Yellow Dreaming

Do you know of The Sartorialist blog? I think you should. Since discovering it, I've made a daily habit of checking it out (sometimes even before checking my work email :P).

This beautiful photo from the site has made me wanting a yellow bag of that shade. A happy yellow kind of shade. Is this canary yellow? Not too lemony yellow.

In Australia, yellow is actually "so last season" (if you consider the fact that our seasons are so out-of-sync with the rest of the world) but I don't care. I love the pop of yellow amidst the blacks and grays of winter. I want something in a fun and carefree style.

Michael by Michael Kors from Net-A-Porter




Rabeanco leather tote from BagsnPacks.com.au




Chat Chat tote from BagsnPacks.com.au

I need a yellow bag!!!!

Wishful Thinking Of a Frustrated Shopper in Oz

I miss shopping in Pinas. :( I don't know, but recently I've been wishing for Zara and Tyler shops to magically appear on Pitt Street mall. Those and everything in the Anthropology section of Power Plant. Oh, and Bayo too - if only just to see KC Concepcion's posters.

Never mind the shoes. I like the shoes from over here. Pricey, yes but I find it so easy for me to find styles that I like instantly over here. Plus there's more variety.

Since coming back from Pinas, I've rekindled my love affair with Aussie brands like Country Road, Witchery, Cue, and Sportsgirl, Marcs ... but lately I find that prices just kept going up, which, for an ordinary consumer is quite hard for me to justify. The economy is doing good, the AUD is very strong, everything is made in China (where labour is cheap) ... so why am I paying more? I go online and find the same stuff in US online stores for much less. I'm keeping an open mind about it, thinking there's some explanation to this 'phenomenon' (some economics freak explain it to me, if you dare) but at the moment, I think I'm laying off Aussie brands. I feel there's a streak of rebellion in me that just has to be let out. (Note: Shoes are not included in this rant.)

I'm not even talking about Aussie designer labels here ... just your 'everyday' brands that's supposedly 'mid-market' where basic tees can go as high as 100 AUD, it's ridiculous.

I got me a gray henley shirt from Country Road a few weeks ago, for 90 bucks. I realised the error of my ways so I ended up returning the shirt, and putting my refund towards those biker boots. (Like I said, shoes are excluded from my issue.)

The other day, I was in Melbourne for a business development gig (a.k.a. sales pursuit) and I was wearing an old skirt suit with a Tyler shirt. It was a rather simple dress shirt with an elaborate collar in beige color. I swear I looked like a million bucks. Or at least it felt like it. And the compliments on that day alone ... they'd actually pay for the shirt. And it wasn't even more than 100 AUD. It was less than three thousand pesoses. I was asked by a saleslady where I got it from, and when I told her, she said "Of course! Everything nice you see on people is from overseas." She had a point.

My friend J.L. and I (during that Melbourne trip) passed by this newly-opened Ted Baker shop (the only one in Oz, and it's in Melbourne, dang!) and we were just too excited about it that we braved the rain just to get to the store come lunch break. I don't know if it was my current state of 'rebellion' against Aussie brands, but it seemed like everything in the store was gorgeous AND justifiable. For example, a wool-blend jacket for 400 AUD with matching pants for 250 AUD from Ted Baker, with only one store in Oz (guarantees less occurence of people wearing the same thing as you), fully lined, immaculate stitching, great fit. Compare that to the same stuff from Cue - same price, maybe even a bit more, with less stellar qualities, and mass-produced and mass-sold (?) all over. See? Now I want to get that pant suit.

Having said that, I know that prices in shops like Zara and Tyler aren't as "friendly" as they are to me now, than say, when I was earning in Pinoy money. It's all relative, isn't it? In any case, I wish I'd have access to these stores right now. And I wish they'd open a Ted Baker shop in Sydney also.

Anyone want to be my personal shopper in Pinas? :D

Birthday Shopping

My birthday shopping spree is not as fabulous as you might have expected. To start with, I had a few things in mind for my birthday like ...

1. A pair of brown/caramel dressy boots
2. Black biker boots
3. Brightly-colored knit scarves
4. Anything cashmere
5. LV card holder/coin purse

But you know what I ended up getting on that day?

A knife. An expensive knife, yes, but still ... a knife for my birthday shopping spree?!?! So not fab at all. But I had a wonderful day anyway, and I'm proud to say that it didn't take an expensive purchase to make me happy on that day. ;)

The good news is .... you know those boots I had you all looking at? (Thanks to all of you who took time to leave comments here, on YM, and on Facebook, btw.) In person, the winner was the last one. Yes, the black biker boots from Country Road. It was love at first sight. In 5 seconds, my publicly proclaimed crush on this number became "love". I tried a pair on with my faded skinny jeans ... so rocker chic!!! And the leather's gorgeous. I felt like sniffing it over and over again. :P I put it on lay-by because I didn't want to make another impulse purchase especially because it's not cheap. I'll take them home by the 15th. (Is it obvious when I get paid? Haha!)

Side note: It also so happened that the SA whom I asked to get my size was wearing those boots. Picture this: petite lady, 40-ish (with a few visible gray strands of hair), in a black knit dress, with a long pearl necklace, and a man's watch, wearing those boots. She struck me as a much older version of Rachel Bilson in terms of japorms, she looked so cool.

The Sportsgirl ones didn't turn out to be as great as they seemed to be. My favourite one was too big on the calves, which tells you how big it actually is because my calves are big! When I tried them on, they fit my calves like those Wellington/gum boots! The Witchery one is nowhere to be seen in store. My guess is that it's been so popular that they've sold out. And I realised the heels are too high. I want something I can wear on the winter weekends also.

Anyways, I decided I'll be getting two pairs this winter. And yes, my excuse is I've missed out on boots for two years anyway, so I'm recouping that lost time. (I know, I know, it's a lame excuse to justify it but hey, it's my birthday month! :P )

Now if only that perfect pair of brown/caramel would just surface soon.