And I still remember those weekends when I was nine,

...And four hours seemed like a lifetime,
But look out the window son, you'll be fine,
And I traced the railroad through mountains and watched the trees,
The white powder resting on their leaves,
As I pulled a blanket over my knees,

Oh, I miss home and I miss you,
When there's no one around and nothing to do,
And I know that you're keeping busy too,
But I miss home and I miss you.

- Sherwood, Lake Tahoe


Ahh, isn't it a strange feeling when you go someplace, and it's totally changed?

I went to my absolutely most favorite restaurant for Mother's Day yesterday, The Mandarin, expecting some finger-lickin' good northern Chinese cuisine, and when I got there, not only did I find (to my great disdain) that they were under new management, but that they had a new cook!

The food tasted pretty good, and it would've tasted better had I not been comparing it to how it tasted before. Each time we go there, there are always two dishes that we order; Mongolian beef and garlic-fried prawns. I really don't know how to describe it besides the food having lost the chef's special "touch". I think it was because the recipe was initially created by the original chef, and when the new chef tried to imitate the original chef's recipe, no doubt in an attempt to keep their large following of customers, all he or she got was something which tasted good, but had no extra "umph" to it.

Guess what I thought of to relate back to my rant of the day? Imitation bags.

I only just thought of this and got a major surge in my urge to write (non-intentional rhyme, there, hehe). Also, recently, I found a leather bag at Nordstrom Rack which was a pretty good knock-off of the YSL Muse in Chocolate leather (thank goodness, mine wasn't real leather, but felt like it) save the color of the hardware accents, which are actually golden, but silver in mine.

I am absolutely in love with this bag, and honestly, would have bought it even if I hadn't noticed the similarity to the Muse, which is impossible, because I've been eyeing it out for the longest time, and noticed theres a white one on sale at Neiman Marcus for $648 (retails for $1,295).

YSL Muse Oversive Bag in Chocolate. $1,395, Yves Saint Laurent.

I totally forgot to mention that mine was marked down to $7!! It is, to date, my most favorite and proudest purchase of all-time. :)

Now, there are a few different classes of imitations. Anybody with a reasonable eye for fashion will tell you this. I, myself, consider there to generally be three classes:

The Never-Was-and-Never-Will-Be Class-

Those cheap bags which appear to sometimes be made out of paper bags woven together. You know which I'm talking about. The kind that you find in your local Chinatown, sold by a vendor who probably doesn't even know the label which the bag is weakly trying to impersonate. Sometimes, it's difficult to even determine which designer it's trying to be. It's not this that I really don't enjoy about thse bags, but the fact that these bags have lost all sense of personality and style. The design is no longer even desireable. I could go on and on, but it'd take forever. ;P

The Wow-This-Looks-Almost-Like-It Class, or the "Inspired By" Class-

These bags are alright. They're relatively good quality at a relatively good price. Often, they're not exactly copies of your everyday common designer. These designs are a little more subtle about imitating, and are more focused on the actual look, design, feel, and functionality of the bag. In my opinion, these are alright.

The Down-to-the-Very-Last-Thread Class-

This last class of imitation bags are the ones which are more on the pricey side, but are definitely a bargain compared to the price of its authentic counterpart. Some will even go as far as buying the real bag, taking it apart to see how it is put together, and making their own copies of the bag. When done right, they will look absolutely identical to the original, and nobody will really notice.

Then again, there are the bags which do not cost gozillions of dollars, which have an original design and cut to it. Those are the best, in my opinion. :)

Anyways, today I decided to post this up--

Smiley Bubble Top. $150, Ksubi (formerly Tsubi)

It's not that I think this is the most fashion-forward top ever (although it very well may be for some of you out there ;P), but I love this top for its sheer cuteness and eccentricity. Now, it would have been cute with a regular smiley face, but that's not enough for those folks over at Ksubi, George Garrow, Gareth Moody, and Dan Single-- they had to go and make the face upside-down on a fabric that is not the traditional color of the background of a smiley face, but a mustard-yellow (and very wearable) color.