My perfect kind of day

I experienced a very enjoyable Saturday with my friend at Duxton Road and Ann Siang Hill chilling in indie book cafe The Pigeonhole, and then shopping at the various vintage clothes stores and knick knack stores along Ann Siang Hill. 

The Pigeonhole is a new indie book cafe that was just set up by a couple and I can safely say that they're one of the (best) kinds on its own. The Pigeonhole supports local NGOs and regularly holds music workshops for local musicians, fortnightly flea markets for handmade wares, and holds talks for various charity & social causes as well. For example, lately they had a series of talks where they invited foreign workers down to share with their customers about their experiences.

Its deco is rather haphazard, with a large variety of furniture thrown in, such as heavy leather seats, sofas, tiny old school plastic chairs (I sat on those in primary school!), beanbags and even a STONE bench that looked like it was rescued from those already extinct playgrounds in Singapore. Their extensive books are sourced from UK and India and ranges from politics, to sex to just anything you can imagine. Great way to spend a whole day cuddling with one of their books and nursing a cup of latte. Its undeniably cool vibe aside, its coffee is also great tasting and comes with a great price tag. A cup of expresso starts at $2.50, with lattes and cappucinos going up to just $4. The only down side is that they have no food menu now, so chilling there may leave you a little hungry. 

Here's the counter where you pay!

Real vintage *drools*

Ripped denim shorts, kitschy stationery, leopard print bandannas...

Of course, a day isn't perfect until you get some retail therapy - and it helps if it's not going to burn a hole in your pocket. My friend and I walked to Oakham Market located at Ann Siang Hill from The Pigeonhole. Oakham market is a vintage & snap-them-up thrift store that has really cool shop deco and stocks amazing clothes at affordable prices. Its extensive thrift section are all priced at $16.95! They have vintage silk blouses, flared pleat pants, vintage round shades and 70s-inspired polka dotted skirts plus tons of other really cool stuff. Oh and not to mention those perfectly ripped denim shorts.

Naked Barbies alert!

Guys' shirts

They have an extensive unisex/guys section as well, selling guy shirts. Extensive selection of vintage checks and denim shirts that all come in the perfect slouch. I bought a chiffon black cape, and a pair of nude pink scallop hemmed shorts from the thrift section, which Jasmine, owner of Oakham Market, proceeded to pack in a crisp brown paper bag. Super cute! Looks like my lunch for school.

Mr Grumpy Cat & his friends Mr Owl, and Kewpie Pies. They wind-up!

Handprinted zines & handstitched notebooks

An entire shelf dedicated to Polaroid cams which the owner had accumulated throughout the years.

While you're at Ann Siang Hill, head to Kki & Little Drom Store for some amazing Japanese tea and cakes and a dose of authentic old school home decor! "Drom", which means dream in Swedish really sets you dreaming about the good old times when people were still playing music out from their vinyls and jukeboxes. A sweet caramel dream filled with imported handmade zines, Polaroids, glass-bottled terraniums and kitschy vintage toys, definitely worth a look (:

Other shops to check out at Ann Siang Hill (no photos cos photography is prohibited) :-

Stevie's General Store - 100% authentic vintage everything! Mostly clothes but includes jewelry, paintings, home accessories and vintage posters too.

Wood in the Books - picture books for all ages, not to mention an extremely extremely cute little doggie seating at the counter when you pay!

Tsumori Chisato 20th Year Anniversary Retrospective

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Tsumori Chisato 20th Year Anniversary event held by Club 21b this Friday and met Tsumori Chisato in person! That was the first time I met a celebrated designer up in person and she was so cute and accommodating, patiently taking photos with everyone.

To celebrate her 20th year anniversary, Club 21b set up a petit installation of her works through the past 2 decades and I can safely say that Tsumori Chisato is one designer that never ever follows trends, but instead exercises her creative and youthful designs through pop art colours and a mish mash of fabrics. Her imagination was literally borderless, almost like a child's. Many of the printed fabrics (especially in the early years of her designs) were sewn together such that they look like a collage. And they usually involve giraffes, cartoonish stick men, and plenty of ethnic references. ilhouette wise, they mostly remained the same with plenty of A-line dresses and slouchy jumpsuits, but my senses were really stimulated by all the colours and details that went into the making of each dress.

The ultimate stylish couple!
Hubby's wearing Comme des Garcons blazer ; and his wife's head to toe in Tsumori Chisato
Can you believe that Sheryl's a yummy new mummy?

There were a lot a lot of well-dressed people there but I only managed to ask for one shot of the above couple! Couldn't resist I saw them the moment I arrived at the event. The thing I really love about fashion events is the people that I get to meet, and how I feel like I belong, because my outfit won't be stared at by other people -.- 

I met and spoke to the extremely nice Ms Kim Reyes, editor of Designare and Designare Homme magazines. She was just so kind of share with me the things that she knew, and made me feel encouraged to keep on pursuing fashion. 

Hello Mr Octopus!

Love this all-denim look!

On top of Tsumori Chisato's event, Club 21b also held a fashion presentation for the labels that they stock. Womenswear was unfortunately not very remarkable, but instead it was menswear that really got me excited this time. Menswear this time had a show of colour thanks to merci beaucoup, 's liberal use of stripes in the national colours of France. In addition, there were plenty of unexpected details, such as the oversized denim jumpsuit that was fashioned to look like a 2-piece through 2 denim washes, pleat details at the back of denim blazers and that blue mesh shirt with an octopus printed at the front. I liked that the designs for menswear was so bold this time - I would like to see them on the backs of local Singaporean men. Looks like the boys here are getting a treat with the upcoming Mens Fashion Week as well!

Those 2-toned lace-up boots from Phenomenon are really phenomenal!

A closer look at the lovely clothes on the hangers in the womens section revealed that they are carefully sourced and bought from designers throughout the world, such as Opening Ceremony, Acne, Theory, merci beaucoup, and McQ. But it was the shoes that left me feeling very excited!

Chloe Sevigny x Opening Ceremony Shoes
Won't ever be able to afford :'(

Was wearing my UK16 topshop blouse with back lace detail, SchwingSchwing highwaist leather shorts, heart print tights and New Look wedges. Finally settled for this look because I don't have anything pop-art/quirky in my wardrobe now. But I really love this blouse - got it at around $50 at last year's end of year sale, it has a back lace detail and is asymmetrical at the back. Really romantic but can go edgy as well!

P.S: Mens Fashion Week is coming up next week! I'm set for 4 shows, so excited!!

Rock it with Utt!

This outfit was my answer to the question "What would you wear to Rock it with Utt! Party?" happening on 1 April in conjunction with Mens Fashion Week. Party outfits don't have to always be skimpy mini dresses, sequins and stiletto heels. I think with a bit of sheer, such as the heart print tights/blouse or even skirt, you'd look sexy and cooler than those girls that get wardrobe malfunctions from their low-cut, tight and short dresses. You can even wear a sequinned bra/corset inside a black sheer blouse for that extra bling!

Outfit breakdown: Fedora hat from random shop, thrifted military blazer, CottonOn leotard, AA lame disco shorts, heart print tights online, New Look wedges.

P.S.: Photos taken inside my best friend's bedroom which explains the kiddy "rabbit family on picnic" wallpaper. Hehehe. 

Inspiration from Taylor Warren by Jason Lee Parry for No. 13 Magazine.

Finding myself increasingly attracted to Rumi's heroin chic kind of street styling, with the occasional burst of romantic girly pieces which I covet. Right now I'm living in neutral (ie white, cream, nude, peach) colours of knits, pleated sheer maxi skirts, brown leather cowgirl boots, aztec prints and ponchos.

Asian Pride

Utt - Voice of MFW/ Sexiest Man on Earth imo.

From L to R - Heart, Voice and Chairman of MFW urging people to donate to Japan

The crowd at the party!

Models that look good without trying

I attended the Mens Fashion Week final preview party this Wednesday night and it was such a blast! Held at The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands, the party showcased some of the designs that would be shown fully during Mens Fashion Week. When I arrived at the party, it was already nearly packed full - plates of sushi, champagne and red wine greeted me at the entrance. I was almost tempted to just load my plate full with sushi seeing how I've been eating wholemeal bread, raw fruits & veggies for the past 2 weeks. (Don't blame me, blame my colleagues who can work without food, and my stay-at-home mom who stopped cooking dinner since idk when.) But of course I restrained myself.

But it didn't help when I squeezed myself through throngs of people towards the main stage where my friends stood, because seeing Utt so close up on stage made me salivate ):
I won myself a pair of VIP tickets to MFW to catch 2 shows through the competitions that they were organising onstage that made the crowd wild. One lucky boy even won an all-expenses paid trip to Milan to catch Mens Fashion Week of top designers + a shopping trip with Dr. Frank Cintamani just because he had a pocket square in his tux jacket! Insanely jealous!!

Speaking of which, I really wish to point out how passionate Dr. Frank Cintamani is about his cause and philanthropic believes. The first Mens Fashion Week to be held in Singapore, after Paris and Milan, will showcase the works of underrated Asian designers (see the full list here) and all ticket sales for the show will go towards charity! Dr. Frank Cintamani said that he believes in Asian talent, and he wishes to provide them with this platform to launch themselves into the international market. Standing there, listening to him, I was just proud to be ASIAN. But I would've loved to see more Asian models showing the clothes, instead of the conventional Caucasian dominated show.
What touched me was how he didn't forget about the tragedy happening in Japan even during the party and urged the crowd to donate generously to Japan. I believe he must've raised at least $5000 that night.

DJ Maxime from Paris! He's insanely cute.

We look good together hehehe.

The Best Dressed title would go towards these two! I love the layering and footwear!

DIY light-up lightbulb necklace looks great with a simple black button down!

Finally met Melody! :D

On high when I got to meet Utt

 But what about such events is the mix of people that attend it, as well as the fashion bloggers or other people in the fashion industry that I get to meet! During each event I always get to meet new people, or the faces behind the blogs which I've been reading. And I always get so inspired by what they're wearing mainly and usually leave thinking I should've captured more photos of the outfits I've seen.

I really like this LED light-up lightbulb necklace that I saw hanging from the neck of The Fashionide.
What's cooler is that he told me he made it himself with a ball-chain and the $2 lightbulb from Funan IT Mall! Sweet. I'm always a sucker for DIY, mainly cos I can't seem to make anything myself.
I also got to meet Melody of Missing Avenue, who was feeling a little tipsy cos her friend kept feeding her red wine. Hehehe. So nice to finally meet her in irl, she's not arrogant but really friendly and easy to talk with!

I also got to meet Lenne of aetienne.net! Didn't got much time to chat with you babe, hope I'll get a chance next time!

Meanwhile, enjoy some photos of the last MFW preview party at Ion Sky! (Terribly late I know!)

With Shahreen

Top left hand corner, Woman In Red's Dr. Georgia Lee!

Kenny & Andrew - designers of DEPRESSION, wearing their own designs!