AJE

This is on my pre-order list - coming in ivory, faded khaki and black. Who is it? It's Australian designer label, AJE.

I'm in love again. In love with AJE right now, that is. just LOVE their collection. a couple of items is a LUST, but everything else, LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
Only 2 seasons in, they have really built up a unique style and it's brilliant! Totally wearable, statement pieces but not OTT.
From their winter collection:

Biker boots

The lovely Bambi modelling the collection

Must I say more? It's just so perfect!!! YAY!!!
gotta run.

love and grace,

V-A

Stefanie Kruger

I've never been a huge one on jewellery but recently, i've come across so many little quirky pieces. Speaking of coincidences, I was trawling the net and came across Stefanie Kruger.

If you check out her stuff, it is amazingly beautiful, quirky and kitschy! and not to mention totally suitable for ANY pocket! LOVE! These ones are my favourites:

Fish pendant

Diamond cut

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful Sunday! Back to the music-making for me xx

Love & grace,

V-A

goody goody goodies!

Since being back in Sydney (and apart from trying to get over this terrible jetlag), I've been a guinea pig - yes, i've been sampling things! And there is much much more to be a guinea pig for too!

First up, Pussy. The energy drink (get your minds out of the gutter for those who even WENT there!)

It actually tastes AMAZING! lychee, white pear, milk thistle, some healthy stuff in there! They are sponsoring several events, including a fashion show at Central 31st August 2010. And for once, the drink doesn't taste medicinal like. Girls, you will LOVE it so go out and try some :)

Second is Hot-Cans. Hot chocolate in a can! Yes, you press the button, shake it, and in 3 minutes, it is hot. And tastes exactly a hot chocolate! The product is decent, costs about $3.50-$4 in stores. Reminds me a lot of Asia where everything you can get from a vending machine. Australia IS becoming asian-dominated so heck, awesome move to get these in!

cover to protect your lips from getting burnt!

Lastly, all these gluten-free products that my lovely friend Angie Dinh (http://angielivestoeat.blogspot.com) went to the Gluten-Free Expo last weekend and got me! I will be posting up pics of what happens to the apple crumble, the bread, the yeast :D Angie, you're a gem!

It's been a crazy week trying to get back into routine - i have to say i'm enjoying the fresh air a HELL of a lot, the cold is a bit frosty but it's nice to be home!

That's all from a very tired pianist tonight.

Much love and grace,

V-A

byeeee winterrrr ... but oh sale!!

I'm back in sydney FINALLY but dead tired ... hey, a sale or 2 will perk me up i'm sure. Just a couple of sales i've come across to take note of:

Sophie Boxer Cashmere Sale
When: On now until Saturday 14th August, 10am - 4pm
Where: Boulevard Store, 378 Oxford St Paddington
What: Up to 75% off luxurious cashmere!

Shopbop Final Clearance Sale
When: On now!
Where: www.shopbop.com
What: Final markdowns on their huge designer sale!

Arabella Ramsay Clearance Store
When: Open 7 days a week now until stock lasts.
Where: 201 Spencer St Docklands, Melbourne
What: 40 - 70% off the Winter collection and sample stock!

Enjoy!!!

xx

V-A

Malene Birger

Always on the hunt for new designers to wear, I stumbled across Malene Birger - now NOT a new designer at all, but someone new for me.

She's a Danish womenswear designer who does boots and all accessories too! It's a mix of sophisticated, elegant and a touch of femininity.

Here is some of her stuff:

Spring 2009

Malene Birger wool dress

Spring Summer 2010

Her jewellery is super cute too! This is from Yeltuor (in Australia):

Fargea Necklace

Lavnsdale Necklace

You can get her stuff from net-a-porter.com or yeltuor.com.au has a few pieces too!

2nd last day in VN for me - i'm super excited to get home but will definitely miss this place!

xx

deliver me ...

A lot of the times, Vietnam reminds me of America - I got take-out martinis in the states, take out noodles, but maybe Vietnam is one step better. How about home delivery KFC and Lotteria ... and of course, home delivery of clothing (not that that is any different at home where i sit awaiting my next parcel in the mail to arrive at my doorstep - the blissful life of online shopping...sigh). Home delivery of vermicelli, of Pho, of Bun Bo Hue ~ the list is endless!

Today, I got my home delivery of a top i bought online in vietnam! 

I also found out yesterday that Vietnam has a jobsearch network online. It's great to see Vietnam move forward and employers can find employees online through the usual credentials/resumes/letters.

The extremities of the rich and poor still baffles me sometimes. Yesterday, we drove past a house ... drive along this street everyday and yesterday, it was down!

right of the seamart is the fallen down house.

Just like that, it went down! Have no idea if anyone was in it, if anyone was hurt ... you can see everything around it is shut down. And today, driving past a construction site, the concept of OH&S is just non-existent. The guy working had no helmet on, and was wearing THONGS! THONGS! sigh ... And then they had a banner strung up saying 'An toan la tren het' (safety about all) ... Vietnam is progressing at an incredible rate but maybe at the expenses of cost-cutting - or lives - or maybe just out of not knowing the right way to do it. Sigh ....

On another note, FOOD. Here is the Hu Tieu place - 

Not just Hu Tieu but Mi Vit Tiem too! Yep - it's 84 Nguyen Van Lac, P.19, Q. Binh Thanh for those foodies who wanna try :)

A quick plug before i scavenge for food - Hard Rock Cafe, 39 Le Duan St, Q.1 HCMC tomorrow night, Thao Trang is performing live for the first time after her CD launch - officially launching it for the public. 200,000VND will get you entry, the album and also a bottle of Coors Light. I'll be performing as a guest - a few songs with Antoneus Maximus and Thanh Bui. It's also my last night in Saigon so I'll be sure to be partying it up so come put your dancing shoes on, have a wiggle jiggle with me!

Adios!

V-A

BLAHHHHHH!!!!

NOTHING could irritate me more are 4 chords which don't go together - actually, no, i can think of multiple other things which could annoy me but u know what, right now, at this very moment, at this very point in time, it is probably the most frustrating thing EVER! I feel like investing in ear plugs - or bashing my head against the wall. Instead of inflicting pain upon oneself, i'm trying to do a less painful form of therapy - watching PRIVATE PRACTICE! now THAT is a strangely addictive show at it!

I miss home. I want to go home. It's a strange feeling - love-heart relationship with this country. I miss the hussle bussle, the amazing food, did i mention food (?) :D Speaking of which, i ate at a wonderful Hu Tieu place - local, but amazing. It's at 84 Nguyen Van Lac, P.19, Q.Binh Thanh. I'll post up a pic soon. They cook it out of one of those old-school noodle carts.I don't miss the traffic jams, i don't miss the inefficiency here, the slowness in EVERYTHING to get ANYTHING done. I love making new friends. I love how fresh the cocktails and mocktails are here! I love District 7 and 2 - to live in. Preferably District 2 in one of those ex-pat compounds! FRICKIN AWESOME! But Sydney or Melbourne, there's fresh air. I can drive myself around, I miss my crazy friends, I miss being constantly challenged, I miss using my brain. Sometimes things get too easy. Guess it's not that easy is it! And you can't get everything 

Anyways, gotta run! Last few days - last few days.

over and out,

Van-Anh

vietnamese designers ahoy!

Being in Vietnam for over a month this time, I did my walkabouts not only to find the perfect meal (as some of you have noticed from my copious amounts of food snaps), but also for up and coming designers. A girl loves dresses, I, specifically, DIE for dresses. Ok, so maybe not literally but quite close to it. It makes me go jitters and scream like a little girl with the latest Barbie in her hands (ok - enough embarrassment for a day).

I'm proud to say that there has been a lot of progress in vietnamese fashion houses. Of course, there are the Viet Kieu's, the Viets who have gone abroad to study and then the naturally talented.

Here is a collection of whom i love, grown to love and find intriguing either in their cuts, amazing creative eye for detail, sophisticated. Of course, this is in no particular order.
1. Barbara Bui

She is a god - just absolutely couture stuff, now with jewellery line and ready-to-wear.

2. Tylho (aka. Tylor Ho)
Gorgeous Tylor has a very sophisticated touch to his clothes. Having been to design school in the US, he is opening his first store in Ho Chi Minh City Aug/Sept 2010.

A sneek peek of his new holiday collection:

3. Nguyen Cong Tri 

Like a veteran in the trade, he's been designing for quite some time in VN - originally an architecture student, he moved into the fashion industry, having a passion for fashion from an early age.

photo courtesy of Robbey :)

4. Huy Vo - having studied at the Fashion Institute Of Design & Merchandising tại bang California. He has a store at 159 Lý Tự Trọng, Quận 1, TP.HCM

5. Chung Thanh Phong - having known for dressing a lot of vietnamese celebrities such as Thao Trang (Vietnam Idol), Phuong Vy (Vietnam Idol), his works often have been inspired by the likes of Balmain. He is the youngest out of the crew here and has a store, RIN BOUTIQUE - 13 Phan Van Tri, P.2, Q.5. The photos are Phong's clothes on my lovely friend and Vietnamese popstar, Thao Trang :)

6. DMC Brand - originally a part of the Villa FB, Do Manh Cuong has opened his first solo standing store on Ly Tu Trong St (great choice of street to have it on, where you'll find stores like Feeling and trendy women's boutiquey fashion). DMC has 2 lines - one is more couture and the majority is based on black and white, whereas the more ready-to-wear line is fun, chic and ranges from 600,000VND - 3,000,000VND (very reasonable!)

7. JNG Couture 

Designer and stylist, John Nguyen has worked in the States for various TVCs, Fashion shoots and his dresses have a lot of oriental inspiration. Let the dresses beneath speak for themselves :)

 

That's it from me for now. I know there are so many others but i have yet to have discovered :) 

little treasures

Good morning/afternoon/evening :D

As always, the hobby is to trawl the internet and find little goodies - collectables i say!

I've found a few little treasures:

http://www.honeyhoney.com.au/shop/59/product/332/717/

Crimson Trinsee clutch

Then of course, Richie's line, CC Skye:

http://www.ccskye.com/shop.php?id=944&pag=3

CC Skye La La Ring

Last one for now:

http://www.honeyhoney.com.au/shop/60/product/358/761/

Karen Walker Bell Earrings

More to come - gotta rush to the studio to do some writing.

So many pretty things <3

Love love,

Van-Anh

The trail of fantastic food in HCMC

As i promised, I would put pictures to my food expeditions, finds, and adventures across HCMC during this month of being in VN online so others who are travelling through this beautiful city can try. (all the addresses are in my previous post)

Not in any particular order:

1. CUC GAT RESTAURANT - i'd call it kitschy cute traditional viet cuisine with style and kookiness :D

fish with fresh green mangoes

tofu with passionfruit sauce.

freshly squeezed orange and carrot juice

anyone for some popcorn? :D

beautiful view outside the window into the central courtyard

2. MON HUE - for good Bun Bo Hue 

3. ANNAM GOURMET MARKET - for some amazing organic and gourmet groceries, bread, and specialities - e.g. olive oil.

4. The Factory - bar, club.

5. Din Ky Restaurant - for some cheap traditional vietnamese food. Morning glory, thit kho to, wonton noodles, soup - THE BEST!

the various addresses of Din Ky Restaurant - District 1 is most popular. Also a popular shopping street :)

A few other treasures to come :)