The Hookup (for your bags)

The Hookup - a hanger for your purse. Of course many must have heard of a purse hanger or own at least one or a few. I have two and they were courtesy of Elle magazine and Scholls. Maybe because they were "free", I always felt they were a bit flimsy and did not seem to be able to hold a heavy bag. Plus they were not that attractive at all.

Then I saw the version at The Hookup and I pretty much fell in love with it.
In a heart-shape design, it is not that small or big and you can clip it onto your bag and make it look like a bag charm or at least be part of the design of the bag. Twist it open, and voila! It becomes an "S" hook, and you can hang your bag and place it at the edge of the table or chair.

The Hookup can hold up to 30 lbs which is a very big selling point for me. Reading the specs of the various other purse hangers available in the market, they typically can hold between 15 and 20 lbs of dead weight. Seeing that I usually carry big bags which weigh a ton, I need one which is strong and secure.

It is finished in 2 colors - gold and platinum - which will go very well when attached to the bags. Plus it is about 40g, not too bad.
I am still thinking if I should get it as it is US$48 each. Add in shipping, it will be around US$62. Would you pay close to S$100 just for a bag hook? It does sound a bit extravagant, doesn't it? Plus, I just have to trust the specs that it can hold up to 30 lbs and the tip of the hook can really stay on the edge of the table and not slide off.

In the mean time, I will just survive on the old-fashioned way. Bag on chair or lap.

ETA: I just realized it is available in Singapore too. Now I just need to go check it out at the stores.

All images from The Hookup.

Bottega Veneta - Night and Ottone

Gorgeous colors from Bottega Veneta - Night and Ottone. Night is a color which shifts from midnight black/blue to a dark stormy grey. Ottone (means brass in Italian) looks more metallic and goldish-bronze. My camera setting was bad, so the colors are not true to life.

Using flash, you see another version of the colors. The New Pyramid in Night and Mini Cabat in Ottone. Love the bags and the texture of the leather.

Disclaimer: The bags are not mine :p

Ebay Experience

I have heard of ebay. I mean, who has not heard of ebay before? But I have never bidded on anything on ebay or sold anything on it for the simple reason that I prefer to do my online shopping with regular shops with online presence. Plus there are so many horror stories about ebay. Bad buyers and sellers, scammers, and all that.

One day when I was too free, I decided to just look at ebay again and browse what is actually available there and I was amazed with the plethora of goodies put up for sale.

I decided to start my first bid on an Anya Hindmarch Be-A-Bag collection. I have always like this range but now Anya no longer does a ready to sell collection. Instead buyers get to bespoke their own Be-A-Bag using the pictures they like. While I appreciate the uniqueness of a customized bag, I also like to have some ready-made bags for choices. The reason why I never really bought the bag was the price point in Singapore, plus the designs didn't attract me then.

Anyway, so I saw this Dalmatian bag in blue which was NWT and bid on it. Being a newbie in bidding, I made several mistakes.

1. Bidding too early when there were still many days left before the auction ended.
2. Panic when someone else upped your bid.
3. Follow ebay's suggestion to up your own bid when you are already the leading bidder.

So because I made these mistakes, I pushed the amount to well over my budget even before the auction came close to an end. But at last, I finally understood why some people always monitored the bidding page during the last few minutes of the auction. And how someone could actually join the bid at the last minute and won the item right under your nose.

The Anya Hindmarch bag was finally won at US$182.50 by someone else in the final 6 seconds. D also mentioned how she won her item at the final 4 seconds.

Sometimes you do wonder if the auction could be fixed in the sense that someone else was just jacking up the prices all the time so that the final buyer would spend more than budgeted?

In any case, it was quite an experience on ebay. For those who prefer straight forward transaction, there are some auctions which do only "Buy It Now" so it was a case of just buy it if the price is right for you.

Happy bidding on ebay. There is also buyer's protection when you use Paypal to pay the seller when you won a bid or did a BIN.

But as with any online activity, one still needs to do their due diligence on researching the product and sellers, etc.

Image from ebay seller shoponine$$.

Canele Raffles City

We were actually searching for an ice cream place at Raffles City and somehow I totally forgot about Ben & Jerry in the basement level. After asking around at Cedele on level 2 (or was it 3) and Coffee Club (it served only vanilla, strawberry and chocolate from Meadow Gold - no wonder I felt the desserts standard had dropped when I had the mudpie a couple of years back), and I was racking my brains about where else to go when it hit me about B&J.

On the way there, we were sidetracked by Canele. So in we went, to Canele for light food - crepes desserts for the others while I had the corn and crab chowder soup.

The chowder was not too bad. The bread were already drizzled with olive oil though I still asked for butter. I just like variation in my food.

My beloved bag taking a rest on marbled ledge around the water feature. Sometimes I felt like I had a bowling ball inside the bag though. It was that round and roomy :p

April Fool Day - Tods Bag

So today is April Fool Day and the day where people tend to play practical jokes on others. Sad to say, I was taken in this morning by a April Fool Day joke.


My boss loves to play pranks on people and the office is definitely never a stuffy environment. So I have the day off today and he called me around 11am to say I am needed in the office in 30mins time for a discussion with someone.


I was torn between going back to the office and carrying on with my own plans. Even though it was my day off, I would still go back to the office if it was really urgent and I really was needed. I just said I actually had a lunch appointment and I would have to cancel that when he said "April Fool!"


Stunned was not the word to describe me. I really really thought it was real and I would need to go back. If I had a weak heart, I would probably have a heart attack or something. This was such a "real" and horrible joke! Lol.


So yes, my first April Fool joke after so many years. But........the call from Tods was not an April Fool joke. The G-Bag in blue had arrived! And I went down to buy it this evening! Feeling very happy that I finally got my casual blue bag.


My camera can never really capture the true color of the bag. It is slightly darker in real life and it is so light.



Besides the shoulder straps, it also has a detachable strap to sling across the body or just as a satchel style. It is very roomy with a divider in the center and it can also fit a laptop.


I am definitely very pleased with this buy.

The bag that got away - Tod's G-Bag (Easy Sacca)

I have always like the D-Bag Media from Tod's but somehow I have not really found the color which called out to me. Though this Lily (purple) does make the heart twitch a little. Just too bad it is not ordered by the Singapore outlets. The current spring colors are not really for me.

Then I saw the G-Bag (easy sacca) which was designed and named after Gwyneth Paltrow (also the current face for Tod's) I saw the saffron (yellow) one when JK tried it on, but she didn't get it as it was canvas with leather straps. The style didn't appeal to me either until a couple of weeks later when I popped by to check on the new season's wallets and the blue G-Bag was on display.

Somehow the blue looked so much better than the yellow or from the pictures. It was a blue-purple and looked like it could do double-duty (casual work bag or weekend bag). I tried it on and I quite liked it. It was fairly light (I am always on the quest for light bag as I carry way too many things in my bag) and roomy. As it was canvas, it could stand on its own and it was a different style from my usual bags.
The only concern I had was whether it could hold heavy things as it seemed a bit fragile. The SA assured me that since the leather straps were stitched almost all the way down to the end, it could take heavy weight. That some people even put their laptops in there.

There was a divider in the center which I was also not sure of. In any case, I decided to sleep on it and wait for a while. But....just one week later, it was all sold out! The saffron was already sold out too (only left the smaller/medium size). Boo hoo! :(

I would not order online as surprisingly it cost more in the States (after exchange and shipping) than buying from Singapore.

I wonder what other colors would come in for this style next year or the F/W 09 collection.

Images courtesy of eluxury.com

Coach Leah Wristlet

A little something which I picked up over at Takashimaya during the additional 10% off for card members.

Maybe I was wearing black that day but when the metallic gold wristlet is foiled against the black, it looked incredible :p This will be perfect for dinner or night out when you do not need to carry a bag. Just your essentials and you are on your way.

The color will fade or peel as it is metallic leather so just have to be ultra careful with it.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Snazzy Jane Tote

My new tote bag from Marc by Marc Jacobs. It was such an unexpected buy as I was not prepared to get anything at all. There I was, just walking towards Taka for my weekly swim at the Fitness Center and passing by Marc Jacobs when the SA saw me from a distance and waved at me. So I had to walk in and say hi. Well, he remembered me (not my name) and what I bought previously (like 2-3 months ago and I didn't step into the store ever since) and asked how I like it.

Then he told me there was a 30% off sale on selected items and pointed the section for me to browse. He was not pushy at all and just let me be. I took a sweeping glance and nothing really called out to me until I spied the tote which was sitting on the top shelf. The gunmetal color caught my attention and he took it down for me to have a look.

It was a big bag. Practical. Finally I can use it for work and for swimming after that. I was kinda thinking of using another bag for swimming and this fit the purpose. Plus there was a zip which was good to keep everything in.

See how roomy it is. There are the usual compartments for the phone and cards or keys. It can also fit in big files and a laptop. So now I have a proper bag to put my laptop in when I travel on the plane. I don't need to use my backpack anymore as I dislike carrying the laptop case.

With 30% off and additional 10% off with DBS cards (there was a promo then), it was a pretty good deal for a leather bag :) I got the last piece. It was also available in purple which was also sold out.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Groovy Doctor Bag

This was the bag which caught my attention from Marc by Marc Jacobs. I don't know what I was surfing for when I saw this. The purple looked so pretty in the pictures from Net-A-Porter.

I was so tempted to just order it online when I decided to go just check out how it is in real life. I have already called the shops in Singapore but they do not have the purple/grape and only the store at Ngee Ann City has it in black. DFS is out of stock.

It was really a good thing I went to the shop as I found it to be pretty big. It was not too heavy though. So since I didn't want black, I will likely wait for the next season collection colors as this is a classic design. I saw the grape/purple shade on other bags and I didn't like it. It was much darker than shown in the above pictures. If only, it was that shade, I would really just grab it from wherever I can find :p

I guess purple is not an easy shade to capture on camera. I have a burgundy wine colored bag and without flash, it looks indigo blue. It was the same for the new ipod nano. The purple nano on the website looked way better than in real life which was much darker and looked blue too.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Wallet Clutch

I was invited to the Marc by Marc Jacobs preview for the Fall/Winter 08 collection last week. It was quite a fluke. I went there the other night to check out the bag which caught my attention online. So we saw the bag - black - not the color I wanted which was either grape or portobello, when this caught my eye. I love the color - fool's gold.

The SA said he will call me after he checked if a certain credit card will be entitled to 10% off. So he called the next day and he invited me to the preview tea party. He said it would be better to buy it then because there will be GWPs :) So yes, I got the wallet clutch. And I got the free tee too. If I spent more, I would get a tote which was quite alright but not what I need.
The wallet clucth is really useful for days when I don't want to bring too many things out or when I drive. I can actually fit in my car key and lipbalm and tissue pack in there. Plus my cards and cash and coins.

The interior of the wallet clutch. Image from shopbop.

Tod's Short Wallet

I have not traveled via Terminal 2 for such a long time now, or when I did, bags were never my focus. I rather look at cosmetics, skincare and fragrance. I guess it was a good thing that my flight out to Chiang Mai was not a super early flight and it actually departed from T2, so I actually had about an hour to browse at the DFS stores.

It certainly didn't hurt that almost all the boutiques were having sale now. It was hard tearing ourselves away from the shops (V said I am a bad influence, to get her so interested in designers' stuff now :p). Of all the stores we went to, I love Tod's. The SA was so friendly and helpful. Plus the entire store was 30% off, including new arrivals.

Somehow there seemed to be more stuff in the airport than town stores. So either everyone has been buying from town stores or the airport stores just stock more things. Items were of limited quantity, so when you did find something you like, just grab it. There is no such thing as having to think about it.

V saw this wallet first and I liked it too. Unfortunately there was only 1 piece left in this shade. V was still undecided about it, so I told her I would just buy it first. And if she wanted it later (after thinking longer about it), she could always get it from me. And so this wallet was mine for 1 day :p (V did decide to get it in the end from me as she wanted it to match her new Mulberry bag) She was fine with me taking pics of the wallet and so here it is, presenting the short wallet. I have no idea what this is called.

It is a pale, slightly shimmery off-white wallet. Not exactly beige.


This is actually perfect for a vacation wallet when I do not want to carry too many things. Plus a smaller wallet instead of my usual continental wallet will fit better in a smaller bag too. So I am still hunting for a small wallet.

This is really a steal at only $266 ($380 before discount and 7%GST). I have never seen a designer wallet for under $300 before. And everything is always overpriced in Singapore.

ETA: I managed to check out Tod's at Taka and it was going at $287 ($410 before discount). It was a bit dark on the display set, probably due to dirt and dust.

Mulberry Agyness

The Great Singapore Sale is still on and Club 21 started the sale last weekend. With that came a promotion with AMEX where cardholders can get an additional 10% off. So we popped into Mulberry and V got herself a Mulberry bag!

The Agyness looks much better than the classic Bayswater. Apparently the Agyness is named after a model :p I was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of the SAs at Hilton Mulberry. One of them showed us the F/W 2008 catalog and the colors were so vibrant and bright. Unusual for Fall/Winter. It would be interesting to see the collection in real life.

Tods - Coral Pink Card Case

For once you get a proper shopping experience. A nice box to go along with a nice paper bag. I can finally tell or see the difference between a quality paper bag and a regular one you get from any other shops. I spilled coke on the paper bag, and by the time (around 10-15 mins later) I got to a bathroom and wanted to clean it (I don't want to attract ants by the sweetness), the stains were gone. I couldn't tell where the spilled area was, there was no streaks, no marks, no condensation at all. Amazing.

So yes, I went to Tods and got myself a little something. I first saw that earlier this year when I was looking for a wallet. I found the wallet design I like at Tods but not the style or color, so I didn't get it then. Plus I wanted to wait for the end season sale (happening now).
Ta-dah! A coral pink card case. I saw this together with the wallet. I much prefer this color to those available for the wallet.

The leather is so super soft that you can literally bend the case in half. This is convenient to take out of the bag. I intend to use this for the ez-link card and the office card access key most of the time. Other uses will probably be if I just need to carry a couple of cards and cash. There is a slot in the middle to stash some notes. Nice :)
The back view of the card case. 6 slots and the middle. So now I have totally colorful accessories, so in tune with Spring. A robin egg blue wallet, an emerald green bag and now a coral pink card case.

I still need to get a better ipod case. That can probably wait till I replace my existing mini ipod. Too bad the nano is no longer in the old design. I just dislike the current squarish look.

Kate Spade - Emerald Bag

I didn't get a Kate Spade paper bag as the big one was all out. Instead I was given the generic Takashimaya paper bag. So the dust bag will have to do.
My very first emerald calf leather bag - the New Canaan Small Malcolm. Taken with flash so it looked super bright green. I went to Kate Spade intending to check out the gold name card holder which I have been eyeing for the longest time, and then I went to buy the bag instead :p
Taken without flash. I love how the leather is soft enough to be slouchy and yet still retains its shape. I quite like the boxy look and it is definitely roomy enough for me to dump things inside. Besides the leather, the hardware is actually 14-karat gold plated :p
And I love the polka dot interior. It is so cute! It would be even better if the cotton twill lining is pink instead of navy blue. I guess I shall have to learn how to take care of this bag and not really throw it around and to really make use of the dustbag too.

My New Love

Yes! I finally did it! I bought a new wallet after deliberating for so long. There was a hole in the coin compartment in my old wallet since last year. That was annoying as sometimes the coins dropped out into other part of the wallet because of that.

I have noticed this wallet for like the longest time or at least since I came back from Canada. So since January or something? The first thought was it looked like the Tiffany blue. But somehow I just never really check out the wallet properly, so I always just passed by it. I didn't even ask to see it at all, not even when it was having the end season sale earlier this year.

Then last Saturday, while killing time at Raffles City, I walked into Agnes b and somehow asked to see the wallet. I was tempted to get it there and then, especially since there was a 10% off storewide as part of the current Singapore Fashion Festival promotion. Smsed my gfs and were told to forget it and save for other purchases. So I left it alone.

Then yesterday while in town with other friends, I decided to check out the Agnes b in Takashimaya and saw there was 10% off there too. So I decided to just get it since I do need a new wallet and I love the design and color of the wallet.

The interior is not as ideal as the Tod's wallet but it is sufficient. 10 card slots, 3 compartments in the zippered area plus a few others for the notes. I could wait for the end season sale (probably happening in June or July) but it would be taking a chance on whether there will be stock for the wallet in a few months time. Anyway, while I like the interior of Tod's wallet, I didn't particularly like this season's design.

Bottega Veneta New Pyramid and Sloane

I saw someone carrying a BV bag the other day at Isetan Scotts supermarket and was enthralled by it :p It was of a greyish or metallic hue, unlike others I have seen before either online or in shop. I thought it was a pretty good size, slightly bigger than the Veneta and had a more squarish base and it came with a zipper top too.

So there began my search for the bag. I narrowed it down to a Pyramid bag.

So then I went down to DFS and asked to see the Pyramid bag. To my disappointment, it was with a flap top magnetic closure. So I thought my research must be wrong then, and thought what I saw was the Sloane. I didn't care for the flap top magnetic closure as it was too cumbersome to get stuff out and I do prefer the zipped top though not in Veneta.

Until I was surfing again and discovered the SA from DFS has actually shown me the wrong bag. The Sloane comes with the flap top with magnetic closure while the New Pyramid comes with a zipped top. So yes, I am back to lemming for the 2 BV bags - Campana and New Pyramid.

BV New Pyramid Bag

Color: Green
• Signature basketwoven leather with brasstone hardware
• Seamless design
• Zip top closure
• 15'' shoulder strap with 5'' drop; fits snug on shoulder
• Suede lining with zip and cell phone pockets
• Measures 13'' at widest x 9'' tall at center x 5'' deep; 2 lbs.
• All measurements are approximate
• Leather; Italy; style #2129279

I do like this color. I believe it is Regent though I may be wrong. I think I would like a New Pyramid bag in this color though you can't go wrong with Ebano too. Then again, I have decided Ebano shall be the color for the Campana :p

BV Sloane Bag

Color: Olive
• Soft basketwoven leather
• Seamless design
• Fold top with magnetic closure
• 8'' shoulder strap with 7'' drop
• Khaki suede lining with zip pocket
• 14¼'' at widest x 8¾'' tall at center x 5½'' deep
• 3 lbs.
• Leather; Italy; style #2122404

Pictures and Product Information from Bluefly.com

Bottega Veneta Fall 2008 RTW Collection

I so rarely watch or pay much attention to fashion shows. Yes, quite an irony since I was in working in fashion retail for a while and also participated in fashion shows for the brands I handled. Maybe I was so involved with the show, and making sure clothes/accessories were there, fashion stylists were able to showcase the items to the best advantage and models were able to carry off the clothes, etc that there was hardly time to savor what the public saw.

Anyway, I was browsing Style and saw pictures of Bottega Veneta Fall 2008 Ready-to-Wear Collection held in Milan a few days ago for the Fashion Week and love the purple which is more of a bluish-purple. That looked like the bluish-purple which started me onto my love for cosmetics cos I was searching for that eyeshadow shade. The closest I found was Stila Mambo eyeshadow though it was not as brilliant as what I saw.

Enjoy the pictures, from Style.com and credits to Greg Kessler, Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse and Marcio Madeira.




I so LOVE this purple dress. I adore how it drapes over the body. Though I think it will look better on a tall person as it is almost like a column dress.


See the subtle detailing of the dress, which is what Tomas Maier is well-known for. Taking the classics and making it looked new. The flower velvet satin green belt adds a touch of romanticism and whimsical to a simple greyish dress.

Again, I like the blue-purple of the bag. I hope the Veneta will come in this color or the wallets, or even the sloane. So far I only like 2 bag designs from BV - campana and sloane.

I like the rich jade green too. It looks so luxe and understated.

And the shoes! I love the Fall 2008 Collection shoes! I wonder if it will come in maybe 2.5inches too.
This is simple to die for! I love the simple T-strap. It looks to be made of animal skin?

I can't wait for Fall 2008 collection to hit the stores. I love the shoes more than the bags for now. Hahaha.