CHOP CHOP

Firstly I'd like to apologize for my absence for the past week. I've been working like a horse on several projects (one of them I'm sharing today!) and the last thing I wanted to do after meetings, shoots, or even just looks-simple-but-time-consuming writing is sleep. I think that sleep is crucial to a productive day. Whenever I get a good sleep, I am capable of waking up at 5 and actually get things done minus my usual procrastinating!

CLUB DAHLIA : BACKSTAGE

as requested.. the glamorous behind the scenes at Sebastian Gunawan's Club Dahlia continues ! I'm currently putting together during my afternoon break at this office. Still lots to do before the long weekend in Indonesia. Most of these shot were shot earlier during the day when the models were still in their 'off duty look'. enjoy the photos and don't forget to vote for me at the AXIS Blog Awards HERE (takes you less than a minute.. no sign ups, just pure voting) every vote means alot to me :)

PASTEL TARTANS

Ever since I saw Dries Van Noten's Spring 2013 show, I can't seem to get enough of tartans. The print is a classic yet it's versatile enough to be transformed into different vibes. And since I'm struck on the ladylike trend, I quickly ordered this pastel tartan a-line dress right away after I saw it off shop-picnic.com (another wonderful addition to your list of local online shopping sites btw)

SEBASTIAN GUNAWAN : CLUB DAHLIA

Jakarta has been really kind to me when it comes to this week's traffic. I have magically travelled from the south to the north and to the west without my need of showing my daily-congestion-rage on twitter (.. or Path). On Tuesday especially, I managed to go to Sebastian Gunawan's Club Dahlia show venue in a mere of 40 minutes (usually 1 hour and 20 minutes).

I love watching things goings on backstage and going "oohhhs" and "ahhhs" over the beautiful garments. Usually when the show starts, I sit down and watch as the models strut, but not for Club Dahlia. I somehow enjoyed staying at the back while I capture the busy team running around changing the models clothes.

The collection, as stated by the designer himself, was inspired by a club in Florida known as Club Dahlia. He finds that although women may be sweet and all at first sight, they have strong character and a mysterious side. Many of my favorite trends from 2012 such as brocades, laces, peplums, and asymmetrical cuts became the key elements of from this collection. All 95 looks and six wedding gowns from his Sebastian Sposa line was adorned with a lace or fishnet headpiece, created by another Indonesian talent Rinaldy A Yunardi, that covered half of the model's face leaving that feminine yet mysterious impression.

NOMINEE

It was really great to know that I've been nominated in AXIS Indonesia's Blog Award for the Fashion & Beauty category ! I received the email last weekend and I thought that God has really blessed me with loyal readers. Without my readers, this blog wouldn't be what it is today and I wouldn't have been even nominated in the first hand ! SO THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU :)

I'd love to win (obvious much?) but I wouldn't win without your help once again. Soooooooooooooo... if you could take just one minute (seriously, no sign ups, etc.) to VOTE FOR ME HERE, I would be grateful. and I'll send you guys virtual hugs :)

you may also vote me via AXIS' Facebook Page here

thanks to Raisa Hirsch for the fabulous illustration above !

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TIME MANAGEMENT

I actually wanted to write "no time for photos, been busy" for the opening sentence of this post but I hit backspace because that's really boring even when that's the fact. *ps. I am so glad that I found these photos from July lurking in one of folders as I am short of photo stocks*. What's more funny is when I read my favorite blogs and I find that most bloggers write somekind of phrase that resembles "I've been busy lately.. got exciting projects.. or sorry I've been on hiatus". I couldn't help but scroll through my own posts and I've been writing that phrase for a long time as well (my to-do list only gets longer, no kidding.)

Lately, I've been disappointed by certain companies who don't take bloggers seriously. I am not sure how the system works overseas but over here, I feel like we are the "free promoters". I understand that we may not have a company or fancy smancy offices but we are humans who put effort into our blog posts just like how news/fashion/etc reporters would in their articles. Blogs don't just poof out of a cloud.. Layouting takes time, emails take time.. building a twitter audience is also another thing.. I don't reply comments as diligent as I used to but I give kuddos to those who can reply the 100th comments on a single post (try blog walking with Indonesia's slow connection).. and for myself, I spend a total amount of 4-5 hours (sometimes more) for just a single post. Not to mention that most of us also have a day job or are still dealing with assignments from our teachers. Anyway, my point is : blogging takes time.

From that amount of time we bloggers put into, we do want a better reward and compensation than just an item/exposure. We're not always after some money but offering a more mutually beneficial collaboration scheme would be much more appreciated. Through conversations, I've learned that many bloggers don't have the guts to say no. I know what it was like because I felt bad when I rejected a company during my early days as a blogger. But now, I have learned to say no when offers aren't up to my bartering standards (note : saying no is not a bad thing as long as you're polite - see here for info). Perhaps most bloggers coming from Indonesia haven't spoken out about this issue out of their head. But I feel that it's time that our work gets appreciated and rewarded in a more appropriate way.

WAFFLES & HOUNDSTOOTH

I am addicted to prints like I've never been before and for the past weeks, I've been looking for something houndstooth-ed. Not exactly my cup of tea, but there is something retro and mod about the print that I love. PICNIC, one local brand I've once spoken about during my early days of blogging, was kind enough to allow me to choose a couple pieces from their webtore.. And guess what I found.... a houndstooth skirt!

SOMERSET

I guess one of the best things I got from blogging is to be able to have friends from different corners of the world. That includes people from countries I've never even been to, and all thanks to technology we are able to be connected to each other. As you might have reckoned from Instagram and Twitter, I met up with Qin, Fhenny, and Catherine on a Sunday noon for brunch. I had fun giggling so I didn't bother taking photos (other than my iphone ones) during that.. But we took a bunch during our walk to the nearby skatepark ! special thanks to fhenny and catherine for my outfit photos

TOUCHDOWN

I'm back in Jakarta and I had the sleepiest day ever in my whole life. Maybe it's because I didn't sleep much during my four night trip (blame it on the extremely fast wifi at home that made me enjoy my web browsing).. I'm trying to get extra hours of sleep tonight so I'll leave you with this for today. I think you'll be able to guess which body-half is mine ;)

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THE FINE CITY

I know that I usually do a little post before I leave to some place else, but I didn't manage to for this time. Anyhow, I'm back in Singapore for some errands and refreshment (..and perhaps Anna Dello Russa at H&M). I had a little free time this morning so I used it well to blog.. Now I have to dash to meet some friends! Have a great weekend everyone !

HELLO KITTY x LEOPARD

Before graphic tee/sweater was a trend, my printed tshirts were pretty much reserved for my lazy shorts and any-top-will-do look. But ever since that tiger Kenzo sweater (click here if you're wondering which) and other simple tees has been showing up everywhere, I guess that it's time to make better use of my shirt collection. First one up on the blog is this Hello Kitty shirt I bought in Hong Kong years ago. I kept the whole black and white going for the whole look but added some leopard clutch and cat-eye tortoise sunglasses for a bit of a twist..

#BATIK DAY

When the afternoon light starts to peep into my room, I usually like to go out of the balcony, grab some coffee/tea, and just enjoy the moment. Random and weird ideas usually like to flow in but yesterday, this particular thought came up : I am an Indonesian, yet I've only featured batik once in this blog. The National Batik Day is tomorrow and I guess it's the perfect timing to share some more batik on Glisters and Blisters.

for a little bit of intro, Batik is a cloth that traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique, plays an important role in the life of Indonesians being mostly the choice to be used in weddings and other momentous events. Its artistic side and design is also important since the creator needs the passion, patience, and skill to draw on the white cloth with the canting, to wax the lines to separate the sections of the drawing.