Third screening announced: Tuesday, August 30, 8pm; see below for more information.



Hey kids! It's that time of month again… August marks the big sixth month anniversary of the Fashion is Spinach Film Series, and we're planning a very special show: Marie Antoinette, starring the enjoyable Kirsten Dunst and some delightful candy-colored Manolo Blahniks. It wasn't every critic's favorite film in the theaters, but I'm pretty sure you fashion followers out there will enjoy it for the eye candy factor alone.

Anyway, the details: Sunday, August 26. Screening time is 5pm, so be sure to come a little early to grab your seat and settle in (please note: our screening time is earlier than usual this month, and we'll be starting right on time, as Pitch Black has another event later that night). The Sunday screening is fully booked. There will be a second showing on Tuesday, August 28 at 8pm, if you would like to come then! The first two screenings are now booked -- wow, you guys really like your Marie Antoinette! -- and so we are going to add one more night: Thursday, August 30 at 8pm. If you'd like to attend, you must RSVP to me here to secure your seats in advance -- we've had a full house for the past few shows, and I want to be sure that everyone will fit. Please do not RSVP unless you're definitely going to come. And, if you really need to cancel, please send me an e-mail so we can fit others in. If you reserve seats and don't show up, then you're just depriving someone else of fabulous period costumes as reinterpreted by Sofia Coppola. Okay, petite lecture over. Hope to see you there!

Overalls, overalls.

I just saw Chloe Sevigny in this old Sassy spread on Fashionista, and immediately loved her cut-off overalls dress. Probably because this past weekend at the Swirl Swap Swop, I scored a pair of really cute Osh Kosh B'gosh engineer-striped overalls, and am planning to do this very thing.

I also scored an amazing vintage dress (so. cute!) and a fabulous Mango shift dress in impeccable condition, spotted at the same time as Annabelle, who was very nice enough to let me have it (she later scored a highly adorable skirt and jacket, so I don't feel that bad -- but thanks again, Annabelle!). And then I went ahead and bought that Twiggy skirt I'd gushed about months ago, and I met a ton of super-cool Swappers. Thanks to Evelyn and Suzanne for inviting me! I'll definitely be back.

In other news, my apologies for the sporadic posting as of late. I'm feeling a little zonked these days.

Around the Blogosphere

Fun things to keep you from actual work!

+I am totally loving these old-school Salt Water sandals in red, seen on Jenny Gordy's blog. (I'm also loving her heart doormat. Ack! Cute!) I would have never picked them out in a store, but on a person, they've got a great, retro, running-around-the-playground kind of vibe. Also: Do not miss the insanely adorable dresses she crafted for Mizutamago. Swoon.

+I am completely in awe of Tricia and her restyled denim dress, which I completely covet. I've been obsessed with bib-front dresses lately, mostly due to this handmade one, which I first spotted on Wardrobe Remix.

+Jo did a fab piece on blogger/designer Courtney Russell that you can see on Cookie's site. That squirrel is phenomenal.

+This is not really fashion-y, but I totally love Storked!, by a 26-year-old single mom-to-be. Cool moms are always awesome.

+As if you needed more reason to stock up on works from young and emerging artists: Design*Sponge shows just how eye-catching a collection of cool, varied artwork can be. Get thee to Etsy, stat!

+Did you know? Nesting dolls are the new black! They're such an iconic, versatile item, it's really no wonder (though the author puts her money on acorns). Billet Doux on Haji Lane has a great range of products in Ivana Helsinki's Maatuska print that I've been drooling over for weeks.

+Fashionologie directed me to this profile on the gorgeous and tragic Isabella Blow. Last year, I attended India Fashion Week and Isabella was also there. My seat was usually right across the runway from hers and I spent the week marveling at her amazing hats and clothes. (We didn't quite "meet" but I did fix the buttons on the back of her dress at one point, and she smiled and said hello every time we passed thereafter.) She was in very bad shape even then, which was sad and unfortunate, but she was still clearly amazing. The profile gave me goosebumps; she's a true style icon and a total inspiration.

+Er, and on a very unrelated, body odor-specific note: Bunnyshop has totally swayed me into trying Nivea spray deodorant. Stay tuned for the full report!

Weekend Recap, in Fashion-Related Highlights

1) Actual Purchase 1: Neon pink belt, $9, from the enormous Topshop sale. It's like the whole store is discounted, though I couldn't find anything else that caught my eye.

2) Wish-I-Could-Purchase #1: Stunning Eley Kishimoto sundress (above) at Front Row on Ann Siang. Unfortunately, it is about S$900. Unfortunately, it is not even the littlest bit on sale. Sigh. Their whole spring/summer collection is completely amazing – definitely worth a click-through.

3) Actual Purchase 2: Seriously adorable top from the seriously adorable Haji Lane boutique Soon Lee. (And a wide black patent belt, which will come in handy when reigning in all the voluminous tops I bought last spring.) I loved meeting Sharon and Wei Loong, who have stocked the shop with some really stylish, highly affordable pieces. The place was hopping! Luckily, they have awesome fashion books and mags to keep you entertained when waiting for the dressing room. I'll definitely be back soon.

4) Wish-I-Could Purchase #2: I've got my eye on a gorgeous Elfenkleid top from Billet Doux, another favorite new store on Haji Lane. Maybe I'll spring for it on my first payday. Mike also scored a great pair of gray Svensson jeans there that I might have to borrow (shhh...).

5) I had a great time at the Qui Etes-Vous Polly Maggoo? screening! We had a really good crowd and the perfect number of people -- thanks so much to everyone who came out, and for the Pitch Black kids for being so on top of things (and giving me extra popcorn). Stay tuned for news about the reshowing and also for next month's film, which will be our Exciting Six-Month Anniversary Screening. (Note to Lola: The woman who is always wandering around the office asking "Where are my layouts?" is one of my favorites too.)

6) I enjoyed poking around Wood Would at The Cathay, looking for some cool cards to help spruce up the cubicle. Nothing grabbed me this time, but I really just love the happy feel of the whole shop.

7) I happily indulged in the $10 tea-and-a-10-minute shoulder massage at Mask. Seriously good deal. (They have fantastic tea.) Very nice finish to a weekend of shopping.

8) I kinda loved the newest Harry Potter flick. Which is not really fashion-related, though I find myself really wanting a hooded cape-y cloak, just like they have at Hogwart's. So dramatic!

Current Obsession: LeSportsac Neighbor print

I'm not really a LeSportsac kind of girl – really, I pretty much avoid anything with an obvious label. But lately, they've featured a bunch of super-cool graphic patterns that I love despite the prominent LeSportsac-labeled edging. The print that is most appealing to me is called "Neighbor" (that's it above) – such a fun, colorful, eye-catching design. For months, I'd stop in and contemplate a little Neighbor-print purse for sale in one of the shops in the Singapore airport, but the last time I was there, it was gone. So of course I became completely obsessed with getting my hands on one immediately.

Through eBay, I've now snagged two Neighbor-print pouches, for storing cosmetics and other things in my purse. In hindsight, two was probably a little excessive, but they do make me smile whenever I reach in there for something.

Ommmm... croissants....

I've had July 27 marked on my calendar for weeks, as it's the day The Simpsons Movie is getting its worldwide debut.* (We will so be first in line to see it.) So imagine my excitement -- and a little bit of surprise -- to see this fab spread in the new U.S. Harper's Bazaar. It's definitely not your average fashion magazine story, but Bazaar has been taking a few cool risks lately with their fashion pieces and I like it.

I also love the Simpsons-style Alber Elbaz! See the whole spread (and the original outfits and designers from the piece) over here. Via PITNB.



*FYI: For whatever reason, it actually comes out July 26 in Singapore. Lucky us!

Pollymania!

Just a quick note to say that we're all booked up for this Saturday's screening. (If you RSVP'ed before this Tuesday, you should have gotten a note back confirming your seats. If you RSVP'ed before Tuesday and didn't get a note, send a complaint and we'll work it out.) Our apologies to everyone we've had to turn away -- and anyone who hadn't gotten around to RSVPing that we would have had to turn away. But good news! We're working with the busy Pitch Black kids to schedule a second screening date in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for the new showtime. Rest assured, we will not be fully satisfied until all interested Singapore style lovers have witnessed the wonder that is Polly Maggoo.

In other news, I have a fun new fashion-y job (more details soon, I promise). Posting will be a bit light while I settle in and get all my Muji desk accessories in order in the new cubicle. Stay tuned!

Lorgan's: A Love Story

After a few recent queries from readers, I decided I really needed to get myself down to Lorgan's, the mid-century furniture mecca here in Singapore. (It's down by VivoCity, and so I highly recommend you pair it with a trip to the VivoCity Daiso {the fun & funky Japanese $2 store}, which is by far the biggest and best Daiso I have ever been to. Really, it's even better than the one in Harajuku in Tokyo.)

Anyway, back to Lorgan's. My overall assessment is that it's no Papaya (the massive mid-century-heavy furniture warehouse in central Bangkok) but it does have a well-edited, easy-to-navigate collection and is definitely worth a visit. There's also small selection of cool fashion, jewelry, fabric and housewares as well – so even if an S$1800 credenza isn't in your budget, the S$38 mod serving set could be. We had a blast poking through all the possibilities. Check it out.








Lorgan's Design Source. 100E Pasir Panjang Road, #01-02 Century Warehouse, Singapore. 6377 1796 or 6272 4988. Lorgans.com

Shopping the Great Singapore Sale: Part 1

Actually, to paraphrase the fashbash gals, 10% off storewide – which seems to be the deal a lot of stores are offering -- is not exactly a "great" sale. However, we've scored a couple of things worth mentioning.

For starters, Zara! We've trekked to almost all of them at this point, even the one in VivoCity. Because they all have slightly different stuff. Even Mike came along and scored a couple of shirts (at the Takashimaya Zara – the rest of the stores were out of his size). At last look, things were 30% off -- which is pretty good, but not great, so we're not going overboard. Still, we couldn't resist the dress above. The funky cut-out neckline seems like something we would find on a dress that is designer-made and much more expensive. (It's too bad the dress part is sorta crappy, but the neckline distracts from that enough to keep me satisfied.)

To be fair, we spotted a woman wearing this dress earlier last week and accosted her to find out its origin, so we had our eyes peeled for it when we walked in the store. Otherwise, it's such madness in Zara it can be hard to pick out the gems.

Also scored: Cute little Nike tennis outfit (note: it's 20% off if you buy from Isetan, but only 10% if you buy from the Nike store right next door). And wide-legged-y jeans from Mango, at 50% off. Pretty cute ones, too. We're obsessed with wide-legged jeans at the moment, and are wondering why more stores aren't stocking them yet?

Sweet!

Immediately after posting my endorsement of tennis chic, I stumbled upon these purple Nike "Graphic Wristbands", which I absolutely love and had to buy immediately. Unfortunately, they don't appear to be widely available anymore (except on eBay and at Royal Sporting House in Centrepoint, if you live in Singapore), but they are seriously cute, in a Japanese origami paper kind of way.

This weekend: Free cotton candy! (And cute fashion!)

Nothing gets us more excited than the lure of free cotton candy (or candy floss, as they say in these parts) -- except perhaps the cotton candy itself (ooooh… sugar rush!). Which is why we're probably going to need to stop by MAAD's one year anniversary party on Saturday and Sunday (July 7-8). Well, that and all the cute things to buy.

And then Saturday night (July 7), after we get our butt kicked in tennis (and blame it on the aforementioned self-inflicted injury), we're planning on taking our sweaty self to the Rapunsale over at Loof, which runs from 4-9pm and features some of our favorite Singapore stores, including WoodWould and Style:Nordic. Plus 1-for-1 mojitos, which is almost as good as free cotton candy.
{Delicious-looking photo found here.}

Regrets, I've Had a Few

This article on fast fashion post-shopping regret (via fashionista) really hit home, mostly because I've got a Big Ol' Oops from Topshop sitting next to me on my sewing table, mocking me relentlessly.

I don't regret most of my purchases – in fact, if you've been reading this blog for awhile, you'll know I suffer from non-buyer's remorse much more than buyer's remorse (in fact, I'm currently suffering from extreme non-buyer's remorse over an Orla Kiely bag, found on major sale, that I talked myself out of a few weeks ago and now think about every single day. Sigh.) But the other week, in a period of pre-birthday bliss (or was it fear?), I scooped up a highly adorable, somewhat skimpy Topshop sundress (apparently, I'm not alone on this front – it's the summer of the cheap dress! Although, to be honest, in my closet every summer is the summer of the cheap dress. But let's go with it.)

The one I bought is not the one above, but it is the same style as the one above, in an extremely cute patterned fabric. I knew in my heart that it was not the cut or style for me (for starters – I just do not have the top half to fill out a top like that). But I wanted it to be the style for me so badly, so I kept it. And now it hangs out in my "alterations" pile, reminding me that if I had shown some common sense and a little restraint, I could have bought a pair of wide-legged jeans instead.

July Screening: Qui Etes-Vous Polly Maggoo?

It's that time of month again! Our July Fashion is Spinach film screening will be the ultra-mod Qui Etes-Vous Polly Maggoo?, a fabulous fashion frenzy about an American model in 1960s Paris. It's equal parts style and surrealism, and incredibly hard to find, so if lots of you come out, it will make the large amount of money I paid for the movie on eBay totally worth it.

The lovely Susie Bubble saw the movie awhile back and raved about it, if you want to check out her review. The film was written and directed by renowned fashion photographer William Klein, who recently resurfaced for a big shoot in Harper's Bazaar (it was featured in the June issue of Singapore Bazaar, and I think March in U.S. Bazaar). The film is in French (with English subtitles), but I just realized that we're showing it on Bastille Day, so it all works out perfectly. Extra points for those who show up in mini-dresses and mod eyelashes! You know I will be.

Here are the details. Please RSVP if you can. Hope to see you there!

Tennis, anyone?

I totally love Gala's guide to tennis chic, especially because I've started playing regularly in the past few months and am now obsessed with things like retro-style wristbands (found the cutest pink-striped pair at Daiso this weekend, fyi) and sporty little tennis ensembles. I also sustained a pretty ugly and highly embarrassing injury while playing this weekend (let's just say it is possible to hit yourself with your own racquet quite badly) and so all tennis-related activity for the next few days will be limited to the web-shopping kind.

I'm all about the vintage tennis aesthetic, and am currently on the lookout for an old-school racquet bag, kind of like this one on eBay (below) but even more ridiculously retro, if possible. I demand 70s-style striping! Eyes are peeled…

Think Pink!

Actually, I'm pretty sure if I came home from vacation and found that everything in my apartment was now hot pink, I'd be absolutely delighted.

Pink Prank Project, via Swiss Miss.

Summer Lovin'

My couch time on Friday was pretty short (because, as predicted, I immediately decided I had to go check out the Zara sale, which was actually kind of great. More on that soon.) But I did stay prone long enough to enjoy a great article on photographer Massimo Vitali in the July/August Elle Décor. I love his style – it's very Andreas Gursky goes to the beach – and I especially love the story of how he accidentally developed it (someone stole all his cameras except the large format one). This little snap barely does him justice, but it's just the perfect summer shot. Happy July!

Because I'm actually a huge dork at heart…

I am so jealous of everyone in the U.S. who scored an iPhone this weekend. I want one!