Melissa does a timeless combination of ultra-feminine dress with biker jacket

Social media and the meteoric rise of the fashion blogger have drastically reshaped the industry in this digital age, giving rise to style influencers such as Susie Lau, Aimee Song, and Bryan Grey Yambao. This month, BAZAAR gets up close and personal with Melissa Yang, a rising social media starlet who’s following in the footsteps of her favourite style stars.

BAZAAR meets Melissa at her beautiful family residence in Kota Kemuning, where the 26-year-old fashionista reveals her recent decision to quit her day job and run LadyinLoubs full-time. This includes curating interactive and engaging materials across multi-digital platforms: website, Instagram, and YouTube. She also proclaims her passion for Christian Louboutin’s iconic red soles, which explains the name of her site: “When you slip on a pair of Louboutin heels, it adds that element of je ne sais quoi to any ensemble, instantly making you feel confident and sexy.” She adds, “Tying it in with my blog, I want to be able to help my followers feel empowered and to have fun with fashion.”

Melissa has come a long way since her Lookbook.nu days

As she steps out in her first outfit for the shoot, Melissa exudes the same sultry confidence she wants to inspire in her readers. An oversized herringbone suit jacket is styled with distressed acid-wash denims, and, naturally, a pair of Louboutins. “My style is a depiction of my journey and it’s constantly evolving,” Melissa explains. “So while I haven’t fully embraced my aesthetic, I continue to keep an open mind and challenge myself to be experimental with what I wear.”

After a quick outfit change, she appears in a whimsical yellow floral Sandro dress and sock boots from Tony Bianco. “Gone are the days when it is considered taboo to mix luxury brands with high-street brands. These days, looking stylish doesn’t need to involve big numbers. You just gotta know where to look,” she says, citing Net-a-Porter.com, TheOutnet.com, and Revolve.com as some of her favourite e-tailers to indulge in retail therapy. And contrary to her vibrant personality, Melissa’s favourite colour is white: “To me, white is the new black. Not only does it serve as a blank canvas, it also makes it easier for me to mix and match with bold colours and accessories,” she explains.

Channeling that modern prairie girl

A self-professed fashion girl, Melissa counts glossy magazines and online reads such as Women’s Wear Daily and Business of Fashion as her go-tos for daily inspiration. Between takes at our shoot, she also cites American socialite Olivia Palermo as one of her style icons: “She is truly someone I look up to, not just for her fashion smarts, but also for how successful she is,” Melissa details. “It’s very empowering.” Also high on the list of people she admires is Coco Chanel: “She completely reimagined how a woman dressed in the 20th century. She took her dreams and turned them into reality.”

As our shoot draws to an end, the extremely driven Melissa declares that Seoul is becoming one of her favourite fashion destinations, “From dewy skin and graphic brows to oversized everything, Korean beauty and fashion constantly strike the right chords,” Melissa explains. “That’s probably why I love being in Korea!”
With that, Melissa leaves us with a style note: