A caveat if you will – I’m no fashion blogger and never will be, so this is one of the rare “What I Wore” posts I’m doing because I’m in the mood for some fun 🙂 I’m clearly still in the Chinese New Year mood (it officially runs for 15 days woohoo!) and this year, I left my new year shopping till very late and horrors of horrors, found nothing red that caught my eye.
It is tradition for me to wear something red on the 1st day of the Lunar New Year because red = luck and what would be a better way to herald the arrival of luck than to entice it with a red outfit? Instead, I had to make do with a simple burgundy shift which happened to be new. But I hope the red clutch (not new) more than made up for it 😀
The dress was a very simple one I picked up on the sale rack at Dorothy Perkins and bought it for a lark because it wasn’t very expensive and it reminded me of the mod 60’s style shifts. Its just a very casual simple dress with 2 funny patch pockets on the front and a contrast leather-look patch on the shoulder and collar. I go through funny fashion phases and this was one of them 😀
Ooh err… knobbly knees! LOL! 😀
I broke out my deep green shoes with the interesting heel for footwear and have also worn this with black flats. I think the length of the dress allows me to get away with wearing flats with it which is great because ever since finding comfortable flats, that look cute, I have been wearing flats a lot for casual days. Just needed a decent sort of dress to go with it.
Naturally the clutch had to be a big one. I mean, I needed somewhere handy and roomy to put all the ang pows (lucky red envelopes) that I was collecting, didn’t I? 😀
Did you wear something red this Chinese New Year? What is your favourite red accessory/clothing that you own?
This clutch/bag has been one of my best purchases to date. I wore it with a black dress for a wedding dinner recently, and it set it off very nicely, so I’m very pleased with it. It also fits my big camera (I know, surprise!) and also my essentials = win! And I just realised that everything I was wearing was bought on sale. Tells me a lot about my shopping habits LOL! 😀
Paris B
Dress: Dorothy Perkins sale rack | Clutch: Rebecca Minkoff Beau Embossed Clutch from shopbop.com | Shoes: Sergio Rossi | Lipstick: Revlon Colorburst True Red
Looking cute there Paris! I was told by Mum that only single people and children get song pow. Was I duped?!? ???? I may have to tease my Mum. This year I wore red accessories and jewelry with rubies and pink tourmaline instead of a full-on red outfit and I have been sporting fuschia lips (YSL Rouge Volupté Shine in Fuschia In Rage) to give a different take on red. I may have to give up on the lips though. There have been some mornings where I just want slap on a nude lipstick and get out the door!
Thank you Rose 🙂 Yes, only unmarried people and children get ang pow while the married ones have to give it 😀 I love the idea of wearing red accessories and jewellery instead. Maybe I’ll do that for next year which means I better shop my jewellery this year! 😀
Hi Paris, good thing about the ang pow. I have been giving out ang pow like nobody’s business. I usually carry a small clutch with my daily essentials, but had to change a bigger purse to hold all of my envelopes and lucky candy!
Haha Darn! I should have been standing in line to receive your ang pows 😉 Lucky candy is new to me, but it sounds so much fun!
I love the red bag and your dress Paris. It goes so well together. I don’t usually wear red clothes so my only red accessory is my red lipstick. By the way I finally bought a Guerlain Rouge G lipstick in Gala. I am loving the texture and creaminess. Thanks Paris.
Thank you Jacqueline 😀 Yay for the Guerlain Rouge G! They are among the best I’ve tried for formula and colour. So intense and so creamy! Happy you like it too 😀
Going off topic here. Is it just my eyes or the dress looked purple in the first and rust red in the second?
Haha not you Ishi, just bad lighting on my part 😛 The actual colour is the one in the last picture – a rust/burgandy shade
Nice ensemble PB! Loving all the rich colours together!
This year I wore a bohemian type long dress to go with my new short hair cut! I finally did it–loving the convenience of short hair-hah!
Thanks Monstro and hurrah on going short! 😀 Its so fun isn’t it? I just wash and go on most days now. And I save a ton of money on hair care 😀
Same here! Didn’t have anything red this year except for my lips. Last minute rush to buy clothes was such a hassle that I gave up halfway! hahahaha. Ended up wearing green.
The dress looks nice on you. I can never carry a shift dress, makes me look like a log :p
Happy Chinese New Year!!
Thank you Yuki and Happy Chinese New Year to you too! I’m sure you don’t look like a log! But I have this to say about shift dresses. They help hide a multitude of sins, so I don’t have to worry about bulges LOL! 😛
Wow Paris, you looked amazing! I love the dress you chose, very feminine, stylish but also a bit fun in a way. That together with the beautiful clutch is just perfect ^^. I didn’t know CNY lasted 15 days! What do you guys do in those 15 days? Eat? ;p I think I learned a lot about CNY this past month, hehe :). Have a great Sunday!
Thank you Teri 😀 Officially, it runs for 15 days but the actual celebrations are within the first few days and for some, on the night of the 8th day. The rest of the time we go back to work haha! But its also a good time for people to catch up and have meals so yes, a lot of eating is involved 😀
Well I don’t need to say how beautiful you already are again, so there. ^.^ I LOVE THOSE SHOES!
Quite ironically, I managed to stuff meself into a (sleeveless) Cheongsam this CNY but it was ORANGE. Now the challenge is to be able to stuff meself into it at random periods around the year, heh heh~
That’s sweet of you Hanny, thank you 🙂 I remember you’ve been working out so I have no doubt the cheongsam was a perfect choice to show off your new svelteness 😀 I don’t even want to go there haha! 😀 Hope you had a fun CNY
I love your outfits, PB! Red matches your light skin tone well. Wish you good luck and happy all year round!
Thank you so much, Karen! I wish you the same and lots of happiness all year round!
You look gorgeous Paris!! LOVE the dress, and I LOVE the bag! Hope you collected lots and lots of envelopes girl! 🙂 Happy New Year to you and your family!
Thank you Tracy! *hugs* I did get a sizeable haul even if its not as large as it used to be – at least I don’t have to give out any (unmarried people don’t) so its a nett profit all around 😉
Hi Paris, Happy Chinese New Year! I love the clutch, along with the interesting ostrich-like texture. I do prefer carrying around a bigger bag because of all the things I put into it 😛 (despite how chic and adorable smaller bags look, sometimes they are just not very practical for me).
P. S. I thought I saw you in a newspaper article about e-shopping today, just a quote, and I thought it’s you because it said makeup blogger Sue.
Hi Anthea, Happy New Year to you too! 😀 I usually carry a larger bag for everyday but its handy having a clutch for some occasions. I can’t do small dinky clutches – anything that can’t fit my mobile, wallet and keys is struck off my list. I can’t do small, cute and dainty either haha! The nice thing about this clutch/bag is that is actually really roomy so it fits loads 😉 Oh and thanks for letting me know about the article. Yes, it was me 😉
Ahhh the clutch! The heels! The dress! You were wearing a red lipstick too! This doesn’t get any better!
I hope you had a great time and collected a lot of those red envelopes. Did you also have to give some away?
Haha Thank you Sunny! Happy you approve 😉 I didn’t have to give any because I’m not married, but I did give my little nephew one anyway for luck, and to my parents too 😀
Hello beautiful! Lovely combination of mix and match with different shades of red, green and gold. I think the dress length makes it versatile to be paired with heels or flats which is great 🙂 Haha, I have always adored cluthces and your clutch is remarkable! I got a printed dress from DP good for work, otherwise I don’t have any red colour items to usher the new year.
Hello yourself, gorgeous and thanks! 😀 I actually quite like shopping in DP – their dresses and clothes fit me relatively well but they go through phases when they bring in some weird clothes that make me question my and their tastes 😛 It took me ages to find this clutch – its surprisingly hard to find a nice big roomy one!
You look good! Lovely shoes 🙂 I was looking for big clutch like this one for some time but when I set my mind on something it seems like no one have it xD I have only one red piece of clothing in my wardrobe- red cashmere cardigan…
Thank you Catherine 😀 I have been obsessed with finding a large clutch ever since the movie Lust.Caution and I only managed to get it last year! That’s how long it took to find out that I liked 😀 I’m amazed you don’t wear more red! But now thinking back, I don’t either 😀
Cute dress and that clutch looks like it has plenty of space for ang pows! 🙂 I’m not really in the mood for CNY this year, as we didn’t go back due to hubby’s crazy schedules… boo! 🙁 But I enjoy reading your CNY posts all the same, especially that one on snacks. Yum yum!
Thanks Ting and yes, there was loads of ang pow space! 😀 Sorry to hear you didn’t make it back this year but there’s next year! 😀
The red clutch bag looks nice but in the pictures it looks so big. Looks almost like a folio bag.
Does it feel clumsy when you’re carrying it around?
Yes, its a pretty large clutch which was something I’d been eyeing for a long time 🙂 It doesn’t feel clumsy at all, tucks nicely under my arm or held in my hand and there’s a detachable strap too to convert it into a slim bag 😀
Happy Chinese New Year PB! I love your outfit post and you should do more! you look so classy and the color of your dress suits you really really well 😀
Aww you’re too sweet, Nikki! I haven’t the style nor guts to do outfit posts haha! But I’ll try as and when the inspiration hits 😀
Love the red clutch. I have been following your blogs and I love your taste on bag, simple and elegant choice always. 🙂 How much is the clutch cost you ? And purchase at shopbop.com , did u encounter any tax’s issue when the goods delivered from overseas?
Hi Theresa, thank you for your kind words! 😀 It retails at US$395 but I got it on sale so I paid less. Can’t recall how much it was now, sorry! I didn’t experience any problems through shopbop because you can pay them the tax (additional 10%) and if the tax is less than estimated, they refund you the difference (I had that experience). It comes by DHL and you can track it all the way so its pretty safe to buy through them if you see something you like 🙂
Nice bag, i think my mom will falling in love with this bag if she know. 🙂