Singapore Fashion

On any trip I go to, I am always on the look out for local style. This trip was no exception. So how do Singaporean women fare in the fashion scale? Not bad. I like it actually. The trend I have seen with Oriental women is that they are very feminine, have a penchant for heels, and wear dresses as much as we wear jeans. Of course I was never the girly girl type but I do see the pleasure in wearing easy dresses, whatever style you are into. I really wanted to stop some of the girls in the street to take their pictures but the pain I felt from my feet kind of distracted me. Anyway, not anyone can look hot in a dress, which is why 99.5% of the women I saw were reed thin. It was inspiring, and frustrating at the same time. Honestly, I felt a wee bit fat.

Of course, for Singaporean women, shopping is both a sport and an art. It's Sale season right now, and let me tell you, whatever time of the day, there were women in the stores. Maybe if my feet weren't so sore, I would have been more motivated to look around, but surprisingly, the urge just wasn't there. As always, new people and surroundings inspire me and influence me in some way. I try to pick up something, from wherever it is I go to. More dresses for me in the future!

Joy in the unexpected

Thurrsday, 12pm, my boss calls me over and tells me I will be leaving for Singapore the next day. She was supposed to attend the meeting but could not do so due to a medical emergency, plus she had just returned from Paris a few days before. I was stumped. My ticket, allowance, and TOA were accomplished in a few hours. I was all set. I sent a text message to my friend Cecil who's been there for 3 months. She told me to bring her liver spread. So there I was at the airport, 6am in the morning, waiting for my 7.20am flight. I had only packed a few articles of clothing and an extra pair of shoes for my meeting.

As soon as I arrived in Changi airport, it was like my traveler instincts kicked in at the same instant. I wanted to get out of the airport as soon as possible and get things going. I hopped onto a cab and started observing. The streets were pristine, and lined with trees. I arrived at the hotel about 16 minutes later and immediately got in touch with Cecil. It would be the start of our whirlwind "date" as I called it. We met up at the Raffles City Mall because I wanted to check out our brands and I knew a Swarovski boutique was there, which is the reason I was in Singapore in the first place. From the time we met to our last minute together, Cecil and I could not stop talking. It seemed that being in a new environment forged a new bond between us. We were like two friends testing each other's boundaries. We teased each other that we should have been doing all that stuff with our boyfriends. Oh well, friends are even better.

We carried each other's heavy stuff (my laptop), waited for each other, shared a tiny pink umbrella, walked like there was no tomorrow, and frantically hailed a cab when we realized it was already 11pm and my flight back to Manila was at 12.15am. I even waited for like, 30 mins just so she could walk around Mango to end up buying nothing. Yep, classic boyfriend duties. We were both doing things we never thought we would do for each other, being that we are admitted "bratinellas." She tried damn hard to show me a good time given that we only had barely 48 hours. Going there to do my job was the easy part, but it was spending time with my friend that taught me a lot of things. I'll never forget that time we shared. And we told each other, hopefully next time, it will be a double date with our men. Haha. Till next time my friend.

Like good wine

"I like not to shock" she says, "But there must be provocation. A girl should never be with bruise or violence. But there must be sex." - Carine Roitfeld

I think I have a "girl" crush on Carine Roitfeld, the Editor-in-Chief of French Vogue. I love her style and sensual french sensibility. What a cliche to use "Joie de vivre" on a french woman but she is the poster girl for that no question. Although I am admittedly, a fan of the Italian culture, foremost of which is Italian style, I have found that it is Carine's own brand of French chic that I am drawn to the most. She is not always polished, her hair is almost always just around her face, although with great coloring. Her makeup is very, very age appropriate, very subtle but sexy. I'd just like to remind everyone that the woman is in her 50s. Amazing huh? Her daughter Julia Restoin is clearly getting pointers from mamere. They looked amazing at Cannes.

Age aside, the woman still exudes that air of sensuality, that only a woman of a certain age can have. Her clothing is just one part of the Carine persona. Her smile, body language, and energy all form part of what makes her unique. Having said that, I'd just like to add that her shoes are ALWAYS fierce. They spell S-E-X.

Musings on a rainy saturday

I'm not the sentimental type. I don't gush at the sight of babies, or swoon at romantic songs filled with promises of happily ever afters. I guess my feet are just too planted on the ground. I live in planet earth and not some disneyland storybook. As I have matured (as opposed to just getting older), this character trait has only strengthened. I am no expert when it comes to relationships, I mean, I only had one which lasted 6 years....and then some. It was a stormy, tempestuous relationship and I learned a lot from it. I still am. Anyway, suffice to say, this only hardened me even more. I thought that at one point after that breakup, I had allowed myself to open up again, but maybe I was only fooling myself. Barely a year after that "thing", I could not imagine why I was so hung up on that person. It was quite sad. And so I am back to sqaure one. Trying to figure out why I feel so...little these days. I am never disappointed beacuse I don't expect anything from people. Frankly it bothers me.

I guess being not sentimental follows that I don't know anything about romance. I mean, what is that? But I am not so hardened that I cannot recognize when it is the real thing. That is when I truly start feeling like I am missing out. I don't really care much about couples per se, but when I do see a pair, who radiates with love, acceptance and happiness, that's when it matters to me. I start to think..I wonder how it must feel, to love someone so completely? And more importantly, will it ever happen to me? only time will tell.

They just don't get it

It's such a sad thing when the people who are supposed to be the closest to you, don't really get you. This is a fact that I have come to realize, and it's ok. As long as there are other people who care enough to get to know the real me, then I'm still lucky. I'm not much of a talker, I mean I can talk up a storm when I know the person very well, but I am basically a reticent person. Sometimes I think this backfires on me because I let people assume what they want to. I guess I will only explain myself when I feel that the issue is something worthy of such a thing. Otherwise I just let it be and allow things to unfold. That's just me.

An ode to the laptop

So finally I got around to having my laptop checked out at powermac in greenbelt. It had gone nuts on me a couple of months ago and I've either been too busy or too lazy to do anything about it. But I think I was more scared of what the diagnosis would be. I was scared that the repair man would tell me that the memories I had stored in that tiny thing, my best memories yet, documented in photos, words, and music, were lost forever. How do I deal??

Me is very sad. I am crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

lee seung chul 소리쳐

So ri cho (Shout)

Recharged

What a great long weekend. No, I didn't really do anything special but it was still a great time to relax and enjoy my time alone or with the folks. I think I was online for most of the weekend just listening to music, surfing, and downloading stuff. I had time to catch up on my reading and discovered some cool sites. I think the only time I left the house was for the gym. It's hard to think about the outside world when you're so engrossed in the cyber world. haha.

Ok, so it's no secret, to my friends atleast, that I love anything oriental. Food, music, movies, fashion..and, er..the men too. Funny but when I got back from Italy, everyone immediately assumed I hooked up with an Italiano. The thing is, I never really had the hots for westerners. It's just a preference thing. The only white man who's ever given me chills just with a look (from the silver screen) is Brad Pitt. I have loved that man since I was...hmmm...12 or 13. I even sent him a cassette tape (ancient times) of my favorite love songs and a card. Good times.

So there, I have always been more inclined towards the oriental male. Ok, maybe not always, I did have my Edward Furlong, Backstreet boys phase. Omigosh wait! There is another man not from the asian culture whom I absolutely adore. I LURVE Simon Webbe from the defunct boy band BLUE. I can't believe they wen't here a couple of times and I didn't even get to see him. I "discovered" him two years ago in his music video for the song "After all this time." My eyes were just glued to him the entire time! He is just oozing with that thing called sex appeal. And all he did was walk around London! Ladies, check out that video, pronto.

Ok, going back to my fascination with all things orientalia. I love this Korean singer Lee Seung Chul. He has a soothing and heartfelt way of singing, so even if I don't understand the lyrics, just listening is enough. I particularly like his song "So ri cho" which means "shout" or say it out loud. Something like that. The theme of the video is pretty strange, but the last few minutes of it is so wistful and sad that you kinda forget the weird situation the characters are in. Anyway, I've posted the video so you can check it out for yourself.