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For as long as I could remember, I have been plagued by the 'female curse' of being extremely wary of the 'Face of Shing' that I bring to the public eye.

As much as I have prided myself on being versatile in the past, sadly, thanks to very early starts and trying to turn over a new leaf by cutting down on the retail therapy, I have not had many chances to experiment with different looks as of late.

However, I have noticed a certain trend in my style throughout the years, although I have been labelling myself as versatile. Possibly not enough, to be honest. Most looks have been meandering around the theme of 'girly' and 'poised' and 'structured', and after Gossip Girl appeared on the scene: 'Blair Waldorf'.

A couple of years ago, I was obsessed with headbands.

For the sake of my wallet, I am glad these Headband Moguls: Sereni and Shentel had not existed back in 2006. The fact that they are Kuching girls, born and bred, prides me to say that despite its lack of shopping malls and big labels, no one writes of Kch girls as lacking style ;)

On another note, I am extremely tempted to get that piece above, except that their blog shop is based online, and it would be ridiculous to pay for shipping for something Malaysian-made all the way to London.

Fast forward a year or so later, when Gossip Girl was born, and the headband fever continued, being fuelled even more so, by this fictitious lady:

Blair Waldorf - whose style was the bane of my life for a good 4 years or so. I would say that she still is my 'Fashion Guru', but I have been trying to move away from monotone and add some more twists into my outfits.

Of course it was she who pioneered my venture into coloured tights, structured blouses, pencil skirts, the preppy look (although I might beg to differ on that, I remember being distinctly preppy even in my Concord days), and unfortunately high heels.

But then again, there is only so much one can pull off looking like a New York Upper East Side Socialite every day without getting bored of it eventually. And suffice to say, these London cobblestone pathways were NOT made for tottering stilettos.

Which is why I would love to be able to emulate this lovely lady as far as I can:

Olivia Palermo - all the faces of her in this picture sum up ALL possible looks one could pull off. Elegant, girly, structured, casual, quirky.

Of course one would need the equally amazing supermodel figure, as well as the numerous digits in her bank account. Seeing as I am about five times fatter, and NOT a New York socialite with a never-ending cash flow, I will resort to my High Street and infinitely less fashionable self for the time being.

Next purchase will be a sleeveless puffer jacket, in my attempt to revamp myself into a less girly 'face'.

And I am serious!