Episode 6 - 5 JINGGA

Episode 6 of 5 JINGGA is online now.

To watch, just click here

Interview for Babe Bits for gua.com.my

Last week, short interview for 'Babe Bits' on gua.com.my. It was shot in front of the blue screen which makes me wonder what special effects will be done for the background.

Should be online soon and you will find out what the interview was about.

Dress is the Lanvin runway piece I bought recently with Fendi B Belt.

Schizo

A short video of the Madam of my house, Schizo.

Nubhan with clothes from Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton as many know is one of the icons of fashion. The brand has been around for many years, and their luggage goods are still considered one of the most luxurious in the world. They are also one of the most difficult brands to receive clothes from here in Malaysia as they are very selective as to whom they wok with and as they do not sell clothes here, any clothes used for photo shoots are specially flown in. And where was the shoot held? On the Eastern & Oriental Express train....very James Bond!

Which means that the collaboration between Nubhan and LV is a very special one indeed. Above is only one of the pics I took from Mr Manager's blog site. To see the rest, you have to visit his site. Just click here.

The only time I have worn clothes from LV was for the cover of GLAM in 2007.

And all of those clothes were specially flown in too for all of us and then sent out again as soon as the shoot was done.

Well done Mr Manager. Nubhan would never have got this opportunity without you.

Lord Derbyshire on video

For the first time, Lord Derbyshire is here on video!

He is not in a very good mood because Schizo caught a bird and he tried to take it away from her so she growled at him. He has been hanging around the kitchen since in his totally merajuk mood.

If you turn up your speakers you will hear me talking to him too.

New posting on 'Style with Sasha'

To read new posting on 'Style with Sasha' titled Golden Age of Couture,
just click here

Episode 1 - 5 of 5 JINGGA online

To watch episodes 1 - 5 of 5 JINGGA online,
just click here

(Special note for Margarita - please get my brother to watch the end of part 2 and the beginning of part 3 of Episode 5. Why? Because the way I say "LOSER!" was inspired by him and I get orange juice thrown at me)

Victoria Beckham dress collection debut

Victoria Beckham is really forging ahead with her dream to be a respected designer and just recently at New York fashion week she showcased her collection of dresses, along with a new hair cut which looks quite cute... part pixie like Tinkerbell and Audrey Hepburn.

Pics of the dresses from her collection are below..

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Generally I like all of them. The ones I like the most have a star underneath the photo. Again, this collection is not cheap with prices starting at 650 pounds. Only 400 pieces to be made (not sure if that is for each design of in total). One person who I think will look stunning in these dresses and I think who we will eventually see wearing them is Dita von Teese. What I personally love most about the designs is the length of the skirt. I think below the knee length is so elegant. But one too many nasi lemaks and you can't wear these designs. And your body needs to be really proportioned. My body is not really well proportioned so I don't know if I would be able to wear them. I would love to see them in real life to look at the tailoring.

Some fashion editors are giving her fabulous reviews, others are telling her to get over herself.

I say good for you, this is something you want to do and so many people do not have the guts to do what they would like to in their life. She will never be free from criticism, but she will always be around, and I think that's great.

Fashion fairy god mother, my list is starting to become incredibly long isn't it. :)

Photo shoots...

One of my earlier postings I wrote about how I bought a top hat to wear for a photo shoot.

Today was that photo shoot and it was for the October issue of Passions magazine.

The dress I'm wearing in the photo above is my grandmother's wedding dress and the dress is 58 years old! The blue rhinestone earrings are from Covent Garden markets in London.

But I'm not the only one in my household who loves photo shoots. Check out these shots of the little photo shoot I did with the one and only Lord Derbyshire!


A totally VOGUE pose!
If there was a cat's edition of Vogue magazine, I think the above pic would make a great cover shot!

termenung apa entah....

the hunter's pose...

A 'don't mess with me' macho pose..

terpelanting penat pose...

Pandai juga lah Lord Derbyshire ni berposing kan!

My picks from the new Kate Moss Top Shop collection

But none of them are that cheap. According to topshop.com, the average price is 50 - 150 pounds.... which is about RM 300 - 900.

I visited the Prada boutique at KLCC the other day to have a look at the black lace Prada range. They do have some pieces, but I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the prices.

Me : I love this collection but the prices are insane! When is your sale and what is the maximum discount here?

Salesgirl : Probably December, and maximum discount is 40%.

Me : No 80% discount ah?

Salesgirl : (she laughs politely) unfortunately, no.... but 40% is a good discount...

Me : Still unaffordable. Nevermind, can you call me when this range goes on discount. Manalah tahu, I murah rezeki and boleh beli...

Salesgirl : Sure... I have never seen you in our boutique before. What brought you here?

Me : This lace collection...

Salesgirl : I see....anything ese you are interested in?

Me : No... just that...on 80% discount!

Fashion fairy godmother, help me!

Alber Elbaz of Lanvin collaborates with Acne Jeans

The genius designer, Alber Elbaz of LANVIN whose designs I am now trying to buy as much as possible as I can has collaborated on a collection with cult denim brand Acne jeans. The collection is due out in November and from what I read online, it is to be stocked in both Lanvin and Acne Jeans shops as well as Barney's and Bergdof Goodman. I doubt LANVIN in KL will stock it. Their range here is not very good. Maybe in Singapore....


But it seems the prices are not going to be more affordable than LANVIN clothes... may even be about the same!!! AAAAARGH!


I'm not too sure what I like from this collection yet...and I want to try everything on.



Kate Moss Top Shop new collection is coming out on Tuesday in the UK, which is almost Wednesday for us here. Can't wait to see it online at topshop.com. I'm sure there will be at least one thing I like from the collection. I'm sure it will take a while for the collection to arrive in KL and even then, don't know which pieces.


So much stuff, so little money...

But like I've said before I am very patient... :) most things end up on sale somewhere...
Just need to find out where...

Happy Birthday to me!

Today, 8th of September, is my 28th birthday.

Last night I completely finished shooting 5 Jingga and as everyone was clapping and cheering while the director was giving her thank you speech, I was sitting in the corner quietly, like I always do when I finish a project..... There is a happiness because the job is done, but also a sadness cause we are saying good bye to our time together.

I thanked the director, Ngai Yuen, who cast me for the role of Melly for the opportunity. 5 JINGGA is my first tv drama and I have learnt so much from the experience. I look forward to being involved with more projects with her.


I also said bye to the poor girl who Melly makes life miserable for.



"I really don't mean all of those horrible things I say to you, you know!" I say to Saleha.

"I know! There is a big difference between Melly and Sasha!" she replies



Knowing that in a few hours I would be another year older, it also made me think about my life up until this point and wonder what the future holds.

So how will I be celebrating my birthday? With the people who mean the most to me... my family..

My greatest regret is that I know I will never live long enough to do all the things I want to do as I have so many interests and there is so much to learn in this world. My greatest hope is that I have many, many birthdays so I can try to at least experience most of them.

To my dear Fashion Fairy Godmother....

To my dear fashion fairy godmother,

Firstly, thank you so much for the little treasures I found at the warehouse sale recently! As you know black dresses have always been my favourite wardrobe item. I have well over 20 black dresses now! I need to ask you a little favour though....

I have never noticed Prada's designs before but the black lace pieces in the current collection have really caught my attention. While I was in Paris recently, I was lucky enough to try on the black lace dress that Christy Turlington (model on far right) and Claudia Schiffer is wearing in the picture above from their article with Vanity Fair.

The cost of the dress is about my 3 months salary.... Making it impossible for me to afford it. My petrol cost has doubled in the past 5 years. Ouch! But the lace is so beautiful. Entirely hand made in Italy is what the sales person told me.

So, I'm hoping you will be able to wave your magic wand and enable me to somehow get the dress as well as the skirt and jacket that Linda Evangelista is wearing (model second from right) at a price I can afford... 80% of like my Lanvin and Chloe dress would be great! They are timeless and classic pieces I could wear forever.

As you know, I am a very patient person. I also don't mind picking pieces up from the floor at warehouse sales.

Another option is that since it's my birthday on Monday (8th of September), maybe I could get it then?!

Ok .... Ok... I'm dreaming...

Actually, all I want for my birthday is Kinokuniya book vouchers. There is a long list of fashion books I want to add to my personal library so a whole heap of book vouchers would be just perfect! If everyone I knew gave me just a RM5 voucher, I would be able to buy a really nice book.

Til I find my next fashion bargain, take care!

My first runway pieces!

As far as I know, runway pieces, or the designs that are worn by the models on the runways in a designer's fashion show are collectable pieces because they all form part of a jigsaw puzzle of the overall look and feel of the concept of the designer's show for that season.

I do have accessories that have appeared on a runway, like my Dior D trick bag and appeared in ad campaigns like my Stuart Weitzman shoes and Coach charm necklace, but up until a week ago, no clothes in my wardrobe were runway pieces.

Thanks to a friend of mine who is just as obsessed about clothes as I am who told me about a big warehouse sale while I was overseas and a little help from my fashion fairy godmother, I am now the proud owner of two runway pieces!

One of them is this Lanvin dress from the Fall / Winter 07 / 08 collection.



This model must be about 4 inches taller than me cause this design falls below the knee on me. The sleeves remind me of an origami folding and can be really puffed up or pulled down for a more subtle look. The way the dress has been crafted is an art. I much prefer this dress when I wear a belt with it though. Adds just a little more character to it.

The other one is this dress from Chloe's Fall / Winter 07/08 collection.


It's really beautifully made. The lining is silk and the print is a work of art. It's known as the 'secret garden' dress because of the print. This dress is especially special because it also featured in the season's ad campaign, modelled by Shalom Harlow.



Again, somehow on me, this dress looks better with a belt.

Now let me tell you a little bit about this sale. It was madness in there! There were clothes everywhere. There were many beautiful runway pieces on sale that were just dropped onto the floor and tossed onto clothes rails. It looked like a bomb had gone off in a clothes storeroom. The queue to the changing room was so long that many impatient women just started taking off their clothes in the middle of the hall without even bothering to go into the changing room. At one point I was looking at a rail of clothes only to turn around to see a woman wearing only her underwear, standing next to me looking through a pile of clothes..

I was a little more discreet. I had to play a bit of a guessing game. I tried everything on top of my pants and t shirt and had to 'guess' if they fit properly and looked good. Thankfully, I have tried on enough clothes to have a good idea to what works and doesn't work on me. When I got back home later, everything was ok...

Now I'm just waiting for a chance to wear them! I am so excited about having these pieces in my wardrobe... thank you fashion fairy godmother... I bought both of them at about 80% discount!

Selamat Berpuasa

To all my Muslim readers, Selamat Berpuasa in this Holy Month.

Top Hat...

'Since the 1820s the top hat was the fashionable as daytime headgear for men. By 1905, a man’s hat showed how wealthy they were. Wealthy gentlemen usually wore top hats, labourers and manual workers, bowler hats or cloth caps.'

I just bought a black top hat and I plan to wear for a photo shoot coming up soon..

With a very special vintage dress... :)

I hope the overall styling turns out well. i have yet to try on the whole outfit..

5 JINGGA - Episode 2 and 3 online

To watch episode 2 and 3 online now,

just click here

it's all real...

photo by Aiemax

My hair, my eyelashes, my nose...

Many people have asked me if my hair is a wig or if I've had hair extensions put in.

I found out recently that you can have false eyelashes added and glued to your real eyelashes. When I did the GLAM cover shoot last year, I very distinctly remember the stylist, the very talented Cheah Wei Chun said to me once my make up was done, "your false eyelashes look so real!"

And as for my nose, which cosmetic surgeon did it. My chin and cheeks, have I had collagen done.

Well, I can very honestly say that it's all real...

There is not a single strand of hair in my head that isn't real. The colour I admit is not quite my original colour which is a little bit darker though I am not dying my hair and experimenting with colours anymore. But no hair extensions. They would just annoy me.

Same with the eyelashes. I love the effect false eyelashes have and the looks they can create...very dramatic, but again, if I have to wear them which I pretty much never do, I would not be able to wait to take them off. Many times when I have been shooting the documentary, people have looked at my eyelashes and asked if they are real. And they always ask in front of Man. Which he found very funny and after a while whenever he saw me putting mascara on would say, "Alaaa... buka lah bulu mata palsu engkau tu..." To which I would just ignore him completely and carry on with the mascara, and he would laugh to himself. I do love mascara.

As for cosmetic surgery and collagen, I am terrified of needles, and blood and skin being cut... Doing an acupuncture session every week is such a mental challenge for me. But that I don't mind doing it cause it helps your body to heal itself. But that is all.

So it's all real.... though I am most flattered many think it's all fake... :)

New posting on 'Style with Sasha'

To read new posting on 'Style with Sasha' titled 'Organising your wardrobe'

just click here.

5 Jingga - episode 1 - online on 8tv

International readers and anyone who missed the show and is interested to watch,

just click here

on the road again..

in just a few hours, I will be on the road again.. Travelling to a very rural kampung...

I seriously doubt they will have internet connection there.

Next week, the launch of the tv drama I have been shooting - 5 JINGGA - will be launched. I am looking forward to that. first episode is to go on air on the 12th of August.

fashion queries can be emailed to sasha_a_b@yahoo.com (this is for readers who have left comments requesting email address for such queries)

I will do my best to answer them quickly.... :)

sick or dying is not dead....

It's 7am on a Sunday morning. I'm in my bathroom feeling really sick and throwing up when I receive a message on my phone.

"Hi. We are on our way" - it reads. it's from the production team of the tv drama informing me they are on their way to the shoot location.

"Ok. But I am not well, throwing up too. I will be there asap." - I reply

"Ok. but be there before 8am" - came a very quick sms reply after that.

in this industry, only if you are dead are you allowed not to turn up for shooting. sick or dying is not dead... every actress, model and host in the world will tell you the same thing. i read in a short biography of Claudia Schiffer that she has done numerous photo shoots while she is sick, even with food poisoning.

somehow I drag my body out of the bathroom, get dressed and drive to the location. When I arrive I am quickly given a seat to sit in and they start applying make up on me and doing my hair. I keep a rubbish bin next to me the whole time just in case I need to throw up again.

Somehow I get through the scene and then I have a break. I flop down onto the sofa in the school principal's office and fall asleep. As I was falling asleep, memories of being sick in school and lying on the school office sofa came back to me.

A while later when I wake up and realise there are a few more scenes without me in it to shoot, I message my acupunturist and ask if by any chance she has an appointment free for me to see her immediately. Thankfully she does.

I really don't like take chemical medication. I much prefer to take the more natural apporach to healing. Hence my love of natural therapies like acupunture, reflexology...etc...

When I arrive in my costume which is a school uniform, she starts laughing...."I was wondering who is that school girl in uniform on a Sunday coming into my place?!"

"Help...please...I feel terrible...." I say

"Lie down...aiyoh...problem with your job is that you still have to work even when physically you shouldn't be" she says.....

Once i'm done I head back to the shoot location. I shoot a few more scenes then suddenly my stomach starts cramping again and my body is trying to throw up again but because I've hardly had anything to eat cause I don't feel like it, so nothing comes up....

I realise there is one more scene to shoot. Considering how I feel, I make a reqest I have never done before. I ask if my last scene of the day can be shot on another day. There is a discussion among the production team and one calls me and says very simply, "we need to shoot that scene by today"

see what I mean...sick and dying is not dead....

By this point, I am desperate and upset. I call a close friend who happens to live near the shoot location. "I know you are leaving to go overseas tomorrow and are probably very busy packing and getting organised but I really need your help now" I say on the phone..

When I arrive at my friend's house I collapse on the sofa.

"You need to eat. And you cannot shoot like this. Give me the number of your production team and I will tell them how sick you are., I don't think they really realise." says my dear friend..

"You can't do that. It will make me look unprofessional" I reply...

"But you're sick!!!!"

"But not dead.... please, just give me some food and can you drive me to my next location..it won't take long to shoot. It's only one scene.."I beg. My friend just shakes her head and doesn't argue with me anymore.

An hour later, I am feeling a little better and we go to the next location on Subang. It takes less than an hour to shoot the scene....

When I finally got home that night at almost 10pm, never have a been so happy to have shooting over for the day...

sex and the city movie!

Thursday last week I went to a private screening of the movie I have been waiting to see, Sex and the City! It was part of an event of launching Daphne Iking as spokesperson for a health brand called Nuvafemme.

One of my close friends Margarita came too. She is wearing a grey dress, clear plastic necklace and colourful embroidery bag I bought while shooting 'beauty secrets from the east' in India last year. I wore a top by Catherine Malandrino, beret is from Primark in the UK, woven clutch is from Anya Hindmarch and jeans from Zara. I think Daphne's outfit is from Bebe.

So what did I think of the movie?

At the end of it, I found myself thinking not about fashion, but about friendship. What wonderful friends all 4 main characters are and how despite their fights and misunderstandings, they are steadfast in their loyalty to each other and would never intentionally hurt each other.

I think everyone in the movie acted very well and the development in each of the character's story was believable.

And as for the clothes, fashion and styling....what else can I say but I wish I could meet Patricia Fields, the genius behind Sex and the City's iconic fashion status...I would beg her to play dress up with me and at least try on whatever she tells me too. Some outfits were ridiculous and unbelievable but I actually wish more people would really dress up more in daily life. Walking around the supermarket would be so much more interesting.

And I want a walk in wardrobe like Carrie's new penthouse apartment!

I think many scenes were edited out and I don't know why, cause when I referred to the book based on the movie, there were at least 3 whole scenes missing and 2 others cut short. And they were not sex scenes either.... strange..

I wil definitely buy this on dvd and watch it again at home!

At the food festival..

I just found this picture taken of me at the Food Festival. The dress is from Milo's. I bought it in Bali while I was shooting "Beauty Secrets from the East" and the last time I wore this dress was at the Coach launch in Jakarta. This time I borrowed the earrings from my sister. I can't remember what shoes and bag I wore with it this time.

The print is printed onto 3 types of fabric...velvet, silk jersey and the sleeves are a see through fabric. I think this is what stops the print from being too overwhelming.