Sweater – Next, Skirt – H&M, Belts – Jin Yoo 103684, Shoes – Zara, Bracelet – Scrap rom CSM Jewellery studio

Jazmine, Moi, Nic, Sabine, MJ, Adele, Jen , Sarah, Sherin, Vicki

(Went a bit Pascal Fashion Bits & Bobs-style in the outfit collage due to staff shortage…)

Unfortunately this will be my last challenge for Take10 – I’ve decided to leave the project due to time management issues… and looks like I’m actually going out with a bang. By bang I mean a hyper-destructive explosion that caused the birth of this toxic sweater. I’m going to be honest, because in this superficial business of fashion the appeal of us bloggers is that we can’t be bought (with a free sweater) for a good review… If this teaches someone something, i.e Next to stop making itchy sweaters, then it really is a win-win tactic. It’s rather uncanny because, Next is doing so well nowadays with affordable trend and I’ve constantly been impressed, but if Andrea’s ‘lumpy blue sweater’ from the Devil Wears Prada trickled down from a designer collection, can someone enlighten me which designer inspired this creation?

I just wanted to thank the Take10 girls for the wonderful companionship in the past few months of teamwork! I guess I didn’t expect there would be so much logistics and effort required for this to run… I salute you comradesses! Do keep following the Take10 project via Twitter & Facebook!

Adiós Take 10!

Scarf – FCUK, Sweater – Mum’s old, Jacket – Monnari, Leather Pants – ASOS, Shoes – Gmarket, Green dress – H&M, Bag – Courtesy of Chanel

After Chanel Pressday near Green Park #teenvogue

London’s sporting bittercold wind lately, looks like Winter’s at the doorstep. Funnily, I was perfectly warm at the top despite the hole-punched glory of the jacket, but my legs were absolutely freezing in the leather pants. Turns out the pants had ‘breathing holes’ and let wind in like a mosquito net…
Speaking of Holepunch… Doesn’t it remind you of when you’re young and in school you try punching through a thick wad of paper but because the holepuncher is from a  Tesco and previously used by your brother to punch through lego it only does half a hole? Then you end up having to tear out each hole-flap but it comes off with a tail and all the holes look like teardrops… good old days. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, YOU SHOULD’VE STAYED IN SCHOOL.

Thank you Nadia for the photos!

Jacket & Shoes – H&M, Knit Dress – Market in Vilnius, Jeans – Cut Zara, Striped top – Topshop, Necklace – Courtesy of Mimco

Short film by Mimco, featuring Emma Balfour

Mimco approached me with a proposal to send over a piece from their new collection for me to interpret into a photoshoot, video or a bellydance, as long as it illustrated the theme of the collection – a story from the fluttering pages of a Victorian-age débutante’s diary, an Unpredictable Revolution. Within a fortnight, a jelly-acetate necklace cluttered with slick hardware arrived with a heavy red book. The cynical graphic designer in me couldn’t help but chuckle at the cliché of finding the book dug out and containing an antique key and wax-sealed letter, but the package sure delivered the mood. The brief suggested a few different storyboards that could be elaborated on, and I figured this revolution can start from me so I did my own mish mash of themes: Noir – Castaway – Ritual – Nature – Overload – Kaleido – Reflective…

Thank you Ellen for helping me out with the photos!

Top – Uniqlo, Pants – Zara, Bag – Vintage, Necklace – H&M, Watch – Casio, Bracelet – COS, Shoes – Bought in Tokyo 2008

Leather bag from Old Town market I fell in love with <3

It even surprises me how much I travel with my family. Apparently at my age I should be doing roadtrips with a horde of friends to the soundtrack of I’m not a girl not yet a woman, regularly taking turns to bully the one wearing the bumbag. Instead, I’m riding  into a golfcourse sunset horizon with my mother, father, brother and golfbag – note, that ¾ of the family can not play golf. The car journey is always the same – my brother and myself wedged in each corner of the back seat, with a mid-point fence made from tennis rackets, jolting awake to dramatic truck overtaking. In fact, my father seems to be rather taken from the thrill, we’d sit at the edge of our seats clutching at something solid, pleading for mercy while he takes over every vehicle in sight. Once he’s tired he switches on the 80s’s acoustic ballad hits and we’d roll over and simultaneously let out a moan – the lyrics are so cheesy that with a bag of Nachos we’d be a Taco Bell delivery car.

Well, Vilnius was beautiful, there were evident traces of a once-wealthy Lithuania that used to own half of Central Europe circa 1450’s. Next time I’m running away on a golf cart for a proper tour of the city, I believe finding a hotel 15km from the city was one of my father’s evil masterplan to teach me golf.

Top – Courtesy of Schwing Schwing in 2009, Jeans – H&M, Bracelet – COS & Accessorize, Ring – H&M, Shoes – Zara, Bag – MarzArt

Beautiful Oliwia from The Gallow; Dress – H&M, Shoes – Gap, Necklace – DIY

Areas around Plac Konstitucji

The Warsaw I remember is gone, the bumpy rollerblade rides past the crush’s house, the jewellery stand near the park that frequently robbed me of my coins… Warsaw is now air-conditioned rides to meet new friends for coffee, and priceless facial expressions on finding out she’s 15 years old. It’s also weaving through the streets to come across apartments with bullet holes from the war, and trespassing into private property for a quick photoshoot for some internet thing called ‘blog’.

Oliwia from The Gallow blog contacted me the day I landed, insisting for us to bump into eachother for coffee. I had no idea she was 15, she didn’t look or talk like one, and she certainly didn’t dress like one. She may still be the age where ‘meeting for coffee’ means ordering green tea while I sip liquid she still finds too bitter, but her aura was all grown-up, kinda like that girl in middle school that always hung out with high school boys. I always feel thankful that this blog allows me to meet interesting people, and pretty Oliwia was no exception. Look how she’s wearing her H&M skirt inside out just because she liked the lighter pattern.