The Style and Shopping scene in Singapore by a local

My fabulous friend Rebecca has a very senior job at a media firm in Singapore and I decided to interview her about style and vintage in Singapore, and how being a mum and being pregnant changes yours options. A lot of Chevali customers come from Singapore so I hope you find this interview insightful, I certainly did.

Bec at a picnic

Bec at my wedding!

Describe shopping in Singapore:

Shopping in Singapore is a national pastime. I realise this sounds like a joke, but ask any Singaporean, they’ll admit it. Their national sports are shopping and eating. It’s too freaking hot to do anything else!

What’s great about it, what is not so great about it?

The options here are incredible. It’s hard to believe that so many retailers can exist in such a small country – seriously, I don’t know how most of them survive – and there is a new mall opening every second week it seems.

We have everything from high-end designer brands (Prada, LV, Salvatore Ferragamo et al), exclusive fashpack wares (I won’t even pretend to know who these are, but I know they’re here), almost every high-street store from the western world (Gap, Banana Republic, TopShop, Zara, H&M, Dorothy Perkins, Cotton On, Witchery etc), Singapore’s own retailers both mid-range and budget (Raoul, Bossino, Charles & Keith) as well as no-name retailers with cheap wares from around the region or markets selling the same tourist schlock you’ll find anywhere else.

What’s not great about it is that:

1. They tend to stock only the smallest sizes because retailers here are under the illusion that everyone who lives here is tiny (not true, even Asian girls come in bigger sizes too). Even in shoe stores it can be a bit soul destroying. Even on your happiest ‘skinny’ day, it doesn’t take many assistant’s looking you up and down and letting you know that they don’t stock ‘your size’ to blow away your confidence and the desire to shop!

and

2. If you find something you love, chances are that one of your friends or colleagues has too and you’ll end up wearing the same thing in the office. This has and does happen, I promise (thankfully not to me yet)!

How does the climate affect your style?

Not much really.. it just means that I have only one season to worry about. Singapore is extremely hot and humid all year round. Even in the rainy season it’s usually stinking hot, just very wet.

The biggest impact on seasonal dressing here is air-conditioning. It is very normal for offices to be cooled to around 18degrees. This might sound balmy to you if you’re currently surrounded by snow but when walking in from 30+ outside it is freaking freezing, trust me.

It’s always useful to carry a cardigan or jacket and to have a variety of wraps near the desk. At one particularly unpleasant seat I even needed to keep a blanket handy. Ridiculous! 

And cinemas are even colder! I always wear jeans, closed-toes shoes, multiple layers and wraps to the cinema.  In the next row will be a local girl in a tank top and mini-skirt! Our blood must be so different.. sigh.

What are your favourite shops?

I love browsing in Zara though I dare not buy from there for the reason I mention above (many of the girls in the office are ‘dressed by Zara’), Massimo Dutti has an elegant aesthetic but rarely do their clothes suit my curves, Raoul also doesn’t suit me though I love their smart casual vibe.

I also love how easy it is to visit high-end designer boutiques here and browse or try on the clothing. Even though I know I’m not going to blow $2k on a skirt, it’s nice to know that I can try it on and decide whether I will trawl ebay for it in a few seasons’ time J

But to be honest, I rarely bother visiting clothing stores here anymore.

I travel quite a lot in my job so I have the fantastic luxury of being able to shop all over the world (in addition to online); why torture myself here?

Is there a vintage scene?

Not that I’ve found! I’ve heard an urban myth about a fabulous 2^nd hand designer place that sells reasonably priced Diane Von Furstenberg dresses… but this is my 7^th year in Singapore and I’ve still never found this place or met anyone who has shopped there..

Describe your online shopping habits, do you have any gems to share?

I browse a lot online, and most of this is done on the ipad, so only some of it is actually through specific websites and only occasionally do I end up on a specific retailers site.

I also shop a lot online, but when it comes to clothing I only buy pieces that are either more disposable/temporary pieces that I expect to last for a year or two (I would say season or two but, like I said, it’s all one season here!) such as those from asos.com or something that is beautiful and worthy of taking a risk on, such as those from chevali!

I think I have a fairly good grasp on shapes that suit me best and pieces that are easiest to buy without having to try on, but of course I have to return the occasional thing.

My regular browsing includes:

-          PopSugar App for iphone and ipad (popsugar is the celebrity feed, fabsugar is the fashion feed)

-          The Pulse Fashion feed from the Pulse ipad app. This is essentially an RSS feed from all over. Today there are links from the sartorialist, lookbook, fashion copious, fashionista, hypebeast and the cut among others.

-          I also use facebook to receive feeds from Vogue and Chevali (of course)

-          I happily waste time browsing ebay for designer finds

-          I love checking out esty, notonthehighstreet and notinthemalls for fun gifts and one-off pieces too

-          And of course I check Chevali a couple of times a week!

If you could change anything about shopping in Singapore what would it be?

I’d love to see more independent boutiques which stock fewer select pieces (in regular human sizes) and second-hand designer boutiques. There are more millionaires per capita here than anywhere else in the world – where do all their designer rags go?!

What are your favourite brands and why?

I love Kate Spade because the pieces are typically vibrant, colourful and quite retro.

Diane Von Furstenburg wrap dresses are great.. though there are so many copycats that sometimes it’s not worth bothering with the original.

I love Prada and LV’s full-skirted retro skirts and tend to trawl ebay or 2^nd hand designer places for these.

Like I said, I’m lucky enough to travel a lot which means that I can visit favourite stores in different countries often enough to stock up on investment pieces to supplement by online shopping.

In Australia I always try to make time to visit a bunch of boutiques and strip malls. Each neighbourhood has a different vibe and I love getting to as many as I can. Especially the beachside and Eastern suburbs, such as Hawthorn, South Melbourne, Brighton, but also the inner-city arcades and Fitzroy etc.

In the UK I’ll visit Jigsaw, Hobbs, Reiss and so many others.

I have a few favourite boutiques in Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Shanghai too.

Lastly, my favourite thing to do is to have great pieces recreated. I have a great tailor in Vietnam who I visit probably twice a year. I take all of my favourite pieces there and choose from their fabrics (or take along fabrics which I’ve collected throughout the year) and have duplicates made.

And lastly now that you are pregnant again how will you build your maternity wardrobe?

Hiding the bump at work

Bump!

It’s not very pc to admit it, but I hate what being pregnant does to my body!

Don’t get me wrong, the bump is great and all.. but I really miss my waist L

Almost my entire wardrobe is built around emphasising my curves, highlighting my little waist and hiding my gigantic thighs and bum.

Not only do I lose my small middle but my bum gets even bigger as if in an effort to counterbalance the bump. It is so not necessary.

So, essentially, I struggle with style when I’m pregnant.

For baby number 1 I wasn’t working so I was able to get by with strapless maxi dresses and casual poolside skirts and tops. This time, I’m trying to remain somewhat professional and am using jewellery, jackets and heels to add polish to my maternity wardrobe.

I have bought a few beautiful silk dresses (in Indonesia) which aren’t maternity but have lots of room for the bump,  two pairs of smart maternity jeans (bought in Amsterdam), which I can wear with a shirt & jacket, a pair of grey cropped trousers and a few cute tea dresses from asos maternity. I’m still looking to buy a few more smart tops which will last the next four months and through breastfeeding.. but that should be it.

Rebecca is 36 and lives in Singapore with her Husband Scott, son Max, and soon to be bump.