I had recently chanced upon a thrift shop here in Singapore which has been around for a long time but I have never had the chance to explore till recently. Here, I found the most amazing upcycling idea which the thrift shop has taken on to actively promote sustainability and yet be able to move their items in order to secure every sale that goes towards contributing and providing financial aid to the poor - The Society of St Vincent De Paul.
So what is so amazing was that I found some stunning Obi belts which is one size fits all and is perfect for them to use men's ties and create this amazing new product. As most people are working from home, of course men nowadays rarely wear ties to work or even from home, so with so much stock of donated men's ties in the store which was not moving off the shelves, this amazing idea by one of their volunteers got me so excited that I bought 5 immediately. Not to mention that a local newscaster/ celebrity/ ex-model saw it on my Instagram feed and she too supported them with some purchases. From then on, I have touched based with the store manager and he said since the post on Instagram, many have been buying the belts and the volunteers are now struggling to get more out as there is now a waitlist. Previously when they had first launched it, it was online for sale for over 2 weeks yet no one took any interest to it.
So as I would say #trustthestylist and once I showcased how to mix and match using these Obi belts, I am sure more of you ( especially those living in Singapore) will be able to lend your support to this great cause and promote sustainability.
Enjoy this little video I had put together showcasing 3 of the Obi Belts I have purchased for your styling inspirations.
( Please click here if you are unable to view above )
Thanks for being so patient in waiting for this post.
I just want to take this opportunity to thank you for always being there for me. Always supporting me with your follows, comments and just listening to me vent and express my views every now and then and appreciating the effort I put into each post and picture, and what I intend to put out there to inspire.
Of late, I have been facing an emotional battle with social media and what I had intended for my Instagram profile when I first started. However having been working non-stop since Singapore went into her Circuit Breaker period ( now being 7 months), I have seen so many good and also bad sides of people and in many ways have had me feeling so disappointed in the humankind. To see and hear about the evils happening around the world, like the terrorist acts in France and all the wrong doings big or small and crimes committed against innocent people during this period, gets me thinking that I too cannot just sit here and do my thing when I hear of all the hurt and pain others are facing in another part of the world. A
So, I have decided to take it slow with social media for a while. To regroup my thoughts and feelings and not let it take over my life but compliment the direction I want to take with it. So for today's post - something a little different again - channeling vintage.
There is always something about Vintage that makes me happy. To bring me back to old times when people were perhaps happier, simpler and appreciative of others' efforts. And so this lovely shirt that I had gotten from my favourite local vintage store A Vintage Tale resonates so strongly with the 60s for me - girl power and freedom. Paired it with another striking pattern of a floral clutch and a statement leather vintage belt and grounded the look with retro earrings and a simple pair of grey Chanel sneakers.
Feeling the whole 60s Flower Power vibe, done my hair differently this time and bringing us back down to reality - finished off the look with a matching coloured mask from Al.Ma.Lu as I am sure this is the new normal for us to be wearing masks out for most countries well into next year.
I hope you like this fun and fresh look and do let me know if this is a style I should continue to trend moving forward. Stay safe everyone!
Its Day #14 for me having started to practise and seriously take into account social distancing and my self imposed stay at home notice. It's been a little trying cos you know how much I love to be out and about taking my photos in various settings outdoors and just to go visit my favourite brands to land my support ( emotionally as well as maybe even helping their business in purchasing an item or 2) in their retail outlets. However with the increase number of community spread that we are now facing in our second wave of this pandemic here in Singapore, everyone of us needs to do our part to ensure that we can stop this vicious cycle. What is this little inconvenience when others are fighting for their lives!!
So here I am, stuck at home and feeling that itch to start putting shoots together again. Hence, I decided to style this gorgeous dress today on my balcony. This beautiful cotton dress was sent me a while ago by Pastel Peacock. Started by Pooja Patel who is a fashion designer based in Ahmedabad, India, I love the block print on the hemline of this outfit and the cotton fabric is such a welcome treat for such hot weather these days in Singapore.
As you know me, more is more - and so I had to add on my little personal touches to finish off this classic cut dress by pairing it with my leather vintage belt from The Tui Collection, my all time favourite pair of earrings from Halo Halo Bebe, this gorgeous rattan bag from Miuccia Studio and of course the pop of colour with my Fire Engine Red Lipstick and this pair of their latest collection Ria Menorca wedges from Binibeca Fashion.
Feeling that vibe of Audrey Hepburn in this classic style swing dress that's so perfect for summer - this look had to be paired with a wide brim summer hat to complete the look. Inspired by the tribal style print on the dress, this pair of cuffs given to me for my birthday ( let me think about 8-10 years ago ) adds that final touch to seal the deal!!
I hope you enjoyed this look and remember - stay safe and stay indoors!
I hope this post finds you well and you are all staying safe, isolating yourselves indoors. I am following the news round the world for the latest updates all weekend and to be honest, have gotten quite depress after seeing the documentary on Italy and the escalating issue with Covid 19 by the team from Sky News. It was a wake up call for most of us who are lucky enough not to be caught in such intense environments, thankful for what our government is doing for us and our health system, yet our heart and prayers go out to all those who have succumbed to this horrible disease and to their grieving families.
At the back of our mind, many of us all over the world ( especially those in our 20s - 30s and may I add even the very old) believe this will not happen to us or our families. After all, we are keeping safe by regularly washing our hands and perhaps for some others, even to the extent of already practising some form of self isolation or social distancing. However, as much as I do not wish to create panic, I want to stress the importance that having such a complacent attitude " that it will not happen to me.. all will go away soon"... is NOT going to happen if we are all not practising what our governments are time and again screaming out for us to do. STAY AT HOME guys and be vigilant. Especially when you have old people and young children in your homes. Do not think this virus will not get you as you have always maintained a healthy lifestyle. Sportsman and athletes are also suffering from this.
Enough said, I have decided since last Friday to keep myself as " locked down" as possible. To have as little social interactions except for a quick store run for the essentials as possible. Even walking the dog, I often meet my fellow dog walking friends in the neighbourhood and now it's a quick " hi / bye" as opposed to chit chats for 5 mins on what's happening. Hence, I had to do this shoot with my tripod and remote ( sorry for those obvious point and shoot captures), with my trusted and hopefully virus free pet - Rum. She just looked like a perfect accessory to the shoot and given my inspirations from Gucci and their latest campaigns posing with animals - why not use Rum who sits around all day waiting for her moment of fame!!
For this photoshoot, I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight that we can still remain fashionably conscious and sustainable during such tough economic times. One should look at swapping our clothes, support vintage and thrift shops to recycle outfits rather than buy new so here, I have explored a new clothes swap concept store in Singapore recently and the treasures I had found there by exchanging my old gently used and pre-loved outfits is so rewarding. Enough said, you can check out the videos attached below on my review of The Fashion Pulpit which I had done recently and the second fashion inspo video on how I styled these exact same outfits I had swapped from my first video.
This dress styled above in this post was another one of my swaps from The Fashion Pulpit and I decided to showcase, that with a slight change of shoes one can create very different feels to an outfit. The first look was with tasseled slides which exudes a very summer, holiday mood. Whereas the second pairing of a leather pair of booties, is a trans-seasonal look one can style from winter to Spring and yet with this gorgeous " breathable" leather boots from The Tui Collection, its handwoven rattan design allows me to trend this even in the dead of summer and chic up a plain outfit. Try pairing this pair with denim shorts.
For this limited period,The Tui Collection is now offering all my followers a 25% off this gorgeous pair of booties by using my special code of " Booties25"!! So hurry and grab yourself a great deal now!!
So in the comments below, do let me know which is your favourite pairing of shoes from this post and in the meantime, do enjoy watching these videos below and let me know which is your favourite swap outfit too.
Today, I am bringing you a very different style of a blog post. This was a recent shoot done for A Vintage Tale based here in Singapore who recently launched their new collection of over 250pcs. Now with what is happening with Covid 19 and the global pandemic, everyone is obviously concern with spending money. However my bottom line is - work with keeping fashion sustainable and recycle outfits rather than fast fashion.
We had much fun putting this photoshoot together with different concepts and themes, however the point we want to make is - dare to be different, create your own style. Restyle and recycle your current wardrobe and in this case, shop smart and by supporting vintage, one is also helping to keep fashion sustainable rather than chucking out old style clothing. Upcycle your outfits if they seem too dated and create new pieces from old pieces.
Let me know which is your favourite outfit from the photoshoot.
A pre-school teacher by day and fashion blogger by night / weekends, blogging provides me an avenue where I can inspire others to achieve trendy and fashionable styles without having to splurge a whole lot of money doing so. " Getting The Look For Less" is my motto and helping women realise all of us can look good no matter what age, shape or size we are!
Email me at salf15loveshopping@gmail.com for comments, reviews, invites and advertorials. Thanks for reading my blog!
