HIGH CONTRAST

My t-shirt frenzy is far from over, so is my obsession with purple hair. I'm a proud owner of a local designed t-shirt by illustrator Mojoko and of course, my gradual toned purple hair, see those bright purp ends? I think they look much better then dip dyed. It's more natural since my inner layer of hair is lighter instead of just my ends. Okay! Enough about those two. Here's something new: my shades, a.k.a the two tone SXUC Bruno Black 2023 from Australian e-tailer Sunglasses Shop. Black vs white = love. 

Mixing prints can really go haywire sometimes, you know, OOT. What I did here was matching a unique print (top) with a geometrical pattern (bottom), keeping a simple colour palette of black and white (see: sunnies) with a little purple, of course! You can go vice versa too but since the unique print looks heavier, I'd keep it at the top. Print vs pattern = love also! Finally, one must not left out my new Dr. Martens badass heels!

Here's the roundup: SXUC sunglasses, kult Unbreakable's Warrior Tee, Zalora skirt, Issey Miyake clutch and Dr Martens heels. 

The moment you've been waiting for, my virgin SHADES giveaway! Get ready to own this pair of extremely versatile SXUC Bruno Black 2023 (worth S$31) by:

1) Liking Sunglasses Shop here and
2) Leaving the comment, 'I <3 Sunglasses Shop! #VWgiveaway at www.vionawang.com'

This is as easy as it gets (coz you know, me loves you) so no excuses not to take part. Contest ends on 18th Apr and is open to all my readers. Yes, every single one of you no matter where you're reading this!

Stay tuned for my winner announcement on my Facebook Page. 'Like' if you haven't!

Psst! Sunglasses Shop sells designer brands like Ray-Ban, Prada Sport and loads more. :)

LUISA FIETTA

There I was, sitting in front of the general manager of Pedder Red, Luisa Fietta, holding onto my smartphone with the voice recorder. We were at the corner of On Pedder's flagship store at Scotts Square overlooking Orchard Road. Before you get to know this amazing lady, let's rewind a few minutes. 

It was press day at On Pedder and we were introduced the latest shoes, bags and accessories (which I will be sharing my favs with you soon). I haven't met LuisaFietta yet. Then, as we were ushered to Pedder Red's 'Let's Gold' collection, the amiable Fietta appeared and boy was I captivated by her presence. If you are reading this, Luisa, pardon me for being slightly distracted. 

This was what happened in my head, 'I love her style! I must photograph her and share it with my readers! How should I do it? Should I ask her directly? But I may seem a bit too freaky and unprofessional. How about Marie (marketing and communications consultant)? Okay! I'll ask Marie later.' Yes, I had a spurt of adrenaline rush and that was just a small excerpt of the impromptu meeting with myself. 

It was Fietta's energy and vibe that I admire. She's stylish, super down-to-earth and talking to her feels just like catching up with an old friend. So here she is!

I love your hairstyle.

I cut it myself actually. (I literally went, WWWHAT?!) I just cut the sides, keeping front part long so that I can have two different ways of wearing it. Sometimes I will roll my fringe up, sometimes it's down. I'm inspired by Alice Dellal. I shaved my sides before too but it didn't look as good. 

How did you start working in fashion? 

I'm originally from Italy and I studied accounting and finance mainly because my parents feel that it's the safer way to go. I went to work in sales for Diesel right after my studies and spent three years there before moving to their Hong Kong office. Then, I decided to study nutrition in a Hong Kong university before joining the Pedder Group. It has been a year now. 

How many tattoos do you have? 

Lots. They are all on my arms. I like nature and flowers. *started unbuttoning her sleeves to reveal her tattoos* This is peach blossoms. Always need to be surrounded by flowers. 

When did you first get your tattoo? 

My first got it when I gave birth to my daughter. It's her name. 

Why do you like tattoos so much? 

It's an expression. There are several ways of expressing yourself. I have strong feelings for my daughter and I like to imprint something visible so it feel more real. My peach blossoms tattoo is an expression of freedom, about rebirth. Peach blossoms are slightly bigger than cherry blossoms and they only blossom for two weeks. In Japanese tradition, it teaches you to embrace the beauty and appreciate what you have cos' sometimes, it goes away very fast.  Just like childhood memories. My roses (tattoo) is about passion. I am passionate in everything I do. I love drawing. Even when I was a child, I draw everything. I like art on my body. 

Do you speak Cantonese?

Xiu xiu (means very little)! Hong Kong is very much like Singapore, everybody speaks English there. My colleagues are always surprised to hear my speak Cantonese. I've spent 13 years in Hong Kong and have learned to understand it better. I don't know Mandarin thou. But my daughter does. 

How old is your daughter?

She's four years old and her name is Viola. She was born in Hong Kong and she speaks Mandarin very fluently. 

Tell me about your style. 

Women now play important roles in the society and they like to feel strong yet feminine. I like a good mix of hard vs soft, masculine vs feminine. And a bit of rock 'n' roll. 

What are you wearing today?

My glasses are Alexander McQueen and my necklace is by Ela Stone. The necklace is perfect: not too shiny and has a clever use of chain and leaves. I love to collect vintage accessories, especially necklaces and glasses from 40s and 50s. 

What is the most valuable vintage item you have?

It's a pair of glasses from 1960s, made of real gold. I bought it from an old vintage shop in London, England. It has thin round frames. Very cool. I don't buy secondhand. I buy old stock that nobody wants to buy so I get to buy all those pieces at their original price sold in the 60s. Some cost about S$100 - 200. (!!!!!) I find really good vintage stuff such as glasses and sunglasses from Germany, London, Australia, both sunglasses and glasses. I like old way of jewelry making. 

How different is tradition way of jewelry making?

It's of higher quality because they are handmade. The makers pay a lot of attention to details, especially the closure. It's perfect. Sadly, they don't have time to focus on this now. 

What do you like about Singapore?

I really like the peacefulness here, especially when you exit from the airport. First of all the cabs are clean, drivers are nice and the road lined with trees are amazing. The big streets and trees are very different from Hong Kong. All the wide streets don't exist in Hong Kong. People here are very friendly. I love it! The trees and weather here make me happy. 

Luisa made me realise something I didn't know about Singapore. Come to think about it, the long straight road towards to airport is the indeed very calming and beautiful. 

THE DREADLOCKS ROUTE

Let's take a trip down Dreadlocks Route, we've got the world famous Bob Marley, pirate Jack Sparrow, Lenny Kravitz in his signature hair rocking his Are You Gonna Go My Way music vid and my favourite dreadlocks moment of rapper/stripper (best job combi for a girl for guys) Brooke Candy in Grimes' Genesis music vid. Of course, the Dreadlocks Route wouldn't have been so popular if not for Lady Gaga. 

As much as I love to see people in dreadlocks, I personally wouldn't try it. Partly because my endurance for pain it too low to stand the five hour process, I'm too lazy to maintain it (more time and effort than maintaining my current purple and red hair), I can't stand not being able to scratch my hair when it's itchy and I'd look awfully weird in it (I need some fringe to cover my fat face). 

Over the years, I've realised more Singaporeans have taken the Dreadlocks Route. In fact, I just saw two girls sporting really long ones yesterday at Haji Lane. Elden (above), who is currently waiting for his enlistment, has been dreadlocking for 6 months now. It's much cheaper to get it done outside of Singapore so Elden first went to Thailand and now goes back to Johor Bahru for maintenance. With the tribal headband, eye brow piercing and ear gauges, Elden's dreadlocks is just an icing on his hippy cake.

Next up is Kiki. Dreadlocking isn't a temporary commitment for her - she's a permanent resident (PR) in Dreadlocks Lane (where the Dreadlocks Route leads to). I like how she adds beads to her dreadies for some extra colours. We can do that to our normal hair too but with thicker strands, comes with larger beads and of course, bigger impact. Kiki loves it so much she said she has finally found her look. Gosh, I'm still looking for mine. 

And finally, we have media student Yong Xian, the New Dreadlocker on the Block/Route/Lane. When I spotted him in town, he just got it done at Far East Plaza. Sporting a side shaved look with bright blue streaks and thicker locks (see how hard his are compared to Elden's), Yong Xian takes dreadlocking to a completely different level. 

What Elden, Kiki, Yong Xian and possibly Bob Marley, Brooke Candy and the rest have in common is that to them, dreadlocking not only changes their ordinary appearance but is a form of self-expression. 

I had so much fun using 'dreadlocker' and 'dreadlocking' but does 'dreadies' sound better than 'dreadlocks'? 

NEW YEAR NEW HAIR

Hair dying is an addiction. Once you start, you can't stop. When your dark roots start to grow, you dye your hair. When your hair colour or colours fade, you dye your hair. When you want a makeover, you dye your hair. When your period comes, you dye your hair. When you feel like it, you dye your hair. Excuses or not, taking on 2013 with a hairlift ain't an excuse, it's a valid reason.

So there and back again, I was at my favourite seat at Salon #1, thinking about what I should do to my hair this time. If you haven't notice, purple is my boo and I still can't enough get of the hue. And my boo needs a friend, a hair bff to make each other look good. Then, came the fiery bold red. Bang!



High maintenance? Yes. I have to use dark coloured towels so that the dyes don't stain, I have to apply hair mask, UV protecting spray and leave-in hair smoother, whenever I wash my hair (preferably once every two days so your colours don't fade so quickly) which also means more time to prep before I head out, I have to blow dry my hair regularly, I can't wear white tops when my hair is wet to prevent any stains and the list goes on.



Is it all worth it? HELL YEAH! I love it so much! Hair is one of your greatest assets and best accessories. But do look after your mane and take good care of it. A lot of people dyed their hair but did not maintain them properly and they turn out really dry and frizzy. I say it's a great investment on hair products when you wanna dye your hair. There's no point spending so much on hair dying and waste them all on bad maintenance. You gotta have fun with it while you can coz if I have this hairstyle when I'm 50, people will say I'm some crazy old hag.

Happy Birthday, Sis! 

Monroe's Curls.

I think Kizuki has one of the coolest hair ever. A fan of the blonde of the West, Kizuki has been keeping her 1950s look for almost four years and all she does now is simply bleach her dark roots. Kudos to her and you guys out there for enduring the torture of bleaching your roots to maintain your dame! I love her Asian take on the classic Marilyn Monroe's Hollywood curls. In fact, Kizuki made it her own - edgy and androgynous with a touch of femininity. Too cool. And I haven't started on her outfit yet!

Kizuki is a hairstylist and this is her first time taking part in Fide Fashion Weeks, which explains her hairdressing kit in a handy two-tone sling. She gets most of her stuff from Japan, other than her five year old shoes from a German brand, Trippen. So vintage print shirt worn over a beige Peter Pan collar shirt, check. Bright orange suspenders that I adore so much, check. Cute two-tone leather sling, check. Worn-out leather shoes that still look amazing, check. Unconventional beauty and ultra-coolness, CHECK. Do I have to say more? 

There's this thing about females wearing suspenders that I love. Kizuki is the second girl who rocks the menswear trend so well (check out first one here on page 6). I'm on the hunt for suspenders now. How about you? Would you wear suspenders? Comment below!

Side Shaved Hair?

Hair is indeed one of the most underrated feature of your body, especially here in Singapore where most people focus on which handbag they carry, which brands they wear, where they dine and all. Ever since I started my street hairstyle hunt with L'Oréal Professionnel Singapore (it's not as easy as shooting street style fashion), I realised that a handful of Singaporeans do give a shit about their hair. Keeping a lookout for them is definitely not easy although many times, I was so tempted to check out all the hair salons on the island. You know, hairstylists naturally have the coolest hair. Well.. thing is, I don't have to resort to that yet, coz thankfully, I manage to spot many hair fashionistas on the streets, not only at Orchard but all the way to Chinatown, Millenia Walk and even the Google office!

When you have the good, you have the bad too. Let me share with you some of my observations:

1) Guys with side shaved hair are flooding the streets now from celebrities, editors to students and Ah Bengs (in case you're wondering, a.k.a. gangsters). I love to find out who started this trend that makes one's head look elongated. The play of Long & Short is a tad too much. 

2) Guys with side shaved hair and, fully gelled and combed are also flooding the streets too. I tried my best looking for one guy who looks amazing with side shaved hair but sadly, none of them stood out. Don't blame me on this. Somebody start another hair trend to make this go away, please. Having said that, side shaved for girls is indeed a new trend that grows on me. Way cool and badass, don't you think?

3) Brown is the most common hair colour for Singaporean ladies, period. I guess most of them are bored with their black tresses and want a colour which is suitable for the corporate world, paving the way for the boring brown. The bad news is, all the aunties jumped onto the hairwagon too. Whether is it the leftover of previous hair dyes (our black roots aren't the perfect canvas for hair colouring - another bad news) or simply because it's the Ah Lian (female version of Ah Bengs) trend, the perfect combi of brown and rebond hair, there are no excuses. It's time to head to the salon, ladies!

Then again, you don't have to dye your hair to look great. The hairsionistas I've featured so far are bold to use their black hair as the perfect backdrop for colourful hair accessories such as headbands, hairbands and hair clips. 

Disagree? 

So anyone of you out there, who resides in Singapore and fancy a mention on both my blog and L'Oréal Professionnel Singapore, feel free to drop me an email (vw.vionawang@gmail.com) with your interesting hairstyle and who knows? You may be featured next!

Long & Short.

Okay, I admit. I still can't get enough of PURPLE! Then again, this new shade is more like an in-between, somewhere in the middle of my virgin purple and blue. If you take a closer look, you can spot some ash grey patches as well - that's a personal touch from my favourite hairstylist Jason, from Salon #1.

Here's a twist. I look perfectly normal from the front, like a crazy girl who is obviously not from the corporate world, rebellious and all. Then from behind, well.. I still look like a crazy girl who is obviously not from the corporate world, rebellious and all, except I love to reveal my neck and a couple of moles... just for fun. It does get a little more breezy too!


My overall hair shape now gets a gentle lift, especially at the back, to give it some volume. Although I definitely need more time to maintain it by blow drying the back to keep them in place (my hair tends to curl outwards), I'm absolutely in love with it!

So Anna Wintour has her signature bob, Suzy Menkes her statement pompadour, Kate Lanphear her platinum cut, Taylor Tomasi-Hill and Grace Coddington's awesome red, the list goes on.. and they've all found their look. Is this gonna be my chosen one? The front-long-back-short purple number?

Into the Blue.

A new season, a new hair colour! I'm still in love with my purple hair but it's time to change it up. So there I was researching countless of amazing hair colour photos on tumblr and finally decided on BLUE! This time, it's more subtle with a focus on my fringe and the inner layers of my hair. I didn't want to be shouting blue so it pops out whenever the wind blows or when I tie my hair.

While getting my hair done at Salon #1, I picked up a hair colouring tip which I find is suitable for you whenever you want a hair colour change:

Me: So, Jason. How do you know which hair colour best suit your client?
Jason: There are several ways to find out. First of all, you need to find out which colour group you belong to: warm or cool. Warm colours includes red, brown, orange and blond, while cool colours are purple, blue, green and grey.

Me: How exactly do we know which hair colour group we belong to?
Jason: One way is to look at the colour of your veins. A good area to look at is underneath your forearm. If majority of your veins fall under either one of the colour group, it means that you belong to that particular group. Of course, it's still up to you in the end.

I guess for me, it's pretty obvious: I am the cool hair colour girl. Ha. Oh! Btw, I'm wearing Giambattista Valli for Macy's sequin top.

Rock Chic.

It's hard to wear a two-tone vest without looking like a jester. I like how Cherry matches her black and white vest with an all-white ensemble. With that, her outfit certainly makes her jet black cropped hair stands out too. Of course, to complete a rock chic look, you can't leave out a statement chain mill necklace like hers.  

Currently studying Fashion Marketing at NAFA, Cherry is serving her internship for a semester at Club 21. A Topshop fan she is, her top, shirt and necklace are all from Topshop, vest is from Taiwan and her see-through oxfords are from A Lodge.

I would love to own a pair like this but given my sweaty feet, I'm not sure if I'll feel as comfortable with the plastic sticking onto my feet. :(

It's PURRple!

I've been wanting to do this for the longest time! With expert tips from the master behind my makeover, Jason Sim of Salon #1, I decided to try out different shades of violet highlights for a more subtle and softer look. I am extremely lucky to have him take care of my hair, Jason is one of the four I.D artists of L'Oreal Professionnel (a.k.a trainers to coach hairdressers on how to translate the latest runway looks and colour techniques and more, for the real people) in Singapore. Plus, the latest hair-colouring treatment, Platinum from L'Oreal Professionnel produces amazing colours and maintains my hair's natural moisture, unlike bleaching which damages your hair.

I must say.. I'm totally in love with it! Thank you L'Oreal Professionnel!

Au Naturel.

Last Wednesday, national monument Tanjong Pagar Railway Station was turned into a night of fashion meets Art Deco. The annual fashion event organised by local magazines Female and NuYou saw the showcase of REDValentino S/S 2012 collection, a first in Singapore.

Models wore an au naturel look with hair neatly pulled back into casual low bun accompanied by a nude makeup palette. Chic, laid-back and so easy to do, isn't it perfect for the summer?

Stay tuned for more runway photos!

The Fine Line.

I had my one and only cropped cut was when I was 9 years old. It was the typical bowl cut (covering your head with a bowl and chop off the excess hair) for kids and that was it. From then on, it's either bob cut or long hair - all thanks to my chubby cheeks. 

Angular features are ideal for the bold, cropped cut. Luth pulls it off just right and his jet black hair draws a strong contrast against his fair skin. Despite his gender, Luth's unique androgynous look and model physique landed him campaigns for local womenswear labels like young & restless and max.tan. 

Akin to Bosnian-Australian model Andrej Pejic, this certainly creates a new talking point when it comes males modelling women's clothing. If you ask me, as long as the result looks great, who cares whether the model is male or female?

Luth wears earrings from his Mum, top from Uniqlo, high-waist pants from young & restless and clutch from Fabrix. 

Bleeeached.

After a few weeks of hair watching, I've learned something: As understated as hair is, some people do go the extra mile to achieve their favourite hairdo.

Bleached hair wannabes, here's something to take note: Bleaching your hair isn't just a one-off thing, it requires some, no I mean a lot of TLC. For this dancer's cropped cut, her virgin bleach took six hours and now she has to maintain it every two weeks with approximately two hours per session. And that's just for the colour. Is it worth it? I say it's worth every second.

Rastafarian Cool.

Dreadlocks are extremely rare to spot on the streets of Singapore. Best associated with the new religious movement, known as the Rastafari, dreadlocks derived from "dreadful hair" that is, as described by the British who invaded the natives in the West Indies. To me, it is indeed very unique and of course not 'dreadful' but pretty delightful, mainly because very few people can pull it off. Bold and dark eye makeup with nose and lip piercings and tribal accessories are indeed veering towards the hippie side but why not? 

Old Hollywood Glam.

Glittering in a sequined deep v gown, Charlotte Olympia Dellal embodies old glamour H-to-T (head to toe). Her Marilyn Monroe-esque retro curls accompanied by bold ruby pouts (not to mention her spiderweb earrings) beautifully portrays her footwear label, Charlotte Olympia's aesthetics - 1940s glamour. 

The winner of 2011 British Fashion Awards Accessory Designer made a special appearance at On Pedder Scotts Square last week to present her 1950s Miami glamour-inspired Spring Summer 2012 Collection, Sirens. 

What caught my eye was the Pandora Box Clutch. Simplicity and versatility at its best, the clutch can be decorated with all kinds of colours, textures and prints - all depending on whatever you want to behind its transparent body. Adding a touch of quirk is Dellal's signature, the curious spider of Charlotte's Web. 

Brown Blond Blue.

Speaking of hair issues, Genevieve from the up-and-coming local fashion label, 20:TWOTHREE, goes for exactly what she wants. Her love for bright multi-hues (four shades in total! Ombre, purple, blond and blue.) took her almost nine hours at the hair salon. Her Asian black roots didn't stop her, "after first bleaching my hair, my hair ends became very brittle and started breaking. I had to cut them off but I love my hair now!" 

So, if you are like me, who is still considering dying your hair ends, be ready to condition your hair thoroughly every day (Genevieve's advice). Well.. whatever happens, you can always cut them and they will eventually grow back right? Gonna to get my bleach and hair dye now. P.S: Isn't her fur vest absolutely gorgeous?

20:TWOTHREE will be launched this 14th April so stay tuned!