Monday, May 07, 2012

Cut The Sleeves

Fashion Diary:

top - reworked Belleno jacket + H&M tee

bottom - H&M jeans

shoes - Timberland

bag - ArtBerg

It's so easy not to make an effort dressing up in a place like Siem Reap. Aside from the heat, the primary reason why everyone dresses down, it's also because it's a tourist town. It harbors a culture quite similar to a beach vibe minus the beach. Instead, you get the Angkor Wat and places to relax, have a drink and dine while you people watch. Lots of people dressed in ugly clothes with zero style.

Although, I don't look over-the-top (at least most of the time) but I truly make an effort not to fall into basic tourist wear: shorts/khakis, oversized shirt and flip-flops. Not only is it horribly uninspired it is such a terrible uniform for someone like me to wear everyday. I guess, it's the vibe of not caring one bit if there is a whiff of style to ones clothing that gets to me when I see tourists around. I see a few who can rock the default 'tourist wear' but then lends it an inspiring aura. But those are exceptional individuals who exude a certain attitude and basic understanding that there is such a thing as proper mix&match. Some combination of print, color and style can be truly hilarious or disastrous. And some people have this thought that since they are on vacation it's fine to wear the 'uniform' everywhere! From morning, to Angkor Wat, lunch, afternoon snacks, sunset drinks, dinner, and so on. I will not be surprised if they wear it while sleeping, too!

I went to Sunday service with the look above. Although it wasn't that formal the service still required a more dressed-up look and proper respect to the event. I've gotten the jacket from a thrift shop and decided to cut the sleeves off to make it more cooler to wear. I think I still look pulled together, not too formal, but still looking respectable. A little bit of effort and common sense would make a huge difference, don't you think?

4 comments:

JonathanN said...

Great post, like always! I am very much impresses with your work..

Anonymous said...

Hi.:-) I love the look...a tug o' war between formal and informal, playful and serious.:-) Love the concept!

A nagging question...I wonder how a backpacker could try to look "fashionable" though, let's say, with only a 10-piece clothes allowance? A shirt and khaki shorts seem to be the best solution.

Sintea

fuchsiaboy said...

Jonathan - Thanks!

Sintea - I would divide it to 2 black pants (something in cotton that can be casual and formal), 1 soft structured jacket ( Muji and Uniqlo has lots of style), 2 tank tops and 3 tees (I like mine in gray, white and black), 1 shorts (in black) and 1 LBD in jersey cotton.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your great ideas. I think a backpacker who would wear this set of clothes would be considered a "glampacker".:-)

All the best with your work!:-)

Sintea