Wedding Dresses: Vera Wang

***UPDATE as of November, 2013: I am now selling my used Vera Wang Fawn for approximately half off retail price; please contact me at underthecasun@gmail.com if interested. I can send more photos and answer any additional questions. My dress is a size 2 but fits like a 0, I am 5'6 with heels, weighs about 105lbs. Thank you!

Hello again and welcome to another wedding dress edition. :) I'm super excited to share this blog post with you because hey, it's Vera freakin' Wang! Without further ado, here are some fabulous dresses that I tried on this past Saturday...

Meet Audrey...

Audrey

I have seen Audrey on a couple of brides but it didn't really catch my attention. The moment I put it on though, both fiancé and I were sprung. LOVE is an understatement (trust me, it looks so much better in person than in photos). Fiancé loved it so much he asked me to try it on twice. :)

Next, meet Georgina...

Georgina

I adore the delicate lace on Georgina but not a big fan of the horizontal stripes on the skirt.

Moving on to Ethel...

Ethel

When I first showed pictures of Ethel to fiancé, he wasn't a fan. He said it was much too simple, but with the right belt added, it looks amazing! And we both love the voluminous train of organzas on the back.

And this is Fawn...

Fawn

Fawn is just lovely, delicate, airy, and very fairy-like. The only minor complaint is that fiancé isn't a fan of the bust design. He said it makes me look flat from the side. Men! LOL...

Here is Gemma...

Gemma

One of my friends really love Gemma so I decided to try it on for her. It's too overwhelming on my petite frame but I'm sure it would look very nice on someone who's taller.

And last but not least, Diana...

Diana

Diana is my wild card. I wanted to try on something different and ended up loving it as well. The full, soft organza look is really growing on me.

Overall, Vera Wang was such a wonderful experience. After mulling over price + look + comfort level, I think fiancé and I have decided on the dress. However, I have 2 more appoinments with other bridal stores before making the final decision. I'm leaving my options open 'til then (but my heart is kinda set haha)!

Thank you everyone for reading. Which one is your favorite?

Wedding Dresses: David's Bridal + Monique Lhuillier

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for your congratulatory wishes on my recent engagement. With a wedding date set (less than 10 months away), I have started to look for my wedding dress. I must say...this is wayyy more fun than all other wedding tasks combined... :D

I have always been drawn to the trumpet/mermaid silhouette so that pretty much stuck in my head. I also had my heart set on alencon lace...so a lace trumpet/mermaid dress was the way to go! Or so I thought...

The above dress belongs to a friend of mine; she got it at David's Bridal a few years back. My first appoinment was at David's Bridal (where I had to wait 30 minutes for my turn). Sighhh...but then it's David's Bridal, I should keep my expectations low. I just wanted to get a feel of the experience, test out different silhouettes to see if what I have in my head actually look good on me.

Here's another lace/beaded trumpet look. But my heart isn't singing.

This fun organza dress is from the Vera Wang White line made exclusively for David's Bridal. Fiancee actually likes poofy dresses. :) I think I'm starting to like organzas too!

They had me try on some other dresses that were hideous...WHY WHY WHY? Disappointed at the selection at David's Bridal, I headed over the Monique Lhuillier in Beverly Hills for our next appoinment. Just a note, they don't let you take pictures here. I forced fiancee to sneak in these pix of me.

The dress on the left is Peony, easily my favorite out of the bunch. The right is a 2-piece corset and skirt. I tried on a bunch more but sorry, no pix. :(

I'm really excited for my next post because I went to Vera Wang this past Saturday and they actually let us take pictures! Stay tuned for more wedding dresses. I might have found the one! ;)

In Other News...

...I am now engaged! Way to end 2011 huh? ;)

Happy New Year and thank you so much for interacting with me on this little blog (even though my posts are so sporadic!) I hope 2011 was nice to you and here's to an even better 2012. <333

A New Work Bag

Ever since I sold my Chanel GST earlier this year, I have been hunting for a more suitable work bag. Although I adore the GST, it was much too heavy for my weak frame. In the years I've had it, it was rarely used yet the shape loss was clearly evident, a definite dealbreaker for me. So I had to bid goodbye...

Since then, I have been looking for something more functional, using the following requirements as a guideline:
- top zipper
- light weight
- top handles + cross-body
- fits at least a laptop + binder at the same time

I considered the LV Palermo (not big enough + trying to stay away from the Monogram Canvas), LV Siracusa (wish it comes in Damier Ebene Canvas instead of Azur), Celine luggage tote (too heavy), and Balenciaga (too casual chic for the office). Disappointed that none of them lived up to my expectations, I stopped looking for awhile.

A few weeks ago, I stopped by the Louis Vuitton store to "browse around" and saw something that immediately caught my eyes. I hastily grilled the SA for more information and he said this design just came out a couple of weeks ago. As much as I wanted to scoop it up and take it home with me, I resisted the urge and went home to sleep on it. Upon further research, I found out that this design was available sometime in 2010 (sold in select stores only). Within one year, the price had already jumped by several hundred dollars. Are you freaking kidding me? So not happy...but...still...want...

Anyway, the color that originally caught my eyes is called Flamme (a deep purple, perfect for fall). When I showed bf some different options, he preferred Ombre (a nice taupe/brown). But those two colors were no longer in the running as I now have my heart set on Orage. It took a week to track down but I finally received it in my little hands last week.

And here's to my first "reveal" on this blog:

Name/Model: LV Monogram Empreinte Lumineuse PM in Orage

Measurements: 17.5" x 11.8" x 7.1" 

Features: top leather handles + removable strap for cross-body wear; zip front/inside pocket; padlock; top zipper; lined with striped textile

As you can see, it fits my stuff nicely...can wear it dressed up or down.

I attended a wedding in Dallas last weekend and used this purse as an under-the-seat carry-on. After the church ceremony, bf & I went to this beautiful park and snapped some pix. No, I did not wear the work bag with my cocktail dress, just wanted to show you how it looks on a 5'2 person. :)

Moi and the "wilderness" :P

This must be my favorite LV purchase yet. What do you think, yay or nay? ;)

NYC Edition

Hello everyone,

Boyfriend and I were in NYC around mid-October to celebrate our 3 year anniversary. I wasn't really sure what to expect since I'm from Hell-Ay...and some friends have suggested that NY is not very different from where we live. But it IS different, soooo different! For instance, I love the public transportation there, love that it's a walking city, love the energy, but most importantly...love that there are restaurants/food carts/shops everywhere. So exciting!

cheesy cheesy with Lady Liberty

(daydreaming in Central Park; p.s. saw these not-so-basic flats on Wendy's Lookbook and had to have them!)

(at Grand Central Station; LOVE sign {it was pouring that day}; and Ellis island {down & dirty to capture the perfect shot :P})

(St. Patrick's Cathedral; Picassos at MOMA; trying on Louboutins at Barneys)

And now...onto the FOOD :D

From top left going clockwise:

1. Shake Shack Burger: oh boy the line was long but thankfully it was moving fairly fast. Food was definitely yummy in my tummy but equivalent to a heart attack waiting to happen lol...
2. cute little cake bites from "baked by melissa"
3. ramen from Totto Ramen. My NYC friends also recommended Ippudo but it was out of our way so we came here instead. This teeny eatery opens at noon, we got there at 11:30am and we were 4th in line! Yikessss! It was well worth it though. (btw, I'm starting to feel like all Asians frequent the same restaurants haha)
4. pastrami at Carnegie Deli--we are still drooling over this :)

1. dumplings at Joe's Shanghai. Verdict: we like it more than Din Tai Fung in LA! Although the skin is a bit thicker than DTF, the meat is more juicy and the soup is definitely more savory/sweet.
2. red bean & lychee ice cream from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
3. chicken/lamb + rice at Halal cart on 53rd and 6th (we came at an odd hour so there were only a dozen people in front of us. YESSS!)
4. pizza at Lombardi's, first pizzeria in NY.

1. Italian appetizers at Carmine's
2. coconut rice pudding at Rice to Riches
3. bf's sushi (don't remember restaurant)
4. my "cooked" sushi

That's all folks. ;) We took so many pictures (but of course our faces are clearly visible so I can't share them on this blog). Hopefully the ones posted are small/blurry enough where you can't make out my face haha.

Really, we LOVE New York! <333