Saturday, January 28, 2012

Hermes Cent Plis des Miao cashmere/silk shawl

I was late to the game.

In one of the bitter-cold winter days, I stared at myself in the mirror, in my usual winter black, realizing that I needed some color, desperately.

It was right before Christmas, and my trustworthy boutique only had a few designs. I tried all, exhausted my dear SA, but nothing made my heart sing.

Until I saw this hot pink shawl on Hermes.com. Then I realized that it was a design from 2010, and brick and mortar stores no longer carried them. So here it is, my first H item from the website. Did I also mention that it was my first Hermes Shawl?

Cent Plis des Miao features a "one hundred pleats" skirt from the Miao minority group, mostly living in Guizhou, China. In this design, a skirt is laid flat, with folk art references.

"Hearts and Crafts", an Hermes film, features this particular detail

This look perfectly soften my black Burberry coat

A perfect couple with my Tosca 30cm Birkin

My heart sings

Saturday, January 21, 2012

New addition: Cheval Sur Mon Carre

Hermes reissued the classic Cheval Sur Mon Carre for SS2012. A perfect colorway for the spring:

The horseshoe print can be masculine, which brought some character to this design. It's also a great scarf for men, with the right color combination. A true Hermes classic.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Foodie Love!

One passion I developed in the past years is food. We went to so many great restaurants (Alinea, Per Se, Arzak and the like) and our taste buds were very spoiled. Unsatisfied by the "ordinary" food we used to eat, I started polishing my cooking skills along the way. Being able to cook makes me appreciate gourmet food even more, and when I saw the news about the book "Modernist Cuisine", I told DH that I really wanted the series.

Santa remembered the wish, and I received Modernist Cuisine as my Christmas gift!

I'm reading the third book right now, and I've learned so much from the series. If you love food and you are curious about how cooking works, I would highly recommend this book.

A new way of cooking I finally learned was Sous Vide cooking. It was really a "Duh" moment when the book commented on a few dishes cooked Sous Vide at Alinea. Of course! I should have known! Now I'm evaluating whether it's worth it or not to order a Sous Vide cooker. I can probably make better fish at home with Sous Vide cooking, but one thing has been bugging me: Sous Vide cooking always takes one extra step to "finish" the food. It's great to cook something perfectly, but the extra finishing step makes it less "pure". Please share your thoughts!

Warning: the series weighs 50lbs. I could barely lift it myself!

My Hermes Scarves - 90cm

I finally took time to "archive" all I have. I started buying 90cm Hermes scarves in 2005, and over the years, I've bought eighteen of them.

The Hermes 90cm scarves are the most versatile, in my opinion. They are suitable for an indoor, work environment, yet one can easily wear them in the winter, perhaps cowboy style.

Each scarf is a work of art, and to pick the right design and colorway is always tricky. My advice to new collectors is to try them on! Colors are fun, but certain colors could make people look "ill". Understanding what colors work for our skin tones is the most important.

The second thought I'd like to share is to wear the scarves. Sounds simple, right? But many people don't even remember what they have. So I figured out my own "system" to make it work: a tie rack.

Here is how it looks: