Attack of The Duffle


March 6, 2013

by Gracia Ventus

Givenchy | Rick Owens | ‘All’ Saints Laurent

I went on a full tirade against Hedi Slimane on Twitter as soon as the collection was posted. 

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Ebay Deals of The Week


February 27, 2013

by Gracia Ventus

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Hiding and Revealing The Body


February 16, 2013

by Gracia Ventus

Inspiration

Jil Sander Spring Summer 2011

Result

Recently I found this billowy maxi dress from [Aqua][1] which I was immediately drawn to because it reminded me of Jil Sander’s SS09 collection. It’s the same dress which I wore in my beach holiday in my previous post. While I do realise that a long dress isn’t quite de rigueur of beachwear, I can hardly think of a more comfortable option for several reasons. Not only am I shielding my skin from potential risk of skin cancer, I can avoid putting my body up to the scrutiny of others while at the same time not having to squeeze into skin tight lycra that refuses to breathe, that is until I have to change into my bathing suit for a swim.

There is also something appealing and liberating with the idea of hiding one’s physical body, which is almost the anti-thesis of Western (and some Eastern) aesthetics that constantly emphasises the waist. It made me wonder why one’s attractiveness is so highly dependent on how much one’s figure is revealed. One would think that at this day and age where rational thinking is highly prized, we would enjoy a little bit of mystery that challenges our imagination rather than being shoved with obvious visual cues that denotes one’s suitability in procreation (ie. hourglass figures = fertile). It doesn’t help that most major fashion publications equate ‘flattering’ with the hourglass shape to pander to the male fantasies, disregarding the fact that a pear or apple or even trapezoid silhouettes can be as equally, if not more, fascinating. 

To end this post, I’d like to share an anecdote that inspired this commentary. When I posted one of the pictures above to a female fashion forum, one of the feedbacks I received was that I looked like a tent, to which I replied: “I like looking like a tent, thank you very much. Not everyone wants to look like an hourglass. Be careful when you see me walking down the street though, I can’t guarantee my kimono will not hit you in the face.”


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Getting Some Sunshine


February 5, 2013

by Gracia Ventus

Welcome to my holiday photo diary, folks. In this post I will share my short adventure with you in the beautiful island of Langkawi, one of Malaysia’s most popular tourist spots. We stayed in an area called Pantai Cenang (or Cenang Beach), surrounded by restaurants serving delicious local and international cuisine, including Mcdonalds (bleagh). There was even an English lady who opened a tea place where I could finally have proper cream tea since the last time I left London.

No this is not the English lady who owns the tea room
Behind me is a restaurant-slash-bar called The Cliff overlooking the sea, which I’d highly recommend for their excellent service. Not only did they offer to lend us a pair of binoculars (so I could spy on the people at the beach), one of the bartenders even offered to make me a custom-made cocktail, which I officially christened Rosenrot. He knew what I wanted despite being given descriptions of tastes (I’m a dork when it comes to alcohol). Rosenrot is a mixture of gin, vodka, rum, raspberry and lychee liqueur.
The best part was that the cocktails cost me no more than what’s equivalent of an American fiver each, which was seriously cheap considering that it was a posh place to begin with. This is because Langkawi is the only place in Malaysia that is duty free, so there’s no better place to get intoxicated in style.
Rosenrot – possibly my favourite cocktail which I’ll never get anywhere else
We rented a scooter for less than $10 a day (nope, I’m not kidding) and biked up to the highest peak of the island, which is a mountain called Gunung Raya. Along the way we found wild monkeys and cows.
Mommy monkey doesn’t seem too happy to see me
The journey was admittedly much more enjoyable than the destination because there wasn’t much to do at the peak of the mountain, so we headed down soon after to the next destination. Along the way we stopped by this beautiful stretch of coastline…   

…but unfortunately the view at the other side was rather ruined by the cement factory. 

The next pit stop was the local spring called Telaga Tujuh, and to get there we had to climb more than six hundred steps up a steep slope. If I had known that I would be doing this much physical exercise in extreme humidity, I would have thought twice about my wardrobe choices (ie. long-sleeved shirt and Rick unbreathable jeggings).

 Thankfully the climb was all worth it. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The spring flows over the cliff to form a magnificent waterfall

So that was pretty much the adventurous side of my trip. The rest of the time was spent lazying about on the beach and stuffing my face with food ($1 burgers cooked on the spot; $5 BBQ fish, I could go on and on about this…). I’ll end this post with a bunch of cute ducks. Thanks for reading guys.


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The Legend of Gunung Raya


January 27, 2013

by Gracia Ventus

I just wanted to say thank you to all who have taken the time to read and/or shared your personal experiences with me on the previous post. It’s very heartwarming to hear that we are not alone in the battle against sexism, boys and girls and everyone in between, whether you’re in Australia, Mexico, Asia or anywhere in the world. I will try my best to address your comments one by one over the coming days. In the meantime, here’s a photo taken during my holidays. Louis and I were climbing down a steep, abandoned staircase at the side of a mountain in Langkawi (Malaysia) that led to goodness knows where. I’ll be back with more holiday photos.


“Local lore has it that Langkawi was once home to a band of Giants.
Mat Raya and Mat Cincang were two Giants who were the best of friends.
The son of Mat Cincang and the daughter of Mat Raya were both in love
with each other and the two Giants gleefully agreed to the the union
of their two children. During the wedding ceremony, Mat Raya became
angry when he noticed the bridegroom making eyes at someone else other
than his daughter. As a result of his rage, the two Giants eventually
became involved in a furious argument. Violence ensued and pots and
pans became thrown at each other. The spot where a broken pot fell
became known as the village of Belanga Pecah (broken pot), where the
gravy fell, became the town of Kuah (gravy) and where the hot water
fell became Air Hangat (hot water), where the present day hot springs
are, and finally where the wedding ring fell became known as Tanjung
Cincin (Cape of the Ring). As the two Giants fought, a third giant Mat
Sawar, tried to intervene between the two and separate them. Suddenly
a bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens and as the giants
looked up they turned to stone. Mat Cincang became Gunung Mat Cincang,
which is now the second tallest peak on Langkawi (and infamously now
home to the cable-car ride). Mat Raya bacame Gunung Raya, the tallest
peak in Langkawi. And finally Mat Sawar became Bukit Sawar, a small
hill in-between Gunung Mat Cincang and Mat Raya, still valiantly
trying to separate the two.”*


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