Cheap Thrill: Baggu Leather

Sometimes fashion comes full circle.  I've always felt Jil Sander's market bag was more or less an overpriced Baggu: vaguely luxurious when done in leather but ultimately a £606 £243 hole in one's wallet.  Well, "the original" has one-upped the fashion house by creating a leather Baggu priced at a comparatively paltry US$120!  

A virtual twin with none of the rip-off shame?  Needless to say, I'm genuflecting at the shrine of Baggu with the trusty sacrificial credit card in hand.  Available in black and apricot, and in Small (10"W, 16"H, 6.5"Drop) and Regular sizing (14"W, 24"H, 10"Drop - US$150).  

Go, Sure Buy: Uniqlo +J vs. Club21 Accessories

When it rains, it pours.  New York and London may have their fashion night out, but over here it's just mulling over how to best spend an hour(ish) at lunchtime today.  It's a fashion face-off between the final Uniqlo +J range and Club 21's cheeky prep-school named 'ACS' Accessories Clearance Sale.

Maybe it's queue fatigue - I refuse, on principle, to queue to get into H&M on a weekday (yes, there are still queues in the evening) - but I'm slightly loathe to attempt the Club 21 sale after braving their Bazaar not so long ago. Still though, the siren call of Marni accessories at 60-80% off beckons rather persuasively.

On the other hand, having planned my possible plan of attack, I have one key item I'm eyeing from the +J range - more black long sleeved tees which during Fall 2010 were so well cut that people constantly asked if I'd lost weight when I donned it.  Permanent diet in a tee?  I'm there!

Which will you be going for?

Uniqlo +J

Only available at 313@Somerset

Club 21 'Accessories Clearance Sale'

01-28/29 Forum

9 to 11 September 2011

10.30am to 7.30pm 

(6pm on Sunday)

{pc: onesixtynotepad; club21; uniqlo}

Today I Eat, Tomorrow I Shop: Weekend Sales

Club 21's May Madness is back from 29 April to 2 May for Club 21 cardmembers - but this time it's 10% off any 2 items, and 15% off for 3 or more items. 

Unfortunately, a big fat sticker on the reverse of the pre-printed postcard clarifies that the promotion is not valid for Comme des Garcons Pocket, on CDG Play or Black products, or Balenciaga bags and small leather goods. Right - so that basically scrapped most of the shopping list which ran through my head when I first sighted the card.

I might still pop by Tsumori Chisato (cute little scarf, you are mine!) especially since the Inhabit Bazaar Sale is happening in town too - Alexander Wang and Phillip Lim at up to 90% off may be too good a bargain to pass on.

And to top it off, The Link is offering 30-50% off selected items at Bagbar, The Paragon. I scored a gorgeous leather cuff there during their last clearance sale, so I'm hoping the trip into town will be fruitful.

Traffic Stopping: Bright is Right

{apairandaspare}

I've been putting my Lenten shopping ban to good use: trying on every single pair of red pants in the stores, and scouting for an alternative to Jil Sander's vivid acetate bag (read: the £77 designer plastic bag).  

Perennially, not a lot of cuts work on my petite frame. Or the colour wasn't intense enough... even my old favourites Shopbop and Net-A-Porter proved unfruitful. Fortunately, independent label EmersonMade has stepped up to the plate with the perfect red pant - complete with styling inspiration on how to wear them post-Colour Block Brights season. It's now sitting in my online cart with a KIV for Easter Sunday - please fit... 

The hunt for the replacement bag was significantly less painful. Trusty Baggu have an extremely affordable selection of neon brights at only US$8 each (or $6.50 if you band together with your galpal for 3 each).  On-trend and with the practical longevity of an LBD?  Sign me up! 

(Chinese) New Year Resolution: Stalk Uniqlo x Jil Sander

{pc: zombio}

With the weather as dreary as it is these days, it's a relief to know that Uniqlo will be launching their latest +J collection online first!  You can shop the +J Spring/Summer collection 2011 in your pajamas or (for me) on the move after hijacking my sister's smartphone at UNIQLO.com from 1am on Wednesday 3 February 2011 (GMT).  That's 9am tomorrow for us in Singapore!


I don't suppose it's inauspicious to buy a crisp white shirtdress or a black coatdress? You will be mine! 

*Galpal M, you know what to do with your iPad :) 

Killing Me Softly: Jil Sander @ Club 21 Collectibles

{pc: polkadot}

Whomever at Club 21 first thought of drawing their Bazaar Sale out over a month is devious, brilliant and deserves a major raise.  Navigating (away) from sales are tough enough, but forcing me to attempt to avoid early Orchard Road is just impossible.  Let alone the wonderous possibilities of Jil Sander at (hopefully) +j...  So I've thrown in the towel and decided to head down there with galpal M tomorrow after work... needless to say, the pre-condition is that I'm leaving all my credit cards at home.  Here's hoping there's safety in numbers! 

{pc: Club 21 fb}

Love is Simple.

More Jil Sander love - now from the Navy line. Can't wait! At prices from US$100, my heart now belong to that divine two-tone trench, though practicality will certainly win out and drive me into the arms of that handkerchief dress.

{pc: Dazed Digital & Nitrolicious}

Uniqlo +j: Gimme Gimme More

The dust has barely settled here for Jil Sander's +j range (loads of Ls still in the 313 Somerset store) but already plans are well underway for the SS2010 collection to drop in Japanese stores by Christmas, and London by 7 January!  

Seeing how it took 2 months for the FW09 collection to arrive in Singapore, I'm guessing they'll release the pieces in Singapore only in March/April 2010.  By which time, it'll be 50% off elsewhere (again).  Oh Singapore, Oh Retail-Powers-That-Be, please fix this tragic situation. 

(pc: nitrolicious)

Planning Ahead: Jil Sander for Uniqlo

I just circled '2 October' on my calender with big red marker. I'm a sucker for well-made, affordable pieces that I can wear until I'm 60, so I'll definitely be making a bee-line for Uniqlo's ION Orchard branch to grab one of Jil Sander's +J offerings.

Wondering if I should just hedge my bets and order online through their UK site the day before. If anything sells out at ION and I have to go all the way to their Tampines branch instead, it might be too much for me to bear!