I really want this Pierre Hardy Besace handbag. It's been around for a while - I think it's S/S 06 but I'm not really (yet) of the opinion that you're fashion roadkill if you're carrying last season's bag. In any case it's still up on the Pierre Hardy website, which probably means it's still available, which means if anyone wants to buy me a $1400 post-Christmas gift, please call 33 (0)1 42 60 59 75.

Labels: bags, Lust List

I think I've mentioned before that I have a bag fetish. It hasn't really reared its head lately, apart from that Goldenbleu clutch, but I realised that there are some insanely expensive bags that I've been coveting. Unfortunately, despite a similar lack of spending power, unlike Nisha I can't stop myself from looking at pretty things! I wish I had the willpower. So I just thought I'd let you know. In the spirit of sharing and free speech and all that, you know... By the way, they are bags that are very practical for college use, if you have sufficient spending power. I know


Miu Miu Peggy Vitello Shoulder Bag, $890 at Neiman Marcus


Orla Kiely Greenberries Laptop Bag, $368 at Anthropologie


Anna Corinna City Tote, $396 at Otte NY


Aso Oke Two-Way, $398 at Anthropologie
In terms of functionality, this is very similar to the Anna Corinna - it can be carried as a tote or folded over and carried as a messenger bag. But I love the graphic print, it's so eye-catching.


Finally, an affordable bag! You can't go wrong with a great nude bag. Canvas convertible bag, $68 at Urbanoutfitters.

Enjoy the visual feast, if nothing else :)

Labels: bags, gifts, holidays, Lust List

Shutterbug coat, on sale at Anthropologie.com for $179.95
Extremely cute coat to pick up -- it's cotton, so you'll probably want to just stare at its eyelet prettiness until spring peeks its pretty face around the corner (unless you live in California or something), but anyway if your parents don't know what to get you for Christmas, this is a good suggestion to make!

I apologise once more for posting things that are expensively out of reach for many of us, but my rationale is that showing beautiful things doesn't hurt anyone, so long as it doesn't come at the expense of sharing ideas and items that are affordable. So I promise that a couple of helpful, budget-friendly posts are coming up! And meanwhile, hopefully there are some people out there who're fortunate enough to take advantage of the gorgeous+expensive things that I have a habit of posting. Make these babies yours and treasure them! Meanwhile, to the rest of us impoverished students: these are the things that keep me going during those long hours in the library! These are good things to aspire to.

Labels: Lust List

Kindly inform me, dear readers, if it bothers you that lately I've just been posting pictures of things I want which are largely very much out of our reach. I promise that once I get back to Singapore and am bored out of my skull I will drum up some exciting, useful posts. Not that TheCollegeWardrobe is only my last resort when I'm bored, but... you know what I mean, hopefully.

I want this Goldenbleu clutch very very much. Despite the fact that I'm really not a clutch kind of girl - I like to tote way too much stuff around with my for a clutch to be suitable during the day (and yes in fact you can, in my opinion, take a clutch to lunch or something; it does not have to be strictly reserved for night), and if it's the kind of nighttime occasion to which a clutch is appropriate, then I prefer not to take anything at all because that leaves my hands free (for drinks!) Plus when the drinking is over I don't need to remember what I brought with me. Trust me, this is a good practice.

So my point is, I want this clutch. Scrumptiously sleek patent leather. $300.

Labels: Lust List

Lace Embellished Blouse by Andrew Gn, at Vivre.
Am a huge fan of Andrew Gn's designs. He makes beautiful, vividly imagined, colourful clothes. Oh and he's from Singapore, so I feel a special connection to him.

I love how this blouse has a romantic, slightly ethnic feel with the lace and the shape but the stark colours are so very modern. It's also so versatile - with a pair of jeans it'd be great for coffee or shopping, with dress pants and some pretty earrings it's good for a night out. Anyone have $1200 to spare?

Alice + Olivia Deco Babydoll Dress, at Shopbop.
I really don't like the ankle boots she's wearing that adorable dress with. Once again, the babydoll shape is cute and pretty but the bold B&W deco design gives it a modern edge.

I love white coats. I've been wanting one for a long time but I'm so afraid of ruining it with a inopportunely spilled coffee or splashes of pasta sauce from lunch, that I've just about convinced myself that I can't have one. But that doesn't mean I can't covet this delicious coat by Lux, at UrbanOutfitters. It's so chic it could kill.

Fendi canvas wedges, at Net-A-Porter.
I'm going to be in Singapore in a little more than three days, so I'm getting into a fabulously summery mood! If only I could have these $510 wedges to prance around in, along with my little skirts and jacket-less ensembles.

'Tis the season for dreaming!

Labels: Lust List

The New York Times has a pretty interesting article about the increase in back problems caused by the recent trend of carrying oversized handbags - Ouch, My Bag Is Killing Me.


"In the last few years, bags have become ever more voluminous, and as women have fallen sway to their chunky charms, they have filled them up with necessities. These days many women are as burdened as mail carriers."

I think this is especially relevant to college girls, because I feel like many of us have gladly embraced the oversized bag trend -- finally, we can be stylish around campus and still have all our paraphernelia with us! And the fact that the fashion world finally validates large bags means we probably carry around a lot more than we really need to. I certainly can't remember the last time I actually cleared stuff out of any of my handbags!

This can cause back, shoulder and neck aches as well as headaches. So maybe late nights at the library aren't the only cause of your headaches. It's kind of nice to have something else to blame, isn't it?

"A common side effect is that one shoulder becomes slightly higher than the other. A lot of women talk on their cellphones while they’re carrying these bags, which only intensifies the problem, because in addition to balancing too much weight on one side, they’re lifting the shoulder at the same time."

Recommendations:
- Clean out your purse once a week.
- Use all the pockets so that the weight is distributed evenly within the bag.
- Keep the bulk of the purse towards the centre of the body.
- Rest the straps close to your neck.
- Instead of always carrying your bag on one shoulder, try alternating between shoulders.
- Many women have a habit of unconsciously lifting the shoulder that has the purse on it to keep the straps from slipping, so make an effort to square your shoulders.
- Or carry the bag in front of you. “It’s not exactly glamorous, but if at the end of a long day you find your shoulders aching, slip the bag off and carry it in front of your body with both arms like it’s an infant.”

And if you can afford the time and money, get a massage every so often.

Labels: bags, health, Lust List

If someone is more fortunate than me and able to afford these gorgeous boots by Frye for $325, kindly buy them and savour them.

Available here.

Labels: boots, Lust List, shoes

It disturbs me a fair bit that when I saw that picture on Popsugar, I just had one glance at the back of her head (didn't even scroll down to see the jeans and the boots) and I knew it was Gisele.

Also the next thing I noticed was that she's carrying a Dior Gaucho. For a moment I wondered if it might be a Bottega Veneta but the little buckle on the handle is clearly a Gaucho trademark. And the other pictures confirmed my suspicions.

I think it's clear that I spend far too much of my time surfing fashion/celeb gossip websites. I should probably reallocate some of my time to making my mind work faster when it comes to... math or economics or something. Or maybe get around to giving you girls a good ol' fashion-filled post! I've been obsessed with coats lately so I think a post is forthcoming. Hang tight!

Labels: boots, Lust List, shoes

Louboutin booties!

There is something so very deliciously seductive about those fire-engine red soles. I also have a weakness for shoes with some cute, whimsical detail on the back, like the bow on this one. Now if only they would cost substantially less than $925.

It does also come with this cute little keyring, but in my humble opinion you don't need no incentive to buy Louboutins, yo. (It's past 1am here, excuse the ghetto moment.) You just need lots of cold, hard cash :) One day, one day.

Also, if by chance they're selling this little keyring by itself for what is probably a lot less than $925, I would be tempted to own a little piece of Louboutin but this is hardly a replacement for the real thing and it doesn't even look like a shoe sole unless you know that it's supposed to be. So if it is available and you're tempted, I suggest saving the money and putting it in a Future Louboutin Fund for yourself instead.

Labels: boots, Lust List

You know how most girls are obsessed with shoes? I'm not really one of them. Before you start throwing stones and rotten eggs, let me state for the record that I know the importance of a great pair of heels, and god knows I've blown hundreds of dollars on shoes in my lifetime thus far, but really, deep down, I'm a bag person. My bag collection probably trumps my shoe collection and I certainly started collecting bags long before I started collecting shoes. I just love a pretty bag.

And when it comes to bags, you know as well as I do that there's nothing wrong with coveting one that's hundreds or thousands of dollars out of your budget. We're all waiting for the day when we'll graduate from college, get our fancy jobs and with the (hopefully first) paycheck, waltz into Marc Jacobs/Prada/Dior/Chloe and coolly hand over the credit card to pay for the season's It Bag. This fantasy, like all fantasies, is of course slightly skewed - in reality most stores don't have It Bags sitting in a row waiting to be picked up; normally such unglamorously earthly obstacles as waiting lists have to be dealt with first. But we're still living in fantasy land so it's okay. We'll continue pretending.

Since we've established that college girls are entitled to fantasy, every once in a while I'm going to indulge in some coveting of way-out-of-budget items on this blog. In terms of style, though, I'll keep them as college-appropriate as possible. Just so that you can be on the lookout for affordable knock-offs :)

So here's my pick for blow-the-budget bag which is also durable and very college-appropriate:

Jean Paul Gaultier Cross Body Hobo

Spotted this on The Bag Snob a couple of weeks ago and only today did I decide that the $995 pricetag is no reason not to post a picture or two here. The toffee colour above is beautiful and chicly casual, but I'm deeply, deeply, DEEPLY in lust with the snazzy, bold red below. And how cool is the strap detail? You can change the look around subtly just by tying it in a knot instead of looping it.

Oh, what would I give to be living in the land of paychecks and credit cards already!

Labels: bags, Lust List