Hello all, this is probably going to be one of my very rare fashion related posts that I am going to present to you very shortly if you scroll down đŸ˜›
As some of you may or may not know, I do have a prevailing interest in fashion though it is very broad, rarely talked about, and highly inconsistent. A lot of my effort goes right into work clothes (I have an all black attire dress code, which means the majority of my clothes are unsurprisingly black), which leaves me very little clothing that is colourful for the days that I don’t need to work. I do wear black on my days out, but again my clothing selection is fairly limited because I would most likely look at a piece of clothing and go “eurgh, I can’t wear that. I wear that to work!” even though it is fine for going out.
Recently I’ve been trying to purchase clothing with more colour (in particular I am obsessed with minty pastel blue – so far I’ve scored one tshirt and one colour block dress) and I’ve been trying to buy dresses that actually fit me, rather than hang around loosely. A lot of the clothing I purchase is from online, so I tend to size up rather than size down in case if it doesn’t fit. This means consistently choosing size 10 dresses even though I’m supposed to be a size 8, or purchasing a size small instead of an XS. One tip for online shopping is to look at the item measurements and choosing one which fits your shoulders well, regardless of the size as to me, size is just a number. Measurements mean much more and help more in the long run – and this is what I have tried to do lately.
I’ve had a bit of an interest in a brand named Karl for quite some time now (pretty much ever since its launch, actually). Karl is the label of Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel’s creative director. At first I was a bit worried that the pricing would be way too much for me to afford in bulk (perhaps the piece or so), but to my surprise the label is a very different approach than what I had expected. Karl has its own unique style which combines the elegance and simplicity of a largely monotone palette, slight rocker influences and in the office out to dinner chic. At times formal, though mostly in the “can dress up or down” category, I think it’s so fun. In some ways it totally reminds me why I really liked BAPE – it’s like street wear, but not really casual – it’s awesome. I won’t go on too much about it – you can see the designs for yourself at the official website, www.karl.com. (Try their timewarp thing… and the other interactive things they have on their website!)
I think one of the things I like most about the brand is the approach to marketing. How can you launch your own brand and make it an instant success? Is it the designer itself, or the label? In this case, the designer himself (along with the label) is so iconic that you can instantly recognise a piece by… the designer himself. Literally. And this is the fun part, because I think that this is the most creative monogram probably invented so far.
All my labels. In total I purchased 3 jackets, 1 collar, 1 jumper and a pair of pants. I don’t think I’ve bought this much in one go from the one brand – ever, in terms of quantity.
I purchased an asymmetric jacket that kind of looks like a motorcycle jacket. To my surprise, it was padded (inside there was the Karl monogram lining) and there were these little stud details with Karl himself. I am really digging the attention to detail on these items because it makes fashion actually fun! I know it might be a bit strange having an image of someone on your clothing (this is why I tend to avoid clothes with people on them), but this is really an icon now. I actually don’t mind it at all – it’s subtle enough so that it’s not in your face, and even if it is, so what?
My mum really doesn’t like this jumper much because of the plastic sleeves, but I’ve been searching everywhere for a jacket or a jumper with a massive K on it since my name also starts with a K. I’ve noticed that Karl also does baseball/ fraternity jackets with the K as well, but it’s not currently available. I just hope that they will launch a similar design later on the track so I will be able to get one! I personally like this jumper a lot and I’ve been eyeing it for a while, so whatever!
All of the labels are on the inside of the jacket rather than at the base of the neck. It’s a pretty different approach.
This is the inside of jacket#2, which is a wool blend blazer. The blazer doesn’t feel like wool at all (which is probably a good thing) and is a boxy fit yet is good enough for formal occasions. The sleeves were also intentionally done long and had splits in them to encourage you to either bunch up the sleeves or fold them. Detail, detail.
This is jacket#3, which is a parka/anorak/ raincoat with a hood. You’d be surprised, but I don’t own any waterproof jackets that are appropriate for a spring/summer type of weather when it’s pouring down rain. I’ve been saving up/ meaning to buy a Burberry trench but never really justified it because I’m very particular about what I want. I’m also not quite prepared to spend that much on a trench coat (I’ve been buying other items like padded trench coats, wool capes and fitted jackets because I think they are more bang for my buck – probably not if I add up the total now, but…) – AND it’s not casual enough (unless we’re talking Burberry Brit) for me to want to wear it on a daily basis or just to catch up with friends since I’m usually overdressed (depending on who I meet up with) already. This anorak is pretty awesome since it is long so it is casual, has plenty of pockets and zippers to carry any valuables, is lightweight and has the entire Karl monogram over it without being too out there. At a distance, it looks like a camo print, and I’m okay with camo. I mean, camo is not really me, but I’m open to trying new things. Having said camo, this is a black jacket, not a green jacket.
I made a gamble and went for these skinny pants. They fit on just perfectly – slightly tight (various factors – I am not as slim as I could be right now, the pants are a high rise fit, which is something I’m massively not used to since all the pants I own are low rise), but not uncomfortable. I think they will stretch or I will save it for an occasion where I don’t require much bending or binge eating (so not work, and not dinner). The length is pretty good (surprisingly since I am well, not short, but compared to Western girls, I am) and is perfect. It’s a pretty smooth fit.
Extra button included if you lose your button. There are many more details but I couldn’t take photos of every single one, as I kept discovering more and more as I went through my stuff.
You can see my beaded collar here. It’s surprisingly versatile and makes any crappy tshirt look decent.
Well, everything I bought in this haul was monotone (grey or black) so that sort of defeated the purpose of having a colourful wardrobe. Having said that though, I bought 3 jackets that I didn’t have to begin with in the sense that I didn’t have jackets that were similar already (except the asymmetric one – I bought that with the intention of throwing out the one I have now which is err faux leather and gross). I think the highlight of this was actually the collar, because I went crazy and bought the other 2 collars available (well there are actually 3 more, but I didn’t want the lace one), I will be receiving those soon. I never thought that collars would be so handy because I thought that they looked unnatural and added on/awkward. But surprisingly, I think it’s suitable and matches what I think is in line with my style.
For the jackets I purchased larger than what I required because my size was sold out *cries* (the anorak is a size S/M which is the smallest size available and fits loose). Having said that though, it’s really just the shoulder and sleeve area that’s a little loose and the sleeves a wee bit long. Otherwise, they fit pretty snugly around my waist and seem to fit quite well when zipped or buttoned up. I didn’t try on the jumper, but it is meant to fit loose anyway.
Karl’s pricing isn’t too bad, their prices are really reasonable considering the design and thought that has gone into the clothing. The fabric quality is also pretty good. Probably one bad thing was the blazer I bought had quite a few loose threads hanging about (had nothing to do with the stitching quality though!) which probably wasn’t a big deal, but was unexpected. Good for your money’s worth, especially since I grabbed these on sale.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this. I am waiting for my collars and I also ordered a dress and a tshirt also by Karl (I know, this is borderline madness, but I promise, that will be IT for this year!). I haven’t really done much clothes shopping in the past year, so that’s the end for me now. I won’t expect to buy anything else for the next half year or so.
For leggy Sydneysiders, TOPSHOP has their MOTO Leigh supersoft jeans (in select colours) on sale down to a bargain $36 or $38 which is half price. They are super comfortable, and very nice fitting jeans, so go grab yourself a bargain before they are gone. The reason why I didn’t buy was because they only had 34″ long jeans in my size left, and unfortunately I am a 32″ in length, so the 34″s will be too long on me. They also have some 30″ long, but that’s too short for me!
That’s it from me now. I will most likely update in a few days’ time – I don’t get to work much this week (days in lieu awwww yeahhhh) so I will have time to blog about random crap.
MIKETSU MUSE 