Shamian Island - part 1

This is a long overdue post. My apologies.

During the first half of this year, I made 2 visits to Guangzhou, China.  The last trip was in early April and wow it was 4 months ago! One of the itinerary that was on my top list was visiting Shamian Island and it turned out to be the highlight of my Guangzhou trip.

Guangzhou is the third largest Chinese city and  southern China’s largest city. The city is strategically situated at the delta of Pearl river which has made Guangzhou as one of the leading industrial city in China. Guangzhou is a typical metropolitan city. It has many sky scrapper buildings for office or residential and they keep expanding the building vertically.  The city always looks busy and people walk in fast pace. 

Surprisingly I found this area in the middle of the city which is uniquely different and so tranquil. This is Shamian Island. A small island located in the middle of Pearl River delta and connected to the mainland by two bridges. So no need to take a boat to cross the river to reach the island.

Historically during 19th century the island/territory was divided into two concessions given to France and the United Kingdom by the ruling government at that period.  The two nations since then built the area by adopting the European style architecture. Therefore Colonial style buildings are the main theme of the island. In the whole island covering 0.3 square km, it is very unlikely that we can spot a typical Chinese-styled buildings. So when I was in the island I would not feel like I was in China. The surrounding and atmoshpere is truly like we are in one of European cities!

Since the views around the island are truly amazing hence they are worth sharing in my blog. Enjoy!

The grand Colonial buildings due to French and British influences. Seeing these photos, who would imagine that they are in China!

 

Beautiful lush garden with giant trees in the middle of the island

 

 

 

 

While I was strolling around the island, I spotted 5 pre-wedding photo sessions that took place at the same time. It turned out that the island is a popular spot for pre-wedding photo shoots.

 

 

 

 

So, anyone who will visit Guangzhou for business or shopping or medical purpose, please have Shamian Island in your must-visit list.

 

 

Struck by Dior

Selma Blair and Saint Laurent Paris Duffle 6 Bag

I remembered her very well when she was in 'Legally Blonde' as Vivian and it was like 12 years ago! Wow, time flies really really fast.

Here she was spotted doing grocery shopping by carrying Saint Laurent Duffle 6 bag in sunny yellow. Beautiful yellow colour indeed and perfect for summer.
To be honest, I am still on the fence about this Duffle bag designed by Hedi Slimane. But I adore her choice of colour for bright yellow. It has inspired me to find a perfect nice yellow bag. In my case, a yellow Goyard St Louis PM has been on my top wish list. But who knows that one day I change my mind.

Price USD1990

images from dailymail.co.uk and ysl.com

As seen on Duchess of Cambridge: L.K. Bennett Sledge Taupe

During various royal duties, Duchess of Cambridge has been frequently seen wearing her favourite pair of shoes, i.e. L.K. Bennett Sledge Patent Taupe.

Since I am so inspired by Duchess' classic style, lately I have been struck by 'Kate Effect' that I decided to have, at least one item, what Duchess favours. So I ventured myself to buy the very same pair of shoes as Duchess. I thought that if the pair is good enough for Duchess than it should be good enough for me.

I am a person who normally lives in her comfy Tory Burch Sally Wedge for daily activity/working/running errands. Initially I bought this LK Bennett pair of shoes for the main intention as my working shoes. But honestly I find this shoes is quite 'challenging'. The height itself is the major challenge if I have to confess lol. I still can not imagine myself standing and teaching in front of the class wearing a more-than-2inch pair of shoes. The Sledge height is 4 inch or equivalent to approximately 100mm (with 0.5 inch platform).

By the time I am writing this post, I am still 'practicing' in wearing this pair of shoes. The leather definitely needs to break in as it is now quite stiff (maybe due to the nature of patent leather). And I found out that this pair runs bigger. I normally wore size 37 and I ordered size 37 as well for this pair. Now I can feel the gap at my heel against the inner rear part of the shoes. Yet it may not a big issue for me as I can simply slip gel pads inside the shoes to make my high heels more comfortable with confidence that they won't slip out. One thing that I notice (on good terms) is that the front part of the shoes is wide enough that I do not suffer any pain/blisters (note that I have wide feet so getting a pair with a generous width is critical for me)

At the end, I still consider that this shoes is worth buying if only you can get the right size (in my case I should have tried the one in half size smaller before deciding).

Bag Acquisition - July 2013

No new bag in 3 consecutive months. Yay!
Well, I believe that good things come to those who wait *wink*

By the end of July, I have a new classic bag coming very soon... So next month I will definitely feature a new bag acquisition.

How to store Chanel flap bag

 

 

Those Chanel bags have cost me an arm and a leg. So it is a must that I take a good care of them especially when they are being stored inside the wardrobe.

Here I explain the process of how I normally do it.

1. Put an insert into the bag
The main objective is to ensure the bag will not loose its shape while it is not in use. In my case, the insert was simply made from tissue paper that we normally get whenever we buy a handbag. I make an adequate volume for the insert according to the bag size/shape and wrap them with the same paper. So the insert looks quite tidy and is easy for handling.

2. Keep the long chain inside the bag
Pull all the chain and carefully fold it inside the bag. Do not let the chain hanging loosely outside the bag. The heavy metal may damage the leather. If the Chanel flap bag is made from lambskin, it is suggested that the chain is wrapped in tissue paper since the lambskin is not as firm as caviar calfskin. The worst scenario that we want to avoid is that the leather has few dents due to metal pressure from the heavy chain.

 

 

3. Cover with felt fabric

The fabric is normally given whenever we buy the bag from boutique. If the felt fabric is not available, then in my opinion it is still ok for not doing this step. I would emphasize more on step 1 & 2 since they are more critical than this felt covering.

 



4. Put the bag inside its dustbag

5. Store inside the box
Whenever we buy the classic Chanel flap bags, it will normally come with a box.

 

6. If the original Chanel box is not available, then 'improvise'
Not all of my Chanel flap bags have the standard box from the boutique.
In my case then I use a (used) box from dry cleaner which happens to have the appropriate size for keeping the Chanel flap bag. Or I also would not mind to buy a nice and sturdy box to protect the bag.

7. Lastly, store the bag in standing position
Simply never let the bag stored flat inside the wardrobe.

I understand that some women would store their classic flap bags in a more meticulous way. But I have my own method that I find it quite practical and proven to be effective.

Now I can simply wish and pray that one day I can add my Chanel flap bag collection. A medium-sized classic flap bag is very much welcome for the new addition as it has been on my top wishlist for ages. *fingers crossed*

What's on the lounge chair

This picture was taken around 'a month ago' when both bags were actively in use during that week.

Bag Acquisition - June 2013

No new bag acquisition in June as I am still on a bag ban.

image from Google search