Skip the malls - indie rules OK at Threadbare & Squirrel

I am sooo bored of people telling me that they don't like the shopping in Singapore - that it's all same same. That it's all the same. Nothing original. No creativity. Blah blah yadda yadda. If people bothered to go exploring then they would realise that this is just not true. So I've decided to selectively start featuring some of the spots I hold dear to open people's eyes to some of the little gems out there.

The first being...Threadbare & Squirrel!

This is one of the first shops I stumbled across in Singapore which made me realise that all was not lost. There's something about the way the owners Val & Adrian (who I've come to rather love) not only adeptly pick out interesting, quirky, stylee and original items but also they make their own stuff too, including a lot of their fixtures and fittings in their new shop for which they have gone on mad missions to secure the raw materials to make them with.

Threadbare & Squirrel position themselves as a place that's for a wholly different crowd who dare to dress themselves. Where designers, artists, independent thinkers and aspiring fashionistas can delight in some pretty nifty stuff and I could not agree more.

Following the success of their first outlet on Haji Lane they've upsized to just round the corner on North Bridge Road in a a bigger conservation shophouse.

This is a shop I know that whenever I enter, I will leave with something. There's always something different to pique your interest. And of course when I went to the new store launch a couple of weeks ago there were a lot of "Ooooooooohs" escaping from my mouth.

I can not possibly outline all the things that made me go "Ooooooh" but here are just some of them.

1. The store interior

It's light and breezey with cool pieces of interest like this awesome little typewriter pictured below to leave your mailing details on and these fab hand made ceiling lamps...

 

Oh and there's even a little spot where you can grab yourself a coffee before or after all that mooching. Nice!

2. Cool watches

There's too much emphasis in Singapore on boring designer watches to my liking. Why would you pay a massive price tag for something that looks the same as what everyone else has got just because it has the word Chanel on it when you could scoop up something totally awesome like a NOOKA watch? Coming at ya from the New York fashion design company these watches are both cool and innovative.

3. Josie Chen accessories

I have to admit I'm a newbie to Josie Chen but now that I've found her, we're going to be inseparable. A little bit fierce and rebellious yet feminine, I can totally identify with her designs. Well she's originally from the UK and instantly fell in love with Asia so there might be a reason why. The bracelet pictured below got a major "Ooooooh" and also a place in my accessories drawer.

4. Cute clutches

There is something about these crafty handmade Wishful Thinking clutches that I just love and you can see why.

5. Dresses with a little bit of je ne sais quoi

If in another world I was a lemming who was happy to be like someone else, I wouldn't give two hoots about the dresses by local label Young & Restless. But thankfully I'm not a lemming.

6. Awesome socks

Look, I'm a Brit ok? I've got a lasting obsession with socks  because that's what happens when you come from cold climes. A drawer full of black socks - no thanks! A drawer full of Happy Socks? Yes please!

7. Kool threads for guys 

Fear not because guys you have not been overlooked! Amongst the men's collection you will find Wander Wonder for functional clothes with a cool twist...

Threadbare & Squirrel is at 660 North Bridge Road (entrance of Bali Lane), Sing 199797. Opening hours Mon - Thurs: 12 - 9pm, Fri - Sat: 12 - 10pm, Sun: 12 - 9pm.

For more delights check out their website here and their Facebook page here

Le Flea Boutique is almost here! So pick up some fashion finds and polish your halo.

It's almost here....yes, Le Flea Boutique Part Deux which I'm organising to raise funds for Action for AIDS (Singapore) is happening next weekend on Sunday 27th November.

Please do come down and spread the word as 100% proceeds go to Action for AIDS which means that by supporting you will be helping to do your bit this World AIDS Day to stamp out stigma and discrimination that exists around the disease - one of the most serious barriers in the fight to eradicate it. 


What you can expect on the day:

• More pre-loved and vintage designer labels, high-street fashion and unique independent brands plus a veritable treasure trove of accessories, a capsule men’s collection, a sprinkling of children’s clothing, gifts and homeware.
• Gently worn pre-loved designer labels in the Flea Luxe collection including those from Armani Exchange, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Helmut Lang, Kate Spade, Lacoste, Marc Jacobs, Max Mara, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney and more.
• Pre-loved high-street labels including Banana Republic, H&M, Forever 21, Mango, Replay, River Island, Topshop, Warehouse, Witchery, Zara and many more
• Brand new out-of-the-stockroom items under the Flea Nouveau banner, thanks to generous donations from brands and boutiques including Epitome, United Colours of Benetton Fragrances, Saturday, Nicholas, Front Row, Dulcetfig, Know It Nothing, Le Specs, Quinn, Threadbare & Squirrel, Hadasity, and Rococco Kent. 
• Something for everyone with items ranging from $5 all the way up to our Luxe range.
• Special brunch and tea sets being laid on by the venue sponsor Talent Cafe, so after you shop, you can drop, sip a glass of wine, grab a bite to eat and 10% of all proceeds from food and drink will be donated to the cause
• 100% of proceeds from the sale and the $5 entry donation will go towards Action for AIDS Singapore. Being the weekend before World AIDS Day, you can rejoice in knowing that every dollar they spend will support this worthy cause!

And here's a little taste of what will be on offer, in our selection of some of the highlights from our photos shoots of some of the collections:

And with all that and at a chic venue like Talent Cafe, what's not to love? 

For more information about the event see the Facebook page HERE and to RSVP see the Facebook event HERE. 


And if fashion's not your thing, Le Flea Boutique is just one of a number of events taking place around this World AIDS Day in Singapore. Check out the below to see what else is going on....

Mad missions for charity - Le Flea Boutique Part Deux

It's coming round to that time of the year again. The time of year when I've been schlepping back and forth with bags and bags of pre-loved - and this time round also new - clothes, shoes and accessories for Le Flea Boutique, our charity fashion fair with a conscience with the sole purpose of raising funds for Action for AIDS Singapore on Sunday 27th November. 

It's the time of year when my spare room is bursting to the seams with what feels like a truck load of clothes.


And the time of year when I somehow end up as model yet again for Le Flea Boutique.


It's been quite a journey this time round. Inspired by the fact that our second outing would be taking place the weekend before World AIDS Day, we decided to be more ambitious. We wanted to make it bigger, better and even more stylish. 


So we managed to get our hands on at least twice the amount of pre-loved items including designer labels like Armani Exchange, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Helmut Lang, Kate Spade, Lacoste, Marc Jacobs, Max Mara, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney and high-street labels including items from Banana Republic, H&M, Forever 21, Mango, Replay, River Island, Topshop, Warehouse, Witchery, Zara.


We also managed to enthuse some lovely big-hearted brands and boutiques to get on board and donate brand new out-of-the-stockroom items - yes let's hear it for Epitome, United Colours of Benetton Fragrances, Saturday, Nicholas, Front Row, Dulcetfig, Know It Nothing, Le Specs, Quinn, Threadbare & Squirrel, Hadasity, and Rococco Kent.


And we have a new chic venue hosting it - this time we'll be taking over the whole of Talent Cafe for the entire day of the event - woot! 

AND we have a media partner in the folks at the online magazine PlusSixFive.


From small seeds big things grow. And boy has our baby grown!


And with all this has come more photo shoots. Forced to comply with doctor imposed diet restriction therapy to determine the source of my screwed up sinuses, it's not all been rosy. Getting up and sitting pretty in front of the camera without a daily fix of caffeine has been a bit painful at times, even in the hands of my fantastic Co-Organizer, stylist and photographer Missy K. And then doing that past 3pm without chocolate? Well now that has been pure torture no matter how much I tell myself that it's all in the name of charity. 


Four photoshoots down and four more to go.  So far I've been an 80s child (well, no change there), a hippy chick, a golden age lady waiting for the Orient Express and a Mary Quant inspired 60s sister.  Who says you can't be anything you want to be? 


Anyway, let's take a little peep at some of the shots....

Waiting for the Orient Express

Pre-loved: Mango striped dress (M) $20, Red necklace worn as bracelet $, White shoes $10, Red beret- stylist's own

Pre-loved: American apparel navy dress (M) $20, Brown belt $5, Cream and bronze necklace $5, Red beret- stylist's own

Pre-loved: Filippa K satin skirt (M) $20, Flea Nouveau: Le Specs Sunglasses $50, See their website for more styles www.lespecs.com.au, Colour-wheels sweet floral top (M) $42 found @Dulcetfig Singapore Haji Lane www.colour-wheels.tumblr.com

Retro Revival

   Pre-loved: Mirror Dash black and white striped dress (M) $20; Satin gloves, hat and bangles- stylist's/model's own

Pre-loved: mphosis cream shirt dress (M) $20l Flea Nouveau: Le Specs Sunglasses $50 - see their website for more styles www.lespecs.com.au/

Pre-loved: New Look black heart print dress (S) $20, Lace headbands and bangles- stylist's/model's own

Hippy Hippy Chic

Pre-Loved:Sheer Romance black floral maxi dress, (S), $2, Brass statement necklace $5, All other accessories as before

Pre-Loved: Warehouse Turqoise top, (S), $10, Black gypsy skirt (unknown), M $10, Wooden bangle , $3, Bronze bangle, $5, Assorted lass rings, $5, Bronze drop earring, $3, Flea Nouveau: Wishful Thinking clutch bag $35 (from Dulcetfig see http://dulcetfig.com/ for further collections

It was Acceptable in the 80s

Pre-loved: Atmosphere grey shoulder pad dress (8) $20, silver bauble bracelet $10, earrings $5
Model's/stylist's own: pink tights and headphones

Pre-loved: Cotton On black and white dress (S) $10, Xdye sequinned cardigan (M) $20, rhinestone shoes $20,
Model's/stylist's own: pink tights and headpiece

Pre-loved collection: Forever 21 denim dress (M) $10, blue bauble bracelet $3
New collection: ISSUE blue arm warmers $10 (Front Row). See their website for more treasures http://www.frontrowsingapore.com/

If you'd like to find out more about the fashion fair that had everyone talking last time visit the Le Flea Boutique Facebook page here. 

The Guild by Grey Goose - a clandestine fashion showcase

You know when Grey Goose vodka puts it's name to something it's going to be good. So I jumped at the chance to attend The Guild by Grey Goose at The White Rabbit last week where local fashion talents Resham Melwani, Wykidd Song and Time Taken to Make a Dress showcased pieces inspired by Grey Goose.

I couldn't have thought of a better location than the former chapel, The White Rabbit, which was turned into a magical land all lit up with blues and adored with sheer white draping.

Sadly this was day one of my diet restriction therapy so no Grey Goose for me - it was all I could do to ignore the voices in my head whispering at me to just have one sip of the lovely Grey Goose cocktails that were beckoning to me from the bar. Missy K's Cosmopolitan almost touched my lips before I realised what was happening!

Now onto the show. Though all three collections were inspiring in different ways, I have to say for me I fell completely in love with Wykidd Song's collection. I'm a bit boho at heart so his collection for the modern Bohemian in colours of gold, forest green, graphite grey, apricot, pearl and ivory in draped silk organza, wispy chiffon layered over brilliant sequins completely stole my heart away. And Mr C could not get enough of the edgy men's summer suits in graphic prints. Other than that, I have to admit that a piece of me that also loves the fact that Wykidd studied in my hometown of Kingston in the UK.

I loved the concept behind Resham Melwani's Flesh and Wine, where she explored the softness of skin and rich depths of wine through fabrics and palettes.

In quite stark contrast was the collection by Time Taken to Make a Dress - Life Cycle, which charted the sequential metamorphosis of textile & string.

The showcase ended with an explosion of silver and blue speckles from above....

But things didn't end there as the dresses that were specially commissioned by Grey Goose are up for auction to benefit UN Women Singapore at www.ctglobalstore.com/unifem until 4th November.

Photo credits: All images courtesy of Grey Goose. 

F1: Highlights from the Singapore Grand Prix

Well when I say highlights, I mean my own personal highlights as clearly I couldn't split myself into five and tell you what all the highlights were - though I wished I could have! So here we go.

Day 1

I was very excited that the race weekend was going to kick off with a DJ set by Massive Attack aka Daddy G (who by the way I can not believe is 52!!) and 3D.

Yes in all my years of loving Massive Attack I'm ashamed to say I've never seen them live. But now I really don't care as it was totally worth the wait - they were amazing! In true Singapore style everyone was sitting down politely at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre appreciating the music and nodding their heads until a few of us broke out and rushed down to the stage and started giving them the love they deserve.

Needless to say everyone else followed and before we knew it we were all getting down in one big sweaty mess.  Dropping in all time classics like Teardrop and Angel and more recent work like Paradise Circus which I caught on this video. Please excuse the screaming girls in the background - I think they got confused and thought they were at the Rick Astley concert which was the following night.

Having teased us with a sample from Unfinished Sympathy at the beginning which went something like this...

I was in heaven when they finished with the all time classic at the end. And yes I was too excited by this point to video it! In any case how stunning does Singapore look in the background?! Let's just admire it again here...

To top it all, during the musical journey some incredible fireworks starting going off by Marina Bay Sands. All in all one of my all time favourite music memories.

Day 2

The Qualifiers - well what can I say we were very lucky to have incredible seats for this, 3 rows back right opposite the pit lane. Yes we could see all the action! Having worked at last year's Singapore F1 I wasn't that fussed about this year, until I sat down in these seats and then I could hardly breathe. Now I understand that all you people out there saying "I'd rather watch it on TV" probably haven't seen it for real. Yes you only see the cars race by you like a flash just like this*

BUT the noise, the atmosphere and the excitement coupled with good seats where you can actually see into the pits is an experience second to none.

Then of course the evening had to an end with a party at the Podium Lounge at the poolside of the Ritz Carlton.

 It was the perfect end to a thrilling evening and obviously my male friends were even more thrilled at the fact this included a swimwear fashion show by Silvian Imberg.

Day 3

Yes it was race night, but I have to admit I was pretty burnt out. So Mr C took it for the team and went along to see the cars line up on the start line. Yes a lame effort by me but looks like I peaked too soon and besides -  there's always next year!

*With thanks to Major Stephanie for her incredible iPhone video skills and catching the cars on camera!