CrystalPhuong.net is a Personal Style & Travel Blog based in Singapore, written by Crystal Phuong. The blog was nominated FOUR times in Top 10 Best Fashion Blogs in the annual Singapore Blog Award from 2012- 2015, voted as one of the Best Lifestyle Blogs in Singapore in 2013 by Hotelclub.com, and Best Travel Blogs in 2016 by Foodpanda.com. Crystal hopes to connect and inspire young women to lead a healthy and happy life. Be confident, be positive, and be kind.
The weather in New York during September can be unpredictable sometimes. One day you saw me decked in a jumpsuit over a turtleneck sweater. The next day, I was in a crop top and a midi skirt. It's confusing, I know, but it's interesting. It gave me many chances to try out different styles, especially during fashion week.
Unless I am at the beach, you won't see me walking on the street in a deep V-neck dress or a crop top that shows my entire waist. The last time I wore a crop top to work was 3 years ago(God! I looked so young here) and I wore a blazer on top, so it was a safe business.
Anyway, cut a long story short, I find myself uncomfortable to show too much skin in public. Not that I don't love my body, but I don't see the joy in showing my belly fat to the world, especially when I sit down. Insecurity, that's what you call it. But when I saw this adorable ribbon crop top on Zalora, I thought it would be perfect to wear it with my pink ombre midi skirt. I couldn't help thinking about breaking the rule. Besides, the blue hue on the skirt matches my hair color completely. It made me excited.
Despite many good reasons why I should wear this outfit, my mind kept saying "No you shouldn't wear it. Your waist is exposed. It shows too much skin". I put the clothes on then I took them off. In the end, I asked myself "What if I could just forget about my imperfection, care less about what people think of me, and enjoy dressing up in my favorite outfit for once?". I took the risk and the result is what you are seeing here. Good or bad, it doesn't matter as long as it makes me happy.
I have to admit; I'm a sucker for lace, silk, chiffon, and anything that can bring feminity to the next level. This year at New York Fashion Week, I played with many different styles, textures, and silhouettes. You saw a full sequin look here on day 1 and the overlay-ruffled jumpsuit on day 2, here comes day 3. Two outfits in one day. The common thread? It's all about lace.
It was hot during the day, so I decided to wear a lace bell sleeve top with a black cop-top underneath, leaving just enough to the imagination. A flared wide-leg pants added some flavors to spice up the whole look (They are one of my favorite pants by the way). Totally fashion-week appropriate.
At night, I changed to a stunning black-white striped lace dress. As this dress showed too much skin, I didn't feel comfortable walking in New York at late night in such a revealing outfit so I threw a long vest on top. Problem solved. We went to attend a couple of fashion shows at Style Fashion Week and went to an after-party after that.
The truth is I seldom wear all black or black-and-white outfits to attend fashion week, especially at night. But if I had to, then I'll make sure my shoes and accessories speak louder than my outfits. Always!
I hardly wear a yellow outfit, let alone a striking yellow jumpsuit. But when I saw this bandeau ruffled jumpsuit on ASOS a few months ago, my instinct told me that it would be a perfect outfit for fashion week. And it was, indeed.
I received countless compliments when I was making my way to the show. Not only the compliments on my outfit, but also on my hair color and accessories. Blue is the new black, maybe?
It was day 2 of New York Fashion Week. Our day started at 9 am, and we were moving nonstop, from Soho to Times Square, from Skylight Moynihan to Central Park. The fashion show, the after party, the meeting, and the presentation. One after another from the day I arrived in the city to the day I left.
Having very little time in between each event, we had to make use of whatever chance we got. Jan and I shot this outfit at two different times of the day. One is in the morning in Soho and the other in the afternoon at Times Square. It was bright in the morning, but the sky became gloomier in the afternoon. We shot so fast as we were afraid of the darkness catching up on us. But the dark sky with the brown bricked buildings in Manhattan turned out to be the perfect backdrop for this va-va-voom outfit. I felt like a super-woman with my cape who has the power to bring a little sunshine to this never-sleeping city.
It's that time of the year when September came, everyone in the fashion industry started planning for their New York Fashion Week trip. I was not an exception. I planned a month in advance, but when it got closer to the date, I always had a second thought. Should I stay or should I go? Although this was my third time going to New York Fashion Week, I still got butterflies in my stomach for many unnecessary reasons.
Like the last two times, I decided to book my flight ticket at the last minute. I arrived in the Big Apple on the first day of fashion week. The city was full of energy as usual. It washed away my sleepiness and tiredness as soon as I stepped into this concrete jungle. This time, instead of spending our money on the hotel for the entire week, my friend Heidi from TheAmbitionista got us a luxurious apartment at West 57th looking over the Central Park. The view from the apartment was insanely beautiful! Here is the proof.
As soon as I got situated, I quickly changed and headed out for the first show of the day "Desigual Spring Summer 2017". Knowing that I had only an hour to get ready, I wouldn't have time to think about "What to wear." That's why I decided to restyle this rainbow jumpsuit, which I wore it once at Vietnam Fashion Week earlier this year. Besides, if I had to hide my jetlag face, a bright sequin head-to-toe outfit seemed like a good idea.
Did I look like I'd just flown thousands of miles across the globe? You tell me.
Thank you so much for reading! For fashion show, backstage and front row recaps, please check it out my second website 511styles
Although I spent two weeks in San Francisco, I actually had very little time to be a tourist. I was busy with work from Monday to Friday and by the time I came back to the hotel, the clock stroke 10 pm or 11 pm earliest. It turned out that I only had 2 weekends to explore San Francisco as much as I could.
I shared my first weekend in the Bay Area in this blog post, so here goes the second one, including a travel video and a recommended list of what to do in San Francisco.
On Saturday morning, my friend Rebecca and I woke up early as we had a long day ahead. We planned to rent a bike and ride across the Golden Gate bridge, took some photos at this iconic location so we can cross it off our bucket list. Our plan was ruined completely as stormy rain approached the city. The wind was so strong that it was incredibly hard to walk against it, let alone riding a bike across the bridge. Unless we wanted to be blown off the bridge, we'd better off staying inside the building. That stormy sky in the photo above proves my point.
A healthy lifestyle plan became a shopping plan instead. What can you expect? Right?
We went to the Ferry Building Market Place for brunch and had a quick tour of this famous farmers market. It is the center of a transit hub that connects all of San Francisco's neighborhoodsand the surrounding bay communities. If you love cooking and food as much as my friend, Rebecca does, you'll absolutely love this place.
A quiet walk on Saturday morning
I'm sorry that I didn't manage to take any photos of the Ferry Building as my hands were full of food. But you'll be able to see the awesomeness of this place in the video below.
Leaving The Ferry Building, we followed Google Maps and found our way to Market Street, the most famous shopping street in San Francisco.
San Francisco looked beautiful after the rain.
It wasn't difficult at all to find our favorite mall, Nordstrom. In fact, all of my favorite stores are in one place, standing right next to each other. These places that my wallet doesn't love so much, but I do.
Beautiful interior of Nordstrom mall, San Francisco.
After 8-hour shopping on Market Street, here were the treasures that I found. Half of them were gifts anyway, but still, they made my day.
Sipping my favorite Green tea latte while waiting for the rain to stop
That's how Starbucks spelled my name. Good job!
Next morning, we were luckier as the sun came out and the sky was clear. We headed to Alcatraz Island as planned.
Alcatraz Island, also known as "The Rock" is one of the most popular tourist attractions in San Francisco. From the 1934 until 1963, Alcatraz was America's premier maximum-security prison, the final stop for the nation's most incorrigible prisoners. Today, Alcatraz is a place of contradictions, with a grim past and an enduring future as one of San Francisco's most prominent landmarks and tourist attractions. You can view more on my travel diary video. The view from the top is amazing.
When in San Francisco, you'd better eat and drink like the locals. There were so many beautiful restaurants, wine bars, and clubs around town that my friends brought me to.
Girl's night out at West Coast Wine. Cheese
One of the most delicious cocktails I tried at The Devils Acre bar.
One of many beautiful restaurants on Chesnut Street. It doesn't matter if the food is good or not, I can dine here all day everyday.
Lunch with the view at The Presidio of San Francisco.
San Francisco is beautiful regardless what time of the day
from the late night
to the early morning.
On the last day in San Francisco, we had a few hours to explore the city before heading to the airport. There was nothing I wanted to do other than visiting the Lombard Street, the world's most crooked street.
And of course, having my outfit photos taken with the iconic cable car of San Francisco.
Crossing the street in style. Check!
Goodbye, San Francisco! You were wonderful. Although there were so many things I wanted to do, I couldn't do due to your bad weather. This is a perfect reason why I should come back to you. I know you wanted me to.
[name=Crystal Phuong]
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[description=Singapore Travel & Lifestyle Blogger, hoping to connect and inspire young women to lead a healthy and happy life]
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