Day 3: Saifi Village... and a little extra.

I went to Saifi Village yesterday, for some reason every time I go there I can't help but smile. I think it's all the colours in the stores that I go into! My first stop was Cream, I absolutely love that store. Unfortunately I had put myself on a budget before I went there, because I really shouldn't be buying any more things at the moment, but I did buy 2 small items. If you love bright colours, weird designs, and things that will make you stand out, then Cream is where you should be shopping. It's very funky and up to date with the latest trends. It's technically a high-street fashion store, so the prices are a little but over the average, but the pieces are worth the buy. Along with all the wearables, they sell books and magazines that they feel appeal to their customers. It's a great place to go and check out.

I bought a bracelet from there. I also bought a book, despite all the negative comments among a sea of a 50-50 "yes/no" divide, I wanted to decide for myself whether or not I like the book "Why Men Marry Bitches".

My next stop was a store called Sun Flowers. It's technically the same idea as Cream, very bright colours and unique pieces. There was one thing that stood out for me there though, clutches in bright colours with metal plates of Arabic calligraphy on them. They are beautiful!! I will be going back for one when I've had a long enough break from shopping, haha. I think everyone should go and see these clutches, they're really great.

Now for some news. Due to an overflow of exams, presentations, and projects, I may not be able to check out stores on a daily basis. So, my shopping guide will be spread out rather than come one after the other. Because of this, I'm adding something new that will ensure a daily post from me. A new mission along with this one, except this mission is called:  Mission Dress to Impress. This mission consists of me taking a picture of my every day outfits and sharing them with all of you. The two reasons I am doing this is as follows:

1. I do not want to slack off when it comes to this blog!

2. I feel like my style is getting too plain and boring, and this will motivate me to spice it up!

So, I will leave you with yesterday's outfit, and come back for more tomorrow!

Blazer: Zara

Tank top: New Look

Harem pants: Topshop

Shoes: New Look

Necklace: Freedom at Topshop

New Wardrobe Arrived!

After a long, long wait, my clothes have finally arrived!

Despite the fact that not everything I specifically ordered was available, I trusted my mother's taste in clothes and was right to do so. I fell in love with every single piece.

Also, along with my clothes came my camera charger which I forgot back home in February. So now, there will be a lot more pictures to go along with all the writing.

Here is my new wardrobe

Top: Topshop

Shorts: H&M

Dress: Topshop

Overall Dress: River Island

Top: Zara

Shorts: Miss Selfridge

Top: Zara

Vest: Topshop

Pants: Topshop

Dress: Xanaka

Necklace: Freedom at Topshop

Bracelet: Diva at Miss Selfridge

(I'm not sure where this piece is from, but will update when I do!)

Sunglasses: Mirror Lens from Ray Ban

Tribute Top and Getting Ready For Fall

I was in Saifi Village yesterday, and I decided to look around at the stores. When in Cream, I found this really cute thing they were doing, where they had some really nice tank tops with flags of different countries on them for the World Cup. Amidst those tank tops, I found another one I really liked… and so had to pick up. It’s a white tank top with the British flag on it, and on the flag it says “Tribute to McQueen”. I absolutely adored it, tried it on, and adored it even more. The nice thing about it is that it’s not a standard tank top, and therefore can be worn in different ways to create different looks. It can even be worn as bar casual, or dressed up for a chilled out lounge. Here it is!

I also picked up British Vogue, and saw that regardless of the scorching heat outside, designers already released their pre-collections for fall, and I am going to share the new (or recycled) trends for fall 2010.

Seeing Red…

No, they’re not talking about a deep blood-red, we’re talking about bright, flashy, red carpet-red. It’s back for the colder seasons, and even brighter than ever. I think everyone should own something red this Fall, this way we can all contribute by adding colour to the dark tones of Fall and Winter.

Michael Kors

Valentino

Pull Them Up…

High-waist trousers are still in, so don’t throw them out just yet! I remember very clearly when I would refuse to wear anything but my low-rise jeans, specifically the ones that had only one button. Now, most of my pants are high-waist. What’s the plus side of high-waist trousers? They give you length.

Celine

At Ease…

One more thing that doesn’t need to be stashed in the back of your closet this Fall: the Military trend. It’s back, and it looks like it’s going to make quite a statement. The jackets, the pencil skirts, the earthy colours… I love them! So if you missed out on the trend last time, here’s your chance to sport the look before it dies out for another 9 years.

 Burberry Prorsum

Dior

Roll Them Down…

You better wear your miniskirts every day of this summer, because come fall, they’re not the skirts to be sporting. This fall, it’s the midi length that’s going to be taking over the fashion scene. I know this length doesn’t suit everyone, especially someone who’s my height, but there are ways to pull it off. Note to all my short girls out there: when it comes to midi length skirts, bu6y the pencil skirts, not the loose ones. Buy the high-waist skirts, not the regular ones. And finally, never leave the house without your heels if you’ve decided to wear a midi skirt!

Bottega Veneta

Alberta Ferretti

Jungle Fever…

Unfortunately for me, Leopard Prints are back. I have never owned anything with leopard print, and I doubt I will be doing so any time soon. I usually give in to trends shortly after I’ve seen enough of them to grow fond of them, but my fashion sense will definitely be putting up a fight with this one. From what I’ve seen so far, I’m not that impressed.

Emilio Pucci

 Lanvin

Now that we've followed the fashion industry's rules, and took a quick look at what's in store for Fall, the next few posts will be dedicated to summer, as I'm sure we are all feeling the heat at the moment.

Surviving The Heat In Style

Summer is here, that’s for sure. How do we know this? because of the scorching heat outside. Now, the one thing that I’ve noticed is that it’s easier to play around with your fashion sense during the colder seasons, because you’re able to layer and add bits and bobs to things. When it comes to summer though, I feel like I want to be wearing the least possible amount of garments on me, because it is far too hot. Due to this, I’ve decided to dedicate this post to finding ways to look good in summer while still saving ourselves from suffering in the heat.

We all know the essentials for summer: shorts, shorts, shorts! But shorts can get quite boring eventually. Luckily, fashion doesn’t really leave room for boring. I am going to show you how to use the simplest things to your advantage, in order to save from looking plain every day.

Summer Scarves

Who said that scarves should only be worn in the cold? As long as you pick the right scarf, you’ll have the perfect accessory for the summer. A light, colourful scarf will bring life to the plain old tank top and shorts look. It’s an easy look to get, just throw the scarf on and you’re set!

Both available at Topshop

Sunglasses

As we all know, sunglasses have become a fashion accessory. They add brilliantly to an outfit, especially when there’s something striking about them. Pick up a pair in a unique colour, or mirror lens sunglasses, or even ones that are just big. They can also later be used as a hair accessory when pulled up, so it’s pretty much a win-win situation!

Dolce & Gabbana

Ray Ban

Brooches

Big, bold brooches make a huge difference. If you’re wearing a plain tank top and shorts, you can just place the brooch somewhere on the top or even shorts (Don’t just place it at the top where people usually place their brooches, place it somewhere different, like at the bottom or on the pocket of your shorts). This gives a very funky feel to the outfit.

 Both available at Topshop

Sandals

This season, the sandals I have been seeing are far from the standard sandals we were used to. This is perfect, because they really do liven up an outfit. Get yourself a pair of sandals that are different to what you would usually wear, trust me, they’ll look great and they’ll add amazingly to whatever you’re wearing.

Aldo

Kurt Geiger

I’ll leave it at that for now. I hope you all enjoyed this!

Day 1: Hamra

Yesterday I took a walk down Hamra street, looking at all the different stores that were there. I did see a few that I liked, some were the cliche stores that everyone enjoys going to, and others were not as noticed.

A store that I feel all girls should go to is Pieces. It's an accessory shop that everybody in Lebanon should know, since it's the jewelry that is usually found in Vero Moda, except now they have an entire section for themselves. They have a lot of cute things for very affordable prices. I bought myself a waist belt with a little ribbon in the middle for only LL 25,000... so worth it!

Of course, then comes H&M. I worked at H&M for around 2 months in the summer of 2007 (outside of Lebanon), and when I had gone to H&M here during its first month of being open, I noticed that a lot of the items were old season pieces that they were trying to get rid of. Now, though, it is finally in-sync with the branches abroad and are up to date with the latest collections. Again, they have very affordable prices for pieces that are practical to have for every day wear.

Further down Hamra, I saw a few unknown stores that caught my eye. These stores are the kind that you have to go to with a bucket of patience, because you might go through an entire rack of dresses that you would never think of wearing, and finally come across an absolutely beautiful piece. Today, I am going to take yet another stroll down Hamra street and devote my attention to those places, what they're called, and where they're exactly located.

Another store I enjoy going into is towards the end of Hamra street and onto Sadat Street. If you walk up that street, slightly forward from Mashrou7a, there's a little boutique called Catwalk. They frequently change their window display, and every time I walk by there's always a dress that I'm interested in. The price range is reasonable, with dresses averaging at the price of $100. So if you're looking for a dress to wear at night for a dinner or party, Catwalk would be a great place to look.

Finally, the store that blew my mind. I had done my shopping and was walking around, not paying attention to the stores, until I saw THE store. The only problem is this: I cannot remember the name of the store! I do remember where it is though, so I am taking the responsibility of going back today, getting the name of the store and taking my time looking around in there. It is a little hole in the wall in from of Marroush, and I did not expect to see the pieces that were available there. Everything was so bright and so fresh. They had the bright fluorescent coloured shoulder bags that you can just sling on across your chest (going for $100 each). From the window I also saw a lot of interesting jewelry and clutch purses. Seeing as this has been my longest description of a store in this post, it is obvious how excited I got when I found it. I am dragging myself back down there today for a more detailed post about it (along with all the other unknown stores that I mentioned earlier) tomorrow.

In conclusion, it doesn't really seem like it from the outside, but dig deep within Hamra and you will find stores you had never noticed existed. Check back tomorrow for a post on unnoticed stores in Hamra.

Mission: Accomplished

I went on my hunt for a dress today, and I found one! It was in the store Fifth Avenue in Le Mall. There were so many beautiful dresses, and for all kinds of occasions. To me, the number of really nice dresses overcame the number of dresses that weren't so great, and that's hard to find these days. It's a great store for evening dresses, so if anyone has an occasion coming up, I really suggest Fifth Avenue.

I'm having my dress altered so I'll be posting pictures when it's ready.

Cream - Saifi Village

Before going to Le Mall, I went to Saifi Village. During the summer, I had heard about Cream, a really interesting boutique. I kept trying to find out where it was, never did find out, and forgot about it. Today, I finally found it thanks to a friend of mine who thought I'd be interested in the store. I absolutely loved it. I was in a rush, so I only looked at evening dresses, but I'm going back tomorrow morning to look around more. It was so colourful, I couldn't help but smile the entire time I was in there!

Reiss

I know I have been quite inactive lately, but that can be blamed on university. I am going to commit myself a tad more to this blog though. I actually felt useless while inactive.

Now that I've said that... on to the fashion related news. I have been looking for a dress to wear at my cousin's wedding, and couldn't find much. The dresses I tried on were either too long, didn't look as good as they did on the hanger, or weren't in my size.

I was planning on continuing my search for a dress on Saturday, and still might, but my mother sent me a picture of a dress that she thought would look nice.

         

Reiss

Apparently it's not as nice in the picture as it is in real life. I like the colour, and since the wedding is going to be in the summer it'll go good with a tan and gold accessories. I'm going to have it shortened, also. According to my mum, the colour looks more like an orange-pearl colour, so I'm excited to see it.

I'm still going to be looking around for dresses though, so I have a feeling either a dress post is coming up, or a rant about how I can never find any dresses!