CHANEL Haute Couture Spring 2013

Visions of black and white floated down the forested runway at the Chanel Haute Couture show in Paris. I love that Karl Lagerfeld always weaves in a feeling of melancholia in all of his collections, even with sequins and tulle and floral prints, there's a sense of beautiful sadness in every piece. Maybe it's just the models' facial expressions half covered by webby lace and feathers, though. The excruciating and strenuous hand-sewn sparkle that covered most of the looks reflected Spring in the best possible way, shining and subtle at the same time.  My admiration of the theatricals brought by every Chanel show is reinforced again, as well as my devotion for sexy-demureness (hello, shoulders), and the fact that there were two brides at the finale just topped the proverbial wedding cake for me. And I think I found my future reception dress on Lindsey Wixon.

behold, my dream closet:

via style.com

le Versailles

a little over 2 years ago, i nestled in a flat in kensington, london, where i made a temporary new life for myself. i studied, i interned, i pub crawled, i shopped, i TRAVELED. and among the travels to rome, florence, venice, amsterdam, bath, stonehenge & salisbury, and oxford, it was on the top of my list to go to paris & versailles.

so when my travel sister tammy tran and i took the eurostar to paris for the weekend, i coaxed her into taking the bus to versailles with me. sofia coppola's marie antoinette was so breathtaking, that it made quite an impression on me (the costumes, the setting, the pastries, the eclectic mix of non-european actors!). so, with its genius soundtrack uploaded into my ipod, we took the grand tour through the chambers of the chateau and gardens...exactly where the young queen herself dwelled and ruled. oh, to live in such decadence!

if you ever get the chance to go to paris, take the short trip to versailles, s'il vous plais! it's so worth it. 

photos: kirsten dunst shot by annie leibovitz, Vogue Sept. 06; shots from marie antoinette by S. Coppola, and pictures i took on my trip.

Shakespeare & Co.

when I saw this photo of liu wen inside of Shakespeare & Co. in Paris, it made me miss Paris sooo much. I was there for four days in january (for the second time) and nothing, i mean NOTHING, compares to being in the city of love. it was freezing there, but no matter what season it is there, paris will always be beautiful. i also didn't mind the cold because unlike sunny Califronia weather, it was an opportunity to layer and bundle up in full-on winterwear. 

what I wore this day: 

jeans: blank denim

cardigan: vince

coat: f21

faux fur scarf: urban

leather gloves: mom's emporio armani

riding boots: steve madden

purse: Chloe Paraty <3

liu wen in Elle China May 2010