V-Neck Shirt By American Apparel

Remember how I did a post of the American Apparel Reglan shirt awhile ago, basically professing my love for them and acknoledging that I had worn them almost everyday last winter and realising I should probably buy new shirts? Well, now that it's summer, I can't really go around wearing the Reglan shirt -it's simply too hot. So not surprisingly, I decided to try out one of AA's oh-so-popular V-neck tees.

We all know that AA is really popular for it's deep V tee, but seriously, the V is so deep that I can't say I actually understand why people even feel comfortable wearing it casually (or not casually.) What's the point of a basic, boring tee if it's not comfortable and I have to spend the whole day pulling my shirt up?

So I stuck to the basic V-neck tee. Before trying on the tee, I imagined that an AA V-neck tee would magically transform my outfit to look cool and all, like you know how it always looks cool on whoever's wearing it in the photos you see in paparazzi or candid fashion photos? Alas, from what I could see in the AA changing room mirror, the tee totally did not make me look any cooler (not surprisingly I suppose.)
The coolest way to wear the AA tee is probably with skinny jeans or denim shorts -they really create a more unisex, effortless feel. Although admittedly, I've been wearing the tee with a denim skirt. And after wearing this outfit a few times, I'm really appreciating how brainless the combination is! (Brainless-ness is clearly one of the key factors to my favourite outfits.)

And yes, I realise the AA tee is totally last year's news, (or maybe even news from the year before,) but hey, at least I'm learning to appreciate this boring (but very useful) basic tee now.

Image Credit: www.americanapparel.net

Design a Coach Tote

Over at Coach, they are having a design a Coach tote competition where the winner gets their tote made and win a shopping spree of $2500 along with many other Coach goodies. Talk about a great opportunity!
These two designs are currently ranked the top two. Personally, I think it's been rigged. Because I don't see the appeal. The Penguin design, Born with Style, is cute and I like how they put the Coach C's. But the penguin print just seems kind of random. It's not exactly what I'd say very cutesy, but at the same time it is definitely not serious. It's just somewhere in the middle. And the purple bag, Hot Pink Summer... I think it's fairly obvious why I wouldn't be caught wearing that.
I admit, I didn't personally go through all 3279 entries, but here are a few of my personal favourites. You can never go wrong with black and white, and I think these two, Classic B&W and Skyline Inverted, are no exception. They are both classic and chic. Obviously I have very consistent taste since both are really similar, but the black and the white and the bow just goes so well together! The one with the silhouette of the Coach is more distinct, but then the city skyline, while a bit too bunched together, appeals to my city girl side.
Of course, it is not lost on me that they're looking for a 'truly inspired and unique' design and even I know that those are not. Other bags that caught my eye were these two, Chic in Pink and Falling Leaves. I love the pink stripes and the color combination, it is all very sharp and bold. Falling Leaves on the other hand is simple and subtle. But then doesn't both of these remind you a bit of Anya Hindmarch designs? No?
I also rather like these two here, Munchkin and Swirl Pattern. They are both just so.... pretty! With their quiet and feminine color palette and elegant design, I'd definitely consider wearing these two.
And that is high compliment indeed, because designing a tote is not just about splattering on a pretty designs. Witness these two here Dark and Coach with a Twist.The designs by itself are really quite pretty.But in reality, it doesn't really translate well. The fading silver is a good concept in 2D, but in 3D I think it'll be a bit too much. And while the swirly idea is good and simple, I just don't it'll look really classy in real life.This is why this Classic Black and White is my absolute favourite. Fine it is not exactly that far off from the first two I posted, but I think the huge sunflower print over the subtle Coach prints and the 'Coach' squiggle makes all the difference. It is different, unique and yet still very Coach. And I'd definitely wear it! Pink Lilies is also not bad. On first glance, it looks like just another bag with a pretty print. But then the designer has cleverly put in the Coach element on the butterfly and I think that's really cool.
Then there are the super cutesy totes. Clearly these are meant to be cutesy. But there is a fine line between looking cheap and cutesy. But I think these two designers have achieved the right balance. The Juicy and the Bunny tote are just adorable. The first one is completely unique, with the bold graphic print of the cartoon, but the over cutesiness is countered by the subtle Coach prints in the background, which is very neat. The bunny cartoon on the other hand is just the perfect compliment to the Coach print. The silhouettes is simple and not very colorful, so it is not over the top. And yet it is still very cute. Juicy is a little too bold for me, but I'd definitely carry the Bunny. It's cute without being too immature and kidlike (at least not matched with the classic print!).

I must say, I'm very impressed with the selection. What computer program did everyone use to create these really real looking bags? (seriously, they look like photographs!). Which ones did everyone else liked best?

The competition is now closed, but you can still support your favourite design by voting for them on the site (I think you have to sign up for Brickfish though...)!

Image Source: Coach

08 Trend: Gold Eyeshadow -The Smoky Eye

So while finding the runway photos on style.com for the Pure Gold post, I realised that the gold eye shadow look that has been in my mind wasn't really the Bottega Veneta S/S08 look but it was the very different Versace S/S08 look: the smokey eyes.

For a light smokey eye, go for the Zac Posen S/S08 way.

You can see that there's obviously yellowish-gold eye shadow in the inner corners and on the bottom lashes. As for the top outer eyes, the brown eye shadow is applied in a 'wing out' way, which may look cool on the models, but I imagine very hard to apply on yourself in real life -the winged shape is so hard to acheive!

For something more smoky and made-up for a night out, try the Versace S/S08 way. The Versace 'face' is definitely one of my favourites this season. It's pretty do-able in real life, (as long as you don't expect to look 100% like it does in the photos.)

For an imitation of this smokey eye, just blend gold and brown on your eye lids.

Try this: Mac's Goldmine + Tempting. I've never actually tried tempting, but I'm guessing most shades of shimmery brown would be ok.

Pale lips seem to be the way to go, although for some odd reason, pale lips never seem to look as cool in real life as in fashion magazine photos.

Picture yourself in this makeup for a night out -loves it!

Image Credit: www.style.com, www.elle.com, www.maccosmetics.com

08 Trend: Gold Eyeshadow -Pure Gold

In an attempt to 'live young', I looked into fashion magazines for this season's beauty trend in search for eye shadow ideas, as opposed to my usual eye shadow style (the few times I bother with eye shadow;) Read: brown. If you read every magazine out there for a few months, you would realise that they feature eye shadow of every colour so I ignored the obviously magazine-styled ones, like many shades of green, yellow and blue, and have decided to accept the classy trend: the gold eyeshadow. There are two types. The first one is pure gold.

As you can see, pure gold basically means just plain gold all over the eye lids. The looks above are from the Chanel F/W08 runway show. Obviously I don't recommend you actually taking this look literally in real life.

Another show that had all gold eye shadow was the Bottega Veneta S/S08 show. Here, it looks simple and elegant -perfect for day and night.

A closer look on the eyes. While it looks very effortlessly applied on, I'm sure we wouldn't be able to replicate it quite as well in real life.

The way I'm planning on trying out this look is to first adjust by dabbing a tiny bit of the gold just at the inner corners of the eyes, so it will look as it does in the image above. Just a tiny dab to add a little something to the otherwise plain (but equally elegant) look. After trying it out a few times, I'll move on to try the all-gold look (like in the other Bottega Veneta images, not Chanel!)

So I headed to M.A.C. and found this colour: Goldmine. The makeup lady applied the colour all over my eyelids and honestly, it looked more like sparkly yellow than the pure gold in the Bottega Veneta show. But since it usually takes me a very long time to accept new makeup colours on myself and I wasn't bothered to search for the perfect gold, I just picked a Goldmine up. It's something for me to look foward trying on my next quiet night out.

I'll blog about the other gold eye shadow look soon! Thoughts about this gold look?

Image Credits: http://www.elle.com/, http://www.style.com/

Ipod Classic Cases

When it comes to music players, I'm not exactly the most up to date girl around. My music players never break. My Sony MD player from back in the days when people knew what MDs were, still works. And thus, as the world moved on with colored screens, nanos, videos and touches, I was still using my ipod mini v2, with its measly 6GBs and black/white screen. After 3 years though, the battery in my mini finally showed signs of giving up and I can finally get a new one. After much debate between the pink nano (cute and adorable!) and the classic ipod (the itouch is too big, if I was going to get that, I might as well get an iphone....), I settled on the classic, figuring that I can outfit it however way I want- thus this post.
My first thought was just to get a regular silicon plastic case like the one I had for my mini-except maybe this time I'd be more "adventurous" and try a colored case instead, like these ones above. It comes in packs of three and I love ALL the colors in the packet- I can literally help my ipod change clothes like a Barbie!
But then, just as I was about to grab them and leave, this retro pink acrylic case caught my eye. A few days before, I wasn't even aware that ipod cases came in acrylic, until I saw my colleague's ipod encased in them. But then I thought, maybe it was time to try something new and fun, and this was definitely it. And that was how I ended up with this case. Once I got home, I googled up the reviews and concerns were raised. Apparently these acrylic cases don't exactly fit like a glove and will potentially scratch the very pretty, currently scratch free and pristine surface of my new ipod. The want to protect and keep it as clean and new as possible arose, but was quickly squashed by my mom's voice in my head going, "if you're not going to use it because you're worried it'll get dirty, then don't buy it." Words from a wise lady indeed. You might wonder why I didn't choose a gorgeous designer ipod case or one of those super cute ones that keep on popping up on Shiny Shiny- I'm of the opinion that designer ipod cases are unnecessary and that an ipod should look like an ipod and not disguised as a fluffy stuff toy. One ipod case I DID like from Shiny Shiny though, are these Griffin Reflect cases. They're basically mirrors encasing an ipod and when your screen it turned off, it too becomes an reflective surface! Perfect to double as vanity mirrors on the go!

What does everyone else use?

Image Source: Apple and Shiny Shiny

Teen Choice Awards 2008 Fashion

The celebs at this year's Teen Choice Awards seems... younger, more teenage-y than usual. Gossip Girl, (a fun, girly show full of beautiful clothes) won six awards, although I don't understand why Blake Lively won both Choice TV Actress Drama and Choice TV Breakout Female. I like watching Leighton Meester's (Blair's) scenes so much more than Blake Lively's! And is Chuck really a villian? Anyway, back to the fashion there, this year's dresses were surpringly mature -maybe it's because of the floral and maxi-dress trend. So unlike the years before, there weren't really any shockingly ugly outfits.

My favourite outfit was Rachel Bilson's (even though I'm not sure what she's doing there.) I love the silhouette and colour of the dress! It's fun, bright and just so cute! The accessories -the shoes and earrings matched the dress so well too! Somehow she always wears the best little dresses!

Blake Lively's outfit is great too. The colour's vibrant and it also has the tulip-skirt silhouette that I like so much. Very young and trendy!

Oddly enough I'm not a fan of Leighton Meester's green dress. (Usually I prefer Leighton's outfits over Blake's.) The green looks good on her, but the silhouette just seems a bit mature. It's classy, but doesn't seem like it's a TCA dress. Plus the green blends in with the background too much!

Kristen Bell's outfit is so adorable! I love the colours and that skirt is such a perfect fit!

Not a fan of the print of Lauren's dress. It looks so messy.

Sophia Bush looks gorgeous as usual, and the dress is so pretty too. But it just seems so mature for a TCA show.

Hayden Panettiere's dress is my favourite long dress. The colours are so sharp and the dress just fits her so well.

Vanessa Hudgen's dress is young, classy but not particularly interesting.

Who wore your favourite TCA outfit this year?

Image Credit: http://justjared.buzznet.com/

A Crazy Hat

The other day I was walking around Bloomies when I spotted a stack of random hats on sale. Being on sale the selection obviously wasn't that stellar. It was all really rather old ladylike and odd. But inspired by HG's hat post, I decided to play around and try them on anyway- just to see how outrageous I'd look.
Surprisingly during the process, I got attached to one hat in particular: a black felt wide rimmed hat with a simple black patent belt wrapped around it with a discrete bow (above). It was just so ladylike and simple. And at that moment, I thought it actually looked quite good on me!
It reminded me of the women in those (60s?) posters wearing a big black hat, looking really elegant and ladylike (a bit like the poster above). And I'm nothing if not a sucker for ladylike looking things. Encouraged by the saleslady who claimed she got one too and by the fact that after an additional 50% off, it was only $5, I bought it and wore it for the rest of the day just to prove my friend, who told me that I'd never wear such a crazy hat, wrong. A good thing too, since I ended up going to a golfing range that day and it proved to be a very good defense against the sun. I thought it was really cool and ladylike. The rest of my friends hated it though and thought I looked witch like.
On the other hand though, it gives me hat hair, so I'd look really weird going indoors with it, but since it is felt, I can't very well wear it to the beach. So where would I wear it to? And the other problem is what would I WEAR it with? If I wear it with jeans and tank top, I'd look like I just picked it up off the sales rack to try on (which I guess I did). But if I were it with something equally somber and ladylike to match the hat, I'd look like I was going to a funeral. I considered wearing it with my American Apparel black dress (above shown in Raspberry), because it is simple but the cutting is still rather casual and young....... but the too black thing comes to mind. Maybe I should just get that dress in this Raspberry color.........or maybe some accessories? Decorate the hat with a brooch or a colored bow? Suggestions on how to carry this off?

I know, most of you probably think it's a really crazy old lady hat and cannot fathom why I'd buy it in the first place. I guess I just cannot resist a bargain (it used to be $70). Maybe I'll just save it for Halloween! :P

Image Source: Hat-a-tude and American Apparel

Where are the Wearable Heels?

Shopping for shoes is really harder than I thought. Last month when I was in London and had nothing to do, I went shoe-shopping and to my surprise, it was very hard to find shoes that I actually liked enough to try on. The reason? Mostly because the shoes out there were super high-heeled -mostly 4-inches high.

Shortly after, I read this article on timesonline.co.uk about the current trend of skyscraper heels. It basically tries to use the current social environment to explain why skyscraper heels are so popular and that the most fashionable women would not dare to wear shoes lower than 4 inches, (although flats are acceptable.) I don't agree with some of the points in the article but it's interesting to read about the super high heels out there.


OK, back to my original point. The point is, it's just so hard to find shoes that I like (the look of) and are practical. When I mean practical, I don't even mean 1-inch kitten heels (although 1-inch heels sound nice for work) -what I mean are 2 to3 inch heels, which to me sound like heels of the perfect height for partying or a nice night out.

Yes, I get that 4-inch heels would make one look taller, obviously. But what's the point when you're going to spend the whole night hobbling around and feeling tired or even pain (from just standing!)? Perhaps the pain of skyscraper heels is worth it if you're a celebritiy who is getting photographed on the red carpet in a fabulous dress and you only have to stand around for awhile. But if you're a girl who just wants a fun night out, you probably don't want or need such high heels. Clearly as consumers we have the choice not to buy such high heels if we don't want to, but the problem is, it's just so hard to find pretty heels of decent height these days!

Seriously, am I the only one who is finding it harder and harder to find a wearable pair of heels?

Image Credit: http://www.sakefifthavenue.com/

Urban Renewal

I usually walk past the Urban Renewal section of Urban Outfitters, thinking it is vintage stuff, which is not really my thing (not unless they come from a member of my family anyway). At the back of my head, I'd always wondered exactly how they got so many vintage items of the same style in different sizes together in one place. I mean, aren't vintage items supposed to be unique? But I'd never really been interested enough to read the fine print on their website and find out how. It wasn't until my friend mentioned it the other day that I realized what it was. Apparently what they do is collect vintage clothes/fabric and put them together to form new, more updated clothes. That is how they come up with so many pieces of the same style in different sizes. You can buy it at the store or online, where they claim you can even choose colors and they'd make you a completely unique piece using different materials in the same cutting as shown. The whole idea is to re-use materials and it has been around for over 20 years (before the whole go green craze!)- I didn't even know that Urban Outfitters have been around for over 20 years, let alone this division.
One of the reasons I don't like vintage clothes is that whenever I see them they almost always look very dated, hippie and bohemian like, which is so over - thank god! And indeed they do have such stereotypical vintage clothing in this collection here (above: ugh). In fact, most of the collection is like this and I was not impressed. However, there were a few pieces that are intriguing- like this denim vest (right). The extra trimming is quite sharp and refreshing! I'm not really sure how this black blazer (left) is vintage, but I like the cutting.
The ruffled tunic shirt (left) is feminine and romantic looking. Perfect paired with that crisp cropped blazer above! And the floral skirt is cute, reminds me of the floral skirts in the Prada ads this season. Though one should be careful when wearing that in case you look like you're wearing your curtains. Paired with something smart, tailored and modern, it would look stunning.

The thing is though, I'm still not really sure how I feel about this concept of "Urban Renewal." Besides the fact that you still do not know who the previous (many!) owners are, I heard that the renewed material is very scratchy and not very comfortable. On the other hand, we do use recycled paper and bags......so why not clothes? Thoughts?

Image Source: Urban Outfitters

The UV Rays Up There

So remember how I've been travelling a bit last month? Most of the flights I took were daytime flights and one thing that really irritates me about daytime flights is the amount of sunlight in the plane. This might sound weird to most people, and even my parents think I'm a total freak for applying sunscreen before a flight but here's the logic: up there in the sky, there are no shades or clouds or anything so the UV rays are naturally stronger and more direct. And it doesn't help that almost all passengers love keeping their window covers up and let the sunlight get through. I usually try to get a windows seat just to keep the blinds down!

So maybe I'm a bit overly paranoid. But while going through my magazines from this year (before throwing them away,) I noticed Elle (UK) had a "Top Tips For A Healthy Flight" editorial from a few months ago. Most of these tips are pretty much what you always read about, like make sure you hydrate by drinking lots of water and applying good moisturiser *Insert product recommendations, naturally*. So most of the time I ignore these editorials since let's face it, they basically just tell you common sense and sell you a bunch of unnecessary beauty products. But there was a 'tip' that I just have to share here since not most people seem to not know or care about:

"Wear a lotion containing sunscreens. 'Recent Studies show that UV rays can penetrate an airplane's windows. Because you're higher, the sun's rays are stronger as there's less proection from the atmosphere,' warns Dr Tom Monroe, director of research and development at Clinique."

See! It's not just me. OK, so a doctor from a major beauty company saying this obviously has commercial reasons, but it sounds logical doesn't it? I'm no dermatologist so I have no idea which sunscreen is the best, but BG and I do love Bioderma's SPF products.

Anyhow, I actually wanted to write this post to rant about people who keep their window blinds up during the flight -just because you like the sun and don't mind the UV rays damaging your skin cells doesn't mean the passenger next to you wants that! OK, rant over.

Image Credit: www.bioderma.com

White Flip Flops

For the longest time, my summer staple have been simple white flip flops. Not the rubber beach kind, but the more sophisticated and dressy type, with actual soles, made of non-rubber material. They are just awesome, because they are summery, comfortable and matches with absolutely everything- perfect for a casual summer day. Ever since my pair of Nine West white flip flops with chunky heels (just the right height!) expired a few years back however, I haven't been able to find a pair to properly replace them.
That is until I laid eyes on my friend's pair of Tory Burch white flip flops (over at their website, they call it thongs.... I have no idea what the difference is). They are just EXACTLY what I've been looking for. While the design is simple and casual, the little gold emblem and the wooden sole gives it just the right amount of sophistication that makes it elegant and classy. I LOVE it. Unfortunately, I've walked through the shop and all the usual department stores, and couldn't find them. They're also sold out online of my size! But while I was browsing, I noticed that they had this design in many different sharp colors, like this yellow one, which I think works great to match/clash with this season's bold color theme.
Another white flip flop I've looked at are these ones from Banana Republic. The patent leather strip and sole transforms this simple, classic design from the beach to the streets. This design also comes in a rainbow of sharp colors and are relatively cheaper than the Tory Burch's (more available too!). The only question now is which color? Other simple flip flops I'that also fits the bill are these ones from Nordstrom. They're basically the same as the ones from Banana Republic, except the straps are a bit wider and have a bit more elevation in the heels. These little details actually help to make these more sophisticated. But the gold shiny stuff on the soles kind of put me off even though I know it won't show when I'm wearing it.... should definitely go check them out!

Image Source: Tory Burch, Banana Republic and Nordstrom

Chasing Harry Winston

Even without the fabulous pair of Louboutins and the three gorgeously fantabulous diamond rings on the cover, the name Lauren Weisberger is enough to make me pick up the book. Not that I think she's a particularly great writer, but because I know that it will be light and fun summer read- just what I am looking for. The whole fabulous, gorgeous people living extravagant and successful, perfect lives looking for love is a bit overdone these days, but I've always felt a connection with Weisberger's books. Even though it wasn't very memorable to some (HG barely remembers it), I felt a strong connection with the character in Everyone Worth Knowing. Bette's story might as well have been the fictionalized version of my future (she went from finance to the fabulous life of party planning to realizing that her true calling was writing)!
Back to the book at hand (at this point, you should realize that there are potential spoilers here). This one is about three best friends making a pact to change their way of lives. One tries monogamy after a life of polygamy. The other goes in the opposite direction and goes on a tour de whore. And the last attempts to convince herself that her perfect life really is perfect. Over all, I thought it was pretty badly written and that Weisberger is now just publishing by reputation rather than by content (this situation sounds oddly similar to the dilemma of yet another bestseller author mentioned in the book!). A lot of times the writing was long-winded and unnecessary. She spent the majority of the first chapter, where the author is supposed to captivate the readers, talking about Leigh's need for personal space and control freak quirks with a detailed description of her apartment. It just made me want to pick up a pen and edit everything out! Only her name on the cover kept me going.

The plot was predictable and mellow. I felt like I was just cruising along the story. Nothing exciting ever happens, because she tries this technique where she just ends the chapter when something does happen and then picks up again after the event. Leigh breaks up with her fiance and we get to read about how nervous she was before the event and her reflections after the event. Adriana meets her "future husband" and we hear about them dating from talks by the other two girls. It was like a whole book of reflection, where the readers were put in the peripheral of the story instead of INSIDE the story. And the other thing is that nothing bad ever happens to the characters. They all lead a charmed, perfect life and everything just magically comes to them, with no obstacles to overcome or anything. One decides she wants to travel the world and a fabulous job miraculously appears. One wasn't even trying and simply finds her true calling in writing. And the other just decides to leave everything she's worked for behind and everything works out. I know that being realistic is not exactly the primary goal of chick lits, but this is just a bit overboard. To give her credit, the characters do each experience life changing revelations (there really wouldn't BE a story otherwise), but everything just came together a little too perfectly.

The relationship between this story and Harry Winston is not a giant rock on a ring as I'd first imagined (and the cover alluded to). The only reference to Harry Winston is a pair of diamond earrings that Salma Hayek wore to the Oscars from there, that a suitor gave to one of them. I guess they were just looking for a catchy title.

One thing Weisberger does do well however, are her characters. She paints them all in a very distinctive but relatable light. My favourite character is Leigh, who has the perfect job and the perfect boyfriend. The thing I love about her most is her control freak tendencies and need to be alone. I can totally relate to that. I LOVED it when she applied sunscreen on her body, then sprayed herself with more sunscreen in case she missed any spot and THEN applied a more expensive sunscreen on her face- rationing that the rest of them will regret it later when they need botox and laser treatment to get rid of their wrinkles and dark spots. That is MY rational as well (although I don't apply quite so thoroughly as she does). Next is Emmy, who just got dumped by her ex of five years, and her dearest dream is to get married and have lots of kids. Having never "played around," she is still very shy around guys and we get to see her get out of her shell in that respect. I feel for every step she took. Then there is Adriana, the fabulously gorgeous and wealthy Brazilian girl who leads the perfectly charmed life. However, even she feels a bit empty, lost and worried about her future. Sounds familiar?

Honestly, not a very original, engaging nor well-written book. But if you are looking for something light and brainless to past time on the beach (or just time in general).........then by all means. It's good and cheery enough to bring a smile to my lips in the end (happy endings always warms me up!).

Image Source: Amazon

Bras with Different Straps at the Back

At the end of last summer I evaluated my wardrobe (-something everyone should do at the end of a season or the beginning of a season,) and decided that I really didn't have enough young, casual clothes. Most things I owned seemed so stuffy and old -imagine really boring, plain clothes with boring, unhip cutting. So when I onlined shopped a few months ago, I made sure to reject clothes that were too plain and looked for some colour.

I really liked this tank top (by Kate Moss Top Shop) because it had a hint of colour and interesting pattern on it but it was still my style. But when I bought it, I didn't realise how low the hole at the back was and I liked the top so much I didn't return it. So then I started to look for a bra that was backless or had a ok-to-be-seen-strap.

Why not just show the back of a normal bra? Because I've seen a few people wearing tops and dresses with showy backs like these Top Shop tea dresses with their normal bras showing and believe me, they were not attractive!

Since the UK doesn't have Victoria's Secret, the first place I looked was Marks & Spencer. This bra was kind of what I was looking for. The straps at the back were thin and interesting enough to not remind me of the traditional thick back strap. Unfortunately, it only comes in black, and since the material of the tank top was pretty thin, I didn't want a black bra to be seen obviously underneath.

Then there was this bra. I admit that I've always thought transparent straps as sort of tacky-looking in most situations. (Is it just me?) But I love the idea that the back strap was transparent -an alternative style for the thick strap at the back. Alas, I forgot to buy one before leaving the UK. Now I have to figure out how to wear the tank top! (I prefer not layering with another camisole because it just doesn't look as nice and defeats the purpose of keeping cool.) Any ideas?

Btw, I didn't even consider a strapess, backless bra because I imagine they would feel very uncomfortable and insecure. If any of you have used one, what did you think of them?

Image Credits: http://www.topshop.com/, http://www.marksandspencer.com/