Trendwatch 2011: The Robot T-Shirt

I don't know what's cooler here: the robots, or the homage to London Calling by The Clash.

Maybe it's more of a new-ish trend, what with the Transformers movies and all, but I've become quite obsessed with robot T-shirts lately. Not that I would want one for myself, but there's just something cute and ironic about grown adults over the age of 18 running around with clothing decorated with robots on them.

Call me crazy, but there's something very Custo Barcelona about this. 

When I was working on my Camp NaNoWriMo novel last month, I was looking for an outfit for my male protagonist - basically a cross-hybrid between The Hotness and one of my nicer ex-boyfriends - to make him look cool and nerdy at the same time. At first I thought that I could give him one robot shirt, but the concept was just so awesome that I ended up giving him an entire closet of robot T-shirts as a way of giving his character a little bit of irony.

Can't get enough robot T-shirts? This list from Hide Your Arms should get you started.

Can't get enough of robots in general? Here's a song from British-Malaysian pop artist Jamie Woon, which has a bit of a Jack Johnson/ Terence Trent D'Arby feel to it.

Trendwatch 2011: When Kawaii Girls Grow Up

kawaii wallpaper by ~cupcake-bakery on deviantART

Before I start, let me make it very clear that I, as an Asian woman of a certain age, have no problem with cuteness in general, and everything that's considered kawaii in particular. In fact, if it were up to me, all of my bed linens and office supplies would be decorated with tons of tiny, happy, smiling Japanese cartoon characters, and be generously shameless about it as well.

I do, however, have a bit of a problem with the image of the Asian woman as the perpetual kawaii girl: slim build, pale skin, tiny high-pitched voice with matching giggle... and, yes, in certain instances, the occasional short skirt or low-cut top.

On one hand - and from an academic standpoint - there are some situations where the kawaii-ness actually works, especially when it involves a discussion of Asian culture. (I once had to use this line of reasoning to defend a colleague of mine who used her high-pitched kawaii voice in teaching Japanese.) That doesn't mean it can't be a problem for a grown woman; it's one thing to speak in a cutesy, high-pitched voice for cuteness' sake... but when you're, say, a news anchor in Honolulu reporting on a raging fire that has left several casualties in its wake, THAT might be a problem.

(No, I'm not naming names. For that, you will need to go to Scribey; just make sure to offer a week's worth of free babysitting in exchange for the information.)

Which is why I love watching the kawaii archetype getting turned on its own head by Asian women in mass media.

Holidays With an Extra Punch

This holiday look from Smashbox intrigues me. 

Taken as a screencap from my email account. 

Here's how to achieve it, from the Smashbox website: 

Apropos of nothing, this is the second time I've mentioned a lip product named "Maple" in this blog. Hm.

Compare this to the "holiday" looks sweeping the Philippine press these days, using examples from Preview magazine: 

November 2010: Cristine Reyes, looking very much like a cross between Maggie Cheung and a cleaned-up Amy Winehouse (not a bad thing, let's face it)

December 2010: Model/ designer/ makeup artist/ reality show darling (and current national girlcrush) Solenn Heussaff;  check out a list of colors and techniques used here

There really is nothing wrong with all three looks, to be honest; mileage always varies when it comes to makeup, so there's no universal rule saying that everyone should only adopt Trend X, Y, or Z in any case. 

Which leads us to the next point: Who says we have to stick closely to the script when it comes to beauty? Maybe you do want to wear sparkly eyeshadow with the flashiest gown in your closet, or maybe you're the kind of person who could pull off a smoky monochromatic mauve with your office-to-party outfit. That doesn't mean you can't shake it up a bit. Maybe you should start with a monochromatic face and add a bit of black eyeliner. Or take the same black eyeliner and pair it with some bronzer and/or shocking pink lips for a little walk on the wild side. 

(Aside: I wouldn't be surprised if Santa handed the perpetually naughty Cristine Reyes a tube of  Nicki Minaj's Pink 4 Friday lipstick from MAC; she could probably pull it off, too.) 

Either way, this should teach us that we can all afford to be a little more adventurous when it comes to fabulousness during this prime party season. Cheers! 

Trendwatch 2010: OMG Chef Iz Daddeh!

And now... a return from a much-needed Lenten mini-break. 

Fact: Having kids changes everything. I'm a childless singleton myself, but I've seen it so many times with my friends who've just had kids (including Scribey) that it's definitely undeniable.

Fact: Having kids changes everything, especially when you're a dude. This I don't have to explain, since I live with my parents and I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the things my dear PapaMei did before fatherhood changed his life.

Fact: If you are a male chef - and especially if you are a male celebrity chef of certain prominence and/ or notoriety - having kids will change everything in ways that you would never expect.

Okay, so "celebrity chefs as dads" is not a new trend. Gordon Ramsay and Tom Colicchio have kids; so do Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, and Tyler Florence. Heck, even Christopher Kimball has kids. (Not that I'd doubt Mr. Bowtie's ability to reproduce; I just don't want to know how, is what I'm saying.)  Some of the chef-hosts I've seen from the Food Network Canada reruns shown here, like Michael Smith and Roger Mooking, have talked about how Becoming A Dad has changed their culinary approaches.

What does stand out as trend-worthy, however, is the concept of fatherhood as a signifier of major change in a chef's public image.

Witness, for example, Jamie Oliver's speech at the TED 2010 conference:




And then, there's our favorite potty-mouthed culinary bad boy (and known embodiment of the chef-as-debauched rock star archetype) Anthony Bourdain, turning up as a guest star in - of all places - Yo Gabba Gabba! 



In fact, now that I've mentioned this, I'd like to go ahead and nominate a few more food-show hosts for the inevitable on-screen "OMG I IZ DADDEH!" epiphany:

• David Rocco (Food Network Canada): I want to hate him based on his show alone; he has the face and body of a GQ model, lives in Italy with his gorgeous wife, and gets to cook - and eat - all sorts of fresh and delicious Italian food while exploring a life that I can only dream of... in other words, the male version of Giada de Laurentiis. His Wikipedia entry, however, mentions that he and his aforementioned wifey just had equally beautiful twin daughters, so I'm totally looking forward to the episodes where he cooks for the girls.
  
• Adam Richman (Travel Channel, USA): Now here's a thought for you - the guy from Man Vs. Food, taking time out of his busy schedule of chowing down and pigging out to reproduce. Regardless of how that thought is coming into your mind right now, you gotta admit that it's more palatable (pun intended) than seeing Andrew Zimmern on Sesame Street.
  
• Bob Blumer (Food Network Canada): Not that I would know if he's available - let alone willing, for that matter - but I've already stated in this very blog that I am willing to volunteer myself for the cause, so that's that...
  
• Curtis Stone (late of TLC, though I still prefer him on Surfing the Menu): ...Annnnnd, in the off-chance that Bob Blumer really isn't up to the task, I'm going to join that very long line of female shoppers at Whole Foods who have been waiting for him to, um, be taken home for the purpose of spawning his messy-haired babies. Heh.
  
• Guy Fieri (Food Network USA). On second thought... um, no.

Trendwatch 2009: Pale Pink Lips

There used to be a time when pale pink was the color of sweet girliness: Barbie, Strawberry Shortcake, Molly Ringwald; peony blossoms, Easter eggs, a child's first ballet class. And wasn't it almost yesterday that MAC had a line of girly pastel pinks for last spring's Sugarsweet collection?

Now, as fall approaches and springtime's promises are still out of reach, the pairing of pale pink lip color with strongly-colored eyes - from dark smoky eyeliner to vivid Technicolor lids - becomes more than just a "transition" look; it's a bracing shot of sugary politeness, the better to soften the bolder fashion statements of the coming months.

Check out this ad for MAC's Style Black collection...


...and the models in Michael Kors' Spring 2010 runway show during New York's Fashion Week (credit: WWD via Allure)...


...and the pages of Sephora's Beauty Central...



...AND - perhaps the most fun interpretation of them all, in my opinion - on the lips of Sandara Park and fellow members of the Korean girl group 2NE1, in this TLC-esque video for their Bollywood-flavored megahit "Fire."



Best of all, you don't have to wait until Spring to get pretty with pink, regardless of your skin color: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Check out the pink-ribbon beauty products, fashion items, and other items available to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Fund.

And If You Just Couldn't Get Enough of Those Hats from the Last Entry...

...I give you: Ukrainian Army commercial.



Because, while Ukraine no longer in Soviet Russia, beret still wears you.

Trendwatch 2009: Is This Supposed to Keep Me Warm?

First of all, I know that Oahu has been cold and windy these last two weeks, so I understand the need to keep warm. Heck, I'm the one who bought a sweater coat at Sears this morning because I got tired of freezing myself off while my other jackets are in the wash. But:




No. Just... no. I don't care if you call this a Snuggie or a Slanket, or if you were one of the few people on this island who purchased the printed rip-offs that I saw this morning: something about it is just not right, yo.

Speaking of things that are supposed to keep you warm: Will somebody please explain these hats to me?

I've been seeing this all over the place, and now with all these girls posing with these fetching little hats on this season of American Idol I'm afraid this is going to be the Mainland equivalent of the Jasmine Trias flower-behind-the-ear. Even the Fug Girls reported no less than Rachel Zoe running around with a similar knit hat perched just so behind her head.

Which begs the question: What's the point?

It's supposed to be a "beret," but I've always thought berets were meant to be worn above and across the crown (as in here and here), not behind the cranium. It looks like a rasta hat (and I should know, because I had one in 8th grade), but these ones are brimless and most of the girls I've seen are rocking the hat with flat-ironed bangs... regardless of whether or not they tuck the rest of the hair into the hat.

You know what it looks like to me? An oversize snood. Yep, you heard me: the kind of hair accessory that toes the line between Ren-Faire and Cafeteria Lady. THERE, I'VE SAID IT.

Don't even get me started on the wide gauge on some of these hats, which would probably keep the heat in if they were used to contain an appropriately generous - and appropriately textured - head of hair. (This, coming from the person who still hasn't given up on the watch cap since 1995 because it was the only hat that kept her head warm despite her baby-fine hair. Hah.)

So: slouchy knit hats in general - cute, overrated, or the hat equivalent of "Dreadlock Holiday"?

Trendwatch 2009: Manly Men with Tiny Dogs

Just this morning I found a really hot, really shirtless guy in front of my apartment building... and when I got closer to him I saw him walking not one, but two tiny Pomeranians. That ups the known number of Men with Tiny Dogs on my street to three.

Now, I don't want to judge - although I do know for sure that the one of those dog-toting men on my street does the Chihuahua duty for his wife (and ergo know for sure that it's luuuurve) - but when I see a big, burly guy with a pocket-size pup, I can't figure out if I should find it cute, creepy... or in the case of Mickey Rourke above, both.

Seriously: Macho men with tiny dogs - hot, or not?