Saturday, February 28, 2009

Koi Suwannagate & Phillip Lim - Ring a ring o'roses


Blue roses - 3.1 Phillip Lim & Koi Suwannagate


3.1 Phillip Lim Rosette Tank dress (colour washed out in the sunny trellis photo)
Marni shoes

Taupe roses - 3.1 Phillip Lim & Koi Suwannagate

3.1 Phillip Lim linen strapless rosette dress (love the pockets! 'Pockets full o' posies')
Christian Louboutin Electric Blue Simples 85mm
PS. Whenever I wear this dress, people feel the need to come & 'squoosh' the 3-D flowers!

(www.firstview.com)

Black Roses - Koi Suwannagate

Koi Suwannagate black cashmere rosette top (roses are on the back, boatneck in front, worn back to front)
Stella McCartney for H&M silk tulip skirt
Stella McCartney fuschia satin pumps
Beaded cuff (bought it over 10 years ago!)

The sleeves are in fact split, which I'm not a fan of, so I've knotted them up to make my own 'rose & thorns'. I see Natalie wore her sweater back to front too (although they say no two pieces are the same)!

Koi Suwannagate

It’s all in the detail! I liked the old times when things took time to be made. I appreciate the value of vintage clothing and draw much inspiration from antique pieces and organic shapes. I love femininity paired with imperfection."

Born in Bangkok and living in LA, Koi Suwannagate launched her line in 2001. A few years later I discovered her imaginately beautiful hand-sculptured creations, using vintage & organic fabrics, and nature-inspired designs. This black cashmere rosette top was my first Koi Suwannagate piece, and it is a real shame that I couldn't photograph it well (especially seeing it's black), it only made me fall deeper in love with her artistry. A few years later Koi collaborated with Phillip Lim for his Spring/Summer 2007 collection, which was truly a match made in fashion heaven. I fell in love with the 3-D sculptural roses, , and it's my favourite collection by Thailand-born (to Chinese parents) Phillip Lim (whom I've been a fan of since his 'Development' days). In more recent collections Koi has shown that she is not just a 'knit-girl' and has also used beautiful silks & jerseys.

Winter 2009

68 comments:

  1. LOVE your phillip Lim dress, it looks phemonenal on you.
    LOVE the Stella shoes too <3

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  2. I love the Fall collection with all the greys, it is my kind of thing!

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  3. Fantastic! I'm sithout words...great pieces of art in your wardrobe! I wish it could be my wardrobe too!!!

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  4. I always love Phillip Lim !
    Thanks for introducing me to Koi Suwannagate. I didn't know her work. It looks great !

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  5. I love your outfits! and collections are absolutely gorgeous too!

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  6. really beautiful!

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  7. One word: Stunning! So much better that the runway. I am so jealous of your Stella mcCartney pumps. I remember when I first saw them on the Fall 07 runway. I instantly fell in love. <3

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  8. You have such a classy style. Love the Lim dress! We gotta support Asian designers when we can :)

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  9. I remember those rosettes vividly....loved that Lim collection!

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  10. the philip lim rosette tank dress is gorgeous. I'm so jealous of your wardrobe

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  11. Lovely roses. I have the blue one.
    Have you seen the new ones from s/s 2009.
    I have one in mind, from greek inspiration.

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  12. Oh man, that first dress is really stunning. You have such a great eye for getting pieces with details.

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  13. phillip lim! mmmm!!!
    those roses are simply stunning, and i especially like the marni shoes you paired the navy blue dress with. you have such extraordinary taste and such lovely pieces, i can't wait to build up my wardrobe like you have!

    XXX

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  14. Gorgeous - Phillip Lim is one of my favorite designers ever! I have a really lovely broderie anglaise dress by him...His attention to detail is amazing.

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  15. i love the first blue dress !!

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  16. love the detail of rose on those dress ... they suit u perfectly!!!

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  17. LOVE the roses! I can't believe you have so many pieces! They are all so beautiful! Lol about people wanting to smoosh the roses :P

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  18. I love the 3.1 Phillip Lim collection, the tank dress fantastic, kisses from Barcelona

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  19. Those rosettes are to die for! They just look so full of texture...love it.

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  20. Wow! Criativo e romântico, vc está linda!!!

    Mil beijinhos!!
    Bom domingo!!

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  21. Gorgeous dresses!!!!! You have an amzing colletion

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  22. Gorgeous dresses & gorgeous collection! You always have the most enviable pieces! I love how you paired the dress with bright pink!

    xoxo,
    La C.

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  23. love all the rosettes! and the lim dress is killer on you.

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  24. I loved all those outfits on you! And I loved the bolg as well! Nice to see multicultural people now and then. As vezes a gente se sente sozinha com nossas histórias de vidas geograficamente movimentadas!
    Très beau!

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  25. I went wild for those PL rosette dresses for a whole season. Settled for a tee, but I'm kicking myself for not getting the dresses no rosset w.

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  26. i'm in love with the blue 3.1 dress. love your blog!

    http://drrtylaundry.blogspot.com

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  27. hahahha that was exactly what i was going for, unstudied elegance mixed with a little intelligence. the geek glasses also came out in lectures haha. ah well, i had a bit of a bad day, no-one was nice. but it's only day 1. i should stop complaining.

    hope you can do the tag! i was going to comment you now to tell you i had tagged you, but you beat me to it haha.

    XXX

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  28. you have the cutest clothes. i love love that phillip lim dress. just darling.

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  29. the philip lim dresses are so beautiful !!! my favourite is the navy blue one, you look so sexy !!!
    but the beige one is also so romantic and cool.
    and the Koi Suwannagate top is gorgeous, i love the very sensual neck.it is perfect with the tulip skirt and the amazing pink shoes.

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  30. may i ask you if the philip lim rosette blue dress is a recent buy ? i would love to purchase the same one.

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  31. Thank you everyone for such lovely comments!!!

    DYDWD - Sorry, I'm afraid I bought this dress last year from net-a-porter, which is no longer available :( It also came in a t-shirt dress (white) version, and I so wish I had bought that too...

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  32. The roses on the dress is so perfect!!!! :)

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  33. WOW, I am speechless. You officially own the most sophisticated yet fresh and carelessly chic dresses I have seen in ages, and you wear them with so much style. Thank you for this sensational post <3

    xxxxxxxxxx

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  34. i thought that phillip lim has always been very modern and minimalist in a way. He's kind of like the asian calvin klein :)

    i totally adore him !

    ohh.. and i'm glad that you introduced Koi Suwannagate.. I never knew the collection was that good. !

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  35. the first one is my favourite, but all of them are totally amazing!

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  36. the first one is my favoruite, but all of them are totally amazing!

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  37. The Stelle shoes are such an statement piece! They look gorgeous. And those 3D flower dresses..fantastic on you.

    ps. just letting you know i changed the blog's url to http://beautystandard.blogspot.com/

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  38. Wow, I didn't know Koi and Phillip Lim did a collab. It looks really beautiful. I love the pictures you put put up from her Spring 09 show!

    xxx,
    Tiffany

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  39. WOW I love the rose buds. That's amazing! thanks for introducing me to Koi Suwannagate! So cool.

    Trisch xo

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  40. OMG ur dress is so freaking beautiful. how do u afford all these?
    seriously, are u the mastermind of an illegal drug operation? hahaha

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  41. I want I want I want rosettes!!! now please

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  42. That dress is gorgeous!! Your wardrobe is like a fashion museum haha. I love that Suwannagate dress with the butterflies, it's so feminine and romantic.

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  43. Aimee of Song of Style- LOL! - seeing it's the 2nd time this week someone's asked me this Q, I feel the need to address it.

    The last person to ask me this was the ever-so-cute Alice X of Alice in Wonderland, and I was going to write to her that I can 'afford' these because:

    1) Well,for starters, I'm older, I am literally double her age! My guess is I'm around 10-15 years older than you as well (eeps! oh, the shame!).

    2) Being older, I've been working for a while (although funnily in the last few years my salary has decreased rather than increased), so my purchases have been over a long period of time, I also sometime re-sell items I've never worn to fund further purchases, haha.

    3) I have a shopping budget (especially now that I'm married, it's a percentage of what I earn, NEVER hubby's), which helps me think purchases carefully.

    4) I try to be very careful/selective with what I spend my money on, although I occasionally get swayed by 'works of art' (as I call it, clothes with amazing detail I feel I could 'hang on the wall', or pull out of my wardrobe and stare at, but are not as practical). Still, I like to think my purchases very carefully and for quite a while (days, sometimes weeks, hence big sales and shopping whilst travelling overwhelms me at times).

    5) Being careful with what I spend my money on, and having a budget means I could choose to spend it all on one item full price, OR be patient, try to wait & hope things go on sale, and buy several pieces at a better price (for eg. this 3.1 PL dress, took me a while to take the plunge, and by then it was reduced, the recent Dries Van Noten pink dress, I waited and waited, it went on sale, but I had spent my budget for the month, so waited more...it got reduced further, and voila, saved a further 95 pounds!).

    6) I prefer saving up for one good piece then buy several smaller pieces that don't mean as much to me.

    Sorry for the 'essay-long response'! :)
    xx

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  44. Btw, I do love a good/cheap/bargain purchase too! :) I scored a japanese silk kimono for $4 on ebay (shame postage was $20), or my $1.50 ring, or the 2 euro Gap tee I'm wearing at the moment, and my beloved Havaiana collection (which I refuse to buy in any country but Brazil, as they're overpriced everywhere else due to their 'recent' popularity, although even back home the price is getting quite expensive for the humble Havaiana).

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  45. wow i didnt realise that the ss07 phillip lim was a collaboration. I loved that blue dress too. i looks beautiful on you.

    thank you for all of your wonderful comments.

    I really enjoy reading your blog as well. Your posts are very insightful and every outfit you wear gorgeous. :)

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  46. thanks for your answer, you are adorable !!!

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  47. cool! if i put a post up about koi i'd just be lifting images, but you have the real deal!

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  48. The Philip Lim dress is gorgeous, and I love the Koi collection for Fall 09!

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  49. Beautiful rosette detailing. I really like the fit of the top on you, very flattering and quite sexy as well. ;D

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  50. those are such beautiful dresses!

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  51. The blue roses dress is unbearable perfect. It's so gorgeous! x

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  52. wow, are you serious?? you look AMAZING!! I love all of them...just beautiful--another great post :-)

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  53. p.s Yes, ABSOLUTELY, would love to exchange links--you have a fabulous blog :-)

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  54. wow, you're dresss are so beautiful! the blue one is my favorite!!

    thanks so much for stopping by my blog! i love yours, you have killer style.

    xx

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  55. OMFG!

    I love all your "Summer" dresses its how i call them hehe!

    specially the first one and the "Koi Suwannagate" Black one!!!


    PS: Koi Suwannagate's collections are simply amazing!!

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  56. Wow I'm so jealous of your philip lim dresses. He's one of my favorites.

    xoxo
    Stephanie
    www.modernantoinette.blogspot.com

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  57. Jealous very much of your rose clothes! And I looooved Koi's fall collection, esp the shoes! Where do you buy her stuff from?

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  58. Katlin - Hey, thanks for dropping by my blog :) In answer to your question, Koi Suwannagate (non Phillip Lim collaboration pieces) are hard-to-find, and I only know of her online store (I survive on online shopping mostly) at http://www.koisuwannagate.com/OnllineShop/index.html

    I couldn't find Hawaii in her 'stockist' list:
    http://www.koisuwannagate.com/Stockists/index.html

    Hope that helps ;)
    xx

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  59. I would love to swap links with you. Will link it up now.

    Yea i know what you mean about the current mj collection. I much rather prefer the ss08 collection. But i dont think the boaters are very cute.

    I live in auckland, which is bigger and not as windy as wellington. You should try to stop by sometime. Id say go to straight to the south island on your first visit...its gorgeous and has such a variety of landscapes.

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  60. thank you so much for the link !!!
    i could make the rosettes myself, but i have to say i am very lazy (shame on me). these rosettes are such a big work !!!
    and i liked the dress so much, the colour, the shape, the fabric, everything, that i thought it was perfect like it is. i would like to have exactly the same one and would feel unconfortable to make a copy of it. but i will keep an eye on ebay and should try to make my own different rosette outfit.

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  61. o_o i love those dresses !
    i wish they could meet my closet...i bet they'd get along :)
    I just found your blog through the comment you left me this morning...and i like it. Would you like to trade links with me ? :)

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  62. The dresses look amazing... I'm also a big fan of Koi Suwannagate..

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  63. oh gosh i am in complete envy! I love dresses and roses! sigh* Both dresses seriously look sensational on you! i especially love the colours navy and taupe all the way!

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  64. Katrina - Ah! Auckland! Have heard only amazing things about the South Island :)

    DYDWD - I totally understand! ;)

    jessica - Have added you ;)

    Thanks madame dior! You are too kind! :)
    xx

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  65. Querido irma,

    siempre linda.

    ;)

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  66. kaka - Muito obrigada irmao ;) Ainda estou com vergonha!

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