Category — AsianCajun Style

So the other week when Cath was in New York she was a sweet heart and bought us matching (yes, matching!) Uniqlo sweaters. I haven’t had the pleasure of going into a Uniqlo store, but I’m been wanting to since it opened up north. This is definitely the next best thing! It also gives us the perfect opportunity to do another “The Same Thing Worn Differently… by the AsianCajuns” segment (we are working on that name).

Here’s Cath’s take (and my personal favorite):

Looking very Frenchie with my old H&M trench coat to keep her dry.

I love how she layered all her bright royal blues together. She was worried she looked smurfy- I think she just looks divine.

The necklace she’s wearing (yet another present she gave me after a business trip) is from Sarah Jessica Parker’s now defunct Bitten line. Was anyone else a fan? The price-points were amazing, the clothes were generally better made than most things you can pick up at the mall, and the designs were classic, but cute, not stogy.

I paired by blue sweater with black Blank cords, a DIY studded tee,  a Proenza Schouler for Target scarf and Asos boots.

The red plastic ring is shaped in the silhouette of a diamond ring– my kind of jewelry! Once again, Cath got it for me as a present from another NYC trip. This is from the MoMA store -le swoon. If I were Capote I would have called it “Breakfast at MoMA.” It’s definitely a place where “me and things go together.”

I tied the sweater in the front. Cath tied her’s in the back (see the top pic).

We hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!!! What do you have in store?

xoxo, Lar

Cath and I have repeatedly babbled alluded to our love of Scotland in previous posts. We don’t even have a drop of Scottish blood in us (Irish, English, French, Danish, German, Chinese but no Scottish). Our Scot-o-phile-ness stems from living/studying in Edinburgh and traveling around Scotland for six months back in 2004.

We haven’t been back for – eesh! – six years, but Cath and I always say we would move there in a heartbeat given the opportunity.

One way for us to maintain our connection to our Scottish “roots” is to celebrate Robert Burns Night every January 25. Who is/was Robert Burns, you ask?! Why he was the fellow who wrote “My love is like a red, red rose…” and “Auld Lang Syne”- so in a nutshell he is a famous Scottish poet from the 19th century.

And how does one celebrate Robert Burns Night? By drinking whiskey, eating haggis (it’s really good, I swear!) and attending a (digital) ceilidh (pronounced “kay-lee”). Here we are at the ceilidh doing a traditional Scottish jig in traditional Scottish tartan (click here to see us “dance”!):

Cheesy, we know. We thank you for sticking with us, lovely readers, through our fashion loves and more eccentric tastes.

Ahh the winter staple, our good friends black leggings and black blazer. Black shirt is there too, cozying up to black scarf and gazing down at black boots. We love you black, but lately we feel like we are cheating the rest of the color wheel.

Cath is showing you how to avoid black in your outerwear–and in interior decor (that’s a bit of kitchen and dining room behind her).

She is wearing black gloves and a scarf, but I think the burst of red in her coat totally overpowers it-in a good way. The gloves are thrifted, the hat is from our mom circa 1980-something, the coat is Nordstrom and the scarf is by (local Atlantans) We Are the Process.

I only own black coats and jackets, so I couldn’t do brilliantly colored outerwear like Cath. Instead I broke out my neglected Ramona West dress. (Have you guys been to the Ramona West online shop? She has the best selection of vintage dresses and outerwear- and sells out of nearly everything right after it’s posted). I love how bright red/orange it is- it’s nearly neon.

I toned down the brightness of the red/orange with an olive color shirt (H&M), beige fringe scarf (H&M), brown tights (forget where!) and brown boots (about 7 years old from AE).

How many of you are guilty of the black uniform? How do you work on injecting more color into your closet and outfits?

We hope you guys have a wonderful, wonderful weekend! Cath and I will be pitching in at our local Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project. We hope to see some of you locals there!

We’ll also be donating to CARE and/or Red Cross this weekend. Our hearts and prayers go out to the earthquake survivors in Haiti. If you guys have any other secure organizations you know of that are helping out, please feel free to leave them in the comments section and we’ll post them here!

Updates:
The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund
Check the Women for Women International page for their donation suggestions

Cath and I have favored fake fur for a few years: a couple of hats, an awesome blanket Cath got me for Christmas two years ago, etc. We try to stay away from real fur as much as we can- even if it’s vintage I can’t bring myself to put it on. Our grandmother’s mink coat has spooked me since my mom inherited it many moons ago.

Here is a showing of our more recently acquired fauxfur love:

Cath and I both bought this hat last year at H&M. It has become a winter closet staple for both of us. I think it’s faux red fox, and wonderfully warm. These photos of Cath are by her bf Troy Cono.

Cath made me this fauxfur vest for Christmas. Isn’t it marvelous?! I’ve already worn it about five times in the past two weeks. I think it’s my favorite thing in my entire closet. She got the idea from DIY queen Maegan- see how it’s done here. (Anyone spot the $1.60 Bottega Veneta bag? I still wiggle my toes in happiness every time I look at the thing).

This was a belated Christmas present to myself (one of many– ah cha cha!). Mango was having a great sale post-Christmas and I’d been eying faux leopard for about four months now. I’m so glad I was self-centered caved and bought it! It’s the softest, most delicious-feeling thing I own. I kind of feel like a plush teddy bear in it (it’s quite bulky which is not too friendly on my petite frame), but I love it and never want to take it off. I’ve contemplated sleeping in it a number of times. We’ll see if I give in. Sound awesome? Get it here- it’s still about 50% off!

How do you guys feel about faux fur? To me it’s like diamonds. I have an uber-untrained eye so I can’t really tell the difference between a lot of real fur and fake fur. Someone could show me a sparkly piece of plastic and a diamond and I would go for the plastic. And I care about as much about real gemstones as I do about looking a bit cheesy in fake fur. I also feel better not wearing a cuddly animal on my body just to look chic (I’m okay with the killing of venomous spiders and cockroaches, but not most animals). What say you on the matter?

p.s. Thank you for all the sweet feedback on the 2009 Recap post! We’re hoping to rock your socks off this year with even better outfitage!

Happy 2010, wonderful readers!!! We hope you had a wonderful New Year’s and are relaxing this first weekend of the new year.

I had a fairly low-key New Year’s (herring and salmon with the ‘rents and drinks with friends), while Cath left me for Philly/NYC- sniff, sniff- our first New Year’s apart. (Hope you are having a lovely time in NYC today, Cath. Remember your dearest, sweetest sister when you step into Uniqlo!).

I thought a good way to start the year would be to review a year of AsianCajun outfits. I really hope this isn’t too much fashion navel-gazing for you all. I am actually doing this for selfish reasons. I like using this blog as a style tool when I can. And even though I’ve rounded the bend of my mid-twenties, I’m still trying to figure out my style. I think Cath (on the left of all the photos) has a very classic and elegant, but fresh style. Mine is still a bit of a mish-mosh. I foresee myself saying the same thing at 40.

Cath does animal print way before I ventured there with my Rodarte dress.

This is actually one of my favorite outfits of the year (right). And shivering at the gusty 20 degree winds outside, I can’t wait for our balmier Georgia winter weather- I’m not even wearing a jacket and it’s February! Hoorahh, Deep South!

Cath looking chic and Chanel-y. Me looking trendy, trendy. I’m going to try to pry my figures off trends this year a bit more. Note to self, baggy, ripped-up tees only work on some.

Both Cath and I are dressed a bit more girlie and soft here for Easter. I should stop shying away from pastels.

Pencil skirts unite! Cath wore this to work, and I wore my outfit to a concert.

Again, Cath is so chic! I’m seriously going to start raiding her closet. As for my relaxed summer look: I think I’m over cut-offs for the year. I’ll probably have to eat these words come summer 2010…

Ahhh summer tans… feels like so many shades ago.

Cath and I are both partial to hats in the southern summer heat.

Two of our favorite pair of shoes this year: Cath’s booties are Alice & Olivia from Payless and mine are F21 ($14)!

I love this black and white look on Cath. I’m wearing practically the same thing, but with a (huge) dash of military red.

Lovely layers. Cath was inspired by J.Crew and I was inspired by Swedish bloggers. I figure they would know how to dress in frigid weather.

Quirky scarf-wearers. These photos remind me to be more creative with my accessorizing this year. Resolution #57.

What was your own favorite look from 2009? Are you ready for leggings to roll over and die? How about faux fur coats (please say no- I just bought a faux leopard that I’ll show you in an upcoming post)? Done with over-the-knee boots? Platforms? Black leather and studs? Bodycon dresses? Shoulder pads? Alexander Wang and Balmain? Lady Gaga (never!)? Vampires? The recession? Prop #8? It’s a free-for-all. Let’s hear it!

We hope you all are having a wonderful holidays- we wish we could celebrate with you all (one big AsianCajun holiday party- one year this will have to happen ).

Cath and I donned our ugly Christmas sweaters just for you (and Becs’ party over at Style with Benefits). Cath’s talented bf Troy Cono, took these photos, thus sacrificing his eyes to the delight of our puffy-paint, doily-decorated Christmas funfest of sweatshirt wear! Both sweaters are from Clothing Warehouse in Atlanta. Cath and I paired the sweaters with black platforms (thigh-highs for me) and leggings. 

p.s. Do you see the built-in collar on my sweater (psst- I’m on the right)? Sold!

If you need some more AsianCajun reading during your Holiday break, head on over to June Shin’s blog for our interview complete with baby pictures. While you’re at it, check out June’s gorgeous jewelry too- a little post-holiday shopping for yourself. Thanks for featuring us, June!

And a shout out to the beautiful B a la Moda as well. Have you guys seen her blog? This lovely lady from Madrid, Spain has the best suggestions for how to wear tricky trends- all on video (with English subtitles for those of us that didn’t do as well in Spanish class as we wanted). Thanks for the award, B!!! We are honored!

A few of you inquired about our cutie Boo Radley in the post below. He’s actually our parents’ new addition to the family (we would steal him away but our landlord doesn’t allow pups in our apartment- le sigh). You can read about him in this post and see him with his hair shorn – he’s looking a bit more handsome now. I’ve always said I like a man in a hat:

Another happy, happy holidays to you all!!!

xoxo,

Lar & Cath

The ultra-talented designers over at Epidemik Coalition have wowed us with their t-shirt design in the past. They’ve recently expanded their design know-how to luxurious silk scarves. Check out their shop We Are the Process here.

They asked that we show you a few ways to wear these beautiful scarves, and we gladly obliged (you guys already know how much I love silky drape-y things).

Look how gorgeous and large this thing is- it’s practically eating Cath. And just $35? A great prezie for yourself or a friend.

A classic, and probably the way we will usually wear this mega scarf.

I did the more expected triangle fold tied around my neck (fold in half, corner to corner and knot under top layer in front or back of neck):

I love how Cath has her’s just draped around her neck so that it peaks out of the bottom of her blazer:

Wearing your scarf out at night? Cath wrapped it around her American Apparel dress and accessorized with red.

This is a diluted version of the bunny ears/oversized bows inspired by the Louis Vuitton Fall 09 runway (see here). I took the Frenchiness a step further with a stripped tee from H&M and a skirt from AA.

Come summer I hope to use it as a sarong-like top. In the meantime, Cath and I came up with some other… errr… awesomely creative ways to wear the mega scarf:

Ladies and gents (I like a man in a scarf- even if it’s silk) alike, how would you wear the mega scarf?

Get thee to a Target! Rodarte is here! Cath and I had our early Sunday (Dec. 20) morning line-waiting technique ready to go, but we headed to Target this evening for some Christmas shopping and we stumbled into nearly the whole Rodarte for Target collection!

How is it possible that the Edgewood Target in Atlanta got a “preview” of the Rodarte collection? Officially only a few places (New York and San Fran, I think) were supposed to get a preview. I imagine our Southern style preview wasn’t exactly official, but we we’re still giddy that it happened- inadvertently or no!

I think we spent a total of 30 minutes in a family size dressing room and tried on everything available. Here are some of our favs (Cath had less luck, so it’s just me in these pics. The only thing she purchased was the see-through mustard cardi- a bit tricky to photograph).

The blue dress above looks a lot more flattering in person. It’s super girly (I love, love a swirly skirt), so I’d probably toughen it up with some pleather and more black for the winter. 

Ooo this kimono dress! I wanted to buy it to just hang it on my wall! I think I looked a little too much like I was wearing pajamas. If it were an actual robe or if I had extra cash to spend on impractical wall hangings, I totally would have bought it. 

I did get this! I love how it’s not super-tight, so I don’t feel too Casino-y. Tight + animal print is a tricky line to walk. Some ladies can pull it off, but especially with my big hair I can look the wrong side of va-va-voomy.

Have any of you guys seen the Rodarte stuff in your Targets? Maybe this is yet another stellar aspect of the deep South, lack of long queues for designer lines. Now if only H&M would get Sonia Rykiel intimates- le swoon. 

Ladies, let us know what you pick up! Gents, are you fans of Rodarte? I’m always curious what the fellas have to say about the things that make us go crazy.

We hope everyone had a lovely, lovely weekend! We stuffed ourselves silly with Peking Duck (it’s an AsianCajun Thanksgiving: stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, string beans, cranberry sauce and Peking Duck) and other delicious food stuffs cooked up by wonderful family and friends. Ahh warm fuzzy holiday feelings are the best… until you are dragged back to reality with a soggy, blustery, cold Monday and a too-early wake-up call for work. And I was just getting used to the whole sleeping in, hanging out and eating all day schedule.

To cheer ourselves up a bit, Cath and I decided to wear our matching pleather H&M (from a few years ago) bomber jackets. 

Cath, being a very responsible government employee, dressed her faux leather with faux fur, chic wedge oxfords, and a delicate sweater.

Faux fur and faux bling= brilliant accessorizing. Way to go, Cath! I’m coveting that diamond-headed bird ring on her left hand.

At my job, I don’t tend to schmooze with clients on a daily basis, so I opted for a dressed-down approach to the pleather: white tee, gray pants, black boots, and a hair poof (my signature I-didn’t-have-time-to-wash-my-hair fix).

I think the stud trend has pretty much rolled over and died, but I have residual stud-age languishing in my closet (see DIY collar on mens Hanes shirt below). Studs and pleather/leather still make very happy bedfellows don’t you think?

Next on the AsianCajun agenda? Prepping for the winter holidays. I love twinkly fairy lights and sugar cookies and the smell of fresh evergreen, but the thought of holiday shopping is making me want to hibernate until the New Year. Does that sound too Scrooge-y?

We are absolutely floored and flattered by the wonderful people at 944 Magazine to include us in their 09 List of people to know in Atlanta. Do you remember that photo shoot we coyly alluded to a little while back? That’s what the shoot was for!

We spent an afternoon shooting at Space in Midtown with the 944 Mag peeps, Jesse and Hannah from Whynatte, fellow blogger Nikki from Fashion Gatherer, and Chad and Caren from Caren West PR. Cath and I felt nervous in front of the camera (since when have my hands seemed so unnecessary? where do you put those things?!), but the photographer, Shane Durrance and his crew were awesome. I wish you could see some of the outtakes. They had me pulling Cath’s hair and smacking her on the back of the head (I think I left a bruise with my owl ring- sorry, Cath!).

944 Magazine (known as “the bible for trendsetters”) is actually new to the Atlanta area. They run editions in cities around the nation, including San Francisco, Miami, Detroit, LA, Phoenix, Orange County and Las Vegas. Local metro-Atlantans can pick up the premiere issue around town (see full list here), and everyone else can take a look at the mag on-line: it’s gorgeous and free!

Thank you to Isoul and everyone at 944 Magazine for this honor! We love you!

We love you too, readers! Go get yourselves a copy and let us know what you think!