This close to reprieve

Spring and autumn are my favourite times to visit a place, because it’s cool without being frigid and there won’t be a rowdy summer crowd. I’ve been to Australia, Taiwan and Japan during these seasons and have been so envious of their weather then. Well, on Saturday night, Mr. Manx and I are flying off to Paris and England! I cannot wait to be there. I was there once before as a kid. My parents took Wedoryn and I on a package tour before spending some time in England, where they went to university. In the strange way that childhood memories have, the brightest recollections are of the least obvious moments. I do remember Disneyland, but with nothing of the vibrance of Trafalgar Square, where I had a whale of a time hiding handfuls of birdseed in a five-year-old Wedoryn’s cap and sweater, then watching him get obliterated by a frantic cloud of pigeons (there are no more pigeons there now, but that’s how I want to remember it). I remember thinking that Sacher Torte was no big deal (‘cos it was dry and I didn’t like cream) (sorry, Austria) and crazily worrying at one point that we were running out of money because my dad told me that English money was worth much more than Singaporean (I was also thinking that this was not fair; my twelve-year-old self had no grasp of economics; not that I have any now).

Mr. Manx has never been, so this will be his first chance to get some authentic European memories.

Other than the awesome fact of being there, here’s what I want as a souvenir of the trip:

Well, OK, no, I don’t want Ms. Olsen Twin ‘cos I prefer dudes have Mr. Manx (this is the primary reason, non?) and it’s not even exactly her bag I’m lusting after, but these pictures show the best approximation I could find. What I want is a Chanel reissue (therefore with the Mademoiselle instead of the CC lock on Ms. OT’s bag) in distressed red (darker and more veined than Ms. OT’s bag) and silver hardware (completely different from Ms. OT’s bag), size large (similar to Ms. OT’s bag). If I find it and get it, I would certainly wear it with a black dress or with neutral-top-and-jeans like Ms. OT in the first two pictures, but definitely not with evening wear. Maybe it’s just my funny eye, but I’ve never fancied Chanel classic flaps as evening bags. Expensive, luxurious and beautifully-made though they are, to me they lack the frivolity? whimsy? essential uselessness? of a real evening bag. It probably has something to do with the combination of boxy shape and shoulder strap. Besides, if one carries a Chanel classic flap to a posh event, one runs the very real risk of meeting five other women in the room with the same idea – tres bummer. Now, if one, on the other hand, carries a non-black, functional-sized Chanel classic flap in the daytime, one stands a much better chance of being quite unique.

I like being unique.

Five things off the top of my head

I haven’t felt like writing for some time, but the urge is reasserting itself (yes, I the temperamental female). I can’t decide whether much or little has happened (yes, I the indecisive female… but these things are relative, aren’t they?) in the past month, so why don’t I simply lay it down here, albeit with more breadth than depth.

1) I seriously sang at a karaoke for the first time. Not that I hadn’t been to a karaoke place before, but I either didn’t feel like singing or had a sore throat, and hence never did anything more than mumble noncommittal nernerners into the mike. But seriously singing was actually fun! And would you believe, I mean that over songs like Hey Jude and Mamma Mia? Hmm, should there be that many M’s in there?

2) The Force Room was disbanded. The Force Room is my blog-name for the medium-rank-doctors’ office, or, rather, the ex-medium-rank-doctors’ office (or do I mean the medium-rank-doctors’ ex-office? Argh). Now, instead of seating us by rank, They (i.e. Powers That Be) have decided to seat us by department. That doesn’t sound like much of a big deal, unless you know that the Force Room was Our (i.e. Miscellaneous Subjects) place for alliances, secrets, roast pork, fish tanks, too much testosterone,  and transient objects of negotiable licitness. Maybe you have a Force Room. We don’t anymore. With luck, we might possibly strive for Force Cubicles.

3) My spectacles broke. I had taken them off, and was just starting to wipe them, when there was suddenly a quiet, sad, piak kind of sound. One of the soldered metal bits had snapped, leaving the left lens wiggling. The best part? It happened while I was on call at 10p.m. Thank goodness I have a white knight in a blue chariot.

4) I had to listen to Junglelord say “tactile hallucinations in the family jewels”, not less than three, and quite possibly four, times in the space of an hour. Don’t ask.

5) Tomorrow’s my fourth call in two weeks. The only upside to this is some alleviation of my guilt over buying bags. Speaking of which, my latest crush is the Rebecca Minkoff Dream bag. It’s no longer being made – which is part of its attraction – but there’s a nice black one on eBay. Glazed leather and suede, at less than half its original price… mmm…

My picks from the Hobo International sale

Let me be absolutely frivolous today and talk about a new bag brand that’s caught my eye (this happens quite a lot when I’m on call. Yes, I am blaming my addiction on the work system). It’s called Hobo International, a company started by a lady named Toni Ray who should be in her seventies now. She came from a poor family, got abandoned by her husband when she was pregnant, then got fired from her bag-and-shoe-making job when she was fifty. So she turned to the only thing she knew, which was making leather bags.

The thing I really like about her leather bags are their pockets. These things have veritable arsenals of secret pockets tucked into their little bodies. The best examples are the clutches. I TOTALLY see these two beauties in my near future – perhaps not in these colours, but definitely the architecture.

This is the Lori clutch in White Vintage leather. At 13.5 inches across, 7 inches high, and 1 inch deep, it’s quite a whopper, which I consider an essential criterion for a daytime clutch (there’s still an aching corner in my heart for you, Lauren Merkin Tatum). That asymmetric curve speaks of cool confidence that doesn’t need to shout to be heard. It also reminds me of the Dior saddle bags. The real abracadabra, though, lies in the inside. The clutch contains a paisley lining that boasts not just a zip and a slide pocket, but also eight credit card slots. I cannot begin to express how absolutely brilliant I  think that is. I could leave my entire wallet (or wallets, since I carry two) at home and yet be able to find my plastic in two seconds. How could it be that this is the first clutch I’ve seen with this superb idea? And it doesn’t cost the earth either. Current sale price is US$118.80, down from US$190, which makes it about S$166 now.

This is not a lipstick holder. This is the Eden clutch in Shadow Patent leather. It’s smaller than the Lori at <11 inches across, 4.5 inches high and 1 inch deep, but it’s no midget either. There’s even a handle at the back to grab on to. Little Miss Perfect, you say? Complete with petticoated polka-dot skirt and high backcombed ponytail? With a ribbon? Well, exactly! I think it’s cool the way this clutch conveys all that just by being plain and boxy, with a big button. It’s so 60s, it would be mind-blowing with a contemporary outfit. As for the inside, in addition to the zip and slide pockets and the credit card wall, there’s also a centre divider with a second zip pocket and a tiny removable change purse. Not kidding. It’s that adorable. It’s on sale now for US$76.80, down from US$128, which converts to about S$108.

Drool-worthy? I certainly think so. If you like, here’s the link to Hobo International, so you can see what rocks your boat. There is actually a bag called Katie, but, alas, she does nothing for me.

Addendum: the sale was announced yesterday and closes on 8th Jan 2010, their time. That makes it roughly our Friday afternoon. It was serendipity to have stumbled onto this site today. It was definitely meant to be. I’m not gonna wait on Rue La La’s sale to start just when HI’s ends. I’m buying now! 

Rebecca Minkoff Nikki Hobo is coming to town

After nine blissful hours of sleep (Friday night feels so good after two calls and before a free weekend!), I woke up to check my email and was most excited to find that my Rebecca Minkoff Nikki Hobo had arrived at Viaddress and that it has already been picked up by Fedex.

This is a Rebecca Minkoff Nikki Hobo in Cloud Grey; mine is in Jam Purple. Making something in Jam Purple is a surefire way of getting me interested in it.

And it’s slated to arrive on Christmas Eve at about six in the evening. Merry Christmas to me, hohoho!

In the arsenal of this online bag-shopper

After my first few weeks as an online bag-shopper, I thought I’d share some of my experiences. I’ve come to think that online shopping is da bomb when it comes to bags. Unlike clothes or shoes, there are no worries about quirks of fit. There’s no such rubbish as one country’s size 8 being another’s size 12, or if the object runs true to size or not.  Of course, you don’t get to see the bag’s exact colour, or feel how smooshy it is, or try how it looks in proportion to your frame, but you can always Google up some info and pictures.

But the very best thing, in my opinion, is that online shopping lets you enjoy some pretty amazing discounts on designer bags. Here are a couple of sites I’ve been visiting:

Reebonz – this is a Singapore-based site that holds two-day sales of various luxury goods and events, such as Prada, Miu Miu and Gucci bags, at up to 60% off. Payment is by Paypal or major credit cards. Being a local site, they’ll get the goods to you a week after the end of sale, maybe a bit more if it’s peak period. And they do deliver. I’ve had two bags from them already – a red Kate Spade Carlsbad Vanessa and a brown Coach full-leather shoulder bag, both at sub-S$400. Both were new and full of that magical leather smell, and had original prices of S$600-700ish. Very yummy. I recommend heartily.

Gilt Groupe – this is a US site. It offers a better variety than Reebonz – bags, clothes, shoes, wines, jewellery, watches – also in two-day sales. I like that it stocks odder brands (to a Singaporean, that is; an American might disagree – whaddaya say, Vric?) like Rebecca Minkoff, Francesca Biasia, Lauren Merkin and Botkier, also at significant discounts. For example, I ordered a Rebecca Minkoff Nikki Hobo, which goes for US$595 on the RM site, but which went for US$298 on GG. I read that RM bags are available in Singapore, at a place called Quintessential, but I have heard that prices begin at about S$900. The main problem with ordering from US sites when you’re in Singapore is that these sites 1) don’t ship outside the US and 2) only accept US-based credit cards. So how is it done?

Answer: delivery sites that give you a US address and concierge services, then ship your stuff to you in Singapore.

Viaddress – you can choose to pay either S$4.95 per package or S$9.95 a month for unlimited packages. The (free!) concierge service is pretty good so far. They ordered the RM Nikki from Gilt Groupe for me. My favourite part is that they process the order within twelve hours of submission. That is vitally important in sales that last only two days. Furthermore, they send emails telling you when your order has been accepted, or is being shipped, by the merchant. Also, the cap on each free-concierged package is US$1000, which is pretty generous unless you’re buying diamonds or furniture. The one thing I definitely dislike about Viaddress so far is their website, which comes in annoying rainbow colours and is not very user-friendly. I cannot comment about the shipping charges or speed of delivery yet, but I will when my Nikki arrives.

Borderlinx – a site that only Citibank members are eligible to use. Same principle as Viaddress, but loses because 1) the (also free) concierge service only operates during US office hours and takes up to three days to place your order, making it perfectly useless for two-day sales, particularly those that take place over the weekend (and that, Kel, was how that Lauren Merkin clutch and I parted ways); 2) the cap on each free-concierged package is only US$500, which would have worked out to 5/6 of a full-priced Rebecca Minkoff Nikki. Hmm. Still, it is usable for non-time-limited discounted items, such as the Kate Spade Boerum Hill Brennan I ordered. However, they sent no emails updating me on the status of the order processing; I had to log in obsessively to check. Let’s see how it does on shipping charges and speed.

Thus equipped, are you game to give it a try? I’m happy for you to use this link to Reebonz and this link to Gilt Groupe to take a spin (that’s the only way to obtain access to the treasure trove). But now that you also know how to snag your preciouses back to Singapore, gals, it ain’t just hypothetical anymore.

Testing testing: the Borderlinx concierge service

One of the drawbacks of online shopping is when you see something you like and click ‘Add To Cart’, and after you’ve painstakingly typed in your name, address and credit card number, they tell you that they’re sorry, but “this item can only be shipped to destinations within the United States”. Then comes the time for choice expletives. Worse, this usually serves to increase your desire for the unattainable object.

Familiar, yes? This happened to me over this clutch below.

That’s a Lauren Merkin Tatum clutch, in dark brown serpent-embossed lambskin, which I found on the Gilt Groupe site, but GG is another story for another day. Thanks to Chanel, I find that the word ‘lambskin’ now oozes buttery-soft, supple decadence, about on par on the swank scale with ‘foie gras entier’ or ‘Godiva couverture’. And Lauren Merkin – that’s a brand that makes bags and accessories. I’m very drawn to it because it uses rich and sometimes unexpected materials to create bags in clean, simple and classic styles. In addition to the usual lizard and croc prints, there are also metallic and woven leathers, in gridded, tiled or marbled patterns, as well as fabrics like silk, crochet and even raffia. Every girl needs a timeless and match-everything baggie that she’d proudly wear to leisurely lunches and weekend high teas, non?

Furthermore, Gilt Groupe has a sale on this particular clutch. Its original price was US$325, but it is now US$138. When I saw that, the Finding Nemo seagulls flocked into my head – y’know, the ones that go, “Mine? Mine?” 

So of course this had to be one of those sites that do not deliver outside the US. Not only that, they do not even accept credit cards with billing addresses outside the US. Grrr.

Enter Borderlinx, which is just the thing to combat this problem. This is a site that gives you a US, as well as a UK, shipping address, so that your favourite ang moh sites will have an address that they can send your stuff to. Then Borderlinx DHLs your purchases back to Singapore. Registration is free, and they charge only if and when you actually use their services. Furthermore, Borderlinx has a concierge service that acts as middleman if your card doesn’t have a US/UK billing address. You just leave details of the site and your object of desire, and they will process it for you.

There are caveats: first and foremost, only Citibank card members get to register on Borderlinx. Secondly, the concierge service only operates during office hours, so there is a chance that the apple of your eye might still slip away.

Still, that’s better than nothing, eh?

So, in the new Home Of The Manx style of bold bag-related adventures, I have actually placed an order with the Borderlinx concierge services for this Lauren Merkin Tatum clutch. I have no idea if it will come to fruition, because the sale started on the weekend, and I am crossing my fingers that Borderlinx gets there before the last piece runs out. It doesn’t help that the time difference between there and here makes things pretty much the other way around. Brrr.

Let’s see what happens.

Kate Spade sale on NOW

Hear ye, hear ye – Kate Spade is having a sale now. I found out when I was at Takashimaya yesterday.

Not on new arrivals (like the Tutti Fruitti, Gold Coast and Hanover series), of course, but some of the offerings are pretty good. For example, the Boerum Hill Brennan I was eyeing was originally well over S$500 (I think it was S$560); it’s now about S$390 (I have to resort to approximations because I have a mind like a sieve). Unfortunately, the colour I wanted (Dijon, in case anyone’s interested) was already at the last-piece-and-it’s-on-display stage, and it was pretty beat-up. If anyone’s going to beat up my bag, it’s gonna be me.

Other pieces I saw on sale included the Islington series, the Lincoln Road series and the Roland Park Kirks.

I am unspeakably glad that I have managed to refrain from ordering the Brennan online for now. Maybe I will head to the Raffles City outlet on my Wednesday half-day to see if it’s meant to be mine. Mwahahaha. 

Reebonz has delivered!!!

The Kate Spade Carlsbad Vanessa has landed! And at a most opportune time. I am on call today, and my phone rang sometime after eight p.m. to the tune of a male Malay voice mangling my name and asking me if I was at the Fruit Farm, taking it for my home address. How opportune is that? After all, I’d expected the delivery to happen next week, during office hours. So if I hadn’t been on call today, my phone could have been off and I certainly wouldn’t have been at the Fruit Farm to receive my new baby. My dictum that everything happens for a reason has once again been reinforced.

And now – pictures.

Looks like a cake, but is better. It was pretty funky to see this in the hands of a van driver reeking of cigarettes. Here it is now, against the backdrop of my messy table.

Ribbon untied and lid opened. I can hardly wait.

Ta-dahhh! MY VERY FIRST KATE SPADE! And there was that smell - that smell of new leather which makes men's hearts pound when they open the door of their new car for the first time. IT IS THE SAME SMELL.

Verdict: now I have a zingy red baggie that will spice up any outfit. My first Kate Spade *tear of joy leaks from one eye*. And Reebonz delivers. I am now most happy to provide this link for anyone who’d like to sign up and take a look. Knock yourself out. :)

Reebonz – too good to be true?

With one part of me looking on in stunned disbelief, the rest of me has moved on to online shopping. Yes, I know that I am a Neanderthal, but I never trusted things that I could not see, feel, try, stroke and grope before buying… and now I sound like a perv. Ahem. Well, things have changed. Blame it on the bags.

Because of bags, I have bumbled my way onto several discount-luxury sites. Today I’d like to talk about one of these sites, called Reebonz (apparently pronounced ‘ribbons’, which I can’t quite bring myself to do; I have the same problem with the word ‘herb’). It’s a Singapore-based site that sells designer brands at slashed prices, in online sales that last only two to three days each. It can do so because it sells “overstock of off-season apparels, handbags, accessories and shoes” (I am quoting from its Help section). What brands? Quite a lot – Tod’s, Ferragamo, Cole Haan, Bottega Veneta, Prada and Miu Miu have all made appearances (be still my beating heart). How discounted? Quite a bit – up to 40% off Bottegas and 70% off Coach jewellery.

Also, being a Singaporean establishment, the local deliveries get done by seven days from the end of the sale, for a small fee of S$9.90. They take Paypal and major credit cards, some of which allow you to pay in installments.

The million-dollar questions are, obviously, is the stuff authentic? And does it actually arrive?

I don’t know yet. But I’m going to find out quite soon.

Earlier this week, I saw, to my delight, a Kate Spade bag sale at up to 70% off. I had been obsessively stalking the official Kate Spade site for a couple of weeks and knew what I wanted. I didn’t expect to see current bags on Reebonz, and indeed I did not, but there were still some beauties there. And guess what – I bought one.

One more time – I bought one!!!

Heh. I don’t know the actual name of the bag (Googling skills not sharp enough, clearly), but it’s a shoulder tote with a long adjustable strap, in croc-embossed red leather. From the front it’s the shape of a tall trapezium, almost square, elevenish inches high and tennish across. It’s got two compartments that look like an accordion from the side. There’s a turn-lock closure with ‘Kate Spade’ written across the locking bar. If anyone can tell the actual name from this half-assed description, please put me out of my misery. Addendum – I have found out what it is! It’s a Carlsbad Vanessa, small and double-gusseted. The Internet rules.

So I’ve paid S$399 – no, minus the S$50 credits for signing up, so S$349 –  for this bag. I can’t remember the exact original cost, but I think it was over S$700. That’s a pretty good saving. With it I could get a… Longchamp Le Pliage…?

(Bad girl, Katie, bad, bad!)

I’m waiting to see if it will indeed come, and in the form of a bona fide Kate Spade, which I intend to study the characteristics of soon. If it does, then I will proceed to heartily recommend Reebonz to anyone who might be interested. This needs to be done, because membership is strictly by invitation only. But I refuse to spread the infection until the site has actually delivered my stuff to me.

Which, by the way, makes it even madder of me to have succumbed to a Coach Soho Pleated Leather Large Flap Bag in Walnut as well, three days ago, again for S$399, down from the original price of S$675. The savings could get me a pair of Stuart Weitzmans or a nice Junior Drake bag from another site…

My new Brown Bag For Work... if it really arrives. Note the absence of Giant C's, which I absolutely loathe.

Dear Mr. Manx, if you happen to reading this part and haven’t fainted yet, well, um, uh… look, dead bird! <runs away>

We’ll see what happens by the end of the week, which is when my Kate Spade is supposed to arrive. The Coach will take a few days longer. Watch out for updates!

Update: the Kate Spade Carlsbad Vanessa and Coach Soho made their ways quickly and safely to me, as did a Gucci keypouch I bought some time later. I am a happy Katie. 

The Longchamp monster

Might I be the only person who thinks that the new Longchamp ‘must-haves’ (an example below)…

… look an awful lot like…

 

Mike from Monsters Inc!