My Not-So-Bargain Finds

My recent venture into the city shops have caused some damage to my bank account. No, nothing major. I honestly think they were good buys - probably not 100% necessary - but my excuse is that I felt I had to take advantage of the mid-year sales. (And I need another pair of black shoes.)

... which leads me to point out that Australian sales are crap. Prices are too high to begin with so even if stuff go on sale, they will always be comparably higher than their overseas counterparts. Like this Nine West shoe for instance.

(I know it's so boring and bordering on matronic but they are practical shoes for someone who works in the city and walks around much, i.e. shops around during lunch time.)

Anyway, this pair in the Sydney stores cost 99 AUD. Go to the Nine West US website and they are on sale for 29.99 USD. Alright, the US site no longer has my size but still ... Just disappointing but not much of a choice either.

I also got this organic cotton tee from French Connection - I figured if I buy sale stuff, I might as well do something nice for the environment by supporting organic stuff like this tee. This is on sale for $19.95.

I also got Zoe this baker boy hat in black. So cute on her. :)

That's pretty much it. See? I've been good!

Bargain Buys from Valleygirl

Yesterday was the first time I ventured out into the shops since the stocktake sales began. This entire week all I did was stay at home ("working from home"), instead of working in my office in the city, where I'd be hitting the nearby shops because I'm too bored.

I didn't intend to buy anything for myself but I went to one of the best stores for cheap thrills - Valleygirl - and look at what I scored.

This one's on sale for $19.95, marked down from its original price of $30. It is made of silk and is in a very vibrant colour of violet. The embroidery is decently done, with rich colours of yellow and other shades of violet.

The other super-bargain I scored is this jacket (but mine's in a navy blue color). It's very well-lined, the fit is great, and most of all, it's only $25!

I think Valleygirl is our version of Forever 21 ... cheap clothes of dodgy quality (most of the time) but will still give you your shopping fix, I'm sure you know what I mean.

Valleygirl's website is here.

SATC Hangover

I can't believe I lost a long draft post about my current shoe obsession fueled by SATC The Movie. Kainis. Complete with pictures and links pa naman yon!

Anyway, I'm still not over the movie. It feels like I have this prolonged hangover, which was partly cured by the coffee table book that was released after the movie. It is sooo damn good. It's a nice supplement/companion/souvenir, if like me you are a big fan of the series.

All I want to buy these days are shoes. But none of those Manolos or the Choos or Louboutins - when it comes to shoes, I am not a big spender although a few Marnis and Chloes are sort of making me rethink my position when it comes to shoe budgets.

Anyway, while browsing through online shops, I found some shoes that are almost identical to some of the shoes worn in the movie. Focus on Carrie only though. I have yet to do my "research" on the other girls' shoes.

1. Dior Extreme gladiator sandals - Carrie first wore this with the white dress in the opening scenes of the movie. I think even non-shoe fiends who have seen the movie noticed these shoes.

Dior Extreme

Here's what I found on Aussie brand Wittner's website. *drum roll, please* Wittner Vixen gladiator heels, for $169.95.

Wittner Vixen

2. Walter Steiger red strappy pumps - I can't remember when Carrie wore this pair in the movie but in the lookbook, she's pictured wearing a black pair of undies, red cardigan, and these shoes.

Walter Steiger shoes

And still on the Wittner website, a very similar-looking pair exists! This, below, is Wittner Camilla, on sale for $49.95!!!

3. Carrie wore this Gucci pair with those odd-looking YSL beige pants in the movie.

Gucci heels

Guess who has a very identical copy? It's Nine West! Theirs is called Olavera.

Nine West Olavera

That's all I can post for now. I know there's a couple more designer-inspired pieces from chainstore brands - will try to update later. ;)

Bursts of Yellow

Motivated by boredom and inspired by my yellow Bayo bag, I had a bit of fun re-creating outfits and throwing in a yellow piece. Not to be tempted by yellow skinnies - I think they are too teeny-bopper for me - I think I'll just settle for basic pieces in yellow.

Black and Gray ...

... and then a burst of yellow!

(Outfit: Express gray tee, Witchery scarf, Decjuba blazer, SFAM Flynt jeans, Nine West gladiators, Bayo bag)

Monochromatic earth hues ...

... and then a bit of sunshine!

(Outfit: Tyler cream knit shirt (worn under the jacket), Kookai brown jacket, Zara wide-legged tweed pants, Tony Bianco bone-coloured round toe wedge pumps, Bayo bag)

Black + Gray + Pearls + Yellow Shoes

(Outfit: Sportsgirl black/gray striped turtleneck tee, Witchery vest, Marcs slim pants, Schu yellow pumps)

Black + a mustard yellow coat

(Outfit: Cue mustard yellow coat, Cotton On black l/s tee, Marcs slim pants, Sapato Manila ocelot print wedge pumps)

That's it for now! (I'm supposed to be working!!!)

Pinas Shopping Report

Because I toggled between Makati and Bulacan during my two-week stay in Pinas, it meant that I was away from the shops at least half of the time. Also, the rains didn't help and the fact that all stores carry their spring/summer collection which I can't wear until the next summer in Oz, and by then I'm pretty sure they've already lost their fabulousness so sayang lang. I won't be able to post all of my haul - it doesn't mean there's a whole heap of them, konti lang talaga I swear - but here are my favourite ones.

Shoes - I've said in the past that for me, Pinas isn't the best place to buy shoes from. I can count in one hand the best local brands in terms of design and quality, but at least there's an abundance of international brands na, lalo pa ngayon. I didn't have very high hopes for finding nice shoes although I kept an open mind and still scoured the shops. I was looking for gladiators and something I can wear for the Aussie winter. Ito ang mga na-score ko.

Nine West Sulliban

(This is still being sold at full price in Nine West stores in Pinas, kahit sa US naka-sale na sya. :( I bought na din kasi next year pa yata ito ilalabas sa Australia. Double :( )



Schu

Schu was having a buy-one-take-one promo when I went to their store. IMO, this was the most decent looking pair in the store, the rest are fugly. I think this is nice with black tights for autumn/winter to match with girly outfits. I also like that it's a very light shade of yellow.

Bags - There were two only bags I had in mind: a yellow one from Fossil (which I discovered shortly before I left for Pinas) and the Longchamp bag with the fashion victim illustration in pink - these ones in particular.

I know that Rustan's carries Longchamp so I checked if they had this bag. They only had it in white. :( The Fossil store in Glorietta 4 didn't have this bag, or any yellow bag for that matter. I saw some patent yellow ones from People Are People in Power Plant but I thought those looked a bit tacky, but I was *this* close to buying one. Buti na lang I went to Bayo and I saw this.

It's patent and it's yellow and it's less than Php 1,500.00. Winner!

Then much later on, at the old NAIA on the day I was flying back to Sydney, I saw that some Longchamp bags were on sale. They didn't have the one I was looking for but they had the bag with the colour, the size and the band length I've been wanting to get because of its practicality.



Longchamp Le Pliage in Large

This was originally USD 140 but was on sale for USD 126. In HKIA though, this was being sold for USD 118. So buy in HK!

Accessories - When I think of accessories in Pinas, I only think of a few things: pearls, native wood, and indigenous materials.

I was so tempted to buy a Chanel-inspired pearl necklace from Sportsgirl before I left but I thought for about the same price (40 AUD), I can get really nice pearls from Pinas na kahit pano, may value. So I went to Greenhills and bought two long strands of pearls. (Later that day, I wore the string of pearls to my SATC movie date night with friends. So very Carrie! (If you saw the movie, I'm you'll know what I'm talking about.)

Speaking of pearls, this set of strands are added to my small collection of pearls. (Earrings not in the photo.)

Another favourite purchase is a set of bangles made of kamagong wood with semi-precious stones as charms, from Tweetie de Leon's accessory line called Ice Crystals. I got this from Rustan's Essences, where there is a stall inside that carries these accessories. Daming nice! I should have gotten the rose brooch carved out of kamagong wood.

Lastly, this rather simple bracelet from TANGO, which I think would make for a good all-year-round accessory.

----------------------------------------------

I didn't buy much clothes because as I said, there's hardly any that's practical for winter. I bought a couple of dresses which I wore in Pinas, and I doubt if I can wear those here before the next summer in Oz. However, I still had to buy from Tyler and Zara - two of the stores I missed the most. I got a few things from Souk also, and was so happy to discover The Ramp already in Glorietta. I'll try to post my clothes finds later.

Just A Tease

I have quite a bit of shopping report to post about as I had lots of good finds while I was away in Pinas and for a short time in HK (en route to Manila), but it's no fun to post without photos obviously so I will have to do this later this weekend.

I have to mention though that I'm so glad I posted about the shoes I'm loving at the moment (see prior post) because (1) I was able to get 2 out of the 4 styles I previously wrote about, and (2) I remembered I've been trying to source yellow or orange Dr. Marten's for Zoe and moi and have found these online.

So more to come tomorrow. I'm dozing off now.