Rose gold accents, anyone?

Just in time for Earth Day 2012, Range Rover unveiled a special edition of its most fuel efficient vehicle (yes, there is such thing!) in Beijing- the 2012 Range Rover Evoque Special Edition with Victoria Beckham.

Not only was the Evoque hot - the Nick Knight fashion shoot was amazing.
Photo: Nick Knight / www.media.landrover.com 

Remember when VB was named the Creative Design Executive (aka: celebrity guest designer) a couple years ago? Sure, her role in working with RR Design Director Gerry McGovern was a little more than just picking colours and trim, but I must admit she does have good taste and the results are gorgeous. The Financial Post article on the Beijing Evoque unveiling goes a lot further into the creative process and VB's inspirations.

I really love the rose gold trim on the front grill and 20" rims. Rose gold is so hot in accessories right now, and the hand-finished "Stornoway" matte grey is pretty cool. The vehicle itself maintains the same features as the four seater coupe version with 240 hp and 2.0 L engine. I would agree that it is a timeless and classic look for the baby RR. They will be making only 200 of these bespoke Evoques and the target market will probably be the BRIC countries of China, Russia, and Brazil.

As this weird guy who came up to us on the street while we test drove the Evoque said: "What a horny ride!!" Well, horny comes with rose gold accents now! Check it out at Land Rover's site.

2012 Range Rover Special Edition Evoque with Victoria Beckham
Photo: www.media.landrover.com

Happy Earth Day 2012!

Photo: G Southichack

What have you done today to embrace mother nature?!?! Don't worry if you haven't joined an environment activist march this week. Any little act of kindness to the planet is kindness as any. 

Fashion wise, I think these Tom's Pink Primrose Women's Vegan Classics just scream Earth Day... why not let your feet do the talking?

Tom's Pink Primrose Vegan Classic shoe, avail for $54 at www.toms.com
Remember for every pair you purchase, TOM will give a new pair of shoes to a child in need. :)

A little more than a spit n polish...

Shoe round-up in the basement!!
(I use protective stuff only on my "outdoor" footwear.. and of course the hubby's dressier shoes.)

Living in Alberta, it's an uphill climb to keep our shoes from being destroyed by the nasty winter snow, salt, and gravel. The only way to slow down the losing battle is to either not wear those cool boots at all - or give in to those up-selling shoe stores and buy all the protective products they push. It's such a chore to clean, moisturize, polish, and spray every pair. The fumes from leather protectant are aweful- you'd hope they can make a nicer smelling spray. But it's got to be done!

And for those gals that love the nice leather-soled shoes or the smooth lipstick red soles of Louboutins, I highly recommend getting the soles covered with a thin layer of rubber at a shoe repair place. Sounds lame, but if you plan to wear them often, those beautiful soles do get ruined. Even after just one wear, trust me! Not only will the layer protect the shoes, they bring traction that was non-existent before. You don't want to biff hard while wearing Loubs, do you? The trick is to find a good shoe place. I learned that the hard way. One "un-named" place in Chinook Mall in Calgary had destroyed a pair of my Jimmy Choo boots for $40! They smeared black tar/oil over the entire sole! But then I had an awesome shoe cobbler in Moscow just a few blocks down from my apartment. He couldn't understand any English at all but sign language works wonders! For 200 roubles a pair (that was approx $8 US back in 2008) it was so worth it... see the photo below and see his work compared to the crap job the other place did.




Left: Defaced Jimmy Choos by the Calgary shoe repair place
Right: Oh how I miss my Russian shoe cobbler!

Hot shoes alert- Gucci 'Betty' heels

Holt's Spring '12 shoe preview

My friend and I tried these on at Holt Renfrew yesterday - red suede platform sandals from Gucci called the "Betty". Heels are a comfortable for 4 inches and they have cool cross-over patent straps.  Super super hot! Available in Canada for $640 (vs $660 in the USA!) in the Tabasco red.

Tempting but I promised no more shopping! It's always ok to look and touch but not buy, right? ;)

Here is the same shoe in other colours... just because I can't doesn't mean someone else can't. They don't call me an enabler for nothing!

in black from neimanmarcus.com

in zebra & beige from nordstrom.com

in green python from gucci.com

in brown python from gucci.com

Changing of the red guard...

In Los Angeles... bye bye dear red friend!

The debate is always on about what is the classic trench coat colour. On the PurseForum, there are a few threads that tackle the debate and the common favorites are either black or trench (yes, that beige colour the trench coat is known for). Despite the hype that trench coats have gotten with mall retailers this season, the most classic trench coat if you asked anyone is from Burberry- Brit, London, or Prorsum.

So this is my lead up to share that sadly, I have replaced my beloved $30 red coat that I found in San Diego back in 2007. It was from a store called Papaya that is probably most akin to the Forever 21's of the world. The red was just awesome and it wore well for a really cheap jacket. If you went through my photo albums, I've been photographed wearing it in LA, Toronto, Vancouver, Shanghai, and elsewhere. Talk about case of the travelling coat! I loved it and it can only replaced with something special - a classic Burberry trench in military red.

Even if red is not one of the two classic colours, I've embraced a red coat for 5 years already... I think I'll be a-ok!

P.S. I would have to be ok with it... since it's my last big indulgence for a very very long time. I promise! xoxo

Sorry no modeling shots of moi!
It's available at burberry.com - duty is included!

S.O.A.F Digest meets Instagram!!

Every time my dear hubby drags me to Best Buy with him, I leave him in the computer geek section (No, not the cool Apple table, but the aisles with the 3 terra-byte external hard drives and other gadgets!). I wander to digital cameras and browse the entry level digital SLRs. I am not even remotely an amateur photographer, but I love those fashion blogs with the fantastic photography. Maybe that's also why I don't take those what-am-I-wearing photos. Of course, the bloggers carry their giant professional cameras everywhere to capture these gorgeous images.They just make the clothes and accessories come to life. You know that this is an obsessed-person's speak, right?

Being the slow and resistant one to new apps, I just started experimenting today with Instagram. Without the expensive camera that I wouldn't know how to use- sounds practical, right? So far so good... The filters will get old soon enough, but it is a bit of an upgrade from the little point-n-shoot camera.

Let the shoe-lover be!

Photo of Jane Aldridge by Matt Hawthorne
From www.texasmonthly.com

I am gathering my thoughts on the 'tempest' that arose over the Texas Monthly's article "The World at Her Feet" by Jason Sheeler. It is a profile about popular shoe blogger Jane Aldridge and how she lives and breathes her very successful blog, Sea of Shoes. There are various online commentaries by other writers on how Aldridge is portrayed as a somewhat fanatical, materialistic, and spoiled rich kid. Some other comments declared her as "annoying" and "snobby". She lives in a fantasy world photographing herself and her enviable lux shoe collection- and making a whole lot of money from it.

I'll admit, I had never followed her blog. I took a look. The first post I saw was her rebuttal to said-mentioned profile stating it was "grossly exaggerated" and the rest of her posts were full of beautiful pictures of shoes and outfits. But I had read the Texas Monthly article before hand and I wasn't bothered at all the portrayal. Aldridge didn't need to refute anything. She may have to learn the hard way that she will always be judged by everyone on what she says and does. She is still so young and apparently has been brought up in a sheltered environment by wealthy parents. Can she honestly know anything different than a frivolous lifestyle? It's because of her lifestyle that her fans can live vicariously through her. It IS a fantasy others come to her site to enjoy. The article was candid- much more genuine than any of those celebrity interviews where there's constant ass- kissing about their beauty, style, etc and how they try so hard to be humble and deep-thinking individuals. There are plenty of other bonafide narcissists out there and it is quite harsh to condemn a 20 year old for not seeking to save the world. Maybe she will someday...

I totally enjoy the fact she does not have urge to attend the front row of the many fashion shows she's been invited to. There's a lot of crowding for that kind of limelight by the Hollywood starlets and wanna-be famous bloggers. And so what if she has no desire to leave her cocoon in Texas and move to New York of LA? She enjoys being a fashion star by Texan standards. The mockery of "all dressed up with nowhere to go" I can relate to. I wear Chanel to work and no one cares - it's my personal joy that no one understands. How else can I motivate myself to get up at 5:30 am every weekday?

Truthfully though, I envy that she will never know what it's like to save up months and months for that certain something or to work 15 hours of overtime every week to buy a handbag. Better for her yet- she may never have to experience the scorn from her husband every time she buys something little or be subjected to two days of silence for buying a pair of shoes. The (purchasing) power to her! The purpose of these personal style blogs is just to put yourself out there- each at their own risk. The real people in your lives know there's more going on than just shoes, clothes, and bags- hopefully! Whether one has two followers or two million, it's about logging self expression and sharing what you enjoy.

Keep on shopping, Jane!

Time Magazine's 100 fashion icons

Photo:  www.time.com
David Lees/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Gosh I'm such a sucker for lists. I must say that when you make a list greater than 20 or so items, it is a little overwhelming. Time magazine named its 100 most influential fashion icons since 1923. Just going through the list, there are so many "icons" that I felt the term itself lost its signficance. Which was disappointing, since every designer, model, muse, and photographer on the list had offered outstanding contributions to the industry.

Browse the Time's list yourself and see if you feel the same way.

For the Anthro gals

Not surprisingly, Anthropologie (which by the way, is the best smelling store to shop in), has announced that it has joined the designer collaboration bandwagon. Through a website called Made in Kind, the company will debut 11 independant designers on April 5, 2012.

The debut designers include Karen Walker, Gregory Parkinson, John Patrick, Samantha Pleet, Charlotte Linton, Pipit, Rachel Rose and British brand Place Nationale. Prices will be in the Anthro range of overpriced boho-hipster wear ($120-$300). Pretty cool stuff if you're an Anthro girl!

I love getting the Anthropologie catalogues. Great for inspiration!

Bag harvest season

L->R: Balenciaga Part time work; Chanel S/S '12 WOC, Hermes Kelly Flat
(Sorry for the crappy photo)

While the NCAA went on about March Madness, I lived my own sort of "March Madness"... in the terms of bags, that is! The Kelly Flat in Rosy swift leather that I had been waiting for since October had arrived. Then I earned myself a Balenciaga Part Time work bag in '12 Cruise Midnight and rose gold hardware.. then last week I had to choose between a red Burberry trench coat and a red Chanel wallet on chain. You can kinda figure what won out...

I think this completes the collection, don't you think? Don't worry, everyone has me on record- I'm sticking to it! :)

The cool thing about the Kelly Flat is this! As a specialty Kelly, there is no
protruding hardware like on the classic Kelly, so it can be folded for travel... or
to look like a non-functional clutch. :)