SHINY, SHIMMERING, AND SPLENDID

One of the best ways to take a monochrome outfit to the next level is to play with textures. When the word 'texture' comes out, people often imagine adding heavyweight fabrics such as suede or leather to their look. These two are great materials but they're not really realistic for someone who lives in the tropics like me. So... how to play with textures in the heat then?

The answer is simple; Buy pieces made with multiple types of lightweight fabric. Take cues from local brand, Cotton Ink. Their latest Waterfall Jacket collection features 2 different textures on one outerwear. Some linen, some satin, but mine's all cotton, one type woven and the other jersey. Pop the jacket over your regular outfits, and ta-da texture play at ease.

PALM TREES & SEAFOOD

I've been in Batam since Friday dawn for some business and a little bit of refreshing. Hopping on the first plane back to Jakarta tomorrow morning! My Monday didn't really feel like Monday with the clear blue skies and delicious cheap seafood here...

SEAVIEW

Colors of the ocean inspired this look of mine. Bright cobalt blues, hints of mints, and a little bit of brown like sands off shore... The color combination is slightly off my usual palette but I decided to give it a go anyway. I pictured myself wearing this outfit with Acne's unique platform pumps..

I watched the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo the other day and wow, Rooney Mara didn't looked like Rooney Mara. Hard to believe that she was also one of the cast in The Social Network. Other than her unglamorous makeover (punk hair, shaved brows, and more), I wondered if all her piercing (including ones on her private areas) are real. And turns out all of that play boy body jewelry (from freshtrends) are. In one interview she even mentioned that that one private piercing is actually the one that hurt the least. Anyway, I can't believe I just rambled about that for one paragraph. Maybe because I enjoyed the movie a lot and I look forward reading the other books from this Swedish series..

BY THE BIRDCAGE

I'm always happy when Christy and I find new photo spots inside my own house. I was going to shoot on top of the roof like I do alot of times but then it was scorching hot so we tried finding other 'cooler' spots and then Christy pointed out to this space where I put cockatoos. I was happy but the two birds weren't. One of them tried to poke it's beak when I put my back against its cage. you can tell that by the end of this post, the bird is no longer on the far left of the cage but already on the bars. sorry for getting on your nerves birdies..

SAY SAFFIANO

It's been awhile since Prada had their moment of 'it' bags. After the Kelly, Birkin, and Alexa satchel storm in Indonesia, it is nice to know that a new breed of it bag is introduced. The Prada Saffiano may not be very new, but it's gaining (...alot actually) popularity. I saw MI:4 a couple weeks ago and bam.. that was the moment I realized that this Saffiano Lea Seydoux wore during the diamond exchange scene was going to be a huge hit (tried googling a movie still but I failed).

WHEN WORDS LEAVE OFF, MUSIC BEGINS

Music : something that I rarely (or even never?) discuss in Glisters and Blisters and in real life. It's not that I don't enjoy a good tune or two but these days I just can't find a good song that I can listen to forever. Spinning through my iPod wheel, most songs you'll see in there are either original oldies tracks or newly improvised jazz versions of those old tracks.

This changed a bit after I first heard an Indonesian song, Serba Salah (wrong in every way). It's not everyday that I find a new Indo song I love. But this time, I was pretty hooked. For this past 3 weeks, I'd listen to Raisa's song at least once a day through various radio stations. But, like I always do, I never bothered googling or asking anyone what the title nor who sang it. Well, this week I found out. It was Raisa Andriana.

SECOND SKIN

I haven't been feeling too feminine or ladylike lately so it was pretty clear that my leather jacket had to come out from the back of my closet. Hold on.. Not even a closet actually. I'm still in the middle of a moving phase that I'm actually living out of a couple of suitcases and clothes rail. Thank Jesus that most of my clothes are either black, grey, or some-form of brown. This enables me to randomly pull pieces from the suitcases to create my look of the day.

FROM THE BACK

TAKE ME TO PORTOFINO

Majorly in awe with the Dior Cruise 2012 campaign, photographed by Ellen von Unwerth and modeled by Monika Jagaciak. The cheerful and lighthearted images were a great contrast to the usual mature campaigns that Dior produces. Winged eyeliner, rouge lips, crown-teased hair, this cruise collection evokes that sexy pin-up girl look while retaining Dior's understated elegance.

D I A N A

I did a little test shoot with my blogger friend, Diana last week. It was a last minute thing and I put together the outfits in about an hour. Despite her sweet face (..and voice), I think Diana pulls off the slight tomboy look flawlessly. Hope you enjoy this little 'editorial' for my friday post. special thanks to Yessi from shopatvelvet.com for lending me out the pretty lace pieces. You can purchase them from here.

CLICK CLICK

I get alot of questions regarding my camera. Since the end of December, I've been shooting with a canon 5D mark II (as shown below with the hello kitty strap). I have a 50mm f/1.4 and a 24-70L f/2.8 lens (both from canon) that goes with the body. Been planning to do a complete post on my photo equipment but I keep failing to do so... for the moment, bear in mind that a pimped out camera doesn't guarantee kick-ass photos. my advice : keep practicing..

DOLPHIN SLITS

I've always gotten questions like "what's your go-to chic outfit when you still need comfort?" I always point out leather shorts and sweater. The height of these black boots might be disturbing for some, but even if you substitute them with sneakers, I'd say it'd still look good.. The shorts are leather, burgundy.. it's got dolphin-cut slits, and it's got elasticated waist to make space for extra eating. What better shorts could you ask for? (shorts available at Romwe), photos by Christy

PHOTO ROLL

Like I said before, I am now on Instagram ! One person told me that 2011 was the year of Instagram and indeed it was (and I'm sure there'll be more Instagram users in 2012) because.. It's a great editor for the technology-challenged and professionals. At one tap, my substandard blackberry photos morph into better ones.. so who wouldn't love the app? If you got an ipad/iphone/ipod touch, download instagram from the appstore and follow me @mkoesnadi . the first photo is a little sneak peak of a photoshoot I did with Diana last week.. I'm still in the process of editing those photos.

PASTELS

A couple of giant pillows on the ground and natural light coming through the window, looks like I've found my favorite spot to curl up with my books and reading materials in my new room. I've always loved reading on the bed but the thing is I tend to fall asleep and then my book is never finished. Turns out that this spot makes a great photo location when I don't feel like going out on the street. photos by christy, and dress by local designer, fbudi.