The Price of Freedom

"The inspector says I'm free. I'm free now and I was free in prison too, because freedom continues to be the thing I prize most in the world. Of course, this has led me to drink wines I did not like, to do things I should not have done which I will not do again; it has meant hurting certain people although I have since asked for their forgiveness, when I realized that I could do absolutely anything except force another person to follow me in my madness, in my lust for life. I don't regret the painful times; I bear my scars as if they were medals. I know that freedom has a high price, as high as that of slavery; the only difference is that you pay with pleasure and a smile, even when that smile is dimmed by tears." (Paulo Coelho in The Zahir)

Peculiar Find

found this t-shirt in some japanese magazine that i thought summed up my blog pretty well. 

fashion and man's search for his unique identity... 

the fashion peculiar. 

Chapter 15 - Children, Growing with Indifference & Mutating it

So some children are so cute that you couldn't help but pinch them and cuddle them and hold a conversation in their cutesy, cartoonic currency (and I do that stuff).  I like them because they still hold the capacity to be spontaneously genuine, happy and kind (read: they are not cynical, indifferent and pretentious like me). They have the ability to love and better still,  they allow me to love. I am in a different place, living to a different tune, savouring the differences of people and their way of living, contemplating how each of the children and people I meet would supply their own light in their time here on earth. Each them I come into contact with them, I am in touch with life again, like being plugged into a powerful source of energy. If we could only 

mutate our indifference, 

mutate our perspectives and 

mutate the world for our children 

so that their light can shine through. 

Yea, that would be nice.

source: Yesterdaydied 

Peculiar Random Thoughts

What is freedom anyway?

I thought I felt it just yesterday

For that brief moment 

Today I think I'd be set free tomorrow

But tomorrow brings me back to yesterday

Too many points of view

Drowning out what I know 

And I keep still, trusting...ever-trusting...in 

Life.

 Source: Yesterdaydied 

Oasis- The Masterplan, Because you said you love this song, I hope you can trust in it

The answer's in the looking glass
There's four and twenty million doors
Down life's endless corridor... 

Chapter 14 - Friends as angels, Opening your heart and trusting in the Experience

When I look back at the events in my life that have transpired, I know that certain people were in my life for a specific reason. Each time I searched, I got my answer. Especially during the times when I struggled the hardest, I would get my answer in the most unexpected way. Some say, true friends are the angels in your life. They bring a message to you at the time when you most need it. Sometimes, you know it when you first come into contact with them, sometimes you only know it after they have left. I am keenly aware of it although some might dismiss this as merely "applying meaning to my experience" and me being "kooky". They are special and they never have to impress. They speak the words my heart was searching for and then time passes and we discover new meaning to what we have initially established. Some believe in fate, some don't. Open your heart (notice I didn't say eyes), don't let the words of others or years of dogma cloud your experience - that's the only thing that's real. 

The Blue Rose

This is a long cobalt blue tube dress with a beautiful over-sized blue rose at the top left...

one of my favourites.

The Dress in Colour

I still can't get my cam to work, so this will do for now, 

hardly the resolution and composition 

I am going for.

BRIT "IT Pack" - Faces to Watch

Photographs used here are for promotional purposes only and do not belong to The Fashion Peculiar

Peculiar Icon: Caroline Sieber, The Stylemeister

fashion stylist - Chanel ambassador 


(Photo used here is for promotional purposes only and do not belong to The Fashion Peculiar)

Peculiar Icon: Poppy Delevigne, The Elegant One

socialite-model-actress, Britain's next IT girl 


(Photo used here is for promotional purposes only and do not belong to The Fashion Peculiar)

Like a diamond in the rough

find something that tests your limits

someone that pushes you to the edge 

something that enrages and envelopes 

come out of your comfort zone

do the very thing you think you can't 

be tossed and turned 

be unsettled and burned

diamonds are made under pressure 

(DIAMONDS: derived from the ancient Greek - adámas, "UNBREAKABLE")

photo: Yesterdaydied 

Peculiar's Did you know?

Yesterday I watched Ip Man 2. 

I enjoyed it as much as the first one 
and 
this 
is 
what 
I 
took 
away 
from 
it.

There was a poignant line in the movie after Donnie Yen (my new idol, he's always so composed, is he human? makes me want to learn Martial arts. Wing Chun that is.) wins the fight against the Western champion boxer. (Compulsive urge to write it down but obviously I couldn't). It went something like this: "This match is not about proving that Chinese martial arts is more superior than Western boxing. This victory only means that though men have different status in society, our human dignity remains the same." It means when all else is stripped away, we are all the same. 

In 
death, 
we 
are 
made 
equal. 

Did you know that the Wing Chun style of martial arts was first developed by a woman? Why don't they ever talk about these things? Such a beautiful story behind it. Women of strength and beauty.

Read about her here . This probably explains why the Wing Chun style is so graceful and poised. Men? They act like brash monkeys when they fight. So will the multitudes of men out there 

still want to learn Wing Chun now? 

Peculiar Report: Evelyn McHale, The Most Beautiful Suicide

If I write about unhappy things, you can take it at face value and imagine me to be manically-depressed. Or you could dig deeper. When we contemplate death, we know life. When we contemplate what makes us unhappy, we embark on a journey to finding happiness. Life works in reverse. I think most people pretend to be happy, we put on fantastic facades and magnificent masks that hide our true selves because we are afraid of what other people might think, because we want to fit into society's acceptance of what is perceived as "normal". My girlfriend was contemplating death which lead to some discussion on her FB wall when I came across this beautiful picture. It's interesting to see how different people respond to DEATH. Some fear it, some revere it, some couldn't careless, some are trying to come to terms with it. But for the most part, those I have spoken to who have had a close brush with death have since lived with such fierce passion and they seem to know exactly what they want. We should live like them.

death's violence and its composure (the duality of all things)

         On May 1, 1947, Evelyn McHale leapt to her death from the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Photographer Robert Wiles took a photo of McHale a few minutes after her death.

The photo ran a couple of weeks later in Life magazine accompanied by the following caption:

On May Day, just after leaving her fiancé, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale wrote a note. 'He is much better off without me ... I wouldn't make a good wife for anybody,' ... Then she crossed it out. She went to the observation platform of the Empire State Building. Through the mist she gazed at the street, 86 floors below. Then she jumped. In her desperate determination she leaped clear of the setbacks and hit a United Nations limousine parked at the curb. Across the street photography student Robert Wiles heard an explosive crash. Just four minutes after Evelyn McHale's death Wiles got this picture of death's violence and its composure.

(Source: http://kottke.org/)

I feel this very often...

source: yesterdaydied 

I always need to write something down...a thought, a quote, something my friend said, something I overheard. I have an annoying habit of objectifying things. If I were a thing, I'd most possibly be a pen. A black ink pen with tip point 0.7 because I perpetually feel a compulsive urge to write things down and am always looking out for the finer things in life. 

Today I also ponder...

over how we go through so much unnecessary pain by succumbing to our fertile imaginations better known as irrational assumptions that lack the insight of life as is, out of sheer fear. 

Chapter 13 - The Right Path, the Energy of Enthusiasm & Interconnectedness

"As Einstein said, God does not play dice with the universe; everything is interconnected and has a meaning. That meaning may remain hidden nearly all the time, but we always know we are close to our true mission on earth when what we are doing is touched with the energy of enthusiasm. If it is, then all is well. If not, then we had better change direction. When we are on the right path, we follow the signs, and if we occasionally stumble, the Divine comes to our aid, preventing us from 
making a mistake."  (Source: Paulo Coelho, my favourite writer)

Vanessa Paradis - L'Incendie

Song I am currently in love with...it's addictive.

Lust for life, we spelt freedom in the sand

Megan Washington - How To Tame Lions

her music inspires me...love that breathy dreamy voice (always)...

adore vintage wallpapers and bright orange against muted lilac....

and I like masks......I wear one everyday.....

Peculiar thought of the day

source: yesterdaydied  

Chapter 12: Aunt Gloria, her dream & Surrendering to Life

So we shared a nice long chat while I was sending her to the airport...she shared her joys and tribulations, the dream she had in 1994 which she remembers with such clarity and her life-changing journey to chasing that dream (literally). She vibrates with such energy and passion, and says people call her "crazy" but she hardly is. She just knows what she wants and goes all out to get it. It's hard to believe she's in her 60s with the kind of wild energy she possesses. Some of her stories make my hair stand on end but she reinforces the fact that life works in wondrous ways that is truly beyond us and that one day, it will all make sense. It was a beautiful ride...her words still lingering in my head.... I wish I could turn her stories into a book so that we could all be inspired. She's a beautiful woman who has made less than popular choices in life but she has such tangible and contagious happiness in her heart that you can't help but smile. It moves me profoundly each time I hear of rational people surrending to spiritual realities...She left me with this: One cannot find what he truly wants if he searches desperately. You merely have to surrender to life and ask what it wants you to do ( I couldn't help but think to myself that this is yet another one of life's great IRONIES). And every morning, you're going to ask yourself that. Maybe life wants something out of you and not the other way around?  Hmmmmm...

Peculiar Icon: Daphne Guinness, The Theatrical Enigma

Sophisticated socialite. Designer muse. Mother of three. Noteworthy collector of haute couture. Model. Modern heiress of an aristocrat Irish Protestant family. Journalist. Stylist extraordinaire. Philanthropist. On-and-off-again girlfriend of a married French philosopher. Undisputed style icon. Daphne Suzannah Diana Joan Guinness was born into a life of luxury. Now, at age 41 (or is it 42? “I don’t really care,” said Guinness), the tiny, trendsetting fashionista known for her love of towering stilettos and showstopping accessories is at the top of her game with the recent launch of her eponymous perfume, Daphne, and a quickly expanding troop of style admirers who, in total, may outnumber the amount of black garments in her multiple closets.

Keep reading to learn more about Daphne Guinness’ engaging ensembles 
and innovative style…

Daphne Guinness was born in 1967 to brewery heir Jonathan Guinness and French model Suzanne Lisney. She spent her childhood living in both England and Ireland, with plenty of vacations to Spain. As a youth, her natural blonde hair lightened to its current shade of white as she bathed in the ample sunshine of a small Catalan fishing village. While on summer holiday, Guinness was graced with the casual company of Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, among many other revolutionary artists who frequented 
that same seaside village.

Guinness’ exposure to innovative artists of the 1970s is partially responsible for her inclination toward the avant-garde, and her undeniably chic taste. When asked how she developed such a distinct personal style, Guinness replied, “I grew up in an artists’ colony near Barcelona with Salvador Dali and the Surrealists, so my dress sense is very colored by my youth. Everybody knew that Dali was the most crazy – you’d go to his house and he would have lobsters in his pool.” Dali, and other boundary-breaking artists who mingled with Guinness during her formative years taught her that being “crazy” was, well, pretty cool, especially in terms of individual appearance. She learned that unabashed self-expression was pertinent to her individual happiness, which she cultivated by developing a truly original style aesthetic.

And that’s also how she “builds up” her style. A little of this, a little of that – an Alexander McQueen dress here, a pair of “unwalkable,” gravity-defying Nina Ricci heels there, a flair of fabulousness with a dichotomous hair style, a sense of seriousness with a solemn, armour-inspired arm of jewelry. Daphne Guinness is the epitome of a successful, fashionable socialite, someone who is acutely aware of their personal preferences, executed exceptionally well via impeccable ensembles and a certain 
je ne sai quoi.


source: http://blog.modcloth.com

One of my favourite Fashion Icons of all time. I love how she always looks quite theatrical and is almost always in different interpretations of black and white. 

Peculiar Profile: Sarah Kan Goertzen, Queen of Mix & Match

This blog really is all about life and fashion. 
And that includes everyone and everything that inspires me in my designs and in life. Inspirations should come from life itself and not just within the field of fashion. Whether it's nature, food, animals or people, they each offer a glimpse of beauty, a flash of inspiration. This is Sarah. Someone I've known since I was 14. That makes 20 years (i just realized that, it's wild)! I adore Sarah and her original ideas. She's really discovered her inner artist. Food, fashion, interior design, she can really work magic on anything she lays her hands on. Most of all, she has an incredible amount of beauty and love in her heart and it comes through in her work. There's so much 
more she has done! Let this be a preview...

that's Sarah and I in 2004 before her wedding in Auckland

sleep is so important that it has been "framed" up

she has an incredible eye for colour and mixing and matching

her strength lies in creating surprising harmony in odd shapes and colours

how cute, you could almost hear the walls snoring

the "YUM" in her kitchen wall 

suitably so, to match her amazing culinary skills 

her banana cupcakes

bright yellow always has a way of cheering you up

yummilicious!

and my favourite, her pastel-coloured chocolate egg cake

I think these colours (sans the chocolate) would look beautiful together on a summer dress, 

don't you think?!! 

Peculiar Icon: Tavi Gevinson, The Fashion Prodigy

Still small but very possibly, fashion's next big thing. At 13, she already has the fashion industry 

at her feet. Keep an eye on her! According to my gut feel, this girl will be phenomenal. (Doesn't she remind you vaguely of Andy Warhol in female size small?) Google her to read about how 

she took the fashion world by storm. I call her the Fashion Prodigy.

The only constant is change

I told her what I was going through and she said to me as firmly as she usually does, "The only constant in your life is change." And I thought there was no better way to sum it up.

it has been a trying time 

the winds of change they come, they go

they leave you high, they leave you low

to sweep you away or keep you dry

like food you just can't swallow

you're stuck, regurgitating memories 

when all is said and done

i only take away the good you left behind
trust in God's masterplan 

Peculiar Icon: Tina Chow, "The Oriental Hepburn"

Tina Chow (April 18, 1950 to January 24, 1992) was an internationally renowned model and fashion icon of the 1980s. She was of German-Japanese descent. Friends included Andy Warhol, Paloma Picasso and Manolo Blahnik. Daughter is China Chow who (deeply lamentable for me) is Keanu Reeves' woman of choice. Member of the International Best Dressed List - founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 in an attempt to propagate American fashion then. I love how she bucked the trend with her short hair, minimal make-up and sheer simplicity. In elegance, lives simplicity. Enough said. 

Chapter 11 - The Meaning of Life, its Purpose & Your Inner Artist

I've always been sufficiently bothered by the big questions in life and still my voracious curiosity for life remains insatiable. The French Philosopher, Henri Bergson, convinced people that immediate experience and intuition were as essential as rational and scientific thinking for making sense of our reality. Just the other day, I came across one of his quotes that reads: "We are free when our acts proceed from our entire personality, when they express it, when they exhibit that indefinable resemblance to it which we find occasionally between the artist and his work." And I was reminded of how each one of us has the innate desire to become whoever we want to but are perhaps confined by "socially-accepted" norms and behaviour, held back by commitments in life or thrown into other circumstances which require us more urgently. Everyone is an artist, whether aesthetically, mathematically or linguistically. One is an artist of numbers, of words, of pictures, of music, of so many different forms and fashions. Artists are not just painters, not just fashion designers or sculptors or dancers or photographers. Artists are essentially, "who we are in the freest sense".  Someone once said, the artist is not a different kind of person but every person is a different kind of artist. People aren't weird, they're just different. The only way forward for life to flourish is to accept the diversity of it, of nature, of cultures, of colours, of people, of thoughts. The meaning of life, you ask me? It is to find your gift. And the purpose of life? It is to give it away. Find your gift, make a conscious effort to discover your inner artist.

Peculiar Fetish: Giant Rings!

the latest additions to my crazy ring collection 

All Curled Up!

Ok so here goes. This is my new curly, permy look. Pump it up, baby! I love it! I don't have to comb my hair! whoooooo! 






i had to do my "peculiar" look

Peculiar Profile: My nephew, Ethan

Superhero: Ethan Chen

Age: 7+

Superpowers: A natural sense of humour, fast thinker, an incredibly 

happy smile & paralyzing people with his magnificent 

"cadbury eyebrow" trick (pls view video above).

Peculiar Kid, Fat Jane & a Pig Song

So as I was having supper with my girlfriend, I received an MMS from my eldest sister (as above). My dearest nephew had an English assignment to complete and the point of this assignment was to learn how to use adjectives to enhance simple sentences. What he wrote only exemplified his cheekiness. Ethan, who is only 7 by the way, has an innate ability to make people laugh without even trying. Bet his teacher had a good time marking this. And she preferred "Fat Jane sang a Chinese song" which is pretty flat if you ask me. Or what about "Fat Jane sang a funny song"? What a daring little boy he is. Basically what he's asserting (according to his gut feel) is that a "fat" girl must surely be singing a "pig" song which isn't really nice if you think about it. Talk about guts. This fella has definitely got quite a big dose of it from his daddy. And I hope he never loses his sense of humour.