something to think about

I bought my first Valentino scarf in the ’70s. Then came the shoes, then came the blouse, and now I can afford the whole outfit.

Oprah Winfrey, to WWD, at Valentino’s fall couture show in Paris, September 2004 (from here)

why does fashion matter?

Marc Jacobs, on why fashion does matter:

Let’s see. It’s part of the art of living. Why does makeup matter? Why does fragrance matter? Why does fashion matter? Why does it matter to have beautiful furniture and nice interiors and books to read and good wine to drink and good food to eat? These are all luxuries and it’s human nature to want them, to desire them, to enjoy them, enjoy looking at them, wearing them. I think it’s just human nature. We want things to please us and make us feel good and maybe attract other people to us or just make us feel good about ourselves.

from Jessica Iredale, WWD CEO Summit: Marc Jacobs, WWD, 9 January 2013

wedding dresses

photo from here

Took the morning off today to check out The Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London exhibition at the National Museum. It was the last day of the exhibition! And entrance was free as it was the museum’s open house! :D

I reached the museum at 9.45 am, but it only opens at 10 am daily. So I sat down on a platform in the carpark to wait. It was all quite amusing!

After waiting what seemed like an eternity, the doors of the museum finally opened and everyone outside went in.

blue is the colour of dreams

So the annual Club 21 Bazaar Sale returned last weekend at the F1 Pit Building. Had read that there were lotsa fabulous buys on offer, and had never been to one of their sales before,  so I decided that I had to go. So on Saturday, after a work event, I made my way down to the sale (alone, because nobody else was free or interested).

Took a large transparent plastic shopping bag from a staff at the door, walked in, and realized I had entered a complete war zone!!!

The gigantic room was filled with racks and racks and racks of clothes, shoes and accessories, all organized by label. And there were people and people and more people everywhere, and everyone was grabbing stuff (mostly ‘cheaper’ items from Armani, Calvin Klein and DKNY, etc) like everything was free. (No changing rooms were provided, so shoppers (mainly female) tried on things in the nooks and crannies of the room.)  Naturally, it was a madhouse.

old / new

‘In Asia, we have a tendency to throw away everything that’s old and start everything anew. But new things have no character, they are lifeless’

Goods of Desire founder Douglas Young, whose Hong Kong lifestyle store updates motifs for the young generation

The Straits Times, Life!, 11 September 2012, page C16

Yes, but everything that’s old began as something new as well!

the solitary diner

Took today off to recover from Saturday’s Convention. Decided to destress via retail therapy. But first, lunch! Decided on Ma Maison in Millenia Walk.

Sauces for my food: a pitcher of wafu dressing for my salad, and rock salt and a lacquer container of thick savoury dark sauce for my meat.

dressing up

Girls do not dress for boys. They dress for themselves and, of course, each other. If girls dressed for boys they’d just walk around naked at all times.

Betsey Johnson, American fashion designer (whose fashion company has sadly filed for bankruptcy recently)

Incidentally this is probably why most of the great male fashion designers are gay……

arm party

Was sitting down on the train home yesterday night, when I suddenly noticed the girl standing in front of me had a very nice arm party on her left arm.

(The term ‘arm party’ was invented by American fashion blogger Leandra Medine. Click here to learn how to start your own! :) )

No photos, unfortunately, but I memorized what she had on: a completely black watch (thought I saw the tiny words ‘agnes b’ written on its face); friendship bracelet woven out of two types of blue threads, dark and light; a silver bangle studded with little neon yellow rhinestones at regular intervals, with large gaps between the rhinestones; and a slim gold bangle with pyramid studs.

The pieces were all completely different but I thought they looked wonderful together. Am inspired to create amazing arm parties of my own now!!!

 

turquoise bubbles

Today, I took leave to visit the Harry Potter: The Exhibition and Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal exhibitions at the ArtScience Museum in Marina Bay Sands with Ahgong.

And what I wore!

Tee: Zara
Skirt: Zara
Necklace: Topshop
Watch: Citizen, random watch and spectacles shop near my house
Handbag: Mango (I usually carry it as a clutch, though!)
Heels: Americaya, BHG

in the mood for cheongsam

On 6 May, a Sunday, Zhiqi and I decided to visit the National Museum to check out this exhibition called In the Mood for Cheongsam: Modernity and Singapore Women (which ran from 28 March to 27 June 2012).

According to the National Museum website, the exhibition aimed to tell ‘the story of the changing social roles of Singapore women from the turn of the 20th century to present day by looking at the history and development of the traditional cheongsam, the female wearers, their fashion options and the economic, political and social conditions that dictate their decisions through the decades’.

We got there just before 2.30 pm, which was when a guided tour had been scheduled to begin. The guide was an older female museum volunteer, and we were the only people in her tour, so we got all her attention. :D

turquoise bubbles

What I wore to work yesterday:

Blouse: Zara
Skirt: Zara
Necklace: m)phosis
Watch: Citizen, random watch and spectacles shop near my house
Handbag: Elle, hand me down from the mother
Heels: Americaya, BHG

Many thanks to colleague D for helping to photograph me! :D

turquoise bubbles

What I wore to my sister’s Commencement (here and here!) last Saturday:

Blouse: Zara
Skirt: Zara
Bangle: Diva
Watch: Citizen, random watch and spectacles shop near my house
Clutch: Mango
Heels: Americaya, BHG

an exciting encounter

Last Friday was the third and last day of the alldressedup warehouse sale at their office in Ubi, and it was supposed to end at 7 pm, so I took the afternoon off. Made my way down there hoping that there were still nice things to buy. (The first and only previous time I went to their warehouse sales was in March 2010.)

The sale took up two rooms. The outer room was mainly accessories, shoes, bags, and a couple of racks of clothes, and the inner room was just clothes, clothes and more clothes. Only a few customers were there.

The range of accessories was rather limited and one of the staff there (a girl about my age) informed me that they had been pretty much sold out on the first day of the sale, which had been quite crowded. Felt a tinge of disappointment, as I’d been hoping to score some of those unusual Vice & Vanity for alldressedup accessories (scroll to the end) from spring last year. Note to self: no pain no gain – gotta brave the crowds for the best stuff! :P

p is for prada

Look at my new wallet……!!!!!!

Isn’t it beautiful? Yes, it’s from Prada, made of Saffiano leather and is gold gold gold!!!  :D

sweet teeth

Colleague D wanted to get a present for a friend and asked me to go with her after work yesterday.  Her friend likes Hello Kitty and has an iPhone, so we ended up in this nook in the toy section on the third floor of Takashimaya, which sold anything and everything related to Hello Kitty. And D picked out a Hello Kitty iPhone cover for her friend.

Then we went for coffee at Starbucks in Wisma Atria. D treated me to coffee cos I accompanied her to shop. Haha.

My caramel frappuccino (foreground), and D’s java chocolate chip! (She also had a slice of cheesecake!)