Tennis: A look at Rome and its new Gladiator-esque Stadium

With the two weeks Italien Open coming to an end soon, I suddenly realized I forgot to think about or to write about how great is the city of Rome.

Italian Open is a marquee tune-up tournament leading to the French Open and it has always attrached top players to go and fine tune their game. There must be more than its convenient position in the calendar that brings back the players year after year. Next year, the two weeks separate men's and women's event will be combined into one of the few joint mega tournaments. Here's a couple pictures of this magnificent city.

And then there's the new stadium, it doesn't have the flashes and flares of other famous European new-age stadiums, but this one is true to Rome, it has the air of a Colissium where every single spectator hovers over the two fighters down center fighting for their lives until one beat the other into submission. This is the atmosphere that tennis needs, out with the nice and I'll try again next time, it needs the urgency of life and death that make something matters, it's time people realize that a battle is going on, and I wouldn't mind if the girls or guys throw in a grunt here and there, it'll only be fitting.

Tennis: Jelena Got it done, beat Venus 6-0 6-1

Venus got owned! I hate to say it, but she got out played, Jelena Jankovic was like a yo-yo master, yanking Venus from side to side, I've never seen Venus as off balance and dejected as this past hour.

Venus had a small gap to get herself back into the game but couldn't capitalize when she was down 1-4 but had two break points at 15-40. Sigh, where do Venus go from here, I did not liked Jelena tonight, not because she won, in fact she played wonderfully, but she kept questioning line calls that were so obvious, it irked me in all the wrong ways, too much drama, way too much. I prefer someone to dominate quitely and respectfully.

Watch, Jankovic is going to play amazing and then just folds at the next grand slam, yes, that's how much I hate her right now that I'd wish that upon a tennis player.

Oh well, at least she played well, REALLY well in fact, but her lime green dress with matching glossy track suit jacket (w/rhine stones on the collar), was horrendous, the color wasn't the biggest problem, the rhinestones, rhinestones!! It looks like it came stright out of dancing with the Star, China version, I'll post a picture as soon as I can get my hands on one.

Venus getting owned by Jelena Jankovic at the moment...

Venus is getting shredded apart on court by Jelena Jankovic, Jelena is up 6-0 2-1 about to go up 3-1, tsk tsk tsk, it's painful to watch..

And the commentator is having a field day commenting on how the sisters never complement their opponent and give them credit and now she HAS to admit that she's being outplayed, that's just not true, they often blame themselves when they lose, but there are a bunch of times when they're nothing more than nice to the person who have just beaten them...

Anyway, let's see if Jelena can finish this off

Fashion: Fashion moments from Asia

On a few occasions when I don't come off as a total stalker, I was able to take a couple snaps of Asian fashion moments. I guess I only found one that's super stalker-ish.

The blue just stands out so much that one would be afraid to pair it with a busy pant, but this works, the white shoes kind of anchors the busy-ness.

From Seoul, Korea, a converse fixture made from tires.

Boutique store-front with gigantic spoon and Meat Bun

When Tennis meets Fashion: What Serena would've wear to the Met Gala

So Serena Williams announced in the post-match press conference yesterday that she passed up an invite to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala in order to get some much needed match play in Rome.

So the question is, since she also said that her dress was going to be FAB, I went ahead and picked two choices for her.

The first one here is a nude shimmer wrap gown by Victoria Beckham in her latest Fall 2010 collection. VB has been red hot on the red carpet and I think it's time Serena embrace the VB fever. The color would compliment Serena's skin color and the nib at the waistline is exactly what she needs. It's so old school hollywood, plus Serena has enough sassiness to give this gown some extra youth and energy.

The second one I chose is a total different route for Serena, in fact this one would look amazing on Venus too. It's a black and white strapless Zac Posen gown with a pleated bottom and ruching detail on the bust. It's elegant, which is the look I think both sisters general prefer nowadays. I like how the bottom of the dress flares and drapes nicely which is going to be super flattering. I particularly like the ruching around the bust, the texture is only going to be enhanced by Serena's figure. The dress is just so simple yet stunning. And the best thing is this dress can be dressed with or without a necklace, which would save Serena from all the blogger's "I hate jewelry" comments, cuz this time it WORKS.

Tennis: Roger Federer back on track....so far

After slightly better than dismal performance in his past two clay tournament, Roger Federer's fans are probably praying aloud for him to win a title and restore not just his faith, but their faith in him as well.

So far he's doing fine in Estoril, a much smaller tournament that Federer started to play a few years back. He won his first round with a 6-3 6-4 win over Bjorn Phau of Germany. Federer said afterward that it was "a very important match for me", rightly so. With Rafael Nadal quickly reminding people that he is the ultimate king of clay, Roger must be thinking in the back of his mind he must beat Nadal before feeling legitimate and superior. Although many said winning the French last year has closed all doubts that Roger is the best ever, I believe deep down Roger also believe that he has to beat Nadal on caly at Roland Garros, so let's see what happens this year.

Tennis: Tracking the Williams Sister

They're both making a return in Rome this week. So far both sisters have been doing their part and advancing through the draw in hopes of meeting each other in the semi-final (once again they're on the same side of the draw).

Serena beat Andrea Petkovic 6-2 3-6 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals where she'll be playing Maria Kirilenko. Kirilenko's been killing it this tournament, upsetting seeds left and right, she could be dangerous for a self-proclaimed "rusty" Serena. Normally Kirilenko should be no problem for Williams as she often overpower her opponent, but Kirilenko is consistent enough that it might bring out a few error in Serena's game.



I like Serena's dress although I initially didn't didn't think much of it. There's something about her that adds a punch of flavor into something that would've normally be blend. So kudos to Serena. The color just look so vibrant compared to the clay, and I also like her new hair cut, not because it's short, but because she went light, I like her with lighter hair, reminds me of the good old days of 2002 to 2004 Serena.







Venus also won today! She beat Isreali Sharhar Peer 6-3 6-4 (I honestly thought it would've been much more difficult, but I heard this scoreline is a little misleading, so who knows). Venus next plays Jelena Jankovic, whom just gave a beat down today winning her match 6-0 6-2 in 59 minutes. Venus needs to be careful, Jelena likes clay and her steadiness usually cause a fury of errors out of Venus' racket. This one is rather up in the air especially since Jelena was struggling for so long until recently, we'll have to see if her confidence is fully recovered, if not, playing some like Venus might mess a little with her head.

But wha'ts not messing around is her on court style. Venus brought back her crowd favorite red/orange cancan/lingerie inspired Miami dress. I'm the biggest fan of this tennis dress, it's so chic yet is performance conscious and the color looks great on Venus and on the clay, it translates well from hard court to clay court.


Interesting fact: Serena was supposed to go the Met Gala and she said her dress was FABULOUS, who do you think she was going to wear?? (I wish I have enough reader to actually get a discussion going, haha)


I'm guessing it will not be her own design =) I had a feeling she might be wearing Victoria Beckham, or Zac Posen, but then I also had a hunch that she'd be wearing someone classic like Oscar De La Renta

Things to expect in the coming month

There are so many things I want to write about, and here's what to expect in the coming month

1.) Met Gala review - my favorites and how does the Met fits into my career dream
2.) Review of Roland Garros fashion
3.) Serena William's signature line
4.) Maria Sharapova
5.) Fashion images from Asia
6.) Exciting new fashion development
7.) When I finally get my game fully back and start winning again
8.) Fashion week!!! (gosh, already?)
9.) Getting a fashion styling assistant job (I just KNOW this will happen, this MUST happen, I'm going to do whatever I can to make it happen)

I'm Back: Am I a Stylist? and update on the tennis scene

It's good to be back writing about what I love.

So besides losing to a good friend in tennis tonight...(I lost 5 games in a row and lost the set to him when his strings are broken, I was pretty pathetic, but the thing about tennis is that I just have to keep trying, once you know the mistake, it's up to you to fix it, no one else but you)

Now on the other side of things, I have found a sense of clarity in what I want to do in fashion, dun dun dun, STYLING. I guess that's what EVERYONE wants to do in fashion, it's fun, you get to play dress up day in and day out, which actually gives me certain apprehensions approaching the field. Am I really a stylist? Who is a stylist? Is everyone a stylist if they just call themselve one?

I feel extremely uncomfortable to just call myself a stylist (even though that's pretty much what people do). I constantly feel the need to back it up with something, which I don't have at this point. Should I really be something that can be named w/o much credibility, and will I ever get a chance to reach that point to legitimately call myself a fashion stylist?

Well, I'm taking steps toward making that happen and I HAVE TO TRUST IN MYSELF. I know I have the eye and passion, I know what inspires me and how to translate that to reality. SO, this is a big announcement (for the 2 or 3 people who actually check this blog once in a while) I'm going to put together my first portfolio! Model, clothes, photographer, hair and make up and the whole nine yards. I'm really excited, but also a bit scared.

Hopefully the next time I blog about the topic of styling I will know much more about it professionally and by that I'll be A STYLIST.

Now on the tennis side of things, it took a while since coming back from vacation to get game back in order (I can hardly hit two balls across the net the first time I played two weeks ago). Some exciting news, Nadal's back being the same dirt rat he was, he's a lock-in for French, at least so far no one else showed any sign of challenging that preassumption. The Williams sisters are back and both won in their first match in Rome, I don't like the sister's chances on clay, they've been out for a while, and clay requires such patience that the sisters generally lack, let alone after such a long hiatus, rust, rust, and more rust is all I can see. Martina Hingis is gearing up to play a whole season of world team tennis, even though she says she's not intersted in coming back, I just know, along with the rest of the tennis world, that she's looking for some sign, however small, to prove that she still has it, and boom you'll see her walking onto the court in Sydney come 2011. Just wait and see.

That's all for my comeback post, it feels good to be on a comeback trail.

Lane Crawford introduces American Apparel to Hong Kong

What a weird timing for this to take place, a friend of mine who's a entrepreneur was just sharing with me how he wants to bring American Apparel over to HK. Well, I guess someone else was a step earlier.

Lane Crawford, one of my favorite department store since my childhood in HK, is ready to launch AA with a party/sales event at International Financial Centre (IFC). This is a continuation of the company's effort at diversifying its porfolio and market. By introducing the comparatively lower priced label(though considered high-end for basics), Lane Crawford strives to communicate to a younger crowd while maintaining its older, more financially protected customers who've been loyal since years ago.

I took a stroll through the Times Square branch today and I was pleasantly suprised to find a bigger share of contemporary and young designers taking over the floor space. While the major labels such as Armani, Zagna, St. John, MaxAzria are still front and center, you can now find younger labels such as RM by Roland Mouret, Phillip Lim, Elizabeth and James, and Save Khaki (which was a real surprise)making a presence, and not suprised to see more foot traffic around those racks (they ARE after all the hottest things out there right now). It was also a testiment to the global fashion market to see a designer such as Lim from NY to Moscow, from Japan, to HK, to Kuala Lumpur.

I've always been a fan of the Lane Crawford's effort to strive a fine balance between arts and fashion, and their campaigns have always struck a cord with me in terms of vision and style. Seems like the glitz and glamourous Lane Crawford I remembered as a kid in the 90s is now a bonefide style camelion that are both progressive and ever changing.