Have bag, will Summer

Little Miss Shopaholic is bored.

Ever since the Great Singapore Sale has started, her haul has been less than impressive. The most expensive outing she had recently was at bookstore Kinokuniya, where she utilized the 20% discount coupons to great satisfaction, causing her to be $50 poorer. Yes, LMS is an intellectual reader/bargain hunter and she bought four books on discount!

Unfortunately, shops in Singapore bore her periodically. Which is when online shopping comes in handy but then again, shipping can be such a bitch.

Tsk tsk, no more negative thoughts.

LMS recently underwent a Coach phase, where she would surf to the Coach website and look longingly at the pictures of the gorgeous Coach wallets and bags. There was one summer bag that caught LMS’ discerning attention – a cutesy straw bag with butterflies and flowers appliqué. The straps were in white, brown or black leather and they were little boxy handheld totes that were just the perfect accessories for the summer. LMS imagined holding on to this teeny babies, wearing her new strappy straw wedges and a brightly-coloured babydoll smocked dress.

But alas, LMS could only look and swoon because the cost of that cute tote was prohibitive. Imagine then, to her immense surprise, she found look-alikes in the bland shop of *gasps* Charles and Keith!

Now, we all know that Charles and Keith is a homegrown shoe boutique that has made good here and elsewhere. Applause please! But sadly, LMS has lost interest in the brand, for the designs were never kitschy or attractive enough for her to be willing to plonk S$30 for them. She would rather pay a wee bit more at shops like Substance, Tangs or Hue.

Back to the story of the Coach look-alikes. Yes, there they were! Little boxy totes in different sizes, with black, white or brown leather straps! The resemblance was just uncanny. The prices were competitive too, about S$35. When LMS was at the suburban Sengkang outlet, she saw likeminded women snapping up those bagseys.

LMS says: Go grab them for what's left of summer!



PS LMS was a thrifty diva and hence, did not buy the bag. Watching bank accounts grow can be fun. And these are not the real thang, but other doppleganger.

Go forth and experiment!

There are times when the feathers of Little Miss Shopaholic get so terribly ruffled.

See, LMS does not believe in wearing "safe" outfits all the time. While she enjoys going back to the basics on occasion, she does not think that basics equates to everyday. Sure, that pair of legs-lengthening Levis topped with a cute little camisole looks grrrreat but dahhling, you cannot wear that sort of combi everyday, you know. So boring.

So LMS tries to mix and match, and put together contrasting looks. A tube dress doubling as a tunic worn over a pair of chocolate-brown tight jeans. A business shirt in white and blue stripes made casual by pulling one side over the other to form an asymmetric neckline, instead of the normal straight buttoning. A glittery, baby blue and white paisley top with this season's favourite city shorts, ending with a pair of ballet pumps. White, resort-y gauchos and a brilliant blue snug polo tee, paired with blue suede wedge heels. Black pleated babydoll chiffon top over a tube top, topped with a cropped khaki shrug, a la SJP in Sex and the City.

But alas! For all her imagination and creativity, LMS is often the recipient of comments like "You look strange". Or "these don't go". No wonder Singapore has such a disastrous lack of artists!

LMS is still on the right end of the trailblazing 20s' and she refuses to be apologetic for being daring. As a local fashion scribe says, it's alright for a lamb to look like a lamb or a mutton, but totally gross for a mutton to masquerade as lamb.

So LMS says, If there's any time for fashionable lasses to experiment and try, it's now!"

Don't be afraid of snide comments, of cynical second looks, of discouraging shakes of heads. LMS gives you her blessings to go ahead and be a daring trendsetter instead of looking just like any other girl on the street!


Who says bermudas cannot be sexy?

The elixir of youth

Now, LMS will have you know that she is a very youthful lady girl, with an amazingly petite body. She does not exercise, nor does she watch her diet. She eats, sleeps and vegetates in front of the television/computer like everyone does, maybe more. But (un)fortunately, she remains remarkably slender, having been blessed with metabolism the speed of light.

But that is not the point of this posting. The point is: it is great to be slender sometimes!

You see, sometimes it is a pain to be so slender. LMS would always go shopping, ooh and ahh over some gorgeous piece of clothing, only to find that it is too big! Imagine the disappointment, the crushing defeat. Oh she hates them sizists!

But LMS has come to discover that being small has its advantages. For one, she can buy kids clothes at the fraction of the cost of a similar piece for adults! No kidding!

Recently, on one of her jaunts to Great World City, LMS decided to pop into Esprit (no choice, GWC is a rather boring place). She seldom buys Esprit things because she finds them overpriced ($89.90 for a silly pair of casual cargo pants? Puh-leeeeaze!). Being a maternal person (uhhmm), she went over to the kids department to see if there were any bargains to be bought for her darling little nephew.

Her hands moved swiftly through the racks....wait! What's this? A pair of white jeans. Hmm....LMS bit her lip and thought hard. She had been seeking out a pair of white pants for a while...but this is the kids department, could she actually wear anything? What the heck, trying is free.

To her amazement, the jeans fit perfectly! From the low-rise, to the snug way it encased her tiny bottom, to the length which ended slightly below her feet, everything was perfect. In addition, the price was perfect too - $28.30, after a 50% discount!

One word - buy.

Go ahead and laugh at LMS for her non-existant boobs and butt. See who's having the last laugh now, ho ho ho!


Even LMS also cannot fit into this sweet outfit
Originally uploaded by ashleyactually.