Zamri's Big Fat Blog

Flying Without Wings

2012-01-27T22:00:00.000+08:00

Sepasang sayap tak terlihat, Umpama mimpi yang tersimpan

Jadi rintik, Rintik hujan. Menciptakan awan yang terpilu...

"A pair of invisible wings. Stored like a dream.

Become drops. Raindrops. Creating a sad cloud abound"

This is the current feeling. I think I'm start losing interest to update this blog. Maybe becoz I think fashion is getting too shallow.... ~sigh~

WordLess Wednesday: BigFat Bootielicious!

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000+08:00

Wordless Wednesday: Gucci Cruise 2012

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000+08:00

[pix from gucci]

BigFat Denimology

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000+08:00

The Change, How Time Flies...

2012-01-23T15:00:00.000+08:00

What is one of the things that I missed a lot while living in London? The weather? Nope. The Tube? Could be. The people? Maybe. The highstreet shopping? Absolutely. But the most important thing that I missed a lot is actually my physique! My own pseudo-toned body, which I think by far is the best ever shape that I had. I never felt so much healthier other than living in London, no kidding. Walking for more than 10k steps per day, eating high protein breakfast with the Burgen bread every morning, low fat daily diet (which I think my 1 liter vege oil that I bought normally lasted for 3 months!), lots of fruits and vege consumption, and not to mention a super highly-charged body toning exercise ever.

To be honest I don't really exercise a lot when living in UK though I do own the dumbells and Swiss ball in my bedsit. Not that frequent exercise in a quarter, which I think can be counted with my fingers. I never visited the gym ever too, coz the fee is like madness (I'd rather save it to buy Gucci!). But due to my experiment routine in my underground 'bunker' lab, it does help a lot in shaping up my body. Mana tidaknya, every day it's all about lifting the 20-liters buckets of water at least 20 times to fill the tank of my multiphase flow experiment. That, if you multiply it accordingly is like 400 kg worth of weight - daily! And that's the minimum. It's tiring, I know...coz every day after lab I'll be in a total knackered state when I got home.

Yet, I discovered that it does justice to me without I'm realising it coz my upper body got supertoned like none other. My arms got pumped up like hell, my shoulders almost got rounded beautifully (I said 'almost' there!), the abs is like flattened (though not yet six-pack!) and my pecs too is like being charged like mad! It's all due to the experiment routine in the lab. It's truly a blessing in disguise to be doing what I'm doing then.

When I look at me nowadays, I kinda missed that period. The body is like becoming unshapely unlike before. Depleting the body mass on the pecs, losing definition of the arms and not to mention the love-handles did receiving too much 'explosion of love'. I think I've got to do something if I wanna be in my previous body image. It's too precious to let it slip away, especially if I've got it before. Gotta work this ass out and pump up the iron again if I wanna achieve a great shape. I think I've got to agree to what Rick Owens said;

“Working out is the modern couture. No outfit is going to make you look or feel as good as having a fit body. Buy less clothes and go to the gym instead."

And I hope, my then and now pix that I snapped by my wardrobe could motivate me to achieve that. So, jom exercise!

* but, I'm still gonna buy clothes nonetheless!

Then . . . in London, from the previous blogpost back in March, 2010.

Now (Perak; January, 2012). I want my previous body back!!

Moving Static Coco

2012-01-23T11:00:00.000+08:00

I am so fascinated with these images that I saw at Coco Rocha's tumbler site. They were AMAZING with a capital A! Aren't they're all brilliant? How can that image really move??

Oh, I know. It's GIF! :)

Look it yourself.... I bet you too gonna be hypnotized by 'em.

[pix from oh so coco!]

BigFat Monthly Reads

2012-01-22T21:00:00.000+08:00

Ever wonder what do I read every month? I dunno either coz every time I went to the bookstore during my weekend shopping, there's always some new mags to bring home. In the previous months I've kept my home office unkempt and the mags has piled over on the desk and on the shelf, rather than being kept properly in their own 'catalogued' spaces in my Ikea Billy bookcase. While doing some chores around the house today (yeah, I'm becoming a househusband!), I finally laid out all those mags to see what actually have I got in the collection.

Two words: mak ngai....! Banyak jugak yg aku baca rupanya!? Or to be exact, just flipping over and skimming the pages rather than the actual reading, really. Imagine for each title that I laid out on the floor here, some have about 5-10 mags under it. Multiply it with many titles, by any standard of 'book world' I can actually turn my home office into a LIBRARY. Yikes!

I need more Billy bookcases, coz there's no more space for the mags! Ngggg....

Xin Nian Kuai Le

2012-01-22T18:30:00.002+08:00

To all my Chinese friends and readers who celebrate it,

I'm wishing you Happy Chinese New Year.

Xin Nian Kuai Le. Gong Xi Fa Cai.

[faux snakeskin laptop case in vermillion red - Asos, coffee mug with dragon motifs - Starbucks]

Fashion Week: Brickworks!

2012-01-21T18:30:00.000+08:00

So, have they really run out of ideas? Or, is it simply an ode to the bricklayers who did their job well done through these years in building up the architecture around the city? Only the designer himself can really tell.....

Perhaps after this, those who wear the brick-inspired patterns can play incognito by standing alongside the unplastered wall, I think?

Jean Paul Gaultier Fall/Winter 2012

Moschino Fall/WInter 2012

[pix from style.com]

D&G Spring/Summer 2012 Lookbook

2012-01-21T17:00:00.000+08:00

What is missing in the recent Milan Fashion Week 2012? The show by D&G, of course. Since the designer duo is ending the line once and for all, their show for Spring/Summer 2012 last year would be the last for D&G. Full of barogue prints and many Italian Renaissance influence, the label can now be a history for as long as you can remember.

But you can still take the chance by shopping the final collection online at their official Dolce & Gabbana website. The look still maintain the typical youth and street vibes, with the hues that rotate from the monochromatic black and white to some injection of colors like red, yellow, blue and green. The range varies from the modern black tie event, to formalwear and lots of casuals, which include sporty too. It's all about having a great choices to pack into your wardrobe, that is.

[pix from d&g]

Time to Re-Boot!

2012-01-21T15:00:00.000+08:00

New year, new season. Though we've already passed the first day of new year in the Julian calendar, there's another first day of new year that will come up in two days time - the Lunar New Year (the Hijrah New Year has also passed, way before Julian's fyi!). So, it's time to reboot our system for another cycle, and let our shoe closet be refreshed with a new collection as well. When I said 'reboot'... what I really mean is to get some new boots!

The recent webitorial at Mr. Porter site shows some choices of the boots for you to select. Either your heart goes for the traditional look like the A.P.C's mahogany Chelsea or the desert boots by Bottega Veneta, or pumped up the style with McNairy's lace-ups or Church's brogues - it's all up to where and how you wanna rock your look in those boots.

If you a classics person like me who love to wear the shoes that can rock both from the boardroom straight to the streets - my definite choice is the killer YSL Johnny boots. A deff rock 'n roll, enough said.

[pix from mr porter]

I Came to Win...So, Get Ready for It!

2012-01-21T11:30:00.000+08:00

I dunno what's got into me, but suddenly I'm feeling quite inspirational today. And, this song by Nicki Minaj featuring Rihanna seem to be the perfect anthem for me to continue conquering what's gonna happen ahead from now on.

All I'm saying - 2012: I came to win... so, get ready for it!

p/s: mind the 'f' word in the lyrics. (And oh, change that 'girl' like in the lyrics too if you're a dude. Nggg...)

The original music video...

Retro: Step by Step

2012-01-21T10:00:00.000+08:00

Those who lived their tweens and teenage years in the 90's would've remembered this song very well. I grew up with New Kids On The Block roaming around my head all the time. In fact, me and my mate used to collect their cassettes (yeah, cassette coz CD is yet to exist back then!) like Hanging Tough, Step by Step, and Merry Merry Christmas, since we're a massive fan of the group. Quite funny when I think it back. Yet, I think they are one of the 'original' boyband that created such a massive phenomenon during the days - by which the press at the time even compared them with The Beatles of the 60's.

It's great to reminisce those period and saw what fashion has also evolved ever since. If you look closely you'll see some things never change: double-breasted jacket worn by Jordan Knight still remain a classics these days though the fit evolved into much more fitted and body-skimming. Animal print is surprisingly a choice too, like the one worn by Danny which have the vibes of Givenchy did in Spring/Summer 2011. Tribal geometric print shirt (on Jordan) is also exist these days, and not to mention the drop-crotch trousers, which happen to be quite a modernise version of MC Hammer 'You Can't Touch This' that the group members like to wear. It tapers down the leg, which is...ehem.. what I love to wear too currently (yikes!).

Others like the varsity jacket with contrast sleeve (on Donnie) that feels quite Bottega Veneta SS'10; the stars and stripes print top (seen on Danny), and the asymmetric biker jacket (on Jon) - those are the seasonless and timeless style that remain in menswear. Yet, I'm not sure whether any dudes still copy NKOTB's bouffant updo though.... coz that might be cool in the Nineties; but in the Teenies, I don't think so! Ahaks!

Oh, look carefully and you also can notice the cameo by Donnie's little brother - Mark Wahlberg - who's at the time is the Calvin Klein underwear model.

Those are the days....

BigFatSnoop: Red Alert @ SODA

2012-01-20T14:00:00.000+08:00

A quick BigFatSnoop last weekend prior getting my caramel macchiato at the nearby Starbucks. I made a beeline into Voir Gallery @ Ipoh Parade to usha what's new in store coz who knows I might find something awesome there (plus to spend the free voucher given to me recently). Apart from the floral print white shirt ala Jil Sander that I've blogged a couple of posts ago, I found this tee which is quite cool, suits the theme of Chinese New Year that is going on at the moment.

This shirt is a tad stretchy, making the fit is awesome as it hugs nicely to the bod. Just like what Sofia Vergara said earlier this week when she talked about her Vera Wang gown upon being asked by Ryan Seacrest at the Golden Globe - "it zip and glove" - I'm gonna say the same thing about this tee too. Not 'zip' though coz there's none... just 'gloved' to the body since it's quite body-con. What I like most is the print on the front, which is surprisingly not any typical print. It is made of tiny black square pieces of synthetic rubber, creating a 3D sensory to the touch. Pretty cool... and nope, you don't need a 3D glasses to notice the 'effect'!

Another great addition to the collection is this skull tee. The store has run out of sizes so I'm trying the small size instead, that's why it's superbly body-hugging. Though not that ecstatic about the whole skull-print design of this one, yet how it is being 'created' onto the façade of the tee is what made it interesting. Upon touching it I was quite surprised to realize that the print is actually black and silver 'studs', arranged in the silhouette of the skull and the frame. You've gotta give an applaud to the one who made it though coz it's one hell of a job, I know!

Albeit the print itself, fit-wise and fabric-wise, this tee is awesome! Too bad there's none in a slightly bigger size.... :)

*terperasan la plak... body aku cantik gak rupanya. 'masuk bakul' time...waaaahahaha!

Red Alert Thursday

2012-01-19T21:15:00.001+08:00

Chinese New Year is around the corner? What better to get into the festive mood than to eat the mandarin oranges sent by friends who wanna spread the gong xi joy. And of course, to wear red. Though it's not yet CNY, perhaps I'm ready for it. Well, at least my neighbors were as they alrealy hang those red 'tanglung' lantern outside the house that is so cool...

Anyway. My choice for today is red shirt by Zara paired with the stripes slim tie by Red Herring @ Debenhams (clipped into place by onyx tie bar by Lanvin). The pants is +J wool Uniqlo (as forever..!), and the belt (oh, I seldom show my belt, huh?) is by SEED with the squarish U-shaped smoky graphite buckle. And to complete the attire is the shoes - my saffiano Beatle zipped boots by DSquared that is already featured in the previous blog post.

Since I was about to go for lunch when I snapped this, the bag on my shoulder is you've-seen-it-many-times-already SEED leather tote.

Btw. Can you spot any fashion faux pas in this? Yup, the tie is too slim compared to the collar size. Not the right thing to do actually, nggg.....

Currently Loving: DSquared 'Saffiano Beatle' Boots

2012-01-18T21:30:00.000+08:00

The first month in the new year has not yet ended, but I already got another pair of shoes. Yes, I know... totally insane coz it's my fourth in this month alone. I've made kinda vow that from this now on the only footwear that I'm gonna get would have to be boots or hi-tops only. No lo pro shoes if I could possibly avoid, unless if a nice mocs came along... then, who knows?

Anyway. This new black beauty is by DSquared that look utterly delicious even when I ogled it from afar at Yoox. Though it falls under the same 'Beatle' range from the designer duo, it's totally different from the Beatle brogue Chelsea boots that I got a week earlier. I had some kind of tug-of-war on whether to get it or not, yet after weighing all the pro and cons (pro & cons la sangat...!), finally it arrived safely yesterday into my possession.

Man, what can I say...everything about it is perfection to the max! The saffiano leather that's being given a bit vernice hi-sheen finish and the pointy toe that is utterly edgy, to the zipped side which led way to an awesome fit when the foot slide in; the boots is totally magnifico. One word: IT ROCKS! (Owh, that's two words...ahaks!)

Again, I think this boots just rival my Gucci. Whatever it is, I am embroiled to its intoxicating smell of the leather... *faint!

Best Statement About Male Fashion (and It's True!)

2012-01-18T20:30:00.000+08:00

This statement by one of the fashion writers is so true when talking about the look on the runway. If you compare to what the models wear on the stage to those guys that are snapped outside the fashion venues by the like of Tommy Ton and the gang, you probably agree with the statement too.

It's not wrong at all that male fashion do actually designed for the flat-chested boys. Mostly, not all. But do those 'boys' really buy the stuff they paraded on the stage? I don't think so. They probably got it free anyway. But buy - absolutely not. So, who ended buying those eventually? The 'other' men - those who got 'soft peaks' like the writer himself who could afford all of those stuff, of course.

Reality bites, huh?

(Still, I'm one of the flat-chested boys... but, unlike them I could afford it. Almost! :D)

[quoted from the original article here]

WordLess Wednesday: i-Siti

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000+08:00

Siti in Glam January 2012

vs.

Zamri in 'Details' using RealCoverHD app.

Isn't it fun to play cover?

Fashion Week: Backstage at Gucci Fall/Winter 2012 Show

2012-01-17T22:30:00.000+08:00

I bet you watched the Gucci Fall/Winter 2012 show last Monday. Thank God, right after work I switched on the netbook and turned on my iPad (at the same time) to tune in the live streaming from Milan. My verdict about the show? So, so. Though I'm not crazy about the collection and would definitely shunned them once and for all - but I love the silhouette which is forever Gucci DNA: very slim, if not skinny. Fantastic fit!

Apart from the show that showcased in front of millions around the world, what happened backstage is equally fun by itself. Looking at the h&m activities (hair & make-up, that is!) you can see how those male models had been transformed from practically nobody, to somebody to be envied at. Hair gels, foundations, eye creams, manicure, pedicure, blowing up the tresses - it's manic and quite a chaos backstage. Not to mention, a lot of waiting time!

Yet, the hard truth is that - with the power of make-up, you can always turn that highly blemished skin into flawless and spotless one. Kinda 'magic', huh?

Time to 'Pod it...

So, Greg... bad skin, huh?

Waiting for queue? George is texting...

Paint that Clement skin...

zits? yikes...!

The crowd prior the show

[screengrabs from gucci connect]

Btw, watch the show if you missed the live streaming last Monday.

Fashion Week: iPad Generation @ Salvatore Ferragamo FW12

2012-01-17T22:00:00.000+08:00

iPad has created such a phenomenon worldwide ever since its existence on this planet two years ago. Never been any great merger between a gadget freak (like me) and the fashion maniac (like me, too) ever seen, apart from the Apple products themselves. Just name it: Macbook, iPod, iPhone and, or course, iPad - designer flocks to offer their own takes on accessorizing the gadgets. Mentioning iPad, I myself got quite an array of iPad cases either from the designer label to the 'less high end' brands.

Latest in Milan Fashion Week, it seems that people at Salvatore Ferragamo are also quite an iPad fans themselves, as there are a number of those seen as clutches are actually iPad cases. Very simple, with the folded cover in either grained or smooth leather - they look very chic in a no-fuss, very structured design. Throw some wrist strap to it, you'll rock the style while carrying your fav Apple tablet.

I actually love its simplicity, especially the one in ruby. Anyway, can't wait for the new iPad 3 to be released next month!

Not forgetting, there're also portfolio bags.... very slim, suits to store your new ultrabook!

And, some great wristlets for the dudes. Wallet? What wallet?

[pix from style.com]

Blame the Tsunami, but My Bum Looks Good!

2012-01-17T21:00:00.000+08:00

I had a little crisis with myself two days ago, which I think I did wrote about it in my other blog. Not a bad crisis though - a good one, instead. I kinda having my own internal monologue, if I can put it that way.... as suddenly on the night before the weekend ended, I experienced a tsunami. No, no... not that tsunami like you-know-what tsunami. But tsunami of ideas, rather, coz somehow out of nowhere I've been hit with loads of ideas that stormed and bombarded into my head like I never imagine. Too much, too many, too crazy, too loads of ideas from every corner of my life areas seems to be coming in like the rain showered on the models in the Burberry Prorsum Fall/Winter 2012 show!

I felt like a mad man (not Mad Men, ahaks!) coz the ideas vortex created by this whirlpool in my head made me feel quite dizzy in a way. I dunno whether I wanna scream due to the state of euphoria, or I just wanna sit down calmly and scribbled down all those ideas, or go and take a nap instead - I just can't make up my mind. Ideas on fashion projects, ideas on décor projects, ideas on design projects, ideas on photography projects, ideas on my research projects, ideas about my writing up projects, and not to mention ideas on the event that I'm chairing next April (again, yes I'm doing it fyi) - I'm totally being in the state of ideas 'heavy downpour' moment. All I wanna do is totally to be creative! Memang gilerrr wa cakap luuu....

Then, I thought I can't stay inside the house coz those 'bombardment' really made me insane. And that's when I took my car keys, start the engine and headed to my nearby Tesco in the middle of the night that it's almost at closing time. I need to SHOP coz that's how all those feeling can go away. Period. (I know I'm crazy!).

But, it was not the Tesco instant coffee that I wanna get, really. It was the watch shop inside the Tesco that I actually wanna go to. I saw something in there in the previous week that has been haunting me ever since. I think that's one of the reason why I'm in the state of ideas cumulonimbus. Long story short - I finally got myself the watch that I drooled over the Sunday before.

The BUM watch. The black BUM watch with the washed out graphite dial.

Suddenly, the storm in my head disappear just like that. Voila... What a mystery!

*but, my ideas are kept safely in my mind though...

Fashion Week: Corneliani Fall/Winter 2012

2012-01-16T06:45:00.001+08:00

They nickname the show as The Great Gatsby, probably because the collection somehow speaks the volume in the connotation of the famous novel (by which it's new movie rendition is gonna be released this year, produced by Baz Luhrmann). Looking at the pieces by pieces that came out on the models, its a great welcome to the soil of Milan coz the color palette somehow is much 'fresher' compared to what other designers did so far. I can say that the Corneliani show is like a 'rehab to the mind' to me especially after looking at the almost-all-blacks collection by Armani previously.

Though the theme is still the sombre mood of 'apocalyptic' autumn/winter, the color palette somehow is so very fresh and cool. From the glacier greys to the frosty white, steel blues to the soft blacks - I think they look awesome. Better than Bottega Veneta, Valentino or even Ferragamo. The materials used also exude richness and luxe, that sits nicely in the collection that juxtapose between the classic and the modern feel.

The one I like most are the bags as they're quite a number made of wool and felts, alongside soft leather and suede. It's a great array of choices for the gents who wanna look good when carrying their stuff in style during the cold season in the year end to come.

Overall, great collection. And I can't wait to see the close-up pixs to appear.

Cheap Monday Sinai Desert Boots

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000+08:00

The danger of putting a list of something that I like is that - I own it eventually! Simple as that. This is not the first time I said that, and not the last time I'm gonna said it either; but making a wishlist in my own blog here is like hoping to get it nonetheless. Since the dividing line separating the dream and reality in my life is almost non-existent (wuhu..!), voila.... the desert boots by Cheap Monday finally made its way into my collection and resting alongside other on the shelf.

I wrote about this shoes 2 months ago, and even make it on the first picture in the post [click]. When Ssense did the Winter Sale and slash the price of this black desert boot, I didn't wait long to get it (together with my DSquared brogue Chelsea boots). Just click and buy. I dunno what made me like it coz it's not the typical me to own this kind of footwear. Yet, since 2012 I vow to try new things - this boots rank in one of those list that I should.

Simple: that is the first thing that enchant me to it. The jagged thick undersoles, the leather upper, the simple color scheme and the no fuss design - those are some checklist that made me decide to get it. I know, I'm crazy coz the shoes might not be anyone's cuppa tea. In fact, that's what crazy people like me do: we buy things that appeal to our eyes coz beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. :)

*somehow I felt like a Japanese when wearing this, which I dunno why. Nggg...

One surprising element - upon its arrival I found out that the under lining is actually from pigskin. But it's not the end of the world coz I took it to the shoesmith and let him changed to the much 'safer' calfskin lining instead. Thank God the other lining on the side is fabric, otherwise I have to return this shoes once and for all!

Lost & Found: V Neck tee by Uniqlo

2012-01-15T17:30:00.000+08:00

When you have a lot of clothes in the wardrobe, chances that some of them will be overlooked and got hidden within hangers of the others. If they're folded and piled on top of each other, that made even worse coz you'll go like 'I have no idea when did I get this? ' especially if they still got the price tag on. And recently I just made a discovery in my wardrobe when I found this white V neck tee by Uniqlo, which I got ages ago and can't recalled the exact when.

What I remember, I was wandering inside Uniqlo flagship store at Oxford Street one day doing my usual BigFatSnoop thing. I wasn't planning to get anything that day, but as most great purchase happen unplanned, I accidently saw this tee among other collection in the 'Sale' area that I didn't expect at all. Didn't expect, how? Coz the tee is quite un-typical of Uniqlo as this one is studded. There's this half-circle gunmetal studs lining along the hem of the sleeves as well as at the back of the neck, making this simple tee differs than others. The fit is awesome too, not too tight, not to loose. Coupled with the raw edges... as I said, it's so un-typical Uniqlo.

The best part is the price. Guess how much I pay for this? Just £5 (down from £15). Or £4.50 to be precise, after getting further 10% off discount using my student card. That's a great bargain absolutely!

Glad to found it in the wardrobe. :)

tee and jeans - Uniqlo

Fashion Week: Roberto Cavalli Fall/Winter 2012

2012-01-15T14:00:00.000+08:00

Watching Roberto Cavalli Fall/Winter 2012 show is like not watching the typical Roberto Cavalli show. Looking at the clothes somehow depart a bit to the typical Roberto Cavalli as I'm not sensing the essence of the designer in the collection. There's a slight toning down on the usual flamboyance of the fashion house used to do, with the popping colors and the animal print like zebra or snakeskin has not being seen that much in this collection.

Yet, looking closer the designer did not disappoint since the animal print elements are still infused into the pieces. Instead of the African safari, Cavalli went for the Wild West with an injection of the birds among the Navajo instead of the crawlers at Sahara. The prints inspired by the feathers of the hawks and eagles dominates some of the collection in somewhat monchromatic theme. I think it looks much masculine, that the animal prints appear much discreet yet breathes a silent flamboyance at the same time.

My favorites are actually the shoes: the strappy boots like what I saw at Lanvin, Giorgio Armani and Dior Homme currently in FW11, and the monk strap mocs with the brogue and studded details. They look splendid.

Another piece that is a slight 'moving on to the future' is the asymmetric biker jacket with its Tron-like contrasting hem. Awesome, and not so typical Cavalli - which is good. Definitely a must have (and a must copy!).

The injection of birds prints inspired by the feathers of the hawks and the eagles at the Wild West...

[pix from style.com]