twenty-ten

i like to dress differently because i hate looking like everyone else. in a way it gives me identity but honestly, i just enjoy dressing up.

in 2009 i had my fair share of parading interesting ensembles. some were hits, some were misses. but that doesnt really matter to me. what did was i worked it.

for 2010, i plan to up my Fierce Factor. pushing boundaries and proving the point that a men's wardrobe doesnt have to only revolve around jeans and tshirt.

join me my minions and we shall march together fiercer than Sasha and Naomi put together! *snap snap*







xoxo
ALI JOE

fashion fades, style is eternal.

a lot of people have this misconception that i dress up because i desire the attention. well, the truth is contrary.

i dress to please no one but myself.


checkered shirt : dad got it for me on his trip to Japan
blue tank top : Proulx house tshirt
white berms : Topman
grey sneakers : Jack Purcell
gold watch : Casio
grey carryall bag : Revoltage




life's too short to be blending in.



AJ

my dream wadrobe

have you all ever been into a store and saw something you like very much but you didnt buy it because

a) its too expensive

b) its not appropriate for Singapore's hot climate

or

c) you like it but afraid you'll negative remarks from people (ie. look very 'Mat')

well, i've encountered such situations like ALL THE TIME!! i'm somebody who loves to layer clothes, meaning wearing a jacket or a vest over a shirt, but then, have you seen the sun lately. very unforgiving!

as much as i love shopping, its actually hard for me to find something i like. i like clothes or acessories with interesting details but if you've been shopping in Singapore, you'll notice that everything you can find in the malls looks boring and every store sells similar boring item. and when i finally see something i like, its way beyond my budget. i mean as a uni student, i dont really have a school uniform, so if i spend all my money on a nice jacket, i cant possibly wear that jacket everyday since i got no money left to buy any other clothes. right now, quantity is more important to me than quality.

and of course, countless times when i go shopping with friends and i spot something that catches my eye, they'll go ''eww, you're definitely not getting that right? looks so 'Mat' (a style of a group of youngsters in Singapore - usually frowned upon)'' or i'll get the 'like very weird leh'. in the end, i get psycho-ed by such remarks that i dont buy the clothes.

well,

what if, what IF, you could wear anything, anything at all and not worry about these factors. what would you wear?

i was checking out the recent looks from the Spring 2010 runway in milan and paris, and these were some of the outfits that i would LOVE to wear.

i've classified the looks into 2 (school & general) and divided them into what i would wear for each of the 7 days in a week.

For School

Monday

keeping it low key yet injecting some color to brighten up the moody monday.
outfit by DSquared2.

Tuesday

keeping tuesday simple and a little sombre with a hint or rock and roll.
outfit by Marni.

Wednesday

its mid-week wednesday. some color to reflect my happiness for the nearing weekends.
outfit by Etro.

Thursday

just another day in school. a basic school look, nothing too fancy.
outfit by DSquared2.

Friday

keeping it casual with the sandals. dressing for maybe a dinner or a movie after class.
outfit by Bottega Veneta.

Saturday

a more sophisticated look for going to town to shop or for events.
outfit by Dolce & Gabbana.

Sunday

going for a look with a resort feel for sunday brunch and lounging afternoons at museums.
outfit by Etro.


ohh.. and since the weather has been crazy lately with random downpours now and then, here's what i'll wear for rainy days to school.


DSquared2.


here's the second category of looks.

For General - days where i got no school. random days like going out or running errands.


Monday

'heading to the supermarket to shop for groceries' look
outfit by Yves Saint Laurent.

Tuesday

'picking out magazines and a good book at Borders' look
outfit by Yves Saint Laurent.

Wednesday

'going to yoga class and a fruit smoothie afterwards' look
outfit by Jill Sander.


Thursday

'going to the bank and paying bills' look
outfit by Bottega Veneta.

Friday

'shopping for a laptop or digital camera' look
outfit by Versace.

Saturday

'flea markets and going to Ikea' look
outfit by Versace.

Sunday

'meeting up with friends for drinks and catching up' look.
outfit by Salvatore Ferragamo.


well, this is what I would wear if money, weather or people's negative judgements were not an issue. considering how i dress regularly, were my choices suprising or expected to you?


and, what would you wear?

xx
AJ


photo credits : men.style.com

what to wear? what to wear?

i realised, its been a while since my last outfit post. so lets make it extra special.

lets set the mood with this song.

press PLAY please, thankyou.



my inspiration for my outfits is usually derived from the music i listen to. i'm quite a fan of 30 seconds to mars, the gossip and the killers, and that was where i drew my inspiration from for this outfit.

drawing inspiration from something doesnt mean replicating a certain style. its more like drawing the essense of the inspiration and blending it with your own personal style to create the final look. this is what separates a fashion clone from a fashion individualist. the ability to interpret.



i admit i'm no fashion guru. i dont even go to fashion school. but i dont have to go some prestigious school of fashion to be able to have my own sense of style. in fact, most of the stuff our local fashion students put out looks like crap that nobody would ever buy. not even for halloween!

if you were ever wondering..

grey printed tshirt : Zara
knitted wool vest : Leonardo Del Poggio (something my dad got on his trip to Italy)
blue denim skinnies : Lee
black leather ankle boots : Tangs
grey woven beanie : Club Marc
tortoiseshell glasses : Levis
black beaded chain bracelet : self made

i tried to keep this outfit in the sombre shades of black and grey to reflect my inspiration from the music but didnt want to make it to dull from being overly monochromatic, so i switched from a pair of black skinnies to this blue Lee denim skinnies to inject a little color. i also added the knitted wool vest for layering and texture, and complimented with the woven beanie to tie the look together and make it more me.




now you know why i take forever to pick something to wear.

My American Idol - Adam Lambert

i'm an avid follower of American Idol and if you haven't already know, the results this year was a major SUCKASS. stupid stupid stupid!


i am a HUGE Adam Lambert fan. this rocker has been consistent every single week since day 1 belting out awesome hits. well, this season of american idol shows that it doesnt pay to be consistently spectacular each week.

all you need to be is the typical guy next door, sing in church and very humble. and NOT HAVE A SCANDAL LIKE THIS...


Adam's the one with the purple hair by the way.


and so thats why this year's american idol result is RETARDED and WRONG. i think kris allen is good and all but between the 2, adam is definitely more deserving of the title no? this season of american idol was all about adam lambert, people watched every week not to see who got voted off but what or how adam will perform next. nobody really looked forward to what kris or even danny(urgh) will be performing. american idol season 8 was The Adam Lambert Show with other contestants merely as fillers.

oh wells, its not like winning american idol will make you a superstar anyway. remember reuben, fantasia, jordan sparks, taylor hicks? i dont.

only great things are to come for MY american idol - Adam Lambert!

this video is his story and his performance with KISS on the final results night. obviously this performance alone tells you who the true american idol is. stupid american idol!


alright, i know this is totally unrelated to the topic but i got tonnes of outfit fotos to push out. so here's one of them. something casual i wore to school.

thing to note: my idea of casual might not be similar to your definition.




t-shirt with chinese calligraphy print : Hong Kong
thrifted denim vest : Salvation Army
white berms : Topman
nude 2 strap sandals : Shop In (I KNOW!! i didnt know they sold sandals either! saw them on the way to a mall and they were so cheap and looks good too)
bag : Cotton On
beaded bracelet : Rastafari
tortoiseshell glasses : Levis

xoxo

a million excuses

eat, sleep, watch tv, go online.

that's my life right now. so boring can?!

i've gotten fat. EVERYONE who meets me seems to have this urgency to tell me what i already know and see everyday in the mirror.

whatever happened to 'hi ali, how are you doing? hows school? hows life?' now its just begone with the pleasantries and straight to 'OMG, you've put on weight!'

well i could look at it as i no longer have to think of a conversation starter with people. i could just go up to them and say, 'have you seen my double chin?'


its not like i dont care about it. i do want to shed a few pound. i've even decided to jog at the park near my house. i set my clock to 9am every morning.

first day. rain.
second day. rain.
third day. just stopped raining. but the ground's gonna be wet and slippery, so i better not.
fourth day. cloudy. there seem to be dark clouds in the distant. like at bishan. so will probably rain soon. better not. if not later caught in the rain. me walking home in a wet tshirt isnt exactly sexy. for now.
fifth day. sunny skies, birds chirping. perfect day. but i'm going out later to meet my friends. if i jog now, i will be too tired later. too tired to meet my friends for dinner later.
sixth day. another perfect morning. maybe i'll just snooze for another 10minutes since i slept late yesterday night. snooze all the way till 2pm.


its not like i never tried. right?


i've also heard its a good habit to eat breakfast. but you know what goes best with a glass of milk?

oreos.


doink. i need help. will somebody ask me out for badminton, cycling or some form of sports please.


alright. now i shall end this entry with a style post. an outfit picture taken when i could still fit into my skinny jeans.

i wore this to zouk with my unimates. i blogged about the zouk entry like a couple post back. so if you want you could go check it out.



long sleve floral shirt : River Island
black vest : Topman
skinny jeans : Cheap Monday
black leather loafers : Far East
clutch bag : Fung Wee's



xoxo

welcome to the single child club

finally the exams are over.

now what?

a lot of people look forward to holidays. i don't. i always run out of things to do and end up bored and fat fatter.

anyway, time for my style entry. for the first time in Ali-Joe.blogspot.com history, i have another person featured together with me. thought that it might be interesting to add other people into my style entries so here are some of the photos we took after our Business Ethics lecture.





Ali-Joe.

grey printed t-shirt : Zara
black cardigan : Garcon
dark denim skinnies : Flesh Imp
black leather loafers : Far East
grey woven beanie : Club Marc
tortoiseshell glasses : Levis
grey carryall bag : Revoltage



introducing.. Acacia.

white cotton tank top : U2
black knit cardigan : Cotton On
flared A-line floral print skirt : Bugis Village
black ballet flats : Cotton On
brown waist belt : Far East
brown leather tote : Charles and Keith



strike-a-pose.


finally i found somebody in school who likes to take photos as much as i do. Woot!







(^_^)V

jiak kim street in the day

i just finished a paper yesterday and i don't really wanna talk about it. the lecturer gave all these tips about what's coming out for exams and none of them came out. so there i sat in the cold exam hall sweating like a fat boy at PE, with the look of 'WTF' on my face.

but you know, the teacher's not entirely to blame. i always have this wtf moments during exams. i might study hard and all and when it comes to the exams i cant seem to recall them. you know sometimes i dont study that hard so at least i can blame it on that instead of accepting the fact that i'm stupid.

maybe its just the stress. maybe its just anxiety. maybe its just my heck care attitude when it comes to doing something i dont like. i dont really know. now, all i wanna do is just get all the exams over and done with. the end is my motivation.

well, at least there is something out there that i actually like to do and its dressing up!

this post is from ages back where i met up with Azlin to go to Zouk's flea market.





personally i've never seen Zouk in daylight and soberity before so it was quite interesting. i've always thought the whole place was much bigger. anyway, no matter whether it was 2am or 2pm, zouk is still crowded. the flea market's got a lot of nice stuff at really bargain prices but most of them were meant only for girls. nothing for guys or unisex that i could buy. quite frustrating really pushing through crowds just to see another livejournal blogshop selling cheap looking clothes.

i love flea markets nonetheless cause its an exciting experience cause you never know what to expect. but maybe next time, i'll just leave the expectations at home.


what did i wear to Zouk's flea market?




oh nothing much.

light grey long sleeve shirt - Isetan
skinny jeans - Lee
cropped tweed vest - haji lane
black leather loafers - far east
black star necklace (which felicia chin personally told me its nice) - pushcart
tortoiseshell glasses - Levis


like it? too much? or wad? tell me!

xoxo

The 4S Method

sometimes i just like to keep my outfits simple, especially when i'm rushing for school. i use my 4S method.

Simple = 4 S

Shirt
Shorts
Shoes
Special

just grab a shirt, match it with a pair of shorts/ or for girls you can substitute this with 'skirt', put on some shoes and add something special to make the outfit interesting. the 4th S, Special, is the most important thing as it completes your whole look and makes your outfit look more you. it could just be adding accessories, the way you fold up your sleeves, or probably wearing a red shoe with a whole black outfit to kill monotony and create a statement.

whatever it is, just follow my 4S method for a simple yet individual look whenever you're pressed for time every morning before you go to school or work. you could even use the 4S method even if you're not in a hurry.

this outfit was what i wore to school where i incorporated the 4S method, especially since i kept pressing snooze on my alarm clock and was only left with less than 25minutes (including taking a shower and all that) to get ready for school.





Shirt: blue pinstripe white french cuff shirt from Van Heusen
Shorts: white shorts from Topman
Shoes: black leather lace ups from Mustafa
Accessories: brown leather watch from Random Pushcart
Accessories: beaded bracelets from Queensway
Accessories: tortoiseshell glasses from Levis

my something Special here were my purposely mismatched shoe, accessories, and the way i fold up my sleeves. all this helped to give my personal touches to my outfit.

remember, simple doesnt mean plain.


i'm no fashion expert but i do what works for me and i hope it somehow helps you too!

1Look 3 Places

i like mixing looks. like in today's post, i decided to give a modern twist to the traditional Indonesian Batik shirt.

you see, life is too short to take everything too seriously. thats why i like to have fun with how i dress. and probably thats why i dont have just one look. cause i'll get bored of looking the same. so go out today and try something new. pair a cheongsam top with wide legged pants or pin a gorgeous kerongsang (Peranakan brooch) on your vest. mix it up and have some fun!

hit or miss, it doesnt matter. what matters is you had fun experimenting.






top - Batik shirt : one of those tourist souvenior shops in Jakarta, Indonesia
top - white singlet : random shop at Ang Mo Kio Central
bottom - white berms : Zeniz, Far East Plaza
footwear - metallic charcoal lace up : Far East Plaza
accessories - glasses : Levis
accessories - brown leather watch : Random pushcart
accessories - beaded necklace made into a bracelet : Queensway Shopping Centre



like or dont like?
comments/suggestions on the tagboard please!!


xoxo

colorful preppy

i love wearing shorts and there's nothing wrong with that.

i mean i would love to wear jackets and scarfs, tailored pants and oxford shoes, but the goddamn weather in singapore just doesn't permits it.

but the weather of course is not a good excuse for dressing like a slob. unless, you are a slob. then go ahead and strangle yourself with my patent leather Gucci belt because your existence is like a mildew on a Chanel 2.55 clutch.

this outfit i put together here was what i wore to school and afterwards, a dinner with some friends. the whole look revolves around one of my favourite styles -preppy. and i decided to inject colors because preppy can be a tad boring sometimes.




top - multicolored checkered shirt : City Square in Johor, Malaysia
bottom - cuffed shorts : Bangkok
footwear - black leather loafers : Far East
accessories - ivy/newsboy cap : Le Coq Sportif
accessories - navy belt : Club Marc
accessories - brown leather watch : Random Pushcart


comments no matter good or bad, appreciated!!


ciao

just adding water doesnt make you a baker.

most of the time when i ask my friends to point out to me people that are stylish, more often than not, these people who are singled out are usually wearing either stuff from topman, topshop, forever 21, zara. if these stores already sell stylish clothes and these ''stylish'' people wear them. does that still make them stylish?

a metaphor would be calling an apple juice sweet after it's been added with sugar syrup. isnt it the sugar syrup thats making the apple juice sweet? if there wasnt any sugar syrup added, would the apple juice still be sweet?

my point here is that it doesnt make a person stylish if he only dresses and buys stuff from stylish stores. because in the end it is the already in-style clothes that he wears that makes him stylish. not himself.


for me, a person who has a great sense of style is somebody who is able to mix different stuff together and makes it look like it was meant to be put together. its like baking a cake. the professionals bake it from scratch whereas the wanabes will stick to their 4-in-1 ready mades.

just adding water doesnt make you a baker.



well, i hope this entry has inspired you to step out of the pre-packaged box of buying default ''stylish'' items. style is an interpretation of fashion. experiment and have fun.



since this is technically a fashion entry, i shall leave you with my outfit shot. this was what i wore to school!




top - tshirt : Urban Karma
top - vest : thrifted from Salvation Army
bottom : pleated pants from Marks & Spencer
footwear : leather lace ups from Mustafa
accessories : glasses from Levis


if you have any comments or suggestions on how to make this outfit better, do leave me a comment on my tagboard on the right. thankyou!!







xoxo

Lets Go Nude

sometimes life gets a little complicated. so i try to keep things simple with my clothes.

no bright colors and no layering.

so lets put the cardigans aside and let the vests take a breather, and take a deep breath. we can always do layers tomorrow.

showcasing simple in different shades of nude.



top : short sleeve shirt from G2000
bottom : cuffed shorts from Bangkok
footwear : two-strap sandals from Shop In
accessories - glasses : tortoiseshells from Levis
accessories - watch : brown leather watch from Random Pushcart
accessories - bracelet : beaded necklace made into a bracelet from Queensway
accessories - belt : nude leather belt from Mustafa



loveit/hateit?

Distorted Concept of Casual

we might be living on an island but i don't see why everyone has to dress like they're going to the beach everyday. i was a never big fan of the tshirt, shorts and slippers get up and i dont think i'll ever be a convert. to me, this whole ensemble just makes you look down right sloppy. stores like Newurbanmale, Mooks, Billabong's existence proves nothing more than to bastardise our local fashion scene.

its bad enough that our nation's dress code seems to revolve around sloppy, however, the so called 'fashionable' ones are merely clones who lavish in past season's immitations from far east plaza. the death of the gladiator sandals arrived when every single shoe store in far east plaza decided to carry a hideous lookalike, nothing compared to those of Balenciaga's. and now, i suspect PVC leggings will be making an exit from trendy into tacky very shortly. also, in the line, the extinction of frivolous online shops. do i hear an amen?

you see, the problem that our local fashion scene faces is that singaporeans are still a little reserved. we somehow want to be fashionable yet we are afraid to create our own unique identity. therefore, we follow trends so that we are seen as fashion forward yet still being able to fit in. imagine if you were to wear the gladiator sandals 5 years back, nobody would see u as fashion forward as it wasnt the trend at that moment. and that is what a lot of singaporeans fear, standing out.

therefore, i conclude my theory that most singaporeans are fashion-impaired and thus, we follow the trend so that we can be seen as fashionable to the extent of that accepted by the public as being fashionable. in other words, a bunch of dumb copycats.

while many gave me the same phrase whenever i question them about their lack of respect displayed thru their attire to an educational instituition, which is, 'it's just school what?', my idea of a casual attire to school somehow deviates from everyone else's.

while everyone else seems to view casual as a newurbanmale tshirt paired with billabong shorts and havaianas slippers, my casual garb to school usually looks somewhat like this.





Top: black and white checkered long sleeve shirt from Topman
Belt: black leather belt from Massimo Dutti
Bottom: grey bermudas from Giordano Concepts
Shoes: metallic charcoal lace-ups from random store at Far East Plaza.





maybe my perception of casual for school is a little distorted from yours. maybe i'm different. maybe i'm weird. maybe i like it.








ciao!

Neighbours' Night Out

i know i said i was going to update regularly but this whole week i've been really busy with school and going out after school. and on days when i'm not schooling, i making full use of the chinese new year sale to shop.

anyways, i hope you had a great week too yeah!

***

although i stay really close to my neighbour, Fara, we dont really get to see each other often due to her extremely busy schedule. busier than mine okay! haha! so we decided to meet up in town for dinner.

we decided to have dinner at Breekz, Ngee Ann City.




and then she decided to suprise me with my MAJOR ULTRA belated birthday present.





no, its not a little yellow handbag. thats like the box it came in with. and mind you, she made me carry that thing around town!!! anyway, she got me a watch but i somewhat forgot to take a picture of it. dang!




took a walk around town later where we spotted this bunch of buskers who looks damn cool can! very rasta! they were singing some reggae songs in korean i think. erm, imagine Bob Marley with slit eyes and singing korean, probably smthing like No Kimchi No Cry.


decided to call it a night since it was getting a little late.



we asked this couple of tourist from China to help up take a photo together and its seems that they found the ceiling to be more interesting than we were.

***

so i've decided to include the style segment of my blog together with this entry since the outfit is what i was wearing that day.

i decided to keep the look casual chic on that day. and since the weather was a little warm, i paired a short sleeve shirt with berms. but knowing me, i need to have a little 'quirk' in my whol ensemble. so there comes in the grey metallic shoes. and i know my shoes looks like canoes. i have big feet, live with it. but on the hindsight, you know what they say about guys with big feet right?




(from top to bottom)
Glasses : tortoishell frames from Levis
Top : multicolored checkered short sleeve shirt from some random shop in City Square in Johor, Malaysia.
Belt : Navy blue leather belt from Club Marc.
Bottom : light grey bermudas from Giordano Concepts.
Shoes : grey metallic shoes from Far East.

***

that's all kids!


ciao bella!