Tinsel Town

creative direction CYNTHIA NGUYEN photography VINCENT KO in collaboration with LIVSSTIL

Happy 2017! It’s another new year and what does that mean?

The whole ‘NEW YEAR, NEW ME’ kind of stuff. Which equals new changes! Good changes? We’ll see.
Here’s to hoping it all works out well of course. With that being said— it was time curate a brief hit list to post on my little o’ blog.

Time is indeed too precious to remain comfortable and not to take some risks. So I made some goals…

Number one— For this particular blog, I wanted to explore and further develop my articles more creativity and editorially.
For that, I had to migrated from different blogging platforms… THOUGHTS???

Number two—  Realized that life is getting way too short for me to stick to basics all the time. Here I am, wearing sparkles from head to toe in broad daylight, out and about eating brunch at La Société on a regular Saturday morning. No, I was not performing a cover of Michael Jackson for Snapchat or Youtube. I decided for myself– I can enjoy a meal in public in a getup like this. Why not. Why shave off your years of youth without making at least a day or two outrageously fun for you and glorious for others to see.

Number three—I told myself to travel at least twice a year. I traveled to Europe for the first time just late last year! Yippee!

Number four— I [just] started working out. Confession, I don’t gym… at all. Only on a few of those blue moon days a year do I suddenly get that spurt of motivation that only lasts for about maybe 2-3 hours. But unfortunately for me… my metabolism HAS slowed down for me in the last year. I saw the shift in my weight, I whined about it for a bit before committing to change my lifestyle with regards to including time to do real fitness and choosing what I eat more mindfully. Next, I need a blender. Fancy shakes and acai bowls, here I come!

Number five— Start posting about interior. And get more furniture. I’ve lived in my home for just over a year now. (My home anniversary was December 14, 2015–YAY! Does such an anniversary exist? Who really knows.) Next thing is to print and frame my work, get a sweet rug and a couple of end tables.

Shop my entire look at LIVSSTIL

Brunch: croque madame, pain au chocolat, buttermilk pankcakes, mille feuille at La Société

rogue bag c/o COACH
oversized jacket in metallic RELIGION
cargo trousers in metallic RELIGION
the progress hat FALLENBROKENSTREET

in this photo
mille feuille La Société

And…..what are all your lovely goals for 2017?
Let me know in the comments below!
+ Happy new year, folks!

Fly like Paper


American Apparel lightweight Dylan trench in Paperback
Ecru lab Shakepearean Luv silky button-down cami
Zara white wide leg trousers
Yves Saint Laurant Nude Wrap Ankle Block Heels
Sunglasses (Similar here and here)


Perhaps it’s time to acknowledge that I have a brunch addiction. It’s pretty evident and real. And no, I’m not ashamed. Truth is, it’s an actual expense I put aside for…for each and every weekend, if possible. It’s the joyful time I look forward to each weekend while vigorously going over geo-locations and foodie blogger Instagram’s  for enticing food photos.

Had the great pleasure of kicking off my brunch adventures at Bar Reyna on Cumberland St. with Darlene of The New Girl. The space was nothing short when it came to interior and exterior decor and the food itself. Impeccable Greek fries with shaved feta, delicious oysters and tasty shakshuka. (If you’re looking for a good Shakshuka— I recommend the one served at the ONE Hazleton restaurant.) Oh, and a nice glass of mimosa of course. In a extremely odd way— it’s almost therapeutic for me when I’m sitting down and eating brunch…after a long period of shooting the untouched food. Maybe it’s just good food in general moves people like that..  Or maybe I developed this love for food through being raised by a chef as a father and stay-home mom that cooks phenonmenal Vietnamese food. Don’t be jealous! x

All in all— I love brunch. I have a shirt that says it. And no— an all day breakfast wouldn’t count!  

Photography by: Darlene Anderson


Face to Face

 


 

The Fifth label ‘Face to Face’ playsuit
Jeffrey Campbell Cutout Western Boot (Similar here and here)
Rayban Aviator Sunglasses
PROENZA SCHOULER Black Calf-Hair Ps11 Classic Bag (Similar here and here)

See below for similar options!

 


 

Thanks to mother nature— the temperature has dropped and so has my addition to wearing all white. If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll see the tone in my photographs and outfits get a little more darker and I suppose ‘edgier.’ I like to think that I’m being more playful with my looks..by flipping back and forth between ultra femme, light looks with chic, vampy ensembles.

With dark ensembles, stems my love for black, western-inspired boots with cool engraved details paired with this sleek menswear-inspired playsuit. You can always pair this look with some nice, clean Stuart Weitzman nudist heels or some Zara pointed ballet flats with buckles

Got to catch brunch at a restaurant I’ve been longing to visit in Yorkville called ONE with my best pal, Vincent. Had the most amazing and rich Shakshuka, along with the most amazing crushed almond cherry pie. Would definitely come back for more of their desserts. If you ever find yourself in Yorkville, do grab a dessert dish or two from there. Next thing on my list would definitely be the S’mores sundae. #fatkidforever 

 


 

I’m going to talk about a weird, grey, blurry area that very few have uncovered answers to.. That first part was an anecdotal claim.

There’s an uncertain and overwhelmingly annoying feeling when you re-evalutate the relations you have with all the people who have come in and out of your life. Whether it’s an old friendship you may not have visited for a while or a fresh tinder date who you’ve gone out sporadically here and there. 

It’s completely weird for me to say because of the career I’m in that the digital landscape has caused and scraped the humanistic aspect of maintaining a solid and stable friendship or relationship. To believe that a simple ‘like’ or view implies you’ve given enough efforts in your relation is crazy. For social platforms— apparently a ‘like’ is sufficient enough than a phone call or text. (Can you tell I’m not that big into texting?) For dating platforms— we become more shallow and ignorant about the people we view and encounter. Simplifying dates into numbers, to skimming through your checklist of preferences, to ‘ghosting’ on people because it’s so easy to find another option and you’re too ‘busy’ to deal with confrontation. This cool ‘ghosting’ concept can be applied to friendships as well by shading replies with the ‘I’m busy’ response. I mean very well when I say that I believe it’s possible for everyone to be able to drop a quick line of text that speaks to either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. That or you just didn’t make the cut on the priority list. Ouch.

Maybe that feeling could be described as ‘beating around the bush,’ or having the Dunning-Kruger effect aka the ‘I don’t know’ syndrome. Seems to me that not enough people like the idea of being upfront about how they feel or giving an idea of what they like in return because of the fear of sounding too sensitive and losing the ‘upper hand.’ I’m sure not all of us know what we want for ourselves but an idea to move towards sounds much better than absolutely nothing. I find it so hard to imagine that the rest of the world around me could possibly understand what I want or expect without me putting out some sort of lead or options. Now— I’m no psychic or professional psychiatrist but I consider myself a very reasonable and understanding human-being. I don’t believe that my age factors in whether I can relate to people or not. Experiences could shape my answers but that why there’s the listening component to having conversations with one another. 

It’s safe to say, or just plain obvious that a lot of people, young and old need to snap out of this world of guessing and brushing others off because of their ‘busy and un-relatable’ life. I mean— try me. I’m sure you’d appreciate someone who is more upfront, real and honest than someone who is aloof, sporadic, and maybe even sometimes inconsiderate. If our intentions and ideas, don’t align— at the very least, now I know. Right? This idea of holding back to see what the other person comes back with is a load of bull if you tell me. Let’s cut back the guessing game time and just serve the good upfront, just like the way you’d like to be served. #caseclosed 

Photography and handbag: Vincent Ko
Hair by: Studio 67

 


 

Elegant to the Bone


Here are my August favourites I’ve collected over month in preparation for the Fall season…

Finders Keepers Fold-in Trench / Fame and Partners Kenny Grace maxi slip dress / Roberto Cavalli Serpent leather small flap Shoulder bag / Jenny Bird Edie Medium Hoops / Calvin Klein Bell 85mm Heels in Bone / Anthropologie Cecie Sunglasses

Toronto Fashion Week Pt. 1


Banana Republic Pinstripe One-Button Blazer
Banana Republic Pinstripe Slim-Straight Pants
Banana Republic Mini zip crossbody
Sophia Webster Jessica watermelon heels (Similar here)
Evernew white satin camisole (Similar here)
Leisure Society Antibes 18K gold brown glasses


It’s about time I finally post about Toronto Fashion Week. Two to three hours prior to going, I had decided to attend the event. Only for Day 4 and 5. Mentally thinking— TFW usually isn’t on my mind because of work and I thought it wasn’t possible to attend the shows in time. That’s when I learnt how to dress up for Fashion Week within 5 minutes.

Some people take weeks in advance to plan their outfits. Whether it’s cross-ordinating with their BF or boo. For me, I dug for the one suit I got in my closet to reduce time thinking about which top to go with what bottoms, then slipped on the funkiest and fun kicks I own to drive a bit of interest to my look. A suit really makes a nice quick fix for any big occasion. The minute you realize you only have 15 minutes including Ubering time during rush hour to David Pecaut Square before the first show you’re seeing— time is definitely of the essence. If you thought rush hour after work was bad… think about that traffic with the arrival of attendees of fashion week. To my point about dressing up in 5 minutes, it totally makes you feel like you’ve conquered the world in 5.

Here are some of my favourite snaps from Day 4 of my TFW journey…

Daniel Christian Tang

Where engineering and architecture meet together, using a 3D printer.

Triarchy

That cropped black denim jacket as a top at the end though…

Farley Chatto

Stacey McKenzie’s gorgeous purple coat. I don’t think I’ve ever desired a fur coat until now.


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