Saving

I'm into saving tips lately, just about everything. Read a lot of articles online.

Yahoo!Finance has pretty cool articles to refer if you don't know where to start. The latest article that I read is called "Financially Fit". 

30 Tips to Spend Less and Save More 

Have a look. Certain tips might not apply in our community or country such as 4-season-weather savings, but off-peak fashion or trend might help. For example, I just bought a pair of flat, cute shoes recently for less than RM35. They are very comfortable, at least for me. Flat, round-head, cute shoes have been in trend for a while. It is no longer "fresh" in fashion, even though it's still trendy. 

Fashion trend is irresistable, especially for ladies. You just know it when you look at the magazines rack. All of them are trying to tell you what is the current trend in the west, or in Japan, or in Korea. One thing to resist it is, hang out less. Don't even do window shopping if you don't need to buy any new clothes. Have you ever go window shopping and come home empty-handed?  *Grin*  Plan shopping for holiday seasons, such as Chinese New Year. You could start as early as the August mega sale or maybe at Christmas sale (since the two seasons share a common colour - red). I've conservative old folks at home that insists me to wear red at laest on the first day of CNY. So, I'll buy a new red blouse or pants or dress once a year. I'll make sure I get the one that I can wear all year round, or perhaps the CNY season in the following year. Afterall, who remember what you wear last year? (Maybe your partner or your parents might) Just, maybe...

Enjoy saving. It's worth it. You will see your fruitful harvest later.

Fashion Designer - Leanne Marshall

Leanne Marshall – If you like Project Runway and have been watching it on 8TV, you will recognize her name. She is the winner of Project Runway Season 5 (which aired in America in 2008). 

Project Runway, in case you don’t know about the show, is an American reality television series focus on Fashion Design. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme. Their designs are judged, and one or more designers are eliminated each week. Final 3 contestants will design and show cases their collections in Bryant Park during New York Fashion Week. The winner of the show will be given US$100,000 to start his or her own line, with also a feature spread in Elle Magazine.

A brief background of Leanne Marshall. She was born and raised in Yuba City, California. Marshall knew she wanted to be a fashion designer when she was 12. She won a scholarship to study at Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco, California. She didn’t go into Fashion arena after graduated from the Fashion Institute until she moved to Portland, Oregon in 2006. She joined Project Runway Season 5 in 2008, and won the prize at the end of the season. 

Leanne says in her biography, her design is inspired by nature, architecture and modern innovation. And she chooses eco-friendly textiles to create most of her fashion pieces. She is a huge fan of sustainable textiles when comes to fashion design. 

Marshall’s Project Runway collections (which are displayed above) were inspired by a waterfront sketching of Willamatte River in Portland, Oregon. You can hear the water and the wave while seeing her collections. Each of them feel so light, yet you can see her effort details in the high fashion pieces. You can watch Marshall’s entire collections of Project Runway at: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvmXZDO608w&feature=related 

Marshall’s design after Project Runway continues her determination on supporting sustainable textiles. Each of her design is an architecture piece. When you look at her textile piece, it is as though you are also looking at a piece of architecture – picture Frank Gehry’s design. The details of the texture, the flow of her fashion thoughts, and of course, the beauty and elegant – her end products, her showroom. 

This is one great example of her eco-friendly piece at etsy.com. This short wedding dress is made entirely of green/sustainable materials. The skirt and details on the top are made of a beautiful ivory hemp silk blend, and the structured foundation is made of an organic cotton and hemp with silk blend. It is even interfaced in organic cotton canvas. 

Frank Gehry's Starwood Hotel

For more information about Leanne Marshall, please visit her website: http://www.leanimal.com/#/home.

Design Trend 2011

Is it important to follow the trend? One might ask. Some people like me don't like to follow trend. But, you can't deny the flow, especially when you are drowned with the same pattern over and over. As though you are forced to accept the concept, and until you feel that it is normal to have such pattern. Fortunately we are living in a world now which emphasizes individualism. It is okay to have certain way of flow, although it might be off from the main stream.

What is the trend currently? Simple, clean, spacious, minimal, back to nature. 

A coincidence, the current trend is my favourite. Extremely organized (maybe not, depends), simple, minimal, straight to point. With the technology, the designers can now reach what would be impossible a decade or a century ago. When I say design, it includes all areas - fashion, graphic, interior, architecture, etc. The designers are jumping on the technology's bandwagon to take their creativity to the next level.

Back to nature. Capitalists have literally destroyed the environment we lived a century ago to what we see now. Green technology, sustainable design, renewable material, etc. are everywhere and overloaded. However, let's look at the bright side, it is good to have awareness here and there to remind us (hopefully to warn us) to save our mother earth. 

Quiet, peace, private, in a chaotic, busy, public place - is now the excited and challenging trend. 

An interesting video. Hope it inspire you.