Flower Power: Jakarta-based Nikicio does floral prints with an edge

While all kinds of prints are a big trend this season, I’m a little skeptic when it comes to florals.

I love colouful clothes but florals are just too girly most of the time, which for me is not exactly a good thing. It risks feeling a little too country and amateurish.

In order for floral prints to work, they have to have a slight edge or at least the cut has to add an contrasting or complementing  dimention to prevent you from looking like a walking garden.

Luckily one particular Asian label is doing florals this season and is doing it well. This is Jakarta-based Nikicio whose collection for this summer is exploding with prints – but in a good way.

Florals head-to-toe don't mean country - at least not with these
tailored ad edgy Nikicio pieces!

Mileti Swimwear: Fashionable and Chic at the beach!

As bright as I am in my dress sense,I have to admit that there is one part of my wardrobe where I usually stick to black and simple; i.e. my swimwear. Yup if you see me at the beach, I’ll be the one with plain black bikini and an over-the-top floppy hat to make up for that lack of my colour and character in my swimwear!

Somehow and somewhere in the past few years, I concluded that when it comes to swimwear, less is more. Not in terms of fabric of course (I’m no fan of Brazilian bikinis!!!) but more to do with style and embellishment. Although rightfully suitable for summer, I feel that too much patterns and ornaments tend to make swimwear less flattering, unpractical and uncomfortable especially when I’m using the swimming pool in my residence. It just feels awkward.

But black is not ideal too so it was time to find an alternative especially that I’m planning on visiting the nearby islands for a relaxing holiday sometime soon! And it was home-grown label Mileti which finally got it right in terms of chic and functional swimwear.

Love this Mileti statement one-piece which brings the colour blocking trend
to the beach!

Trend spotting: 3 of the best Little white Dresses from Singapore labels

Forget about colours, this summer’s hottest trend is all white!

From the Oscars where stars like Gwenyth Paltrow, Rooney Mara, Octavia Spencer and Mila Jovovic wowed in their all-white looks, to the SS2012 runways of designer labels like Louis Vuitton, Moschino, Nina Ricci, L’Wren Scott; white dresses have been on the rise this year and luckily for us replacing the LBD as the classic dress to go to for every occasion.

What I love about the LWD is that it is very versatile, breezy for the summer and works well with almost all skin tones as long as you follow few tips which I’ll be dishing out later in this post. The trend this summer has spanned from very minimal and practical forms of the LWD (Jason Wu and L’Wren Scott) to a more ornamental ones like the detailed and romantic lace and organza creations at Louis Vuitton especially.

But first, as usual I’ve done the work for you and picked 3 of the best on trend LWDs, all from local labels of course! These dresses are not on the cheap side but they’re definitely worth the investment as judging by the AW2012 shows in NY, the LWD is here to stay  for at least a couple more seasons to come.

This Spring/Summer's LWD as shown on the runways of Alberta
Ferretti (left),Louis Vuitton (centre) and L'Wren Scott (right)

Stars who wore white at the Oscars including Gwenyth Paltrow in
Tom Ford, Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji and Rooney Mara in Givenchy.

Singapore Trends/SS 2012: Mae Pang does graphic colour blocking

Unlike high street chains and established designer houses, following a trend might not be the first thing on the mind of an up-and-coming label when designing a collection.

The desire to express more of their vision and unique style almost always takes over which, if you ask me, is a much better option than following the herd.

However for a large number of customers, seasonal trends which are set by the high end fashion designers during the international fashions weeks cannot be ignored.

This usually causes a dilemma for shoppers who wish to update their wardrobe: would they buy the mass-produced but ‘trendy’ pieces from the high street, or support the local designers and ignore the season’s trend?

Well because I’m such a nice person, I’ve decided to make it easy for you to do both :-)

Looks from  from BCBG MaxAzria SS2012 collection showing colour
blocking trend in a more graphic form and less loud than SS2011.