main page (the main page is where the Safari, Mail, Calender is). Just flick to the right (i.e the page goes to the left) and you can search for a file or whatever you wish. Example: when I typed in Touch, two entries will appear - Mariah's Touch My Body and the notes about Bacchiacca's painting that has the word 'touch' in it. Brilliant!

• Bluetooth

OMG, I can't believe I can sync any bluetooth devices with the Touch! But right now it's still limited to the stereo headset. Yet when I pair it with my laptop and handphone, they appears in Touch eventhough no sync'ing can be done. Hope that Apple will improve this part so that the photos and files in both devices can be transferred easily. The bluetooth sync, btw, can be accessed thru the 'Settings'.

• Voice Memo

I think this one is useful too provided I have the mic like the Belkin voice recorder. From what Apple said is it will "Capture a memo, a meeting or any audio recording on the go. Voice Memos works with the built-in iPhone microphone or with the mic on your headset" OK, I'll get that Belkin soon. So, beware that everything you said will be the 'evidence'. LOL!

• Language Selection

This might help for one who can't speak English too well. There're numbers of languages that you can select, and here is one example: Bahasa Melayu (Malay language). As useful as it may be, I think it's quite funny to have Touch in your own language. LOL! (Yet I don't undermining my own language).

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Mad Fashion @ MAD Awards

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There was some mad fashion going on at the MAD Awards last week. Took a pick. Above, Peggy Zina in knee-high leather boots and hot sequinned dress - I can tell you straight away, she's my winner.

Patricia Field and Anna Vissi.

Despina Vandi. (Is this a Patricia Field glove she's wearing?)

Lakis Gavalas, accessorized with a whip.

Pink Evelyn Kazantzoglou. (friiiiiills, we like frills)

Maggie Haralambidou and Christoforos Kotentos.

Tamta. Long.
Katerina Stikoudi. Now if someone said she's wearing Kostetsos, I'd believe them because...

Vassilios Kostetsos.
Sakis Rouvas, safe in black.

aaand Nino. Why do we always find it so interesting when men slip into skirts?

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Going Gaga Over Gucci!

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Confession of a shoe-aholic. That's the perfect sentence to sum up my infatuation with footwear. And to add to my shoe collezioni are these Gucci black leather moccassion. So what's hot? The brand, really coz I'm a Gucci fan. Gucci footwear is always about 2 thing: the boots and the loafer. I've had Gucci brogue zip-up boots before, so this time I'm thinking of getting the moccassins or loafer, whatever you wanna call it. But I don't want just any loafer, rather with the immaculately designed horse-bit-like buckle or with tassel. Fortunately, I got both.

The one with horsebit buckle is given hi-shine finish making it gleam (but not too gleaming like patent). The buckle look so chic with very symmetrical, black metal design. The other with tassel looks very classic but with a twist - the heel is in tortoise-shell! The tassel make it looks very dressy. Both fit gorgeously as if it was made to measure my feet. The feel, the smell and the texture of the leather are just amazing. And the best part, I got them at massive discount!

Another thing I like about Gucci: they come in golden box with all the golden wrappings, plus golden shoe cover bearing 'Gucci' label.

They say the devil might wears Prada. And I say: the rebel wears Gucci! Voila...

My Gucci horsebit moccassin

My Gucci tortoise-shell tassel loafer

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Time To Slap On Those SPF!!

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UK hospital has been put under heatwave alert coz they said the temperature gonna go above 30oC. Plus the London Underground is also installing some those big industrial fan in most stations coz down there it's estimated gonna hit more than 45oC. Fooh!! It's kinda being in a massive oven in the city of London now.

With heat alert, pollen alert and not to mention flu alert too, one thing that should be ignored is the UV alert. With clear blue sky and hot weather, it's easier to get skin burning. Well, it's OK to be tan, but it's a sin to get skin cancer. :D

To protect my skin from all those UVA and UVB, I kinda stock the Clinique SPF 30 suncream. Very effective. It's quite clear, the cream does not feel runny and most important it doesn't leave mark or smudge the skin. Plus, I got a free mat that goes with it. Perfect!

Next thing... should I sunbathe? Hmm.. no thanks!!

Clinique SPF 30 suncream

The free mat

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Me & My Burberry Tote Eureka Moment

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I bought this Burberry black and white check tote last year during summer sale. Very simple and practical. And the most important, it fits my 10" Fujitsu laptop back then (yet, still fits my new Samsung N310!). But that's not the point of the story.

Today, when it was scorching 30oC hot I thought I might sling the bag again. Coz it's canvas, so make things inside the bag breathable and not heating up the gadgets inside. Still, I have a problem with one part of the tote and don't know what's the use of it. It's the kinda strap at the back with some stud on top of it. It's been months I still dunno how to use it.

Suddenly as if there's a eureka moment when I went to the toilet and need to put aside my Londonpaper. Where should I put it while I'll wash my hands? Voila, as if magic happens I wrap those paper with that strap, and fasten the hole on the strap to the stud! As amazed as I am, I finally found the use of the strap! Alas..

It's true you find idea while in the bathroom. :D

The strap at the back of the tote

The leather strap is folded and fasten to the stud! Voila...

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Bob pins stay in place

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Hair clips may vanish, but my bob pins always stay in place. They must be the best and most discreet bookmarks I've ever had.

*currently reading: 33x3x33 by e.e.cummings

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Summer Sale Highlight: The Armani 'Hybrid' Laced Shoe

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I wrote about this shoe before. And when it suddenly went on sale, I rushed to the Armani store @ New Bond Street to grab one. Unfortunately, they ain't stock in. So what did I do? Shop online instead. And with promotional free delivery by Armani it was finally arrived last week in a ginormous black box (not the airplane black box, silly!)

Say hello to my new Emporio Armani lace-up shoe. I'd like to call it the 'hybrid' shoe. Why? Coz it's a combo of canvas and leather. The body is canvas, while the trimmings and shoe laces are all leather (and the inner linings too). Fit? Gorgeous! In fact the day after it arrived, I already gave it a test drive by going shopping at Sloane Street (which find me grabbing the Hugo Boss boots). My new Armani shoes really does me justice. So comfy, doesn't heat up my feet (coz it's canvas). And with the synthetic sole, it is even better. The look is very chic and understated.

The only thing I wish, please don't let it rain outside. Or my Armani will be soaked to death!

The huge delivery box is 3 times bigger than the shoe box itself!

My 'hybrid' Armani lace-up

Synthetic sole with Emporio Armani emblem

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Shoe Galore: Giorgio Armani SS'10

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Mr Armani will definitely set a new trend in footwear come spring/summer '10. A trend that is way different compared to previous collection so far (I think..huhu).

Yes, snakeskin is making a hissing return to SS'10. And yes, there may be nothing new with broque lace-ups either. Yet this time there's a new twist. While summer '09 designers seems to go with two-tonal front and side brogues, Giorgio Armani SS'10 collection is given horizontal contrast. The toe cap and back body is given darker shades exotic skin feel, leaving the mid-section with matt color contrast. The choices of color is also uber cool, with brown/beige, choc/tan and black/white versions.

Other shoes that's quite interesting are the snakeskin trainers and the weaved leather lace-ups resembling the traditional oriental baskets. Also the other reptile skin lace-ups which I can't tell either baby alligator or black adder skin. LOL! Btw, they're all looks dazzling!

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