Arissa and I had lunch at PS Cafe in Dempsey a while ago. I really like the eateries at Dempsey. While they might be rather pricey, I find that it’s well worth it to be able to idle somewhere quiet, away from all the hustle and bustle of the city.

I love drinking tea, especially Longan tea. It has been a while since I have tasted it!

I’ve had a handful of people asking me where I purchased this bag in the previous post as well as on formspring. Truth is, I really do not remember the exact shop unit or name, but it’s on the second or third floor in Far East Plaza. It comes in white as well, for those who are interested.

I understand that this outfit is rather shapeless and baggy, but there are honestly days when I just want to be shapeless and baggy. Things are really more cooling that way, to be honest.

✖ Jacket: H&M
✖ Camisole: Cotton On
✖ Dress: Hong Kong
✖ Tights: TopShop
✖ Shoes: H&M

We choose outdoor sitting because we wanted natural lighting for the photos, but what a bad choice that turned out to be. I do not recommend it unless you are feeling especially charitable that day and wish to donate a few pints of blood to starving mosquitoes. In that case, be my guest. I swear those vermin can bite through demin if they put their minds too it. We were so horribly bitten that day that once we got into a cab, the cab driver wordlessly pulled out medicated oil for us. I guess it pays to be prepared. I don’t know about you, but I think I am arming myself with bug spray the next time I’m foolhardy enough to sit outdoors again.

Randomly, I am in love with this Proenza Schouler coordinate!

All black? Check.
Thigh high socks? Check.
Fierce shoes? Check.
Sleek silhouette? Check

Now I just need to attain that ridiculously small waist.

I wore this outfit to shop around Orchard Road yesterday, completely forgetting that it was monsoon season! I love this outfit, but I wasn’t exactly dressed for the rain so I stayed indoors most of the time instead. When it’s monsoon season in Singapore, there tends to be a steady drizzle from day to night, with huge flash storms in between. It is no joke, and you really have to dress appropriately for the rain to prevent yourself from getting drenched and catching a cold. I will surely remember to dress for a rainy day the next time I head out!

Here’s my outfit for a rainy day yesterday:

Outfit Rundown

• Top: Unknown brand, purchased from TopShop Oxford Circus.
• Shorts: Hong Kong
• Tights: TopShop
• Shoes: Sonia Rykiel for H&M
• Bag: Haji Lane

Here are my tips for how to dress for the rain:

1. Wear covered shoes or shoes with tall platforms. I think the worst mistake anyone can make when dressing for the rain is to wear sandals and end up having their feet wet! Covered shoes prevent the dirty water on the pavement from seeping into your shoes and shoes with tall platforms help keep your feet off the puddles of water and muck! I was glad I wore my Sonia Rykiel for H&M wedges. I could walk through a puddle without wetting my feet. Not only are wet feet uncomfortable, they are hardly sanitary and could potentially lead to fungal infections.
2. Wear a hat or tie your hair up. Rain leads to frizziness, your hair’s biggest enemy. To prevent rain from turning your hair into an unkempt frizzball, either do your hair up, or tuck it under a cap! Hiding your hair under a cap prevents it from getting drenched in the rain as well. I usually tuck my hair under a beanie or tie it into a bun when I am heading out into the rain. Besides knowing how to dress for the rain, taking care of your appearance matters as well!
3. Avoid clothing made of wool. While it is tempting to whip out your chic wool sweater in the slightly chilly weather, you do not want to ruin your sweater over it! Remember that wool shrinks when it’s wet. So it might be a better idea to keep it in a warm and dry place at home. Not to mention the scent of wet wool is pretty reminiscent of that of a wet dog. Knowing how to dress for the rain is essentially knowing what materials are suitable for the weather. Avoid bags made of cloth as well. Bags are one of the first things to get wet because you usually neglect to shelter it from the rain, and you really wouldn’t want your electronics to get wet!
4. Unless you can be sure that you can dry your boots completely, avoid wearing leather/pleather shoes. Like I have mentioned in one of my previous posts, mould loves damp places to grow on. If you insist on wearing your boots out, make sure to dry it later using a hair dryer set on cool. Too much heat from the hair dryer may melt pleather and even the glue used to hold the shoe together. Opt instead for shoes made of waterproofed canvas or even rubber or PVC.

These are all of my tips for how to dress for the rain! Don’t forget your brolly, and don’t let the rain be an excuse for you to hole up at home!

First of all, thank you everyone for your generous input on our previous  5 Travel Fashion Essentials post! Some of your comments have inspired me to create a series of Street Style around the World, gleaned from our observation of during visits to cities like Tokyo, Paris, London, Hong Kong, and many more! I find it intriguing how no two cities in the world have similar street styles and fashion. I figured that we should start from where we are from: Singapore. What better way is there to start off the street style series than from the place we spend most of our time in? It will probably be useful to all of you travelling to Singapore or any warmer climates during holidays, as well. Here is my take on the street style of Singapore:

✖ It’s hard to summarize something so diverse as street style and fashion, but Singapore is known for its fusion of the east and the west. This applies to our street style too: You can see a distinct separation between Japanese-inspired fashion, and western influnced style. I would say it’s about a 50-50 mix of the both in the streets of Singapore, although sometimes you can see an interesting mix between the two!

✖ In general, layering of clothing is not a trend in Singapore. This has got to do with our warm and humid climate – it is simply too warm outside to experiment with much layering! (Doesn’t stop us from doing it, but we do have a flagrant disregard for dressing for the weather.) This applies to head wear like hats and berets as well. Without such warm weather, I am sure we can see a wider variety of styles on our streets.

✖ I would say the fashion, or perhaps culture, is to dress down in Singapore. For some reason (which I do not approve of), people think it’s alright to dress in t-shirts and slippers to shop in town! But let’s put aside my prejudices and focus on the street style: Lots of flats and gladiator sandals, shorts and tank tops. I have seen a rise in the number of girls wearing heels lately, but a large percentage of them still prefer flats to heels and wedges. Any boots that goes higher than ankle boots are rarely seen.

Tips for dressing for Singapore

I suppose this section would be pretty useful for foreigners travelling to Singapore! I hope this can inspire Singaporeans to dress up more as well, because it is entirely possible.

✖ Like I’ve already mentioned above, Singapore is hot and humid year round, so breathable materials like cotton, jersey and chiffon is always in fashion. On the contrary, do try to avoid fabrics like PVC and leather. It’s too hot for them and you will find yourself sweating up a storm and having heat rashes – Not very attractive and healthy!

• One additional tip for leather and pleather in Singapore. Heat and humidity encourages the growth of mould and fungus. Organic materials like leather can and will grow mould if you don’t take care of it! I’ve had many boots succumb to irreversible mould infestation. Pleather won’t get mouldy, but it will peel and flake. To prevent this from happening, remember to store your leather and pleather in a dry environment. Dry the items well should they come in contact with water. Investing in a dehumidifier will do you well in the long term!

✖ Layering is still very much possible despite the heat in Singapore. The key to layering in Singapore is to stick to light, breathable fabrics: Silks, Chiffons and tulle for example. Arissa shows you how it can be done here and here as well! I love how layering different pieces can create a totally different style and look, so do not discount this just because of the weather! Singapore fashion doesn’t have to be boring just because it is hot.

This Alexander Wang-inspired top may be made of jersey, but it’s light and breathable. Pieces like this are perfect for layering.

✖ Weather in Singapore can only be described as being erratic. It can be sunny one moment, and pouring the very next. Hence, it might do you well to carry a light cardigan or blazer around at all times. Furthermore, almost all indoor places in Singapore are air-conditioned. It can actually get pretty chilly inside! I always carry with me a jacket for those times where I have to spend time indoors with air-conditioning at full-blast. Scarves work equally well! It’s not uncommon to see many Singaporean girls wearing light jackets and scarves on the streets.

It doesn’t have to be a thick jacket. This one made of jersey from Topshop does an adequate job!

✖ We have an extremely efficient network of roads and public transport system. So it is entirely possible to wear heels without much discomfort! Heels can do wonders to an outfit and I find it a pity that most Singaporean girls have yet to integrate them into their wardrobe. There are only so much flats you can have before they all start to look the same. Kick up your style a notch by wearing heels! Some outfits look so much better with heels than flats anyway, heels does so much more for your look than flats. Wearing a kickass pair of heels on the streets is one sure fire way to stand out in Singapore.

Wedges are a comfortable and stylish alternative to flats.

Here’s my take on the Street Style and fashion of Singapore. What do you think about it? Anything else you feel that I should add on?

If you haven’t guessed it already, we love Haji lane. No place is more characteristic of Singapore streetstyle quite like Haji lane! We often get asked questions like “What is the SoHo/Carnaby of Singapore?” or “Where should we shop in Singapore to get your unique street style?”. Our answer would inadvertently be Haji Lane: Home to many small fashion boutiques of Singaporean designers. Fashion isn’t exactly a thriving business in Singapore, so I feel that it’s important to support local labels to create a trend for street style we can call our own. Not to mention, it’s probably the only place here where you can get some thrifting done. Vintage lovers and thrifting enthusiasts rejoice! Haji Lane is probably one of the very few places where thrift stores exist. When I have the time, we will definitely do up a list of shops in Haji Lane.

I love the atmosphere of the quaint little shops there. Each shop is carefully decorated and the displays are exquisite, (You can see some of them here! ) and you definitely feel that the service and environment there is more personal compared to the many faceless shops in Bugis or Far East Plaza.  I love how graffiti splashes each wall. Haji Lane is definitely the place where Singaporean designers, musicians and artists congregate, giving a very artsy yet authentic vibe to the area. Here, you won’t find the glitz and glamour of huge international chain stores, but the gritty honest representation of Singapore street style.

I have had many people ask me where I bought this alexa knockoff bag from. Well, it’s from one of the little shops in Haji Lane! It’s made of synthetic leather as well, so cheers to all you animal lovers and vegan readers out there! I know there is a lot of stigma attached to designer knock-offs, but I feel that supporting the environment with vegan friendly fashion far outweighs supporting the intellectual property of a million-dollar industry. And let’s be honest: People who wants the real deal wouldn’t settle for knockoffs anyway.

And yes, we are still insisting on wearing black outfits even in the crazy Singapore heat! (Why hello, thunder thighs. I think it’s nigh time you make friends with the treadmill.)

Black Oufit breakdown

• Black Chiffon Dress: Bugis Street
• Alexa knockoff bag: Haji Lane
• Scarf (worn as hair bow): Diva
• Stella McCartney inspired shoes: Siren

If there’s one thing Singaporeans love more than freebies, it’s travelling. There is no better way to get away from the hectic lifestyle in Singapore than to take a short break to the beautiful beaches of Thailand or hit the shopping mecca that is Hong Kong or Tokyo. Unfortunately, Singaporean tourists have became easily identifiable due to our penchant for t-shirts, shorts and slippers regardless whether we are in Bangkok or Berlin. While holidaying may be your chance to relax, it’s no excuse to forget about fashion and dress like a slob! Arissa and I have put together a list of 5 fashion essentials while travelling here.

1. A dressy pair of shoes.

A quick survey among friends soon reveal that most of them prefer to only pack slippers and sneakers in their luggage due to space constraints. While slippers and sneakers are no doubt comfortable and easy to pack, they are not by any means suitable for every occasion. What happens if you decide to hit up a hot night spot, or choose to pamper yourself with a meal in a classy restaurant? Slippers and sneakers are hardly the way to go. I am not saying that everyone has to pack 6″ platform heels for a weekend trip to Bali, but wedges and dressy flats hardly take up more space than sneakers and slippers. Dressy yet comfortable shoes can take you to so much more places than your ratty pair of sneakers could.

If you are visiting a beautiful place, why not dress accordingly? Shoes are vital in finishing an outfit and hence they are my no.1 fashion essential while travelling.

2. A nice bag.

Is there something about those North face and Jansport knapsacks that I’m missing out on? I understand that they are easy to carry on board the plane, especially when you are lugging grossly overweight check-in luggages like I always do. Much like shoes, however, they are hardly suitable to carry to most occasions like shopping or hanging out at the beach. I find it awkward how you would have to put everything down in order to swing your backpack around to get things out of there anyway. Consider a nice weekender or a boston bag – They can fit the same amount of things inside and are much more convenient. Plus, backpacks are a neon beacon to every pick pocketers out there!

3. Makeup

Another travel essential for me is makeup. I never ever leave the country without a makeup bag!

Everyone loves to take pictures when they are travelling. And we all know what changes in climate can lead to breakouts,  jetlags to bad eyebags, dry air to chapped lips. A little makeup always helps you look better when smiling for that picture! It will be a pity to have a picture taken at a beautiful place, only to have everyone’s attention focused instead on your eyebags or that huge zit on your forehead. Even if you don’t wear makeup, moisturiser, sunblock and chapsticks are a must in protecting your skin.

4. Basics for layering.

I find it extremely cumbersome to pack things that won’t match with most of my items. It takes up luggage space which could have gone to shopping loots! Tank top, a button-up shirt, shorts and tights are a permanent fixture in my luggage (in black, of course.) You can throw a blazer over a tank top and tights and be ready for a night out in town, or pair it with denim cut-offs and a loose shirt for some cocktail by the sea.

Having everything in blacks or neutrals minimizes the chance that the colours won’t match, too.

5. Accessories.

You’ll be surprised at how small accessories can completely change your outfit around! You can be dressed in just a tee-shirt and shorts, but adding accessories like bracelets and hairbands is a quick fix to help you look like you’ve put more effort into dressing. Playing around with different sorts of accessories can make you look like you are wearing a completely new outfit too. You can change your maxi skirt to a tube dress by wearing a belt around your midsection – The possibilities are endless!

So here you have it, our 5 fashion essentials for travelling girls. Now it’s your turn to tell us what’s in your luggage!

What are your fashion essentials while travelling?