OOTD: ASOS I Bow To Thee
Since I've discovered how reasonable
ASOS shipping to Singapore has been, I've been very obsessively checking in everyday to see what new items they have and till date, I've already shared two shipments with my coworkers and it is very exciting for us to have packages to open up to during our mundane workdays!
I remember what
Evie said about stepping out of comfort zone in her "
Taking A Risk..." blog entry and decided to try to inch out of it. I used to be a "walking Christmas Tree" according to a friend when she saw me for the first time in office five and a half years ago. I made sure then I had colourful necklace, bracelets and earrings everyday then and was dripping with accessories although they weren't diamonds. Five and a half years later and nearly reaching thirty (ugghh), I have toned down a lot and chose to wear only a piece or two at a time. Basically my accessories are now stored in boxes now, waiting for the day to shine. I wore one of my regular necklaces these days and dug out not one, not two ... but
four others to put on this day. Why the hell not, right?
This is my glitter-iest scarf to date for sure, a tribute to my sequins obsession and I grabbed it off the Zara shelf when I saw it, draped it over myself, felt pretty in it and brought it straight to the cashier. It works really well over plain tops, especially white ones. I am still looking for creative ways to wear it. Over dinner, it kind of felt like a bib on me. I was petrified of dripping soup on it.
This is the
ASOS CURVE Jersey Puff Sleeve Zip Back Top in Black. It comes in two colours and if there is a sale, I'll get the other colour for sure. The jersey material is ultra comfortable, sweat-absorbent and does its job of keeping me nice and cool in the ever hot and humid Singaporean weather. I am always partial to the "Puff Sleeve" design because my shoulders are a little droopy and puff sleeves add a little definition to them. The invisible zip is just a nice touch. My basic black top criteria is that it must have subtle details to make it not too casual so that I can wear out in the evenings if needed, nicely-made because I wear the
heck out of them. At £20, even though it is expensive after currency conversion, I can justify it because it has
everything I look for.
This is a navy blue bow skirt on clearance at ASOS but sadly it is no longer available. On the model, it looks very short but seeing that the model is 5'11, I knew that the skirt length would be perfect on the short me and it is. When it was on clearance, it only had my size so I knew that Providence decreed that I should own this and pounced on it. Made of linen material means it creases slightly after wash and if I didn't hang it up but it doesn't bother me. I love the bow on the skirt but I wish it was stiffer so that it would be noticed. The waist didn't really fit that well but if I had gone for a size smaller, my tummy would be quite visible. The thing about tight-fitting clothes is that whenever I go on the subway, considerate beings would stand up and let me have their seats which embarrassed me no end so I try to stay away from the seating area most of the time. But at £6, there is absolutely no complaints from me. Zilch. One of the
best ASOS buys ever.
My well-loved leopard print shoes are the reason I keep trying to match my clothes to it nowadays. It is flat and comfortable, allows me to run after buses, thieves and away from the rain! The Boy doesn't understand leopard print but ... the print, they spoke passionately to me!
The gold bearings necklace is a current staple and goes well on most stuff I own but I haven't worn the rings out in ages. The red felt ring was a handmade
Etsy buy years ago and was twilled from 100% merino wool with a vintage button secured in. I have another in gray.
The entire outfit.
I found this pair of camel harem trousers which look pretty perfect in Dorothy Perkins the other day but alas, it doesn't come in my size. Dorothy Perkins
should carry bigger sizes in Singapore. I would have bought it in a heartbeat if I could wear it.
* * *In Chinese tradition, when a newly-born turns a month old, it is a cause for celebration. Parents would either whip up a storm and invite friends and family over or cater a buffet if they are too lazy. I was working on the day my coworker has a "one month old" celebration so he brought over some traditional sweets and cakes for those who couldn't attend the actual event.
Swiss rolls and cream cakes of various toppings
Fruit tarts
Chocolate and Coffee tarts with Love
Perplexing-looking cakes and dyed red eggsThe red cakes are known as 'Ang Ku Kueh' or a literal translation of 'red tortoise cakes'. If you look carefully, it has a tortoise-shell design on it. In reality, it is a steamed glutinous rice flour cake mixed with mashed sweet potato and filled with mung bean paste filling or finely-grounded peanuts. They have a symbolic auspicious meaning to it. Tortoises or turtles are viewed as creatures blessed with longevity so in serving these to guests, it is a hope that the baby would live to a long, ripe age. The eggs are dyed red because the colour red represents happiness and good luck. Eggs are significant because they symbolize fertility and the renewal of life. Also, their shape is traditionally associated with harmony and unity. Yes, we chinese are all about symbolism!
Bows for ASOS Curve Jersey Puff Sleeve Zip Back Top
Bows for ASOS Curve Navy Bow SkirtJersey Puff Sleeve Zip Back Top: ASOS Curve
Navy Blue Bow Skirt: ASOS Curve
Leopard Print Shoes: "Your Feet Look Gorgeous" range from New Look
Sequinned Scarf: Zara
Handmade Merino Wool Ring: 3FUN from Etsy
Lips Ring: a shop off Far East Plaza
Gold Bearings Necklace: Soon Lee, Haji LaneLabels: Ang Ku Kueh, ASOS Curve, Bowdicts, Bows, Cakes, Food, Leopard, New Look, OOTD, Outfits, Reviews, Shoes, Skirts, Tarts, Your Feet Look Gorgeous
Friday, I'm In Love / Saturday Wait
It is a rare occasion I get a Friday off. Essentially, my work schedule runs from Mondays to Fridays but once every 2 months, I have to work a weekend which isn't really too bad but since I am the only one working the weekend, it tends to get lonely and cold in the office. If I'm working the weekend, I get Friday and Monday off so it's nice if you want to go shopping and not get caught in a crowd. In Singapore, it is
very easy to get caught in a crowd because there are people everywhere.
I had to maximize my Friday for the weekend loss so I went about places and am proud to bring about my first full body without head "Outfit of the Day"! I took it myself and my arms are only about that long so I did the best I can.
I've been looking out for this dress in the post ever since I bought it off eBay and it's finally here, a perfect fit on me! It is supposed to be very popular (from what I read) and sold out at the stores but I'm glad to find it and bought it at a cheap price too! There is a red one that I'll like to have too but I suppose sometimes a long and hard search isn't nearly enough. It takes a lot of luck.
My Mulberry Alexa-inspired bag. I don't have the money to buy the real one and even if I do, forking out nearly SGD 2000 in cold, hard cash can cause wet perspiration. Well it's okay, I can live with the inspired one. It's surprisingly roomy but looks compact.
My sparkly LOVE ring that makes me sad because I wore it for the first time and already, one of the diamantes is gone.The Boy and I found this old railway track by chance. I don't suppose any train runs on it anymore because I've sat and waited and no train came by at all. It is probably one of the very few places in Singapore that we can find a real railway track anymore.
This is Skinny Pizza located at Wheelock Place. My friends brought me to lunch at
Cedele because they didn't feel like pizzas. Much as I also love the Carrot Cake at
Cedele, we wanted to try the Skinny Pizza's desserts next door whose display proved more than a temptation for us.
Just look at the Banana Cake!
They have an interesting Tiffin Hi-Tea menu so I might come back someday and try it.
This is the Bitter Chocolate Tart. I really like it because I don't like sweet chocolates as much as I like them bitter. I have a very high tolerance level for bitter cocoa.
And this was the main attraction at the display window. It looks fluffy with strawberries between the sponge layers and had large, juicy strawberries (albeit sour) to draw the hungry crowd near.The Boy fetched me and we were supposed to have dinner but couldn't think of where to go so we ended up at Island Creamery. Really? Ice Cream for dinner?
A friend brought the Boy to this ice-cream place. They have interesting local flavours including teh-tarik ice-cream. For those who don't already know, teh-tarik is 'pulled' milk tea.
I do like colourful cones with rainbow rice and chocolate bits. They make me happy just by looking at them.
You'll know when the durian season is in.
These are the available toppings for our ice-cream. Dear retro iced gems biscuits! I call it 'childhood food'.
Our choice of ice-cream: Papaya Sorbet & Pulut Hitam for me, Coconut & Horlicks for the BoyThe Pulut Hitam ice-cream does indeed taste like frozen Pulut Hitam complete with the coconut taste and was utterly delicious.
Dotty Bird Dress: eBay, New Look Inspire collection
Black Cardigan: Dorothy Perkins
Mulberry-inspired Alexa: Bagspace.sg
Sparkly Love Ring: A shop off Far East Plaza
Black Bow Shoes: Dorothy Perkins
Update:
As much as I love my Mulberry-inspired Alexa, the quality of the bag leaves much to be desired. After I wrote this post, I went back to admiring the bag which I owned for a grand total of 3 days since I received it in the post. Guess what? I discovered the bag literally fell apart! Besides missing a screw that holds the sides together for its compact look, the inline seams started fraying and split. Admittedly, I carry a good amount of things in my bag all contained within a bag organizer. It includes keys, phone, makeup pouch, compact camera, tissue, wet wipes, wallet, iPod, a pen and cardholder but I don't think the weight of all these should cause the bag to degenerate within a matter of 3 days. No bag had done so on me before and I don't think a bag designed to hold more things than that should. Pfft to you if you think I should treat my bag well and carry only the lightest of things like my phone, keys and wallet. If so, I don't need a bag in the first place. I will think thrice before buying a bag online again. I'm now determined to carry the bag enough before it falls into pieces right in front of my eyes!Labels: Cakes, Food, Friday, Ice-Cream, Island Creamery, OOTD, Skinny Pizza, Wheelock Place
