Quotes from the Lesser-Known: Part 20

'Give a brief description of yourself.' 

'Melanie. Mel for short. I don't like my name Melanie, so call me Mel. I'm like a nanna. I think like one & behave like one. I like to do things that nannas do. Baking, cooking, rocking on my swivel chair & looking totally clueless when a teenager asks me to name three albums about desert island which I kept pronouncing as dessert island which I had to Google to find out that it was an actual island, but that is besides the point because this is supposed to be a description about me.' 

'Three things whilst backpacking around the world. Go.' 

'IPhone - It's basically your 3-in-1, except that it's more 3-in-1. Camera, writing, cell phone, music, internet, etc. Shitloads of cash - So that I won't have to live the life of a backpacker. I can check myself into a decent hotel & dump my backpack in there & start exploring in the most comfortable way. A companion - What? You're going to exclaim how great this macaron is to yourself? Get out of here.' 

'If you could live in any other place in the world, where would it be?' 

'Paris. There's something about Paris that makes it nostalgic. And also, I live for butter. No one does it better than the French.' 

'Why is fashion an integral part of our lives?' 

'Fashion distinguishes you from the rest of the people! You can go out wearing your pyjamas & be known as the pyjamas girl, that might set you aside from the rest (but seriously, is that what you want?). Fashion displays the amount of confidence that you have for yourself. What you wear is how you want people to see you. Impressions. Not to impress someone, but to leave an impression that could possibly inspire someone else. The needle pulls the thread & this could go on & on, & you're changing things with a mere impression.' 

'Talk about the fashion scene in Singapore.' 

'Well, 'fashion' in Singapore is overrated. Everyone is basically a clone of each other & the ones who are trying to stand out are basically trying too hard to be different. It's just baffling how people can don winter coats or unrealistic clothing for such a climate. There's too many people trying to be something else. Just be yourself & wear what fits & suits you best. That's the best accessory that you can put on yourself.'

Melanie Tang, 23

Fashionista, baker, & all-round foodie

A Valentino Summer

Ever since I got the issue of Teen Vogue in the mail, I haven't been able to stop ranting about the beautifully-cut Valentino dress worn by Elle Fanning in the February cover shoot. It appears that the spring/summer fashion trends favour old-fashioned lace cuts and bright classic reds (The tart shade, after all, is an apt choice for award season's numerous red carpet events. One only needs to look at Charlize Theron's choices for the Globes this year).

Elle models in a red Miu Miu dress with a full lace bodice, a scarlet Christopher Kane piece with white lace sleeves, Marc Jacobs & even some elegant Louis Vuitton. Accessories wise, the simple gold headband and thick Oscar de la Renta cuff goes wonderfully with the Valentino.

As for the charming starlet, one can no longer call her the 'second' or 'littlest' fanning. As said before, the lovely Elle Fanning is going places. Besides being a talented thespian, who shows not only breadth, but depth of acting, Elle can be said to have reached far into the world of fashion. Being personally invited  by Karl Lagerfeld to the Paris 2011 Haute Couture show is not something many teenagers can dream, let alone, boast about. Besides being on the top of fashion show invite lists from around the world, Elle Fanning is also the model, spokesperson & muse for established couture line Rodarte. And all of this, at the age of thirteen-going-on-fourteen.

You can read the full teen vogue article here, or watch Elle pirouette gracefully in Rodarte's short fashion film, The Curve of Forgotten Things.

Colour on the walls

Rodarte 

Chanel

Burberry

Not usually into haute couture, but reading Hywel Davis's Fashion Designer's Sketchbook (Thank you, Page One Warehouse sale) has proven to be mightily interesting.

It's awards season across the globe and everyone is looking absolutely gorgeous, flaunting 2012 spring/summer collections that were showcased last year during fashion week. Especially adore Rodarte's lovely floral summer dresses; a hot red carpet choice for stars like Kirsten Dunst, Natalie Portman & Elle Fanning in the past few years. Shouldn't be obsessing over five thousand dollar dresses, but hey, a girl can dream right?

Cannot wait to see 2012 autumn/winter collections! Burberry's prêt-à-porter menswear is particularly stunning.

Meh.

Note to self: do not paint props while feeling groggy/extremely tired and thinking you'll live through it. Instead you'll wake up with a cheek-ful of red paint!

Also, I think I've sprained my hipbone. From what physical activity, I wonder. Was it from sitting in front of a PC all day, slouching in front of the telly, or walking from my bedroom to the refrigerator to get more chocolate buttons? Urgh gluttony defeats all.

My hip really, really, hurts though.

A Very Glee Spiel

I admire anyone who is able to carry off a sheath tube dress without looking like a frump/slut. Afterall, Françoise Sagan once said that a dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to take it off you (cheeky!)

Inspite of how much I'm SUPPOSED to loathe Glee with its impossibly drab script and lack of musical originality, I don't. I hate to admit that instead of watching 'intellectual' TV series like CSI or The Mentalist, I pretty much followed the Quinn/Finn + Quinn/Puck + Quinn/Sam drama from start to end! Who can hate such good looking people with good chops?! (most of the time...)

What can I say, hearing Lea's voice gives me the chills. And I can't wait for the season to continue :)

A girl should be two things; classy and fabulous.

Know anyone else who looked better in a wool vest, wide-brimmed trilby and a spotted tie?

I think not.

La dolce vita

I never stop dreaming that in the near future, I can indulge in a Parisian breakfast of hot rolls and salad as and when I like... in the mismatched socks, leather penny loafers and the navy blue panama :)

Watching french movies make me sad that I'm stuck in a country without wine-and-cheese culture. I guess I don't need to elaborate on the education system (sticks out tongue)


Yesterday tag-team clare and dayna stayed over and I'm still recovering from lack of sleep. Time to hit the books! urgh.

'You really are the smuggest and most hateful man'

Vicky-T or Leighton Meester weren't the first ones to wear silver eyeshadow! Now I know.

Watched How To Steal A Million where the leading lady was paired with Peter O' Toole. I must say, he was quite charming. In the words of Audrey 'Tall, blue eyes, slim, quite good-looking...'


Audrey Hepburn, bold silver make up, and House of Givenchy serves another marvellous film. Even if it is, about the greatest heist in French history.

But you're never gonna love me like I need

A little shopping in the middle of exams never hurt nobody.

Cannot wait for this nightmare to be over. Wye Oak (and their latest EP, My Neighbour My Creator) have been good companions the past week. God knows what I would do without these incredible finds, thank you NPR and indiesecretmags :)

Gold Gun Girls.

An air of enchantment,
day of half-smiles and secret flutters
Like a spark in evening light.

There's something about the striped sweaters,
and mischievous grins.
Maybe she'll love somebody
Someday

_________________________________________

So yesterday I spent the whole day taking naps, listening to Metric and Closure in Moscow and painting. And yes, it was a school day. Mom thinks the occasional skive is healthy; playing a bit of hooky never did anyone harm ;D

School has become a blur. Days filled with teachers yelling at me for no apparent reason (I kid you not), essays after essays, and the endless lessons. Still, there are always the chalk-doodles on class tables and my two awesome 'sidekicks' (literally. Cause they are beside me. Get it? Yes.) Tiara and Suatty.

Friday we had Alfresco! It was hella more fun than I would have imagined it to be. Had to perform for it and being the slacker band that we were, we choosed, arranged and practised three pieces a couple hours before the actual event.

A day full of stuffing our faces and well, stuffing our faces.

Found this series of photos highly entertaining.

'wait for me! 2T07 photo!'

'eh- you're not from our class! GO AWAY!'

'UM okay?!'
*Success*


Besides that, everything has been rather quiet.

Went for Island Creamery with Clare and Joan today, and off to NTU so that Luki could give me a tour. Ended up reaching at 530 because 1. The bus to Clementi MRT broke down in the middle of the road, 2. Pioneer MRT might as well be in Malaysia and 3. NTU is just too massive for its own good.

Its really pretty tho. Nicer than NUS. Hmmmm.

Watched a ridiculously bad movie after that, which name now escapes me. Professer something and the immortal something. OH GOODNESS. But we scoffed tons of food at Fish&Co. after that cause Luki found out about this top secret $1 fish and chips deal with NO STRINGS ATTACHED teehee. We are cheap like that.

Teppanyaki/Fish&Co. again with the girls again tomorrow, and movie with patrick and will! Whip it whip it whip it!

Up in five hours. Night everyone :)

Are you perspiring, from the irony?

Here's all that you had wished right here.
She says,
Live your thoughts,
Cause pavement dreams shatter easier
than I thought they would.

Don't you wish for one day
to be rain hitting the sidewalk
or sweet flowers by the evening light?
Beauty in repose.

_______________________________________

Isn't it just a horrid time to start re-watching the first two seasons of skins? Ah shoots.

(Where's Cassie/Hannah Murray? 'Crazy bitch. Never eats.' - Mich)

And of course, there's the reason why most skins viewers are gals.



All he wants to do it dance!



Wednesday was cross-country and as per usual, it was a waste of time. Island Creamery and Adam's Road for some good ol' 'makan' with Clare and the rest before, which was good. Everything else was tosh. Must develop and scan diana-mini shots in soon!

Our mascot was brilliant, why it did not win, escapes me.

The only thing I can remember from today are ms yoong's more-than-usual rants and raves and rambles etc. Carrying a somewhat indifferent attitude towards the subject. Common Tests are a joke.

Chinese A-level results tomorrow! If I don't have to take Chinese-B, I will treat my chinese mentor SUAT NING to ice-cream! It's a deal.

YES, I've heard of Florence + The Machine.

Love everything about this. The checkered mini dress (?), ribbed-sleeve leather jacket and her hair. Pity we lack the joy of the four seasons.

The most hectic part of the festive season is over and I'm not quite in the mood for school. Today I went for one pathetic math lecture (which as per usual, had zilch idea what was going on) and a rubbish GP tutorial. And had to stay back for my oh-so-fantastic CCA until 3:30pm, wherein the wonderful leaders made our poor juniors play hangman. Walked around school with Jac and Rach and by the time we came back it was time to go.

So much for being 'The Press'. Clearly, our name is the only aurally-pleasing part of the whole shebang.

Pictures from our class BBQ last friday! All in all, a veritable feast (wherein George ate a fire-starter, I kid you not) and way too much gossip.







Why are we so spastic.




Realised today that common test is sometime in two weeks. And there's still Rockefella to deal with and the Paramore concert. Fantastic! Now I won't have time to sleep.


Speaking of sleeping. Goodnight everyone :)

Its gonna be Legend - wait for it -dary!

Gossip Girl Season 3

Leighton Meester is hot. Not in a lesbiany way, but in a WOW-I-really-dig-her-hair-and-awesome-boots-way.


And honestly, this is probably the best thing that has happened in the (short but LEGENDARY) history of Gossip Girl.



Smexy couple much?!?!

12:09am. Time to log off and get some shut-eye, tomorrow is going to be one heck of a day.

Free Fallin'

He makes her heart flutter,
She makes him catch his breath.
It's obvious they share something special.

Love notes in the form of post-its,
stuffed in letterboxes,
Second glances.
It's obvious they share something special.

You know she's thinking of him,
when she starts to daydream,
Or hum her favourite tune.
You know her scent is his drug.
It's obvious they share something special.

The girls,
they flaunt their latest crushes,
but they are secretly jealous of her.
The guys tease him,
but secretly,
they wonder.

It's obvious the share something special.

________________________________________

by the way, i don't know why the post-it got stuck to the paper plate. No link?

The long weekend started off absolutely boring. Malaysia trip was CANCELLED because of Easter rehearsals and music practices! Sitting at home, watching telly and getting absolutely nothing done. Now, where have i heard this before?

And then my life changed.

TAMPINES ONE OPENED!

it was epic. Was so stoked to hear that they were going to have Topshop, springfield AND uniqlo there that i had to go right away. Friday headed there with mother dearest, which was a pretty bad mistake because it was hella crowded. Managed to get some aussome stuff tho :D

Saturday went there in the morning again to queue to get into Uniqlo! People certainly DO go for novelty, so much so i had to queue for half an hour to get in. It was absolutely worth it and uniqlo deserved all the hype it was getting, seriously. I sweaar clauds went rabid at the sight of the Grafik designer tees and started to dive into clothes like some mad middle-aged auntie (whooops.)

Went for lifenet and FAITH IS BACK! wheee. as short as ever.
At night went BACK to T1 again with MEL. Who rushed back from Malacca after i told her about the mall. The real shopoholic comes alive!

This is a fever, really.
It was rather late by the time we reached so uniqlo was closed D: Mel got a tank and Ains got a girls cropped tee(holy guacamole!) from PunkStar, and that's about it. The crowd was crazy as usual, and we had to wait for a cab for ages. By the time we got one, Mel was already all loony and moronic-like; more so than usual actually.

Today's easter service was alright :D Jennifer was the usual drama mama and Alex had a wicked peak cap. Poor nicholas! As jen would refer to it, her 'OTP' it officially shattered! But we can still hope :D

And i thought it was a load of baloney at first.

School tomorrow. I recall having homework but um, my non-existent dog ate it.
Dinner nao.

Hurricane hayley.

Who put that song on hold?
The air is empty
I've lost my train of thought.
I think i might need you,
To fill in the blank spaces.

The finest thing I've ever done,
The hurricane,
i can't outrun.
______________________________________________

I don't think i can be more pissed.

So we were out for dinner the other day and i happened to notice a little something in the shop window i thought was blog worthy. I was so hopping mad i wanted to punch the giordano sales person who asked me if i needed any help (dude, sorry if i gave you the glare, it wasn't your fault!)

Perhaps a little intro.

To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.Their vision is hope, and that hope is real.

As a non-profit organization, TWLOHA finds ways to support itself globally to a) the endorsement of several well-known bands such as Switchfoot, Anberlin and Paramore, and b) through the sale of merchandise, also for advertisment's sake. Thus, the sale of these very very cool tee-shirts, which have been around for ages.

So obviously, i was shocked to come upon THIS in an establishment called giordano.

Seriously, what?! What sort of design plagiarist scandal is this?! And the worst thing is that they were selling like hotcakes. Had a bit of a nervy spaz when i saw it and texted half a dozen people, AND ranted to mom for one whole hour. I think Liz ran to the nearest giordano outlet and asked had quite an interview with the manager (if i was as brave as her i would have punched the salesperson, who actually had the NERVE to tell me no photography was allowed.) and is currently writing an email to the Twloha to tell them about this. What is coming to the world!!

_____________________________________end rant.

So besides saving the online tee-shirt store sales a day at a time, school has been well, pretty tiring. As usual. Laughs and hoots never stop though! Mdm Wee has offically been added on to the 'Teachers who hate Stacy and Amethyst' list, alongside Mrs Sng, Ms Yoong and Mdm Tan(who almost sent amy to detention, btw.). Whooo so short a time and i've already managed to get into teacher's bad books!

We had a small class drama over the sitting arrangement HAHA. Especially since people were being especially mean and didnt want to sit next to the 'smiling circus operator'. Well i'm glad about our arrangement now:D Although in our teeny weeny classroom where we're all squished like sardines in a tin can, it's like you're sitting next to everybody. I totally saved Yi wen's ass! She owes me a hundred lemon-icing muffins!

Me and amanda made a list of Hot Guys who never made it in movies. But that is to be continued.

Friday had everyone chanting 'TGIF, TGIF, TGIF...', with such intensity as if another minute of the boring math class would give them rectal cancer. I swear my eyeballs were about to fall out of their sockets and roll across the floor. But yay, the weekend!

A small hiking trip at hortpark the other day, which ended at vivo city's starbucks. Alex and I ran through the vivo waterfountain, which was strangely fun and very very wet. I feel rather bad for having so much fun while the others are dying at CJC's History Night. Hilarious!

Went up a mountain a teeny hill.
There were like monkeys hanging off the rails and it was a pretty high drop down to nowhere.


Mark: I dare you to push that monkey off the ledge.
Jenny jennifer and nick came back today and things have gotten a lot more alive :D now don't let your head get big people! I'm still waiting for those souveniers. Although mel is sick as a dog and feels like death. get well soon!!

Here's to another week of endless days! See you you in a bit muchos.