>> I hyper-hypered a little bit when I was filming the above Skype Collaboration Video and saw Alexander Lewis‘ resort collection and exclaimed “Oh my god! A cheongsam dress that DOESN’T remind me of a waitress in a dim sum restaurant!” If I was off-camera, I also would have said that it’s one of the most appropriated and recognisable of all Chinese traditional attire, often placed into a tawdry context, with cheap fabrics and a cliched sexual undertone. Not to go all themey on you, as we happen to be into the celebration of Chinese New Year right now, but I thought it would be fitting to revisit Lewis’ collection and get to grips with its Mandarin collar styles fused with surf and Japanese shibori technique. Lewis himself is something of a culture clash maven – half-Brazilian and half American with an English education. And so he looks to California, that most resort-appropriate of inspiration sources. But Lewis specifically references the expat community in California so that Japanese technique comes together with Chinese attire through the unexpected lens of surf. Yeah, yeah, yeah – surf has been done to death in fashion but Lewis only gives little nods to surf through details such as the zippers running up the back of these cheongsam dresses, like that of a wetsuit or or the beachy space knit crop top that is taken out of context when paired with silk jacquard.
Speaking of which, Lewis, once again shows a deft hand in picking out fabrics as the beautiful jacquard mimics the texture of Japanese shibori dyeing. In the deep blue dress I’m wearing, Lewis also contrasts the Mandarin collar with a double layered skirt that gives this recognisable silhouette a point of difference. I’m not gonna lie. The ultra short dress does have me feeling like I’m succumbing to some cheesy “Asian babe” fantasy (not that I am remotely close to being a babe) hence why the trainers are essential to veer away from that trail of thought. For a subtler touch the tops are cut in a way that feel more surf than ethnic costume. Even the action of doing up the zip from the bottom to the top echoes that of a wetsuit rather than a fiddly cheongsam top, which traditionally buttons up at the side. A few of the mandarin-collared pieces by Lewis are available on Avenue32 now. Interestingly, Barney’s, Lewis’ other key stockist, avoided the collars in their selection. You wonder whether they feared that people might take umbrage at the cultural referencing or see the pieces as mere costume. In my view, it’s certainly one of the most convincing attempts at incorporating a hackneyed and often cliched garment into a collection. For those that don’t have any personal cultural hang-ups with the cheongsam, they’re covetable pieces regardless. It only leaves me to say… Gong Hey Fat Choi… !
Worn with United Colours of Benetton jumper and Sophia Webster booties
Worn with Chanel shorts and Christopher Kane sandals
Worn with Ostwald Helgason jacket, Karen Walker cap, Raf Simons x Adidas trainers
Awesome blue dress!!! Love the pattern!
Kisses from http://www.withorwithoutshoes.com
Today I bring you a Comfy Denim on Denim outfit….with a rock touch!!
Love the different pieces especially the blue dress.
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love the yellow/light-blue sweater. super stylish piece!
http://gregoryxgregory.blogspot.de
I totally love this collection! Congrats on the collaboration girl. You look stunning:)
xx
http://www.thedutchcountryside.com/
http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11298797
Love the mix in influences of these pieces. The blue tones are absolutely beautiful and I love that they took the print down to the shoes.
baconsquared
You never fail to amaze! Gorgeous pieces you’re sporting~
LIVE.IN.LOVE
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Susie it’s good to see you in video! I can’t wait for the book. You are my role model and you always inspire me. Thanks for the excellent blogging! 🙂
super super pattern. and it looks waaaaaaay better on you than on the model!
susie bubs youre doing a book?! a big congrats and cant believe you’ve come so far from the days of mystylediary 🙂 looking forward to reading your style anthology 😉
How about this clothes?
Reformed – Korean traditonal clothes(Han-bok)
http://blog.daum.net/hanbokhwa/296
Hairpin? You don’t like it?
http://blog.hani.co.kr/blog_lib/contents_view.html?BLOG_ID=khtak&log_no=31003
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I love you in the first Cheungsam dress – and then to see the lookbook image at the end was great. I love the lux fabric. And the pants and the shoes in the same fabric are amazing too – it makes the model look like they have endless legs! 🙂
I really liked watching the video in this post. I wish you well on your book content journey and will watch out for it when it’s published. I hope you meet some amazing people! 🙂
Coming to Sydney, Australia by any chance? 🙂
I laughed at the cheesy asian babe thing too. I’ve seen you all dressed up in your fruits japanese attire and I really don’t think you’d ever be that girl!
X
Kiri
http://www.fashionblender.com.au
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Blue perfection, love the Sophia Webster, I have the sandals xx
http://www.itssuperfashion.com
I LOVE how you styled it! And the one piece suit version of it as well
Love the blue dress, you look awesome, great style and the patterns on this dress are gorgeous! You would look even better wearing a clutch bag with that beautiful dress
Absolutely agree with you. It’s so refreshing to see dresses that channel “Eastern promise” without looking like you’ve just a) walked out of a Chinese restaurant, or b) just come back from a family holiday in Thailand.
This collection is gorgeous.
http://www.girlinmenswear.com
wow! I love the outfits~ the blue is so gorgeous~~
http://annaindeed.blogspot.com
You look so cute in blue! Great pictures as always<3
http://www.shallwesasa.com
Love this ! You look great! loving the sandals.
http://www.hermindbloggles.blogspot.com
Matilda Munyard (or Tilly for short) 13
The collection is absolutely divine – and all the blue pieces suit you so well!
x greta
flourish-blog.blogspot.com
Blue style rules! Nice outfit.
http://www.jetpic.com
The blue dress is fantastic with a great quality of the sea in motion. Ironically, there is a tendency in the world of fashion to attempt to deny sexuality, your fear of becoming an asian babe is unnecessary after all fashion is built around expensive, exclusive, desirable sex appeal with or without trainers.
gabrielcorcuerablogspot.co.uk
I love all the outfits, especially the metallic blue brocade.
http://pinkchampagnefashion.blogspot.com/
OMG!!!! it´s really interesting to buy books from bloggers, basically because if you know almost everything of them, and you can find it (everything) at their blogs, it could be unnecessary. But, for me, that i´m a really a big fan of yours, I can´t wait. It`s going to be, one of those books that I really need in my life. Congratulations!
I have always liked the fact that you always promote fresh new talent and underrated designers, however it would be less stressful on the eyes to photograph someone else besides yourself. You are highly unattractive and a snob. Your styling is nauseating. You pair up pieces that are beautiful on their own and mix them up in a thoughtless way.
All you ever do is shop for clothing and take photos of yourself. Your fans are mindless drones
How much longer will you do this? It’s becoming pathetic.
Love the outfits, especially the one with the contrasting denim trousers.
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