World's biggest Flagship Barbie store in Shanghai

(Pictobank)


(Pictobank)


(Flickr/Tomo.moko)


(Flickr/Rintak)


(Travelpod/NinaVersteeg)


(Getty images)


(Newsobserver)


(Guardian)


(ShoppingBlog)


(TheSpec)


(Guardian)


(AP photo)

Just read over at Bibiliew about the world's largest Barbie store right here in our very own Shanghai, on Huaihai Road. Check it out! (the article and the store).

You know China is doing well when Mattel decide to open their flagship store in Shanghai and not New York!

The design of the store is genius and reminds me of the Apple Stores... a lot. All that glass and modern architectural styles.. love it.

However, I do have a love/hate relationship with Barbie. I loved playing with her as a young girl but I did resent the fact there was no Asian/Chinese Barbie, and the fact that all dolls were blonde and blue-eyed back then in the 80s. And let's not get started with her incredibly unrealistic body proportions! She makes Dolly Parton and Pamela Anderson look normal. I was watching some news report about her 50th anniversary and Mattel was saying they are empowering women, not de-powering them as everyone thinks and that's one of the reasons why Ken and Barbie broke up. 'Cause you know, Barbie doesn't need Ken, right? Who needs Ken when you have millions of friends and clothes, and fancy cars, houses, horses.. and money coming at you every day Paris Hilton style? (that is tongue in cheek of course). Whatever. If I had a daughter I wouldn't persuade or dissuade her from owning a Barbie though. She'll probably grow out of it eventually, like I did. I try not to take these things too seriously like all the feminists out there ;)


Official Barbie Shanghai Flagship store website

Address: 550 Central HuaiHai Road

More articles:

International Herald Tribune
The Wall Street Journal
All Roads lead to China blog
GMA News
Gold Sea
UK Telegraph blog

Turning a child's artwork into a photo

I've been busy lately and have lots of entries in my head, just have to find time to do them all, hopefully in a few days time.

Meanwhile, I found this through one of the fifty billion blogs I read...

It's a Korean artist/photographer's attempt to recreate children's drawings. I am totally amazed. How much effort it would require to style a photoshoot like that? But I love the fun atmosphere, the quirkiness, the whimsicalness (is that a word?), the creativity, the colours, the cuteness, everything!

Stupid fashion

I've just had it with today's fashion. Nearly everything that is out there I dislike. I am sick of the baggy sack shapeless dresses that fall from the armpit to the hem. I am sick of empire-lines that make you look pregnant when you're not. I'm sick of strapless, I'm sick of plunging v-necks which I think are way too revealing and unflattering for both small and big-breasted women. I'm sick of tops or dresses that are baggy in some areas and lycra skin tight in others. Did I also say that I've hated hipster jeans/pants ever since they came out, and I'm so glad that that fashion trend is slowly dying... ARGH!

Why is today's fashion so damn hideous and ugly and uncomfortable? I'm not fat or pregnant and I don't want to look fat or pregnant! At this rate I may as well join the rest of the Shanghai locals and wear pajamas out in public!

On another semi-related note - what happened to Camper shoes? They used to be known for their cute, quirky and whimsical designs and comfort. Now they are neither that comfortable or cute and whimsical. Well I had a quick look at their website and hardly any of their designs are that interesting. They look like normal shoes you'd find anywhere! and with a high price tag, too!

Free online make-over programs

Here are 2 ways to kill a LOT of time, and give yourself an ego boost at the same time!

1. My Heritage

I first discovered this site a few years ago but just decided to play with it again yesterday.

You upload a photo of yourself and in seconds it tells you which celebrities you look like! I think you need to try a couple of different photos for accuracy and I've noticed that the direction in which you are facing affects it too (eg if your face is tilted slight to the left or right, it affects the results).

I'm pretty happy with my celebrity look-a-likes. I used 7 different photos (make-up and hair done, no make-up and unbrushed hair, a self-taken photo, etc). These were my top matches:

Miriam Yeung (HK actress/singer) - 4 times
Lucy Liu - 4
Stephen Chow (HK actor, a man!) - 4
Michelle Kwan (Olympic figure skater) - 3
Grace Kelly - 3
Zhang Ziyi - 3
Gong Li - 2
Sammi Cheng (HK actress/singer) - 2
Jolin Tsai (Taiwanese singer) - 2
Jacqueline Bracamontes (Mexican actress) - 2

The funniest and weirdest one I got matched with was Macaulay Culkin - a pic of when he was in 'Home Alone'. Hahaha. As if I look like a blonde 8 year old boy! LOL :D

OK, so you are wondering why I've called this a 'make-over program'. Well, you can also do morphing videos between you and any of the 10 celebrities they match you up with. The results are really amazing!

At the end of it all you can save your photo collages or morphs and/or add them to your Myspace, Bebo, Friendster, Facebook, Hi5, Blogger, Livejournal and many more.





2. Taaz

I just found this a few days ago through one of the many blogs I read (can't remember which one). I then spent around 2.5 hours playing with it and totally lost track of time! Crazy. I have since read online that other people have said the same thing because it's so addictive. It is really a BIG time waster/killer but loads of fun.

I managed to turn myself into some freakishly unimaginably attractive person!

Once you sign up and start using it it's easy to see why this is so addictive. This program uses shockwave flash and complex algorithms and 'points' to allow you to apply make-up with amazing accuracy. But (to me) the most amazing part of all this is the hairstyle application. With a few clicks you can mould the hairstyle so it suits the shape of your face - it's even easier and more realistic than Photoshop! I do wish there were more hairstyle choices and better colours though. A lot of the colours seem very flat, apart from the default one.

You can apply foundation, concealer (under the eyes), blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, coloured contact lenses (kinda useless if you're Asian/dark-eyed though!), mascara, lip liner, lipstick, lip gloss, teeth whitening, and a hairstyle (and hair colour).

My only minor complaint though is that you can't do anything with your eyebrows.

If anything is not quite right you can tweak it. Eg the intensity of the blush or lipstick or eyeshadow, or the positioning of the mascara (although I'd more likely call this falsh eyelashes for the effect it gives!).

Now I found myself wondering (after having tried a similar online program which required you to pay) why something as good and easy to use as this was free. This is where you realise they have an amazing business model. The make-up that you apply to your photo is actually current make-up brands and models. And with a simple click it gives you a list of all the products you have used on yourself, so that you can go and purchase it. So in a way, it's subliminal advertising for the make-up companies who are no doubt funding this project in some way.

It's loads of fun so give it a go! (I also did my husband and he ended up looking like a drag queen - pretty funny!)

Iris Germanica Polar Night fashion show

I'm going through a bit of a fashion phase. It all started last Friday night when I watched a historical fashion documentary series called "A Stitch in Time" on ICS at 9pm. It would be on every night for a week (?) at the same time. I watched almost every episode. It is not a serious documentary and very fascinating, light-hearted and comical.

Then, a few days ago I got around to watching my "The Notebook" DVD (cried my eyes out of course) but thinking back to the doco, I found myself noticing the gorgeous clothes/dresses that Rachel McAdams wore in the film. I have to say I really don't like any of the fashion from the 80s onwards. I don't like recent styles which have consisted of big sack baggy things. I HATE them. I also hate the incessant cleavage-showing low-cut v-neck 'things'. Ugh. I despise them. Give me the gorgeous 30s, 40s, 50s fashions any day! The fitted waist, the sleeves (when was the last time you saw a female wear sleeves to a formal function?!), the flared skirt, the structured cotton instead of floppy fabrics. Not saying I don't like the 'floppy' fabrics like silk, viscose, satin, etc. But usually they are just too sacky and baggy looking. Not to mention the freakin' empire line which is great if you are pregnant, and if you are not it'll surely make you look pregnant!

There are some of the types of dresses I hate from edressme.com

About two weeks ago hubby got an email from some Shanghai expat thing about a fashion show/parade. Strange, that he got one and I didn't (considering I'm on the internet the whole time, and I was the one who went to the Shanghai expat trade fair back in September!) His thought was that because I had a Chinese surname they just kinda ignored me as they thought I was a local. Who knows if there is any truth to that?!

Anyway, so he asked if I wanted to go and I said Yes. I was quite excited to be honest as I hadn't been to one for many years, and have always enjoyed them, even the free ones.

The brand is Iris Germanica and the ticket cost was 150 RMB per person (pre-sale, or 180 at the door). It was at the Paramount building (218 Yuyuan Lu) and started at 8pm.











We got there at 7:45pm and just stood around till they finally let everyone in (through a metal detector!) at 8pm. I haven't been to a nightclub for so long I'd forgotten what they looked like. Well this was black, with couches and bar stools and trippy laser lighting everywhere. It was pretty cool and I was excited and pumped to see this collection!

The ticket included 2 drinks per person and fruit. Since we got there pretty early we got one of the best seats in the house. I ended up sitting next to a nice middle-aged man from Amsterdam (who'd been here 3 years, and who knew the designer) and chatted to him a bit during the night (well, yelling into each other's ears more like it).

About half an hour later the bar upstairs was open and everyone started to get drinks. Hubby went to get mine for me and 'met' the guy next to me at the bar and apparently they had a little chat too.

After that it all went downhill. 8:30 turned to 9, 9 turned to 9:30. EVERYONE was getting really impatient. Blank looks on people's faces, people playing games on their mobile/cell phones... As the smoke levels rose inside my tolerance levels decreased. I would've fallen asleep from boredom if it weren't for the extremely loud music! I was getting rather impatient (can you blame me?) and went to ask them what time they planned on starting the show. The first guy said 10:30 and I was like "What??!!" and the second guy said 10. It was 9:40 when I asked and I just wandered about and took my time in the bathroom and eventually went back to my seat at 9:50 just when they were starting. Or so we thought.

Then, there was about 15 mins of 'introduction' which got more and more boring as you could barely hear them and they didn't seem like professional speakers. The girl kept dropping her papers all over the stage and she couldn't say 'dowry', she kept saying 'dowee' and the guy tried to crack jokes which noone laughed at. Hm..













OK, finally. The show. The clothes... By this time my excitement had dwindled down to almost nothing. I'm sure I wasn't the only one feeling like this either! Add to the fact that the damn smoke was getting to obscene levels and now itching my eyes as well as irritating my lungs. I reminded myself why I never go to these types of 'night' places.

The outfits were interesting to say the least. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I think there would be few I'd actually wear, and none I'd actually buy. :( (sorry if anyone from the company is reading this!) At one stage one of the outfits was so bad (the yellow checked one with the black fluffy bra thing) I gave hubby a 'look' and then looked over to the girl sitting next to him, and we both just cracked up laughing instantaneously and simultaneously.

This little number here:



There was another funny moment right at the start when this guy from nowhere with his SLR camera came over and stood right in front of us, taking photos. I was like 'what the?' The guy sitting next to me went up to him and told him to please move. Then as he was walking away (very very slowly) the three girls sitting next to us (on hubby's side) also told him to move and one of them zipped the zip on the back of his pants. I'm not sure what was going on there but all I could do at that point was just laugh my head off.

anyway

At first I thought it was because of the models.. some of them were Chinese, the other half were Caucasian, some tall, some short, some old, some young, some thin, some 'curvy' - basically a mixed bag, a representation of 'real women' as they say. At first I found this offputting but then I realised it wasn't the models at all. It was the whole thing. There was singing in the background, the models had Venetian-masks type make-up (which was nice but strange) and the clothes, weren't awful, they were just very very... erm... avant garde?





During the night waiters/waitresses came around with platters of fruit. I don't know how much fruit I ate! But even so, afterwards when it finished (around 10:30) we were both starving and went to a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner.

I had an OK night but I thought the ticket price was a little high for what we got. But if the inside was non-smoking and they hadn't made us wait 2 hours for the show I think I would've reviewed it more favorably!

PS - I now know why Europeans like living in Shanghai so much. They can smoke to their hearts content just like they do back home, and everything costs 1/10 the price of back home! (that is a bit 'tongue in cheek' but still...) I have to say again and again I HATE SMOKING!

Marimekko for H&M 2

Related link

Well the Marimekko for H&M range doesn't hit stores till April 10 but I've been dying to see what it looks like and just found some pics online here and there are more here.











I must admit it is very loud. I don't think I'm totally in love with it. The only thing I really like is the 3/4 sleeve top and not sure of the colours. The b&w one is probably the easiest to wear. The red/black/white swimsuit (last pic) seems to be popular. Guess I'll have to wait to see it in person!

The price of food!

I'm not imagining it. My ayi has mentioned it to me but I kinda 'forgot' about it (because, well 5 RMB is a lot of money to her!).. but man! Everything has been going up (something to do with the weather down south I think?) - Rice, meat, fruit, veges. Imported food not so much but that was always expensive anyway.

They say it's cheap to eat in China.. well only if you like Chinese food!

Last week I went to City Shop in Gubei. First time I've been in all the time I've lived here (LOL). I bought so many bits and pieces and it ended up costing me almost 500 RMB! I nearly had a heart attack! I was actually looking at prices too when I was buying stuff and usually choosing the cheapest option.

Everything that I like to eat is damn expensive eg cheese, breakfast cereal/muesli, Western style bread (ie bread that is not sweet) and pastries.. etc.

A box of ordinary cereal (from Germany or UK) costs up to 100 RMB!
A packet of 250g shredded Coon Cheese (from Australia) costs about 40-50RMB. It costs less than that for the 500g size in Australia! ARGH!

This really really sux cos hubby and I both do not have huge appetites and do not really like Chinese food all that much. Plus recently we have barely eaten out at all and been cooking a lot more at home but really, eating out is still SO much cheaper than cooking at home.. so why bother?

So anyway then I went to Carrefour a few days later and only spent about 150 RMB.

Yesterday I went to Zara on Nanjing West Road. I just felt like going to Zara and never been to that store before. It was absolutely FREEZING yesterday. It must've been around the 0 degree mark for sure. Anyway there was no sale on and I didn't find anything I particularly liked/had to have (plus they were selling Spring/Summer clothing like t-shirts and sleeveless dresses, and I was thinking WTF? Because it's still SO cold)

Anyway so then I walked around looking for somewhere to eat. Since it was 3pm now (Yes I tend to eat breakfast and lunch very late) not a lot of places were opened. I ended up going to the top of Plaza 66 and had lunch at Zen. It was OK but I was not that impressed. First of all, the water in the tea tasted like tap water, even though according to them it wasn't (and it cost 5 RMB for the pot), second of all they took forever to come to me when I tried to grab their attention (when there were hardly any customers there at that time and enough staff) and thirdly, well there was no thirdly. The portion of my lunch was huge and I took the rest home and had it for dinner.

Then I went next door to the Shanghai Centre to go to Paul's. The most delicious bakery ever! But boy oh boy are they expensive. The smell in there drives me crazy and I want to buy the entire store! But alas the prices are a real turn off. In the end I got 3 things and it cost 82 RMB - a berry tart thing, an apple thing, and a breadstick thing with olives and herbs in it.

Then I went to City Supermarket and bought some stuff. I was disciplined this time and didn't go overboard (after my last experience) and spent around 100 RMB. I was supposed to buy rice but the variety wasn't that great and to be honest didn't want to carry such a heavy thing so this morning got my ayi to buy it for me from the supermarket across the road from our place, when she went to buy other stuff.

On Monday I asked my ayi where she got her puffy goose down jacket from and she told me she had it made at this place... I couldn't believe it. It looks so professionally done like something you'd buy in a store and I never thought you could do this. I have wanted a longish goose down jacket for so long but was trying to be 'good' since I already got that white cashmere coat made and I already own a goosedown coat (but it's only waist length). During CNY I tackled the shops (BAD mistake, it was crowded as anything) and tried in vain to search for one amongst the crowds. I have so many criteria and just gave up. Plus it was impossible to try anything on and I HATE the rude unhelpful salespeople.

Anyway so my ayi told me I could get it made at this place and she only paid 190 RMB. I nearly died!! $30 for a custom made goose down coat? Can you believe it? I paid about $200 for mine in Australia and it's not that great. She even told me she thought it was 'ugly' haha. (I bought it in 2004 just prior to going to Europe). Well there are like NO choices in Australia.. and are all freaking expensive. Anyway so I was getting really excited dreaming in my head of colours and styles.. then this morning she tells me that that place has closed down since Spring is coming! ARGH!

I know it happens in every place around the world but I really really hate how in winter they bring out summer clothes and in summer they bring out winter clothes. I remember seeing these goose down coats when it was still 38 degrees in summer. ARGH!

Marimekko for H&M

Marimekko, the Finnish company known for its bright, colourful and distinctive prints has collaborated with H&M to produce a fashion range of 50 pieces featuring retro 50s, 60s and 70s - style prints.

"Our design team has long admired Marimekko's vivid patterns and colours. When our designers came up with the idea of creating a collection with Marimekko patterns, it felt very natural and timely. The summer collection 2008 will be joyfully fresh like a vitamin injection," states H&M's head of design Margareta van den Bosch.

The Summer 2008 collection will be released in stores in April 2008. Watch this space! ;)

National Wear Red Day - February 1st, 2008 (22 red dresses)

I'm a bit slow but as I'm typing this it is still the 1st in the States.

February 1st was "National Wear Red Day" for Valentine's and for heart research.

Just like the pink ribbon supports Breast Cancer research, the "Wear Red Day" supports women with heart disease research.

Well since the day has already passed and I don't live in the States I can't really participate, but if I were... I went through Polyvore and picked my favourite red dresses. Not many long-sleeved ones to choose from (there should've been more given that it's freezing in the northern hemisphere now) but I've put in two that I thought were OK.

Looking for a bra...

I absolutely despise bra shopping. Nothing ever fits. If the cups fit the back doesn't close up, and if the size is right the cups are too big. Another problem is that I want a padded bra but I absolutely hate - no - despise underwire. I don't need it and it just digs into my stupidly bony breastbone.

I went to a lingerie store today. I saw a big sign saying 50% off everything so I went in. I should have known it would be a waste of time. There were hundreds of gorgeous designs in different colours, patterns, and prints but only ONE of their bras had no underwire. A plain beigey peach coloured one. Like the many I already own.

Am I the only female who wants a padded bra without underwire that comes in funky designs, colours, and prints? ARGH!

I just went to victoriassecret.com and there are a whopping 4 types of bras that come in small sizes, are padded and don't have underwire.

1. VS Cotton™ Padded wireless bra
It comes in 15 designs, 2 of which are printed

2. Victoria's Secret Pink® Wireless padded bra
Comes in 1 design - a pink and white pattern

3. Very Sexy® NEW! Infinity Edge™ wireless push-up bra
Comes in 7 designs, one of which is a leopard print

4. Victoria's Secret Pink® Wireless padded bra
Comes in four 'exciting' colours - black, white, nude and light pink

So I should just go and buy one of these right? No... I already know they won't fit. I have a problem with bras designed for Western women. The straps are always too far apart and dig into my armpits. On the other hand Chinese bras fit me fine across the front and shoulders, but never do up on the back! Plus, their models' cup size is about 300 times bigger than mine so how am I supposed to know what it looks like on me?!

ARGH - where is that despair smiley when I need one?! I should start my own business but I am guessing I am the only person looking for stuff that does not exist. I think I should just wear a bikini top. They quite often come in padded, un-wired varieties and lovely colours and prints!! Haha.

2008 Pirelli calendar shot in Shanghai

From http://www.meta-solution.net/anp/labels/Pirelli.html:

PIRELLI launched “The Cal” 2008 calendar in Shanghai, the 35th edition of the Italian tire maker's famous calendar collection and the first ever shot in Asia.

23 portraits in the calendar were shot entirely in Shanghai by renowned fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier: the bustling Nanjing Road E., narrow lanes in the old French Concession, the beautiful gardens at the Yong Foo Elite restaurant (the former British Legation) and ancient Chinese style architecture.

11 beauties as raising supermodel Agyness Deane, Lily Donaldson, Doutzen Kroes, Catherine Mc Neil, Gemma Ward, Sasha Pivovarova, Coco Rocha, Caroline Trentini, the chinese actress Maggie Cheung and top models Mo Wan Dan e Du Juan

First published in 1964, the calendar is famous for its artistic portraits of beautiful women and limited availability. It is not for public sale and is given as a corporate gift to a restricted number of VIPs and celebrities including Prince Charles. About 23,000 copies were printed this year.

Pirelli opened a US$97-million plant in China's Shandong Province on Tuesday. Both of the company's two plants in Asia are in China.

"China, for us, represents the future, a new world to explore," said Francesco Tarallo, head of communication of Pirelli. "China and the other Asian markets are the new frontiers for international expansion of the group."

I think the images are beautiful. Breathtaking. Stunning.
I could only dream of looking as beautiful as those models, or being as talented as the photographer!

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