I just want skies as blue as jeans

May 16, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

Need Supply Co. Top | 7 For All Mankind Jeans | Nicholas Kirkwood Flats | Gentle Monster Sunnies | Vintage Chanel Backpack

So apparently spring is not a thing anymore

May 09, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

Hang Loose

May 03, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

May 2016: Mommy On My Mind

April 28, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Gift Guru

Moms work round-the-clock 365 days a year so it's not too much to ask for to spend one day celebrating their awesomeness. From DIY centrepiece-worthy florals to gourmet picnics, show mom how much you appreciate her with some well-deserved pampering from this month's gift guide! Happy Mother's Day to all those badass mommies out there!

MAY GIFT GURU OFFER: Give mom a well-deserved break and get 10% off when you order from gourmet caterer Invisible Kitchen this month! Simply mention Rosie Colored Lenses at checkout and get award-winning meals delivered anywhere! www.invisiblekitchen.com

Photo Credits (from top): Tiny Prints, Anne Marie + Me, Spoilt, Hotel Hershey, Invisible Kitchen, The Daily Edited, Anthropologie, Nutrition Stripped — **Photo Credits (from top)**: *Tiny Prints, Anne Marie + Me, Spoilt, Hotel Hershey, Invisible Kitchen, The Daily Edited, Anthropologie, Nutrition Stripped*

Real Women Wear Pink

April 24, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

I wanted ice cream. Instead, I got earrings.

April 20, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Musings

I remember being disgusted by all the new restaurants in HK when I first returned. Two abominations stood next to each other in prime retails space, the first was a less than mediocre Italian restaurant that fashioned as a grocery store slash high-end canteen. You purchase a call card thing upon entering before the cashier gives a lengthy explanation on how to “maneuver” the space while I kept murmuring under my breath, "I just wanted some good pasta, dammit." But no. Instead, you walk along an open kitchen. The first counter you choose your appetizer, then your main and then because logic, you circle back to the front to choose your dessert, all the while beeping your card to keep track of your orders. Its neighboring Japanese dessert café is directly tethered to a shop that sells an eclectic assortment of jewelry, hats and candles. I have no idea why either.

It seems it’s no longer viable to simply produce good food. Even without relying on gimmickry, expensive décor has somehow become synonymous with food quality. A new mall opened in Hong Kong with half a dozen restaurants, with stories behind their décor each more extravagant/ ludicrous than the next. One enlisted a world-famous artist to craft a handful of surfboards to hang on the sunset-colored walls, then an Indonesian restaurant commissioned a whole, massive tree trunk from Bali to be airlifted into the space because a local tree simply won’t do and people can totally tell the difference. Oh you’re wondering about the food? Who cares! That’s not the purpose of restaurants, silly.

So I guess those insipid online magazine headlines of “The 10 Most Instagrammable Cafes in New York City” are really not that insipid because that’s apparently where our priorities lie.

Most of the time for something to sell, it needs to be objectively good or marketable. Preferably both. But it doesn’t always happen. Plenty of quality products die anonymous deaths and plenty of trash go mainstream.

I keep thinking about a random lady who came to look at my furniture in NYC when I listed them on Craigslist. She was a writer. She said she had just finished a novel and after I had congratulated her she gave me a rueful smile: "Thanks but, I’m having a hard time pitching it to editors because it doesn't fit a particular genre." It's not enough to produce something good, it then needs to then be a viable addition to an existing infrastructure. I didn't realize there were these invisible (or may be not so invisible) parameters to creativity even in fiction, something that by definition has no boundaries.

Have we really become so shallow that we can no longer appreciate quality if it’s not wrapped in a bow? Have we come to let packaging dictate content? Why must all food be camera-worthy? Why do all books have to know whom its neighbors are gonna be on a shelf? What happened to quality for the sake of quality?

I ask these things because they can have deeper ramifications than an overabundance of breakfast photos. In a world where clickbait reigns supreme, where every thought can become public within seconds, sometimes to be "marketable," to find where they "stand out" I find authors relegating to talking about what will “sell.” Sometimes it means relying on their race, their sexuality, or the most embarrassing thing they did. While on one hand it can be seen as empowering, as I witness headline after headline pouring through my feed of “I’m in an Open Marriage with Four People and It’s Not What Everyone Thinks It Means,” I sometimes wonder, as a writer, would anyone even glance at me if I didn’t whip out the most exotic thing about myself? What if I'm Asian but I don’t want to talk about being Asian in any shape or form? But I guess it doesn't matter--who has the time to read anymore? Maybe I'll just post a picture of my $100 organic green juice from this rustic juicery. #yum

On Sundays, we wear silver

April 17, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

Topshop Knit | Sacai Jacket | 7 For All Mankind Jeans | Giuseppe Zanotti Oxfords | Blanc & Eclare Sunnies

when printing presses become vintage

April 11, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

Givenchy Top | ASOS Pants | Giuseppe Zanotti Shoes | Balenciaga Crossbody | Gentle Monster Sunnies

April 2016: Aww-some Baby Shower Gifts

April 06, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Gift Guru

It's that time of the year again. Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming and, your girl friends are giving birth every other week (at least, it seems like it doesn't it?). Not to worry, this month's gift guide's will practically secure you godmother status with presents ranging from super-practical to downright adorbs. You can even claim all the credit--I won't tell if you don't!

APRIL GIFT GURU OFFER: Don't miss out! This month, artisan home goods e-tailer House of Folklore is offering 15% off your purchase of $300 HKD or more and it's valid year-round! Just enter code WELOVEROSIE at checkout. Happy shopping! www.folklorehk.com

really I just go to Macau for the egg tarts

April 04, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

Frame Denim Culottes | H&M Jacket | Zara Sneakers | Givenchy Pandora Tote | Blanc & Eclare Sunnies

and sometimes i dress like an easter egg

March 28, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

A lazy girl's guide to Slouchy Sunday Dressing

March 21, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

Hi, my name is Rosie. No, I Don't have a namecard

March 16, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Musings

When she’s 5, there’s no reason to doubt that little Lucy could be a chef, a CEO, a cartoonist. But even at that age, there’s an implication that one day she can only be one of those things.

Then from kindergarten to high school, Lucy has dozens of subjects shoved down her throat, a plethora of extra-curriculars that are really not-so-extra because she must be practicing one sport, language and instrument at any given time. Personally, I remember those late nights cramming AP Chemistry, nibbling the eraser of my mechanical pencil in frustration at my apparent inability to grasp how these beehive drawings are supposed to somehow represent a tree or caffeine or fairies or something. I don’t know, clearly that test did not go so well. I just kept thinking, I can’t wait till I can just read Jane Austen books 24/7. I’d rather do 100 essays than do this.

In college, we’re told to experiment (not like that, you dirty minds!), try dozens of electives on fields and topics we’ve never even heard of to broaden our horizons, only to be told to choose a major. I had just discovered Russian literature, linguistics, and gender studies when I started looking around nervously at my friends handing in their Major Declaration forms: Mechanical Engineer, Computer Science, Economics and Political Science. Timidly I handed in mine. Major: Journalism.

“You have straight A’s in all your Russian lit classes,” my Tolstoy 301 professor said in a thick accent. “Why don’t you major in it? You clearly love it.”

“Oh, I um, I would but I already have so many journalism credits,” I lied. What I really meant to say was, “What the heck am I supposed to do with a Russian lit major after I graduate?” Sure, we’re the ones putting pen to paper on the major declaration form, we ostensibly have complete autonomy, but much of our decision is guided by things other than our pure desire: how does this translate into a job? How will I compare to my peers? Will my parents approve?

One thing leads to another and three internships in the same field later, Lucy finds herself with vast experience on one subject, and as a result is only qualified for one kind of job. If she’s lucky, maybe it could stretch to five (including waitressing).

And so it builds, our narrative, but the higher the stack, the narrower it gets. Apparently, we’re supposed to aim for a neat and tidy title we can hand out on a little textured card with engraved text so that in less than three words, someone can figure us out. I’ve witnessed the discomfort people feel when I don’t have a namecard to offer them—how are they supposed to judge me, speak to me, without it? (The same way people are confounded when pregnant ladies say they’re keeping the baby’s sex “a surprise.” Do we call it an “it?” Without a frame of reference, they have no idea how to act, what to ask.)

After graduation, I mentally vacillated between interests, fashion, writing and event planning and at one point even took a vote amongst my friends, as I found myself forcing my inner child to choose. Grownups are focused, the little voice in my head said, they pick something and work on it until retirement. One of my best friends had her fair share of snide comments when she jumped from job to job after graduation, refusing to settle when she knew the job wasn’t right for her. Should those who stick at their jobs even though they’re miserable be venerated for being responsible? Should those who have the courage to quit despite the lack of security be berated for being entitled, lazy, imprudent? It was then that I realized, no, I will not choose. I refuse to be compressed, sealed, embossed onto a 3-inch card. The summer I worked two jobs, learned how to cook and started working out with a personal trainer was one of the most fulfilling in my life. I am invigorated by balancing multiple jobs at once, accomplishing more than I would sitting half-heartedly at one job. I enjoy writing, fashion and events in equal measure, all of which I have enough passion for that I refuse to give up any one, all of which I’ve consistently contributed to on my blog so no, I will not choose so that the world has an easier time figuring me out. I’m tired of being told to go but not too far, that I can be anything but apparently only one thing. I’m complicated, as are my interests, none of which I’m willing to give up, so Dear World, no, I don’t have a name card and you’re just gonna have to deal with it.

Apparently this jacket is older than I am

March 14, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

Nasty Gal Turtle Neck | 3.1 Philip Lim Shorts | Replay Jacket | Givenchy Booties | Balenciaga Crossbody

When you're super proud of your layering skills but it's hot AF outside...

March 07, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

March 2016: Cakes To Impress

March 02, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Gift Guru

March is yours truly's birthday month (thank you, thank you) so I thought I'd share with y'all ways to wow your loved one using just the age-old staple: The Birthday Cake--just because it's an expected presence, doesn't mean it has to be boring!

MARCH GIFT GURU OFFER: Friends in Hong Kong! One of the best cake sculptors in the city, Sugar Me was kind enough to offer 10% off your order if you mention my blog, so make sure you hit them up for your loved ones' birthday this year! info@sugarmehk.com | 6110-8967

I call this the modern grandma

February 29, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

Be kind to those who are unkind-They need it most

February 24, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Musings

“I’m just saying, if he knows that about himself, he should try to do something about it.”

I clenched my fork tighter as I bit back my anger. “You know, people with low self-esteem are the way they are because somewhere along the way, someone told them they were not worthy.” I was two seconds away from pointing the fork at her, because she was that someone to me.

I recently clicked on an article entitled “7 Signs You Grew Up With A Toxic Parent” because everyone likes to think their parents screwed them up in some way. Nothing in it was particularly revealing, as the law of confirmation bias goes, I’m sure most people can claim that their parents fit the bill on one occasion or another if you stretched things far enough. But the most interesting revelation to me was that they all usually resulted in the child having low self-esteem.

I never thought of myself as having low self-esteem, but that’s because I never realized it could come in the form of eagerness to prove one’s ability, in the inability to accept failure, in immediate need to assign blame or the lack of capacity to receive praise. All this, stems from a place of deep rejection that we spend the rest of our lives atoning for, even though it wasn’t our fault.

Sadly, we do feel it’s our fault. Was it something we’ve done? Were we not enough? Were we not worthy of their love?

One of my best friends had her father up and leave her family for another one. Another friend was sexually harassed by a family member only to have her mother berate her saying, “How could you let that happen?” I am well aware of the unfortunate ubiquity of this story, every family has a version of their own, but I was angriest and saddest about the fact that they were all hurt by the very people who were supposed to be their protectors, their God-given shields and nurses.

It feels like a betrayal that the injured have to live with, an unjust quandary where revenge would only hurt the perpetrator more. Even in acceptance, they may realize their needs will never be met but it doesn’t stop them from needing. Even in revenge, their needs will still not be met and a severed relationship would only hurt the avenger. There is no winning or way out.

But this is not meant to be a dour story, because instead of choosing to hate or drown in self-pity, these people were the first to forgive even when they never received an apology. After years of self-excoriating, they emerged not only absolving themselves but also the other party by seeing that those people who hurt them were hurt as well. Look a little closer, and you’ll find that our less-than-perfect parents probably had toxic parents of their own, and often, the inability to be considerate of your feelings is just a sign of that. So they’ve failed you, but now the power is in your hands whether to perpetuate it or make like Elsa, and let it go.

i've decided that every wall needs a cat painted on it

February 22, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File

Happy Wear All The Red You Own Day!

February 14, 2016 by Rosana Lai in Style File