IU's casual beach style at less than 100 dollars

Noona is going to Australia next year for the big birthday celebration. What's so special about birthday? It happens that Noona's and her high-school-friend-turn-bestie's birthdays are only a week apart and we celebrated our birthday overseas back then in 2013 (in a cute Hello Kitty Sweets Cafe and Modern Toilet Restaurant in Taipei). So we were thinking of re-enacting our sweet birthday celebration at those unusual places overseas next year (and at the same time giving us excuse to go for a holiday).

Right, with that being planned, it's gonna be summer in Australia so what should Noona wear on the beach? She does not want to look too boring and yet does not want to look too complicated either. After all, it's the beach. If you share the same sentiment, let's take a look at what IU wears for her Unionbay's pictorial. Ta-da!

A tee, a knee-length jeans and wedges. Hey, that looks casual enough and easy to follow. Thanks a lot, IU! 

Now, let's search for all the key pieces to create IU's look at the beach. First, we need the tee. Thankfully, tees are everywhere out there at the stores, at the online stores, everywhere. You don't have to stick to green tee but if you'd like to, there is this cute Mochi Love tee from Etsy. It only costs USD20.

The knee-length jeans is kinda harder to find probably because it is out of the season now. But if you are staying in tropical countries like Singapore, there's no way you want to follow autumn/winter season no matter how bad you want it (sad truth). Anyway, Noona managed to find a pair of white denim bermuda from Tommy Hilfiger at Polyvore. It was sold at a discounted price of USD49.99. 

What Noona loves the most from IU's summer fashion is her metallic silver wedges. The pair of Ellie block heel cleated metallic mule from Boohoo will do the trick just nice. The pair costs USD16.

Do you love going to the beach? What is the best beach in Korea? Noona can only think of Haeundae Beach in Busan but there is surely another nice beach in Korea. 

Black and White Airport Fashion by Park Jiyeon

Jiyeon and Hyomin are Noona's favourite girls from T-ARA. They can dress up very well and they have been very inspirational especially when they are wearing their airport fashion. Today we are going to copy the black and white airport fashion worn by Park Jiyeon. Black and white might be the most tried-and-true color combination but it does not get boring. This combination works well when you are travelling too. 

For the sleeveless white top, you can get the Zephyr than Ever Top in white. The sleeveless white top from Modcloth costs USD 39.99. Noona likes this top because it comes with a bow. A bow always makes any clothes looks more feminine.  

There a tons of black skinny jeans in the market but Noona particularly like the pair of jeans from Topshop's label, Moto. The pair of black zip ankle coated leigh jeans costs USD 80 at Topshop's website. Noona kinda wishes she can find more short-length jeans though because she is too lazy to bring the pants to the tailor to do some alteration.

What can make your style edgier other than a hot pair of ankle boots? This lovely pair of Flapper Three Layer Fringe Heeled Black Suede Booties will do the job just well. This pair of ankle boots are from Steve Madden and it costs USD 169.95.

Talking about T-ARA, Noona just realised that she has not listened to their latest comeback album titled So Good. The main track "So Crazy" is really their style. Seems like T-ARA still adopts the retro vibes to their songs. Their MVs are always fun to watch ever since Roly Poly days. Their ballad song titled "Why We Separated" is Noona's favorite from the album So Good. 

"It's already in the past,

those days are now erased.

Your voice doesn't reach me anymore,

the reason we broke up."

Fruit Waffles at Bean Bins Coffee, Samcheong-dong

There are so many cute cafes in South Korea, especially in Seoul. Being a fan of cafe-hopping, Seoul is really heaven for Noona. There is this one particular cafe that Noona has been looking forward to try because of its waffles. Fruit Waffles at Bean Bins Coffee in Samcheong-dong has gained a very good ravings in the social media and amongst Noona's friends in Seoul. So, what are we waiting for? Let's give it a try. 

Bean Bins' website claims that it is the first cafe in Seoul which introduces waffles. There are so many toppings to choose from to put on top of your Belgian waffles. Our theme for the day is random so basically we just pick the original fruit waffles which turns out to be all-kind-of-cut-fruits-thrown-on-top of your waffles. Messy is the new thing for waffles, it seems. The amount of cream thrown on top of the waffles may look a bit too much but in reality, the taste of the cream is quite light just like those Japanese cream they use on the cakes.

Bean Bins also served yummy coffee and chocolates. Noona can appreciate chocolate better than coffee so she sticks to her ultimate choice of hot chocolate. The barista put a lot of whipped cream and chocolate sauce on top of it. Ultimate goodness. Noona has gone to chocolate heaven after a cup of Bean Bins' hot chocolate. 

Other than in Samcheong-dong, there is another Bean Bins store at Myeong-dong. For complete list of address, you can check them out at their website here. If you are already in Samcheong-dong, do check out its surrounding for a lot of cute cafes and boutiques and also, the famous historical Bukchon Hanok Village. 

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Learning to wear the blues from Krystal Jung

It seems that Noona's wardrobe is filled with all blacks. Black is always the most popular color for ladies because it makes us looks slimmer. But there are so many people out there wearing black, it kinda difficult to style ourselves apart when we are wearing black. Alternatively, there is another cool color called the blue. Today, we are going to learn how to wear the blues from Krystal Jung, a member of girl group f(x). Krystal is spotted wearing all blue ensemble for its pictorial with Jimmy Choo in Los Angeles. The famous shoes brand even gave Krystal and her sister, Jessica, a personally designed shoes based on her image, silhouette and more. 

For the shirt, you can go for something navy. The long sleeve silk navy blouse from Macy's seems to be able to do the job quite well. The blouse costs USD 65.

For the alternative to the striped shorts that Krystal wears, Storyland's striped shorts at yesstyle.com only costs USD 16.90. Awesome!

Krystal is spotted wearing the black oxfords in the pictorial but Noona managed to find a two-toned oxfords which has an element of navy. Nordstrom is selling the pair of Restricted's Betsy Two-tone oxford for USD33.

By the way, do you know that f(x) is currently making a come back with their single called 4walls? The song is kinda different from their previous songs. f(x) is famous for its electro-pop style but it seems that 4walls is somewhat...softer? The girls from f(x) are also set to hold their first concert at Seoul Olympic Hall in January. All the best to Krystal and the rest of the girls from f(x)!

"Opening a new door, 

as I open them these 4 walls that grew more with you.

These new walls that are different colours again,

this new world I'm falling deeper into."

Red Velvet's CF for Black Martine Sitbons

The last time Noona went to Seoul, she came back with five pairs of shoes. Back then, Noona did not know much about shoes brand in South Korea. She simply bought whatever she likes around the shopping are near Ewha University and Namdaemun Market. But lately, there are more and more CF done by idols to promote local Korean shoes brand. The interesting fact is most of these brands sound like French's brand instead of Korean's. Misleading much? Hahaha.

The shoes brand that Noona is currently lemming over is the Lonely shoes from Black Martine Sitbons. The idea is instead of buying two shoes, you can opt to buy three shoes instead. The set offers a pair of shoes with same print and additional one shoe with different print. So you can either wear the same print or do a mix and match for a different style. Confused? Let's jump to Red Velvet's CF for Black Martine Sitbons.

When Noona checked Black Martine Sitbons' website, you really can get three shoes instead of two shoes at one price. There are so many patterns and styles you can pick for your Lonely Slip On. The price varies based on the style, material and pattern. The cute denim Lonely Slip On which Noona is currently lemming costs USD 126.31.

If you are not into slip on, Black Martine Sitbons also has other range of shoes. Red Velvet's Irene is spotted wearing sneaker from Black Martine Sitbons in the pictorial below.

The sneakers are so popular, a lot of them have already been sold out over at Black Martine Sitbons' website. Noona particularly likes this pair of Dalida sneakers. It costs more expensive than the slip on though at USD 145.89.

Black Martine Sitbons also sells bags on its website. You can find Black Martine Sitbons' store at major department stores in South Korea like Lotte and The Shilla. 

Seoul's Biggest Indoor Theme Park, Lotte World

There may not be a Disneyland in South Korea but it does not mean there are no theme parks here. In fact, today Noona is going to Seoul's biggest indoor theme park, Lotte World. Noona was actually contemplating of whether she should go to Everland or Lotte World. However, since Lotte World is located in the city (around Jamsil area), Noona and her friend decided to visit Lotte World. We arrived quite early around 9-ish in the morning and it was just nice because Lotte World opens at 9.30AM. There were not many people yet in the ticketing counter.

There are a different price tag for different category in Lotte World. It seems that there has been an adjustment to the ticket price too. When we visited the amusement park back in 2012, a day-pass ticket costs 36,000 won. However, in Lotte World's website, a day-pass ticket now costs 48,000 won. If you prefer to visit the amusement park after 16:00, the day pass ticket becomes cheaper at 38,000 won.

A cute mascot is always a must in every amusement park. Lotte World has its own set of characters too. The characters will be wandering around the park at random timings. Do wave, shake hand or take picture with them when you see them. Anyeong! 

See things to do in Lotte World here

The main characters in Lotte World are these two..uhm..foxes? The male fox is called Lotty while the female fox is called Lorry. 

Lotte World is divided into an indoor and outdoor park. The indoor park is called the "Adventure" land while the outdoor park is called the "Magic Island". If you want to start your day by riding all the thrill-rides, you should go to the Magic Island first because all the crazy and scary rides are located at the outdoor park. If you want to start the day in a milder way, well...Adventure land is your starting point. How about starting the day with a ride at the pretty merry-go-round?

Yummy pork BBQ alongside Sejong Street at Myeong-dong

During Noona's last visit to Seoul, she managed to have a yummy pork BBQ alongside Sejong Street at Myeongdong. To be honest with you, Noona did not know if the restaurant is really specialised in pork BBQ. She just assumed from the pork symbol beside the restaurant's name. Other than that, from the restaurant's window, Noona saw a lot of exhaust pipes on top of the table (which usually also comes with the grill). Yup, a lot of observation was done before Noona decided to go inside the restaurant. 

The restaurant offers BBQ menu in a set and ala-carte dishes. Since there were only two of us, we decided to go with the ala-carte pork meats. The waiter prepares the grill and serves us a lot of side dishes. The side dishes alone have made us so happy. As you can see, there are a lot of them. Really a lot. 

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We ordered two type of pork meats. The long one which comes with a layer of fat is really a must-order-food in Korea. It is called Samgyeopsal. Well, it is literally a thick, fatty slice of pork belly meat. The meat is usually not marinated or seasoned. It's just grilled that way on the grill. You can eat the samgyeopsal by dipping it in sesame seed oil mixed with salt and pepper. 

You do not really have to do a lot of cooking when you are visiting a Korean BBQ restaurant. The waiter and waitress are very initiative in assisting the diners to cook their meats. I love this kind of culture as I am a lazy chef. My pure bliss comes from eating, not cooking.

Oh right, before Noona completely transported into another world filled with yummy grilled pork and forgot about the real world, Noona would like to let you see into her bowl of rice. There are big stones in her rice, like literally big stones. The rice is apparently cooked together with bamboo charcoal. The charcoal absorbs chlorine, bad odor and toxic substances from water. By cooking the rice together with the charcoal, the look and quality of the rice improves. The rice does feel more delicious compared to the normal white rice. 

If you would like to try out this restaurant, you can come to Sejong Street which is located straight behind Sejong Hotel in Myeongdong. The restaurant is located alongside the street. The restaurant allows smoking though. Noona remembers the Japanese tourist beside her was smoking while grilling meat. 

Exploring Itaewon

After admiring the cuteness of Petite France and the beauty of the Garden of Morning Calm, it was finally time for Noona and her friend to go back to Seoul. We reached back Seoul around 5pm-ish and we decided to check out Itaewon, since it has been featured so many times in the variety shows. Especially when the shows involve foreigners living in Seoul. It is very convenient to reach Itaewon, one can just take the subway there. Let's go exploring Itaewon.

Itaewon is known as a unique place in Seoul where you can see a lot of different cultures mix together. There is a joke saying that international residents may not know Seoul, but they know Itaewon. Seoul even designated Itaewon as its first "Special Tourism District" to boost its popularity amongst the international tourists even further. 

In the afternoon, Itaewon looks rather quiet. Tourists can do a lot of shopping in Itaewon because there are a lot of fashion stores here. International brand such as Aldo and Adidas can be found here in Itaewon. If you are looking for rare sizes (especially those with bigger and taller size), you can find them in Itaewon. There are a lot of experienced tailors which are offering customised clothes. 

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In the midst of a lot of international high fashion brands in Itaewon, our eyes fell on ice cream store called Baskin Robbins. We have Baskin Robbins in Singapore but we never see them serving ice cream on a toast. 

Something weird actually happened after we ordered our ice cream. A strange crazy man suddenly barged in into the store and immediately sit beside us while talking...okay I don't know what's he talking about because he was speaking Korean but he was damn loud and does not look a bit normal. So we quickly grab our things and move to another table which is further away from him. Few minutes after, two (quite cute) policemen came in and brought the weirdo away. Could not believe we were exposed to this kind of randomness just for having an ice cream in Itaewon. On another note, the chocolate cookie ice cream from Baskin Robbins taste yummy. 

After we had our ice cream, we noticed that there is KFC located just opposite Baskin Robbins. We decided to give it a try too because sometimes fast food chain around the world sells different things on their menu. The sauce in KFC in Seoul already looks different. Hahaha. 

If you are into clubbing, Itaewon is also famous for its nightlife. In addition, it also has so many international restaurants from Mexican to Italian. Noona supposes noone will get bored in Itaewon. 

What did Yoona wear? A denim dress.

Being said the most angelic member in the Girls Generation, Yoona shows a lot of playful fashion style. Noona supposes being angelic does not mean you always have to show up in whites. Hahaha.

There is this one airport fashion picture of Yoona which was taken from OSEN. Yoona is sporting a modest and yet stylist Fit and Flare Denim Dress ($498) by Korean designer duo, Steve J & Yoni P. A lot of Korean celebrities and idols are wearing the items designed by this duo. Sooyoung, a fellow SNSD member, is also another fan of this duo. 

Yoona is also wearing a fuchsia Kenzo Badge Mirror Effect Leather Pouch ($275) and a pair of DKNY Silver Brittany Sandals ($127 $101).

Oh my gawd, Noona is so jealous at Yoona's legs but okay, let's come back to the clothes. #fangirlingmoment

Thankfully denim dress is one of the fashion-must-have in 2015. This means a lot of denim dresses are out there in the market. For the cheaper alternatives to Yoona's denim dress, Noona has found one from Adelyn Rae. The ruffle cotton fit & flare dress costs USD 87.65. 

If you prefer the non-sleeveless denim dress, ASOS has denim crop top skater dress and they sell it at USD 44.00 at its website. Cute and yet, retro-ish. 

For the sandals, oh boy, the sandals do look very comfortable, don't they? Noona has found an alternative to the sandals from ASOS. This pair of Senso Karmyn silver leather flat sandals costs USD 57.50. Sweet! 

How's everyone coping with October so far? If it has been terrible, well, November is just around the corner. Noona had a pretty busy October although it's busy in not-so-good way. She is busy working her ass in the office because October is basically the deadline of all things related to tax. Sad. Noona hates it when she spent more time than what's her pay requires under the contract but sometimes, it is just unavoidable. Because everyone else is so willing to serve the company. Oh well. If you have a tough October, let's go through it together! Fighting! ^^

The path leading to Moonlight Garden

After we finished taking picture at the Sunken Garden in the Garden of Morning Calm, we continued our walk to the other area of the garden. There is this one random area full of rocks. The rocks are stacked neatly on top of each other. This is a common sight in Korea, especially amongst the temples and on hiking trails. The Korean believe that when you add rock to a stack and make a wish, if the stack stays, the wish will come true. But if it falls, then the wish will not come true. Some rocks also represent family, each rock for each members. It's a bit like praying for good luck over the whole family. 

Halfway through the garden, we realised that we had not had our lunch yet. The best way to enjoy your lunch in the Garden of Morning Calm is by bringing your own lunch and enjoy them inside the gazebo. A lot of people had the same idea with us especially a group of ahjummas (re: Korean aunties). 

We managed to buy some wraps from the bakery near our hotel in Myeong-dong before we came to the Garden of Morning Calm. It is quite enjoyable to have picnic in the garden since we seldom do this in our daily life. 

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One hour later, we were getting sleepy after we ate. So we continued our journey to the next section in the garden which we had not checked out yet. We came to the path leading to Moonlight Garden. From a glance, it seems that there is something at the end of the path. 

At the end of the path, there is a small white chapel. You can book the holy matrimony for your wedding here. The Garden of Morning Calm is one of the most famous place in South Korea featured in people's pre-wedding and wedding pictures. Noona thinks it would be kinda awesome to get married inside a beautiful garden. She really needs to find her oppa (or dongsaeng, she does not mind) soon. 

This couple took pre-wedding pictures at the Garden of Morning Calm in autumn and wow, the garden looks amazingly beautiful in the autumn. Superb pre-wedding venue, Noona must say.

Goo Hara's White Lace Dress Style

White lace pieces have been dominating the fashion industry this year, especially during Spring. Well, it is no wonder because the style is so easy to wear and yet, so stylish. Noona personally loves this style too as it is so easy to find any white lace pieces on the market. And they do not really cost a bomb too (although some do). Noona knows this style may not be very suitable for autumn but for those people who lives on a tropical area, they have summer (with occasional rains) all day. So, yeah, this post is for you!

This time around, Noona is going to post about white lacey dress because she was so inspired by Goo Hara's photoshoot with International BNT. Goo Hara is shown wearing Jain Song's lace two-piece dress and silver pumps. The leader of KARA is also seen wearing Bonnie Bag from Samantha Thavasa.  

There are tons of alternatives for the white lace dress although it is very difficult to find one which is actually two pieces dress. If you do not mind a one piece dress, maybe you can consider the cooperative lace mock neck dress from Urban Outfitters. The dress costs USD89.

Another option is the lace crop top mini skater dress from ASOS. The dress costs USD81 and the good thing is, the dress shows a silhouette of two-pieces dress. 

For the shoes, Noona does not know the brand which is worn by Goo Hara but you can consider Charles David pact pumps in silver. The shoes cost USD 99. 

Last but not least, it's the bag. Noona has actually mentioned about Bonnie Bag from Samantha Thavasa in her previous post about Yoon Eun Hye's style. Bonnie Bag is actually one of the new items introduced for autumn season by Samantha Thavasa. The bag costs USD520. 

Noona supposes she can say white lace dress is not just for the brides, eh? XD #feelingproud

Jessica's Style in Dazed Korea magazine for less than 100 bucks

It seems that Jessica's career in the fashion industry is going well. Noona often sees her picture and paparazzi shots going from one fashion show to another. In addition, Jessica is also heavily active in the magazine photoshoot. Just like the one she took back in July 2015 for Dazed Korea magazine. Jessica is seen sporting a shoulder suspender leopard print top from pushBUTTON ($433) and Cheap Monday Ease Summer Pink Denim Shorts (already sold out *cry*). Noona knows that the price of the top alone can already create a hole in our bank account. But Noona has found some alternatives which allow us to copy Jessica's style in Dazed Korea magazine for less than 100 bucks. Let's jump!

It is very difficult to find an exact replica of the top that Jessica is wearing above. But the real one costs a bomb, like twice Noona's return flight ticket from Singapore to Jakarta (okay, not an ideal comparison but you get the idea). The nearest alternative that Noona can find is Miriam silk animal print top from Parker at the price of USD 35. But the sleeve for this Parker's top is kinda not suitable if you have big or chubby shoulder like Noona. 

The second alternative that Noona find for Jessica's top is actually a combination between leopard print and mesh. The sleeves are actually mesh and hence it only shows a silhouette of our shoulder. This style will be more suitable for us who are not born with slim shoulder. The leopard print mesh panel top from Daniel Rainn costs USD 40. 

Meanwhile, it is easier to find the alternative for the denim shorts. So no worry even though the real one from Cheap Monday is already sold out. For instance, this high waist denim shorts from Bellfield can just do the work. It costs USD 32.

Talking about Jessica, have you watched a lifestyle TV show titled Jessica & Krystal? The sisters are so talented and fashionable, it makes Noona hooked to the show. If you are looking for some fashion inspiration, you can watch the show and learn from the Jung sisters.