Denim on Denim

So, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to blog more. For the first two months of the year, that didn't really happen. But hey, don't you know that the third week of March is when New Year's Resolutions are meant to start? All the cool kids are doing it. I would know, I'm super cool. Totes. Haha I don't think any of the real cool kids use 'super' or 'totes' anymore. I'm such an old person nowadays...I see them using phrases like 'on fleek' and I sit shaking my head and saying 'youths.' I just can't keep up anymore.

It's only been five days since the great shave of '15, but I feel like my hair has already started to grow back. I'm getting used to standing out a bit more in public now - but for the most part, the reaction's been really positive, and it's so lovely to have complete strangers come up and compliment me on my new look. Over the last couple of days, I've had several people randomly approach me and tell me how much they like my style or how much my hair suits me or how beautiful or amazing I look. It's doing wonders for my self esteem. One lady even told me I gave her goosebumps (not in a bad way I hope!) And today as I sat having lunch with my girlfriend, an older man who had been having lunch with his wife came over and said he was sorry to interrupt, but that he really liked my hairstyle, smiled politely and left. Adorable.

So, while I'm sure I'll be in no hurry to shave again anytime soon, I'm actually really enjoying my bald head, and all the good vibes it's bringing me.

 

Top and Shorts: Luvalot; Shoes: Bardot; Bag: Vintage; Necklace: Colette by Colette Hayman; Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs; Sunnies: Chanel.

Gold pants and my first bald post.

Ta-Da! As promised, on Saturday, team awesome and I did the World's Greatest Shave to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation - a wonderful organisation that help those facing blood cancer and their families get through what is definitely one of the most difficult stages of their life. I'm not going to lie, I was incredibly anxious about the whole thing - my hair has always been so important to me - but I don't regret it one little bit. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, there was plenty of good food, love and laughter, and as I sat in the backyard of my cousin's house, surrounded by my friends and family, hands shaking under my not-particularly flattering, bright orange 'World's Greatest Shave' cape, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. We had just hit our target of $7.5k (which meant that my boyfriend was not only going to shave his head, but also sacrifice his chest hair to death-by-waxing) and I could not have been prouder of my team.

I'm sure everyone of you has known someone who has been affected by cancer. It's an absolute asshole of a disease. And as much as I loved my hair, if me shaving it off was going to mean that we were able to help kick cancer's butt, even a little bit, then off it was going to go.

Thank you to all the amazingly generous humans who donated to our cause - please know that you helped make the world a better place by doing so. And to anyone who missed out, don't worry, it's not too late! Donations (however big or small) can still be made here:

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/vinhluong
http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/teamawesome

Apologies if I seem like I'm pushing this too hard, but #sorrynotsorry, it's for an amazing cause. I don't feel bad asking because I'm not doing it for me!

Anyway, one thing I'd been a bit worried about in the lead up to losing my hair was that I would be a lot more restricted as to what I could wear, and as a lover of all things fashion, this really played on my mind. Anyone who's kept up with this blog (let's face it, with my track record of posting, it's not that hard to do) will know that my latest obsession has been midriff tops and midi-skirts, and I was concerned that without my hair, I'd have to forgo this look for something edgier.

I expressed my concerns to my seven-year-old niece, Stella (who's made a feature on my blog before, the cutie pie! See here) and she replied, simply, "I think your hair will look nice with anything! Just wear what you want!"

And so, I played dress ups. And while I ended up going with something a bit edgier today, you'll be happy to know that the midi skirts aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

Top: Bardot; Pants: Supre; Blazer: Scanlan & Theodore; Shoes: Novo; Bag: Dotti; Necklace: Colette by Colette Hayman; Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs; Ring: Lovisa.

One last time, with hair. (ft. the $49 outfit & ladylike glamour)

Tomorrow, I'll be shaving my much-loved locks off, in the name of charity. While we've had a few family members opposed to the idea (read: old-school Asians who think that Vietnamese girls should all be slender, soft spoken, light-skinned and have long, straight hair...as we all know I possess none of these features anyway), most people have been amazingly supportive. I am so, so grateful to have such beautiful, generous souls behind us and I am humbled and overwhelmed by the kindness that we have been shown.

I'm not going to lie, I'm extremely nervous about the day ahead, and the idea of baring my oddly-shaped head. But at the end of the day, it's just hair, it grows back. There are many more important things out there, and if people are willing to pay to see it go - to give to a charity that has helped, and will continue to help, so many people going through an absolutely (for lack of a better word) shit phase of their lives - well, then, away it will go.

 Right now our total stands at $6685, which is just $815 off the rather ambitious goal I set. Even if we don't make it, we'll be pretty freaking close, and whatever happens I'm so extremely proud of our team and the efforts each one of us has made to get this far. I have faith though. I have a feeling that we'll get there in the end. And if we do, one Mr Aron Poole will also be losing the chest hair (by wax, ouch!).

You can still donate here (if you haven't already, please do, it's a great cause!):

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/vinhluong

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/teamawesome

We'll be sure to take plenty of pictures!

So, this will be my last post with hair for a while. Have I mentioned that I love my (messy, unruly, frustratingly-sticky-to-my-facey) hair?

This was Thursday, feeling pink. This whole outfit, top to toe, cost me $49. The dress was one dollar. Yes, you read that right. ONE DOLLAR. (And no, it's not because it was stained...those marks on the skirt part are just because I was being a grub and washed my hands and then wiped them on my dress haha).

 

Dress: Supre; Belt: Dotti; Shoes: Novo; Bag: Vintage; Ring: Colette by Colette Hayman.

And this, was today (well technically, now yesterday). I decided that for my last day of hair I'd dress as ladylike as I possibly could, because I'm not sure how well I can pull off the ladylike-look (my favourite look of the moment, as I'm sure you've noticed from my previous posts) with a shaved head. I'm actually kind of obsessed with this outfit - I felt so amazing, classy and girly in it! If only I had somewhere more fancy to go than my cousin's house followed by martial arts at Fairfield/Cabramatta PCYC lol. Ah well. As long as I felt good, right?

 

Top: Cotton On; Skirt: Romwe; Shoes: Diavolina; Bag: Vintage: Sunnies: Chanel; Ring: Colette by Colette Hayman; Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs.

 

A Lady of Leisure

Thought me being currently (f)unemployed would mean more regular posts? Well I sure showed you didn't I!

Haha, seriously though, so did I. I've been planning to post for a while now but the life of a Lady of Leisure can actually get pretty full on. And even when it's not, I rarely find myself able to actually force myself to sit down and write - the procrastination is strong in this one, even if it's from things I actually enjoy doing.

Since we last met, I did a brief stint 'working' (read: sitting there and making sure no one steals anything) at my dad's shop, had a massive wardrobe and shoe collection clean out (about fifteen huge bags full of clothes and over 200 pairs of shoes got the flick), celebrated the year of the sheep/goat (so Asian!), applied for some jobs I've yet to hear back from, made a cameo at Glebe Markets, dealt with some family dramas, and, oh yeah...signed up for this:



That's right. On the 14th of March, 2015, I, Vinh Luong, will be shaving my head to raise money for The Leukaemia Foundation. Those of you who know me well enough will know that I absolutely ADORE my hair, so this is a huge deal for me. I'm getting pretty nervous about it now that the count down is just reaching 10 days; reality is just starting to set in. 10 days left until I reveal my unevenly-shaped head to the world. I'm a bit anxious just thinking about it, but at the end of the day, it's just hair - it grows back. If shaving it off means that I get to help raise funds for an organisation that does such great work to help people who are going such a tough time in their live, then bring on the clippers! Cancer is shit. I'll take any chance I can to kick it's arse.

If you can afford it, please donate generously to myself here or my team here. Any donation, big or small, goes a long way, and is greatly appreciated!

In the mean time, enjoy one of my last few posts feat. hair. Weekday casual (pretending to work at Dad's shop):

 

Top & Cardigan: Cotton On; Jeans: Ziggy Denim; Shoes: Human (Premium Collection); Hat: Rubi; Necklaces: Dotti & Diva; Ring: Lovisa; Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs.

And being a real Lady of Leisure:

Top & Skirt: Blossom; Shoes: Diavolina; Bag: Vintage (Glebe Markets); Necklace: Colette by Colette Hayman; Watch: Marc By Marc Jacobs.