Review of Love Bonito Lorenze Cheongsam and Klarra Chendelle Lace Midi

Love Bonito Lorenze Cheongsam (Cream, size M)

Following my review of the Ruby version, I received the Cream one a few days later. Although it's the same size, it feels slightly, just slightly longer  and looser than the Ruby dress, but I have no complaints. Similar to the Ruby one, the lace pattern is also lined with gold thread.

Now I'm trying to kick the bad habit of keeping the exact same piece of clothe in different colours, so I would like to let go of one. The problem is, I can't make up my mind. Ruby is a gorgeous and striking colour, but I'm not sure if I would wear it out on normal days - would you? Cream on the other hand is more muted, which might make it hmm.. a bit less outstanding?

Would love to hear your opinions!


Klarra Chendelle Lace Midi (Blue, size S)

I was captivated when I saw Beatrice wearing this on her blog, and I told myself that I had to get my hands on this one. I did not manage to snag it during the launch, but I'm glad that they opened a backorder and it arrived earlier than expected. I was confident that size S was suitable for me as it fitted well on Beatrice.

The blue is brilliant, the lace soft, smooth and intricately designed. For taller ladies, the dress reaches to the knee, which lets it double as an elegant work, shift dress too. Though stretchy, it fits snugly when worn, so seamless undies are recommended. There is no side or back zip, so do note that one will have to do some wriggling into the dress. Hence, if you're wearing this to a nice dinner date or event, I suggest that the dress be worn before you apply your makeup as you would definitely want to avoid smearing your makeup.


For your reference, I'm 1.67m, UK8.

How are your new year resolutions coming along?

It's now the second month of 2013, and a timely checkpoint on how our new year resolutions are panning out.

For me, I think I've been consistent with what I've set out to do so far.

1) Get my driving license

I signed myself up for driving lessons again and have been making good progress, partially thanks to understanding instructors from the driving school who try to clear as much as possible for each lesson upon knowing that I was a student with the school before. I'm now waiting to book my practical test and really hope I'll do well this time. Fingers crossed!

2) Join the O School Recital

No updates for this as the auditions and trainings for the recital only start in the second half of the year.

3) Read more, 2 books a months

Have been sticking to this too. The first two books I read this year were The Timekeeper by Mitch Albom, and Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. I might as well do a short review on them too.

The Timekeeper

I liked how the story was written quite simply, as if you're reading a script for a play. I always thought it would be difficult to describe or write about something so intangible such as time, even more so as we experience 'time' every moment of our lives. Therefore, I loved how the author brought a fresh perspective to such an abstract and everyday concept - he essentially gave life to something that we in reality, find so simple and universal.

In particular, I liked how the process of Dor's discovery of time, and the development of time measurement was described. It gets better when we find out how Dor controls time, and uses it at the climax of the story - where he, Sarah's and Victor's lived get entwined. The interjection of fantasy with everyday reality makes this a refreshing and creative novel.

Beautiful Disaster

A typical story of good girl meets bad playboy and he falls madly in love with her and she changes his life forever. This story started off with a splendid portrayal of how both were hopelessly attracted to each other, but were trying in vain to stay away from each other. It gets rosy when the female protagonist finally submits to her desire and emotions - but only to leave him the very next day. It is revealed that she was deeply unsure and apprehensive about their relationship due to her emotional baggage from a broken family. However, to me, it seemed like she was merely being indecisive, leading to a series of dramatic break ups and getting back together in the later part of the novel. I found this extremely annoying.

In addition, the book reeks too much of idealism. Yes, some of that is good in a tale of romance, but this was just overboard. For example, Travis reverts to his violent behavior whenever he is heartbroken, or does not hesitate to punch the daylights of out men who try to get funny with Abby. Personally, I wouldn't accept someone who uses physical violence to seek comfort or scare people away as you never know if he could one day use it on you too. The conservative side of me also shakes a disdainful at how quickly they got married too. Seemed like a lifetime decision made on flitting teenage love to me.

I'm not sure why this was one of the bestsellers when I visited Times. I would advise interested readers not to expect too much from this book.

My next read will be The Casual Vacancy by J.K Rowling. It's another best seller and I'm looking forward to find out if she still delivers as well as her Harry Potter series.

Actually, maybe I'll read the hotly debated Population White Paper first. ;)

4) Gym at least once every two weeks

I've actually managed to hit the gym once a week! I'm proud of my progress so far..

Ta-dah!

I'm not insanely fit - I can't do 5-minute planks nor run a marathon, but the progress I see is encouraging. *beams happily*

It feels good to be working out, knowing that I will definitely see some progress every time I exercise, be it in terms of physical fitness or energy level. Exercising does improve one's psychological well-being indeed, as you take your mind off a day's or week's work and refresh yourself with a good night's sleep for the next day.

Regular exercise also on the overall, result in a long list of health benefits.


Enough about me. Now, how are your new year resolutions coming along? :)

Review of Megagamie Feline Cheongsam Dress, Love Bonito Lorenze Cheongsam and Waverly Dress

Megagamie Feline Cheongsam Dress (White, size M)

  

Seeing how the dress seemed to be tight around the hips of the models (from the pictures it looked a bit too stretched at their hips), I decided to opt for a size M, and it was a good choice. By the way, do you notice that many of the online shops' cheongsams seem to have a smaller cut? I can usually fit into size S for most dresses, but I would need a size M for the cheongsams to fit me comfortably.

It was love at first touch for this dress. The Gabardine rayon blend and the lace were soft and smooth! The lace is not scratchy at all, which is an important point as it covers much of the back. Fabric wasn't too thick either, which made for a comfortable wear in this ridiculously hot weather that typifies these several weeks. The highlight of this piece is the low-back lace design with non-functional buttons. It brings out a sultry vibe, while not being too revealing for CNY visits to perhaps, some conservative relatives. A stick on bra was worn with the dress as the lace part ends below the bra line. Do note that despite having an inner lining, nude and seamless underwear is still required as the fabrics aren't very thick.

This dress doesn't come across as being too festive-looking to me. My only gripe is that despite sizing up to and M, it still rides up a little when I walk. So if you intend to buy this, do note the hip measurements as they might be exceptionally small. For me, because it only rides up a little, I'm willing to put up with the slight hassle of having to pull the dress down when I walk, and will keep this piece.

Does anyone know how else to prevent dresses/skirts from riding up?


Love Bonito Lorenze Cheongsam (Ruby, size M)

This is the immensely popular cheongsam that was sold out within the same minute of the launch and is actually my first cheongsam dress purchase. I managed get hold of a piece from a re-seller.

When I saw the previews, I was sold by the inverse-V-shaped design of the back. Again I decided on size M as the dress appeared taut at the models' hips. Indeed, size M was just nice for me and S would have been too tight. I'm awed by the gold trimmings throughout this lace dress. A stick on bra was worn with the dress as the drop-back feature ends below the bra line. I'll decide whether to keep this after I've tried the Cream version (just bought it from another seller).


Love Bonito Waverly Dress (size M) 

Yet another hot seller from Love Bonito. Size M is comfortable around my hips and slightly loose around my waist, but this can be easily corrected with a belt. I'm not sure if size S would have been a better fit, but the person who sold this to me said that her sister was a UK6/8 and found size S too snug for her.

I was expecting more from this dress - thought it would be of bodycon material, similar to the Oregon Dress, but it turned out thinner than what I had in mind. I suppose that this material had to be used in order for the prints to be made on it. It comes with an inner lining so no VPL worries here. The prints are vivid and certainly true to pictures.

While this is overall still a good buy, I won't mind letting it go if there is an interested buyer.

*** UPDATE: Waverly Dress has been sold. ***

For your reference, I'm 1.67m, UK8.

Review of OhVola Roset Bloom Peplum Skirt, Fairebelle Cutout Peplum Skirt, Love Bonito Cate Cheongsam Top

OhVola Roset Bloom Peplum Skirt (Coral, size M) - faveee!

 Left: Original length of the skirt. Right: Folded the skirt to see if it looked better, shorter.

Close up of the pretty floral prints!

This is the second peplum skirt that I own. I usually avoid peplum skirts or dresses as I feel that peplums that "flare" too much emphasise my hips - I think that they are usually more suited for really skinny girls with unbelievably small waists. However, I decided to take a gamble when I saw the preview pictures on the OhVola blog. Besides the attractive floral prints, the "flare" of the peplum appeared to be fairly moderate. I'm glad I took a chance on this one! Really adore the sweet florals and the peplum feature doesn't over-emphasise my hips. Material is thick enough but soft as well, and comes with an inner lining, so no worries about VPL here. I opted for size M as I believe OhVola's apparels have a smaller cut sometimes. While it does fit me nicely and does not ride up, I think the skirt will look better if it's shorter (on the right picture, folded part of the skirt to see what it would look like shorter). Will keep it if I can have it altered.

Fairebelle Cutout Peplum Skirt (size M)

Close up of the eyelet cutout details.

On the other hand, my first peplum skirt didn't fit me so well, despite it being in size M. I love the eyelet design and the rich cobalt blue colour, the material is decent too. Sadly it rides up when I walk, hence I'll be selling off this skirt.

Cate Cheongsam Top (Fuschia, size S)

Close up of the lace details

This is my first purchase from Love Bonito's string of CNY collections. I've been careful to avoid cheongsams as I would probably only wear them during CNY, and it would be such a waste to do so, no matter how pretty a cheongsam may be. I finally gave in to this one (and the Lorenze Cheongsams which I will review in another post) as it did not come across as being to oriental and festive. While I really like the fuschia colour and lace, it still seems just a bit too festive for wearing on normal occasions. Tried to leave the collar unbuttoned to tone it down. It's a great top with an awesome cut that fits the torso well, the fabric is also of good quality. However, for the above reason I'm still undecided on whether to keep or let this go.. what do you think?

New Year Resolutions

New Year's Day is a few weeks over but it's never too late to make one's resolutions, yes?

I would use to make overly-ambitious resolutions such as, learning 4 new dance genres for the year or eating healthily. Needless to say, they never came to pass. In my mind, to learn and master a new dance genre takes A LOT of time, practice and money to go for dance classes, a commitment which I couldn't fully afford. As for eating healthily, my expectation was having fruits and vegetables in my diet everyday and I don't fervently note what I eat for every meal.

I guess the approach should be to set realistic and clearly defined expectations for our resolutions. By realistic I mean for example, learning 1 new dance genre for the year. Definitely far more possible than learning 4. To clearly define would be to tell myself, I will have fruits at least 3 times a week and a salad at least once a week, instead of leaving definition "eating healthily" open-ended. By doing so, I would be able to gauge how I was doing, and setting a realistic goal is motivating as you know you have a good chance of achieving it.

So what are my resolutions for 2013? Like I've said, I want them to be rational. I've divided them into 'major' and 'minor' goals.

Major goals

1) Get my driving license. However long the process may be, it's undeniably a very useful skill to have. The cost of driving lessons have increased significantly since I last failed my first test in 2011. I have to get that license ASAP before they become any more expensive.

2) Join the O School Recital. I've always wanted to do this, but back in school, it would always clash with my exams. When it was finally scheduled on a non-exam period, I had started working and thought I couldn't commit the time and effort. Nevertheless, I want to have this experience at least once.

Minor goals

1) Read more, 2 books a month. This was inspired by Thought Catalog's 6 New Year's Resolutions That Are Worth Keeping. I do agree that reading is brain food.

2) Gym at least once every 2 weeks. I do need to condition my body more to dance better.

So this is how I made my resolutions - whether I meet them or not will be a clear 'yes' or 'no'.

I also want to find myself and find my dance self. I'm not making these two official because I still don't know how to define how to get there. It's somewhat like discovering what you love to do or what you're really good at, and developing it, especially as a career (because would we want to spend the rest of our working lives doing something that we're not passionate about?). It's something intangible and deep, but I think many people my age want or need to do this. Dance-wise, let's just say I'm experiencing Diminishing Marginal Returns to dance, and I need a breakthrough in this area too.

What are your new year resolutions? :)