Wednesday, December 24, 2014

The Ultimate Affordable Christmas Gift - For Her

The Ultimate Affordable Christmas Gift - For Her

Whether you plan your christmas shopping way ahead since November The Black Friday; or the last minutes shopping because you been busy.  We all have the frustrations of getting the right christmas gift. A gift that’s almost perfect without breaking the bank.

Every year around the holiday seasons, I always gots a lot of personal and not so personal “emergency call” as their personal gift shopper. Comment questions such as:

“I don’t know if the receiver will like it or not?”
“What if the gift is not good enough?”
“Will the receiver even use the gift?”
Or the worst “What if she/he hates it, and re-gift to other people?”.

My first question always is: How well exactly do you know the person(receiver)? And base on the observations, we will start from there, which will take us to the right direction of choosing the right gift.

For families, the significant others and friends, you can easily find the trace of what they like and dislike: Makeup, art & craft, house furniture, food/tea, etc. And base on the judgments, give something what they really need. But there’s also other situations were for a company secret santa, you happens to get the person that you don’t know much, or you just don’t like them. With that, Social Medias such as Facebook “stalking” will helps you a lot. A picture speaks thousand words. You can give simple judgement base on if that person into outdoor activities or something more settle down such as favorite celebrates or movies.

Because gift(whether from christmas, birthday, valentine’s day or anniversaries) doesn’t have to be super expensive to win that person’s heart. It is the considerate and being thoughtful that count.

Two of the most memorable scenes from my all time favorite Tv show Friends, where Chandler gave Joey’s girlfriend Kathy her favorite childhood book as a birthday gift, which was very hard to find in the market- from :38-2:45(http://youtu.be/vz1In0v6kWU). Or when Ross gives Rachel an antique pin that she mentions lightly when they pass by the antique shop a week ago. Rachel was all tear up when she unwrap the present and saw that because she said “aww, he remember!”(http://youtu.be/obe3pjjpu7c). Those two moments had touched my heart every time when I watched the show. Because it shows a gift don’t have to be millions bucks, but as long as that person is being considerate.

I had listed one of my top five favorite holiday gift items that’s affordable and useful. I hope you guys will find that useful, and I wish you all have a joyful and memorable holiday!

Stay fashionable. Stay elegant




Saturday, December 6, 2014

Down Jackets Fashion Report

Down Jackets Fashion Report

As the weather getting colder on each months; one of the must have fashion pieces I recently found very fashionable: Down Jacket. Not only it is super comfortable, but also very stylish. With a particular piece, I call it “the good looking cocoon”. It is almost like you are wearing the most comfortable comforter that keeps you warm besides having them in your bed.

I used to very dislike them, just because down jacket are just so puffy, and it is really on my way. I felt like a Sumo(those big Japanese wresters) every time when I am wearing them. Sure they are nice and warm, but it is so puffy that nearly it became very inconvenience. So I choose wool jacket over down feather jacket. But with a city like Chicago, let’s be honest, wool jacket only can take you so far.

Until last year, I got this dark navy +Michealkors down jacket, which I love very much. Is thin, is fashionable, and it comes with a small traveling bag for the jacket(I think is one of the best part that comes with a jacket. Because when I dine out, especially to the Chinese restaurant, the bag is perfect. Because down jacket can absorb the smell very quickly. I love to eat Chinese food, but I don’t want to smells like one. Thus, every time when I dine out for Chinese, I will fold them in the small traveling bag. It might seems be a lot of work, but trust me, it is totally worth it).

Tips For Wearing Down Jacket:
When purchasing a down jacket, feel like body. Make sure the feather does not comes with the long hard feather quills. Understand all the down jacket will all have feather quills, but those higher qualities will use the fine tiny quills.
You get what you pay for- You might think some down jacket are ridiculously expansive, but be honest, unless you are choosing the luxury brand. Normally, you can find a good quality down that comes with an affordable price between the price range of $130 to $300. They will last you at lest a good 5 years.
Notice the feathers will poke out here and there. The solution is to put them in your dryer with 2-3 tennis balls, or a big towels, or couple pairs of socks that fold in a baseball shape. Once the leather got expand from the hot temperature, it won’t come out that easy anymore.

-Stay fashionable. Stay elegant.