The not-so-black The Black Market at Orchard Central

As we managed to not get lost in Orchard Central , we decided to explore the nooks and crannies that this intriguing mall had to offer (it was beginning to feel a bit like Treasure Hunt!). We stumbled upon this interesting shop called The Black Market. The friendly shop keeper greeted us chirpily and let us do whatever we need to do for our lovely blog.

The dimly lit interior of the shop felt cozy, yet industrial at the same time. The use of wood and concrete made it look unfinished, and Natasha decided to take a picture of the interesting wooden skeleton man who was sporting a blue beanie in front of the shop.

The concept of the Black Market is a really interesting one, basically the shop acts as the catalyst and platform for budding Singaporean designers to showcase their creativity in art and fashion. The shop felt a bit like a gallery, museum, fashion store, all rolled into one, with each piece deliberately displayed to grab your attention. 

 

We love the quirky and creative jewelry pieces on display, how cute are the pencil earrings!! And the nail ring below is so unique and done in such superb quality. They toally get our vote!

One of our favorite pieces was the stack ring below. Yes, we see stack rings everywhere in all various shapes and sizes, but this one is so simple yet the play of texture adds a bit of oomph to an otherwise plain design. LOVE IT!

 

 

Never before have paperclips looked so fashionable! Why didn’t we ever think of that?!! It is guaranteed to be a good conversation starter.

We love this Aztec print tote bag. The colors are gorgeous, wear it with a solid color maxi dress or with jeans, shorts, or to a picnic at the Botanic Gardens and off you go!

There’s something about bow ties that’s just too cute, especially if it comes in the cute patterns above. Admittedly our significant others are not the type who wear bow ties, but hey it didn’t stop us from taking pictures of it and blog about it. The pink ones above would totally work with the preppy/nerdy look, girls!

Yes, we know Halloween is long gone but how cool are these neon thingies! Imagine if you live in one of those refurbished shophouses and your interior is made up of eclectic pieces. This neon box would go so well next to the pool table, by the sound system.

How provocative and cheeky is this perfume? The best part? It actually smells really nice. They have other varieties, but we just had to be a bit naughty and take a picture of this one.

How interesting is this necklace? A little Proenza, and a little Marni and you can picture Chloe Sevigny wearing something like this. We like it because it’s funky, unique, edgy.

Here comes the fun part of our job, trying on clothes and taking photos of it to show our lovely readers! Okay, the verdict on the blue dress above is undecided. We like the design, but you do feel kind of exposed in it and you might want to invest in some chicken fillets with super glue. Design, awesome. Practicality? Not so. Likeability? Definitely.

This one is more us. Simple, elegant, classic with a bit of twist. The price is a bit too steep for our liking at SGD309

How awesome does Carmen look in this photo? We decided to use this little spiderweb looking backdrop against the black Grecian style maxi dress and it worked! Price: SGD418

Same dress, different color, equally gorgeous. Enough said.

The Black Market

http://www.theblackmarket.sg/blog/

blackmarket no.2, #02-10 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road, Singapore 238896

11am to 10pm daily

Spotlight on The Editor’s Market Avenue at Orchard Central

The first time Carmen and Natasha walked into Orchard Central Mall on Orchard Road, Singapore’s famous fashion address, we immediately felt … lost. It’s as if the mall was designed to make people feel like they’re walking in a maze. That didn’t deter two determined fashion bloggers as we used our sense of direction (or lack thereof) to navigate our way through a sea of shops. Things were definitely looking up when we found Dean and Deluca cafe on fourth floor (nothing delights us more than a cute little cafe or restaurant and the smell of coffee permeating the air). We were even more delighted to spot an interesting looking shop called The Editor’s Market Avenue. With the shutters still half closed, we gathered our courage to trespass. All in the name of blogging of course! It wasn’t long until we saw a nice shop keeper who let us take a few photos and try on the clothes.  We were gobsmacked to see how huge the shop is inside!

We love the raw, warehouse look and feel of the shop. The concrete floor, the bare piping, exposed down light, for a few minutes Carmen and Natasha commented on the decor as if they were interior design experts.

After we gained our composure, we wasted no time in snapping the cute fashion items that were calling our name. House of Harlow jewelry immediately grabbed our attention. The simple, yet vintage design had Nicole Richie’s boho stamp all over it. Love it!

We then spotted a cute pair of earrings, which Natasha particularly liked – check out the little gun on it – how adorable!!

These gorgeous pieces are designed by a Singapore-based designer, Ade G. This is what we liked about the shop, it features a lot of Singapore’s designer and the clothes are VERY AFFORDABLE. We repeat, VERY AFFORDABLE.  They have an interesting concept called step pricing system which offers different price when you buy 1, 3, 6 and 15 pieces of clothes, so the more you buy the cheaper the clothes get. How clever!

The shop features a few quirky designs, such as the Twins shoes below- which are for the fashionably aware and socially conscious. The proceeds of every pair purchased goes to a child in need!

The shop has something for the boys as well. So ladies, when you’ve been shopping too much for yourself and feel tad bit guilty because you haven’t bought anything for your other half, then take a peep at the men’s extensive collection.

Natasha particularly loves this corner of the shop. The ladder, the neon light, and the color of the clothes hanging on the left – it just somehow works (even the interesting looking legging adds a nice touch to the whole design).

The t-shirt above brings us back to the student days when we worked countless hours on that darn essay assignment (okay maybe it’s because we left it a little too late!). This t-shirt is versatile, because it can also be worn by the new mothers out there. Wear this t-shirt when you go out with your little bub and we guarantee you will get sympathetic looks from others.

Boy, do we wish we could pull this look. Very Miley Cyrus, don’t you think (well, Miley post her cutesy Hannah Montana phase that is!). You can definitely picture her wearing this with a pair of Doc Martens!

We totally love this ensemble below, which is actually made up of two different pieces – a skirt and a top. The scallop detailing is totally adorable!

Price: Top SGD35, Skirt SGD39

Price: Peplum dress SGD39, necklace SGD89

Price: Shirt SGD35, skirt SGD39

Monochrome always works and it’s timeless! This only thing missing with this black and white combo is a pair of red stilettos, or a pair of peep-toe shoes. Price: Top: SGD39, leggings SGD29.

Knit oversized cardigan SGD79

We totally love the black and white legging above, as well as the sleeveless black top. Throw on a knit jumper if the weather gets a bit cooler (which is probably never in Singapore!). Price: Top SGD39, leggings SGD29

Okay so at first we weren’t too sure about the metallic, but we decided to try it on anyway. We think the top, combined with the orange denim works! Plus the cute necklace to break away the shine of the metallic top. Price: Top SGD89, Necklace SGD119

The Editor’s Market Avenue:

http://www.theeditorsmarket.com

THE EDITOR’S MARKET / HALL – CINELEISURE ORCHARD #03-04/06A

THE EDITOR’S MARKET AVENUE – ORCHARD CENTRAL #04-08/09

From Italy with love: Cruciani is now available in Singapore!

Fret not, Cruciani has arrived in Singapore! The gorgeous macrame bracelet first caught Natasha’s eyes in Florence, which looked beautiful against the tanned olive skin of a young Italian woman. Since then, she was on a secret mission to find the source of tItaly’s unique fashion item! 

Whilst taking an afternoon stroll at the Isle of Capri during her recent holiday to Italy, she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the Cruciani stand alone store! She went in and was belidered by the array of colors and styles, all equally gorgeous and affordable!

The signature Cruciani design is the four-leaf clover (which Natasha later on bought 20 of them in every shade possible!).

Apart from the four-leaf clover, they also have other design such as the one above, the lock and key which is also beautiful. As Natasha walked around Florence, Amalfi and Rome, she saw all the youngsters wearing the Cruciani bracelets (even the men!). When Natasha got back to Singapore, she couldn’t help but think what a pity that Cruciani doesn’t have a store in Singapore. So she couldn’t believe her luck when a friend told her that Cruciani can now be found at at Bruno Gallery, 91 Tanglin Road, #01-03 Tanglin Place!!
The four-leaf clover design has become even better with the latest Capsule Collection, a collaboration between the two Italian houses Cruciani and Damiani. A limited 3,000 macrame lace bracelets have been embellished with an 18 kt gold (rose, white or yellow) four-leaf clover set with a diamond in its center. Genius! Afterall, who doesn’t like a bit of bling on their wrist?!! 

The capsule collection can be yours for 179 euros per bracelet and you can check it out on the Cruciani online shop from 30 November at http://www.braccialetticruciani.it

White gold bracelet: dark green, black, petroleum, powder pink, antique rose, air force blue, azure.

Yellow gold bracelet: rope, mauve, brown, gold olive, burgundy, grey, purple, green.

With Christmas fast approaching, the Cruciani bracelets make the perfect gift for your beloved girlfriends!

Cruciani:

Bruno Gallery, 91 Tanglin Road, #01-03 Tanglin Place, (S) 247918, tel: 6733 0283.

Accessories – The Scarf

This post was so cool and inspirational, we had to let our readers know about this! Obviously in Singapore the requirement for scarves would seem scarce, however if you have been to a cinema here or walked inside a mall for more than 5 minutes, you’ll know that the air-conditioning can be FIERCE here. Therefore, we think the above tutorial by Wendy Nguyen could come in handy to ensure you look fashionably chic whilst walking around indoors!
Carmen & Natasha xx

Pandas in Singapore…

Ok so we know it isn’t “fashion”… but Carmen was lucky enough to score a preview of the two pandas (Kai Kai and Jia Jia) who have recently arrived in Singapore from Chengdu, and seriously… who doesn’t love pandas?? So we just had to show our readers a few pics!

Think of it as simply more “black and white” inspiration….and we have included some panda inspired accessories at the bottom of the post!

The pandas now reside at the River Safari (within the Singapore zoo) and will be open to the public in December.

Here is Kai Kai (the male panda) – the whole time he pretty much moped around and liked to show his bottom a lot! Very cute – he looks quite small here but as soon as he starts walking around it is like he expands twice in size – he has a very elongated body!

And here is the “diva-esque” Jia Jia – she likes to put on a show and was very entertaining to watch! She was such a little poser!

And here is Carmen with Jia Jia in the background!

They keep the pandas in separate enclosures for breeding purposes, but both enclosures link up via tunnels. It’s amazing how close you feel to the pandas – it’s an open air enclosure so there is no glass between you and the animals! It’s also air-conditioned inside (I guess the pandas couldn’t handle Singapore humidity) so it’s all very pleasant.

And here is a red panda which was also hanging out in the enclosure (reminds us of Master Shifu from Kung Fu Panda!)

And here are some panda- inspired accessories! Click on the image for further details.

 

 

Bangkok shopping part 3 – the clothes!

Ok so Carmen did go a little crazy in Bangkok. Here are some of the clothes she bought, and details of where to find them!

Blue pleated silk top from Union Mall. Cost: SGD10. Available in all different colours and we love that you can either wear with a belt or tuck into a skirt! Either way looks chic!

Navy print top from Platinum Mall, from a store called Precious. Price: SGD10

Another top from the same store, Precious at Platinum Mall. These are cute little tops that you can wear casual with shorts (as below), or wear tucked into a skirt or trousers for a more tailored look. Price: SGD10 (in case you sense a theme here, yes, every top Carmen bought seemed to be priced at SGD10…)

Another silk top bought from the same Union mall store as mentioned above – Carmen loved the hot pink buttons which stood out! The front is just plain. Price: SGD10…

This printed tank below was bought at Chatuchak market from a store in Section 3 called “Masque & 17:09”. If you can’t handle the heat of Chatuchak, then note Carmen also spotted the same store in the air-condiioned Terminal 21 store. Price was SGD10 at the market.

Ok Carmen is a bit obsessed with the bird skirt below. After falling in love with the Nana and Bird skirt tried on in an earlier post (see here) – Carmen saw this cheap version and had to buy it! Bought at a shop on the first floor of Union Mall (if you are entering the mall from the train station, the shop is further down on the left). Price of skirt: SGD20. The top was also bought in Bangkok, and is actually the white version of the blue top with pink buttons above. The buttons at the back are white however, and we love it! Top priced at SGD10.

This top below was bought at a shop in Section 3 of Chatuchak market. It’s super cute, we love teaming it up with some dainty jewellery. Price: SGD10

And here is a closeup of the print (it’s just too cute!)

Ok this is Carmen’s favourite piece… The red skirt! The quality is really high, and amazingly it is made using just one piece of fabric – so there are no seams all around the skirt! Found in Section 3 of Chatuchak market. They also had this skirt available in black and grey (yes…. Carmen bought all 3…!). Priced at SGD35, this was one of the most “expensive” items bought in Bangkok, however the quality was the highest seen during the whole trip!

And yes, no shoes in the shoot. Sometimes it’s just nice to walk around barefoot, this skirt certainly makes you feel more playful!

Peachy accessories – new collections and special discount offer for our readers!

We were first introduced to the wonderful accessories brand Peachy at the recent W boutique fair held in Singapore (see our previous blog post here).

Well this time around Carmen went to visit the lovely owner, Kristy, at her showroom which is situated just behind Spruce restaurant in Phoenix Park  (full address details are at the end of this post).

So let’s get straight to it and present to you – what we love from Peachy right now! All the below are available on their online store or you can pick it up yourself from the showroom.

*** SPOILER ALERT: we are able to offer our readers a special 10% discount  on all online Peachy purchases until the end of November! For details check the bottom of our post! ***

Unique jewellery pieces

We expect all these pieces to result in delightful gasps from your readers – they are so unique, quirky and the best part is they are not available at any of the major malls, so you won’t have to worry about anyone else wearing the same statement piece! Phew!

Statement Rings by ANNE BLACK

We love these, so we think it’s fitting that they’re called love rings! They are handcrafted from ceramic, and we think they would be perfect for a date with the man!

We love the idea of combining more than one ring!

Just as a little side note, we also adore the little Anne Black ceramic earrings too! Priced at SGD59 – these would look so cute on the weekend!

Anton Heunis ring (priced at SGD132 – this is handcrafted in Madrid with blue & green crystals!)

1 Necklace, 2 ways *New*

We love how versatile this necklace is below – you can double it up for a completely different look! This is new at Peachy so get in there before it is sold!

And double it to make a shorter necklace! This necklace is available at the showroom only (for now).

“Fierce Encounters” necklace – this necklace will certainly get people talking!

And here it is again (below). Priced at: SGD310, this necklace is handmade from Sydney, Australia by FIEL SOL. 

LOVINGLY Handmade Shoes!

Ballet Pumps

For those ladies looking for good quality leather ballet pumps, which are reasonably priced, check out the fun colours below – perfect for Singapore! Price: SGD130 – did we mention these are handmade using Italian leather?! – except the black, which is suede.

Lilac sandals

Loving this colour! These shoes are handmade in Italy using genuine leather and shipped out to Singapore. Price SGD140

Gorgeous tan sandals

These should be in every woman’s closet in Singapore – you could easily team this with a white maxi dress, tailored black trousers or white shorts. We are seriously in love with these, and yes they are again from Italy, handmade using real leather. These shoes will last! Price: SGD140

Bags me a Bag!

We know how hard it can be to find a good bag in Singapore that is not:

1. cheap, tacky and poor quality, some with that weird “pleather” smell… or

2. jaw dropping expensive.. Chanel, Prada, Gucci – yes you are all gorgeous, but what if we just want a fashionable handbag or clutch that won’t break the bank?

So where can you find the “in-between” price range bag? We were so happy to find them at Peachy! So here are our faves…

Clutches

It’s all about the clutches these days, we’re not sure how it works but there is something empowering about not requiring a shoulder strap to carry around all your belongings…

These clutches below are new at Peachy, and the design is screen printed by hand! The clutch on the right with the pop of yellow is our favourite!

And here are some more “neutral” tones below – think how perfect these would go with a white flowy dress on the weekend!

Carmen seemed to be wearing the perfect dress to accompany this clutch!

Swimming pool bag

We love this, and at SGD449 we recognise it’s not super cheap, but it’s not super expensive either. That’s the beauty about Peachy – they have finally targeted the “mid-market”! The bag is handcrafted in France using the softest calf leather. We fell in love with this on first sight, and it’s on our Christmas wish list!

And here it is below in mustard – our fave!!

We love the Status Anxiety bag below (priced at SGD130), because it  is big enough to hold everything you need but small enough you can take anywhere! We think this would make the ultimate festival bag – perfect for those concerts in Fort Canning Park!

We could rave on and on about the fabulous finds at Peachy, but we think it’s really best that you go out and discover yourself!

Thanks to the wonderful owner Kristy, we are able to offer a 10% discount to all of our readers for all online purchases at Peachy up until the end of November 2012!

To receive your discount: simply visit their online store at www.peachyshop.com and enter discount code CNDISCOUNT  at the shopping cart page.

Peachy will also be at the Boutiques House at Dempsey event tomorrow (Tuesday 20th November) from 9am to 6pm! Details here
Peachy details

email:						info@peachyshop.com
telephone:						+65 9850 6780 (Zixin)
visit our showroom:						318 Tanglin Road, Phoenix Park Block B, #01-36 Singapore, 247979

 

Liebster blog award!

We’re really excited to have received the Liebster blog award from Tall Totty at talltotty.wordpress.com

 

 

 

 

 

 
We only wish it was a physical award show (similar to the Oscars etc) so that we could then work out what we would wear to the red carpet event…

So how do we gracefully accept this award?

Well we didn’t know much about this award until now, however here are the rules to follow:

• When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
• Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (make sure you tell them you nominated them!) and ask them 11 questions.
• You are not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated you!”
• Make sure the blogs you chose have 200 or LESS followers

11 random facts about Carmen and Natasha

1. Between us we have lived in 8 different countries

2. We both love (and let’s face it, are obsessed) with ramen. We call our lunch dates Ramen with Carmen

3. We both go through crazy dramas in our lives at the exact same time

4. Once we both found new jobs on the exact same day

5. We look pretty similar from neck down (only realised that when creating our blog and posting pics without showing our faces!)

6. We can walk into a store and know what the other one would love to wear (we admit this sounds a bit creepy)

7. We both feel that we live in airports sometimes.

8. Shopping somehow improves our moods. Retail therapy works.

9. We both love Melbourne, especially the coffee and fresh food there. Don’t get us started on the fashion there either.

10. We would both prefer to attend a dinner party with good friends on Saturday night then to go clubbing at Pangaea or Avalon.

11. We both have major hair issues in Singapore.

And now for the questions from Tall Totty!

1. What is your proudest achievement in your life?

Carmen: Not being afraid to take risks
Natasha: Follow your heart, most of the time your head tries to get in the way

2. What is your favourite thing to do on days off?

Carmen: Exploring new parts of wherever I am living, whether that be new restaurants, cafes or shops!
Natasha: walking in the Botanic Gardens, going to the movies, traveling, cooking Indonesian food (it takes forever to prepare), space out while watching E channel, coffee with girlfriends, and blogging of course!

3. Where is the best place you have ever been to?

Carmen: The Maldives with my man
Natasha: Positano, Italy, with my husband

4. What is your favourite naughty treat?

Carmen: Argh there are so many! A really rich chocolate (or caramel) mud cake never goes down badly 
Natasha: Where do I begin. Sticky date pudding with melted vanilla ice cream, chocolate soufflé, chocolate fondant, big fat hamburger with fries (that’s only a third of my list but that will do for now)

5. What is the best surprise you have ever received?

Carmen: When my man surprised me with Russell Peters tix (one of my favourite comedians ever!)…the show had sold out but he kept trying online until he managed to score some cancelled tickets. Best… surprise…ever!!!
Natasha: When my then boyfriend proposed to me in the most amazing way ever!

6. What is your dream job?

Carmen: Being paid to travel the world and score free clothes!
Natasha: I would have to agree with Carmen’s answer. I also wish I could also do some interesting social work in Indonesia.

7. List three things you want to do before you die

Carmen: Travel to every place on my “to do list”, have children (someone needs to inherit/ clean out my wardrobe!) and get involved in a charity that really makes a difference to people’s lives
Natasha: set up a school somewhere in Indonesia (I believe education is key to reducing poverty), travel as much as I can , and rob the Chanel/Louboutin shop.

8. What is your favourite film?

Carmen: Eek that’s a hard one as I like all different genres… but I’d say some of my faves are The Matrix, The Dark Knight, Life is Beautiful, To Catch a Thief (loved Grace Kelly’s outfits!) 
Natasha: Oooh…. this is difficult! Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sliding Doors, I am Sam, Catch Me If You Can, Pretty Woman, that will do for now.

9. What is your Porn Star name? (Mother’s maiden name, combined with first pet’s name)

Carmen: I’d rather use first street lived at combined with first pet name, otherwise the name would be a dude…. so Lisa Toby.
Natasha: Theresia Maggie

10. Do you have any weird habits?

Carmen: I’m sure I do…. but I probably don’t think they are weird!
Natasha: Define weird please.

11. What is your favourite fashion piece that you own?

Carmen: arghhh the BEST question of the lot but also the most difficult to answer!! I’d have to say my coral Chanel clutch bag that was a gift. It’s classy and doesn’t scream CHANEL or designer which I like. Besides that I also love my Shanghai Tang clutch with real jade pieces on the buckle.
Natasha: Hmmmm…… I have two. One is a vintage Chanel bag that belongs to my dear mama (well I kind of borrowed it and never gave it back!), the other is a Salvatore Ferragamo embellished evening bag that was designed for Sophia Loren. I like anything that has a sentimental value to it, something I can hand down to my daughter.

And here are our questions for the nominated bloggers below!

1. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go first and why?

2. If you could buy anything right now at any price, what would you purchase?

3. What is your favourite clothing brand?

4. If you had the chance to go back in time for 24 hours, where and when would you go?

5. What is your favourite blog?

6. What has been one of your highlights as a blogger?

7. What is the best decision you have ever made?

8. If you could be anyone else in the world right now, who would you be (must be alive)?

9. What is your favourite song?

10. What would your last meal be if you could choose anything?

11. What is the craziest thing you have ever done?

And here are the nominated bloggers! Congrats! We are looking forward to reading your answers to the above!

http://derangedmammal.wordpress.com

http://nuptialnervosa.wordpress.com

http://thedotdiaries.wordpress.com/

http://littlemermaidatsea.com

http://ninayte.wordpress.com

http://poshtoganache.wordpress.com/

http://notabilia.wordpress.com/

http://www.expatlifebybec.blogspot.sg/

http://singaporeactually.com/

http://girlintheyellowdress.com/

http://mandymint.wordpress.com

Spotted in SG: a dress from the Salvation Army!

Can you believe this dress was purchased from the Salvation Army in Singapore (Upper Bukit Timah branch).  So cute – we love the banana print and the collar!

This dress cost well below any of the prices you would ever find in any store in Singapore, and the proceeds go towards charity! So it’s a win-win situation!

Here is a list of the Salvation Army thrift stores in Singapore!

309 Upper Serangoon Road Singapore 347693
Tel: 6288 5438

500 Upper Bukit Timah Road Singapore 678106
Tel: 6349 5312

7 Upper Changi Road North Singapore 507705
Tel: 6546 0309

Blk 133 Jalan Bukit Merah #01-1530 Singapore 160133
Tel: 6275 5877

Institute of Mental Health Buangkok Green Medical Park
10 Buangkok View Singapore 539747
Tel: 6385 3874

Baby Phat in Singapore

First up, apologies to our loyal C & N readers, we know it’s been a week since our previous blog post. We were feeling a bit flat and uninspired…. until we walked past the new Baby Phat store in Vivocity which we had not seen before!

Baby Phat is an American urban fashion line that was co-created by the “fabulous”  Kimora Lee Simmons. If you have seen the TV show “Kimora: Life in the fab lane” which airs on the Style Network here in Singapore, then you would have heard of the brand.

Unfortunately Kimora was unceremoniously “booted out” of Baby Phat in 2010 (the locks to the doors were apparently changed… ouch!) and customers in the US have stated that the brand is just not the same anymore without her.

Before you feel sorry for Kimora, you should know that she still runs KLS and Kouture by Kimora brands and is doing just fine.

So now you have the background, now check out our verdict on the new Baby Phat store in Singapore! We went to the one in Vivocity.

All the clothes are neatly organised and there is a lot of colour co-ordination going on in store, but we couldn’t help but notice it was SUPER quiet inside.  Hmm either people don’t know about the new store, or it’s not proving too popular yet.

The store itself looks too pretty to be considered a “grungy” brand, but if you are looking for urban fashion at high street-ish prices and without the crowds, then this may be the place for you!

Personally we were a bit confused with the brand, as there were flowy maxi dresses floating around. Is that considered urban? We weren’t sure. Just for the record we have nothing against flowy maxi dresses (in fact we love them), but Baby Phat was one of the last places we would have thought to buy such a thing!

Anyway we decided to try on some of the clothes, to give you an idea of what they look off the racks. We came to the conclusion that a lot of the clothes look better on the hangar, then on us (but hey, maybe we need a bigger booty and a diva attitude to pull off some of these looks!). “Oh no you didannt!”

Ok we admit it…these jeans are AWESOME! They are made out of a really stretchy material so they are super comfy (almost felt like leggings!) and the belt is included. This was our favourite item in the whole store. Carmen felt pretty urban in them. Priced at SGD119, we think that’s pretty reasonable for a pair of jeans.

We were NOT a fan of the above batwing top. We understand that some people may like it, but it just wasn’t for us. The top is cut quite large, so one of the sleeves constantly falls off one shoulder. Yes it was slouchy and urban, but we couldn’t wait to get it off. This was one of those items we thought looked better on the rack.

Again, not a fan of the above, it looked better on the rack. If it was a shorter version, like say a vest, without the peacock feathers included on the ties, then we think we would have loved it. This was on sale at SGD83.

Cute racerback top, which we think would have paired nicely with the jeans above! They had this design in different colours.

So that was our Baby Phat experience. There were a few other items we tried on that (again) looked better on the racks then on us. The quality of the clothes were higher than Forever 21 or H&M however, so if you are wandering around Vivocity aimlessly we would recommend dropping by!

Shopping in Bangkok: Part 2 – Accessories!

Here are the accessories that Carmen picked up whilst in Bangkok.They pretty much all cost 10 SGD each. All of these were bought at Chatuchak market (go to section 3, it is by far the best part of the market and the only section worth going to for fashion and accessories!).

The first two below are our favourites! 🙂

Ok so we think the necklace below was meant to say J’mapelle but in classic Asian form it is spelt Jem’applle…. But we like it anyway!!! And its a super cute necklace to wear over a casual tee!

Still to come…. clothes purchased in Bangkok!

Neck candy…

We are obsessed with statement necklaces at the moment… Carmen bought a truckload back from Bangkok (we will post about this soon!). In the meantime, here are some other necklaces that we are loving right now! Tell us which one you love most!

1. Guitar tab necklace… genius! by Kanupriya (click here for details)

2. Fringed necklace by Wendy Mink (click here for more details)

3. Pegasus necklace by Angel Court (click here for more details)

4. Red Agate Necklace by Kenneth Jay Lane (click here for more details)

5. White resin bib necklace by Danielle Stevens (click here for more details)

6. Mumbai Necklace by Suzanna Dai (click here for more details)

7. Perez necklace by Angel Court (click here for more details)

8. Rock on necklace by Carolee (click here for more details)

9. A collection of our favourite pendant necklaces right now! We especially love the agate necklaces at the bottom, in particular the black Chloe one! Click here for more details on all of the below.

2013 Spring/ Summer colours!

Well we know Singapore is pretty much Summer all year around, but here is some colour inspiration from the 2013 Spring/ Summer collections!

If you like any of the below and want more details, simply click on the photo!

Inspiration: 1 item 2 ways

The rainy season has officially begun in Singapore! So to avoid from getting struck by lightning while shop hunting for our blog, we decided to play it safe and    look into our own wardrobe for inspiration. Natasha had a ‘eureka!’ moment while momentarily spacing out in the lift of her apartment and decided to do an inspiration piece on how one clothing item can be worn two ways; to the office and to… well anywhere else!

Clothing item #1: The versatile black and white blazer

This newest purchase came from Mango, and worn by the ever-so-hot Kate Moss in the ad campaign. Whilst passing by the shop window, Natasha did a double take and the rest was history. It can be yours for SGD99! Show off this blazer to work by pairing it with a pencil skirt, and for a pop of color, throw on a bright colored camisole. Keep it classy with black pumps and tote bag.

Still want to show off your blazer? Take it out to an after-work drinks with your colleagues and girlfriends by replacing the pencil skirt with skinny jeans and ditch the tote bag! Replace it with a clutch and add on a belt to make it look more edgy. P.S. We recommend killer heels with this outfit. The taller, the better!

Clothing item #2: The multicolor silk dress

Let’s face it, we’ve all been in a situation where you just bought a gorgeous dress (admittedly not as cheap as you want it to be) and to justify yourself, this is pretty much your train of thought when you saw the dress “It’s not cheap, but it’s an investment piece that can be work casually, formally so it’s definitely worth it!”. Well, here’s an example of one of those purchases. Take it to work by adding a blazer and tone it down with a pair of neutral pumps and matching bag.

Bring the dress down a notch for those lazy weekend days where you want to take an easy stroll and go window shopping. Pair it with flats and add a belt to cinch the waist.

Clothing item #3: The A-Line print dress

This dress was snatched up at one of the random shops at Far East Shopping Center on Scotts Road. The print really stood out and the dress was begging to be bought and given a new home. After a split-second thought that practically didn’t require much consideration, Natasha bought this gorgeous dress. For a casual look, wear it with wedges to accentuate the A-Line shape.

And to transform it into an office attire? Easy! Pair it with classic pumps and tote bag. Voila!

Clothing item #4: The peplum top

We are loving this shade of green, which apparently has a name “Hunter Green”. We just like to call it “that shade of green I like in the current season”. Wear it to work with a black lace pencil skirt and black pumps with matching tote bag.

Want to wear it during the weekend? Match it white shorts and funky heels with a statement bag (or a clutch will do) and off you go!

So there you go, our lovely readers. A bit of inspiration that doesn’t require too much thinking. Look out for more of our inspiration write-ups – there will be many many rainy days coming our way, but that will not stop Carmen and Natasha from blogging!

New Victoria’s Secret store in Ion, Singapore: Is it worth the visit?

We must admit, we were really excited when we first heard Victoria’s Secret was setting up shop in Singapore, with the first store opening in Sentosa in 2010. But after visiting that store a few years back we were left feeling bitterly disappointed – there were NO BRAS, a dismal selection of panties and even worse, the majority of the store was stocked with fragrances and in house bath gels that, well let’s face it, no-one really is that interested in purchasing!

Did we mention they sold NO BRAS in one most famous lingerie brands in the world? sigh.

But then, a glimmer of hope, with the announcement that they were setting up a SECOND store in Ion, Singapore (which just opened yesterday). Not only was this location more convenient, we thought, but this second store MUST have more range to offer then the Sentosa branch! They MUST have learned from their first Singapore store that women really wanted to buy lingerie at Victoria’s Secret, not shower gel….right? Oh how wrong we were.

Today we visited the Ion store with high expectations (pic above), only to be disappointed again. As you can see from the above, tt’s pretty much exactly the same as the Sentosa branch, with some undies available (must admit, we weren’t going crazy over most of the ones available)… but again, NO BRAS! For those who love the beauty products sold in Victoria’s Secret (we are yet to meet people who like these more than the lingerie….), well you’d be in heaven. Three quarters of the store are (yet again) dedicated to such wares, and we can’t help but think (yet again…) – what a waste!

Here are some of the panties that are available for sale (to give you an idea of pricing, they were offering 3 “glamour” panties for SGD45).

It’s still a mystery to us as to why their bras are not sold in Singapore – if anyone can shed some light on this feel free to comment below! We’d love to know! Otherwise, we’re going to put it out there to Victoria’s Secret…. if you are going to set up shop here and get thousands of ladies excited (and let’s face it, probably the men also), then PLEASE bring the stuff that you are famous for! And by this we don’t mean bringing over Miranda Kerr wearing gigantic angel wings, although we know quite  a few men who would not object!

Anyway enough said on the subject, we just had to get that off our *ahem* chests**!

** please excuse the awful sense of humour here, but we just couldn’t help ourselves.

Black and white inspiration

You can never go wrong with black and white. Here is some inspiration to get you going! The top two items on the right are wayyyyy out of our budget (Alexander McQueen clutch anyone?!) but we love them nonetheless.

For further details on individual products and prices, click on the image above.