under the blanket

Just like how a certain publication, which shall not be named, published an entire article based on a (possibly fictitious) fan e-mail, this blog is also not above pandering to its readership of three, especially that anonymous one who commented on the last post, asking for more fashion on this blog.

So, I hereby present: More frivolous fashiony drivel!

Ms X told me once that she was very proud that in her entire time at a renowned (ahem!) fashion mag, she never carried an It bag. In fact, she used only various cute canvas totes, sometimes festooned with geeky chic brooches.

Good for her, I say, for staying true to her anti-establishment nature. And while I have coveted the Stam bag briefly in the past (haven't seen anyone using it for a while now, so much for being an investment piece) and still think a Bottega tote would be my go-to bag if I had $7,000 lying around (actually, no, these days, I'd rather spend it on toilet bowls and windows and tiles and chandeliers and, oh, you get it), I don't see why an item meant to ferry my barang from Point A to B should cost more than my rent.

I also don't get why a skirt should cost $1,000, even if it is made of silk (even at an exorbitant $100 per metre, the cost of materials is at most $200, because you wouldn't need more than 2m to make a skirt unless it is a tent). Or how a designer tee ($200 min) is any better or lasts any longer than an identical one from Giordano ($20 max).

Hence, if you look in my closet, all the so-called designer items -- but really, even the el cheapo gold flats I favour from Cotton On can also be called designer, as in a designer had to come up with it, right? -- made their way there via a sale or flea market:

(a) a DKNY leather and tulle skirt, from my very first Club 21 sale in my first year as a writer (90% off)
(b) a couple of Calvin Klein watches (birthday gifts)
(c) three genuine leather bags (they cost less than two months' worth of dog food and do not feature interlocking logos or monograms)
(d) a canvas "Birkin" (one of a series from Slow and Steady Wins the Race, which mocks It bags; I still covet the quilted canvas "Chanel 2.55", which appears to be sold out, boohoo)
(d) a handful of alldressedup items (reckless impulse buys on deep discount, including the aforementioned $1,000 skirt at 90% off and a $275-reduced-to-$5 bag)
(e) a Kate Spade pouch and lucite ring (both gifts)
(f) my latest flea market loot of a battered Anya Hindmarch suede tote, a DKNY skirt and a Day Birger et Mikkelsen dress (grand total: $80. Score!)

But back to Ms X and her canvas totes. I am proud to report that in my years of writing, I have:
(a) interviewed shoemaker to the stars Stuart Weitzman in $5 flip flops;
(b) doorstopped Miuccia Prada in a Prada-esque poufy skirt, courtesy of H&M; and
(c) attended glitzy Louis Vuitton galas armed with my trusty battered gold vintage clutch.

While I relished those little acts of fashion rebellion, I must be honest: they were out of necessity. Unlike fashionistas who regularly attend these events by luxury houses and trot out the corresponding logo bag -- it's supposedly rude to carry a Chanel bag to an LV soiree wor, but sometimes, I wonder how poorly paid fashion writers afford the stuff -- my meagre pay barely feeds me and my dog. And now I have a mortage to service as well.

I might have to start a Go 365 Days Without Shopping Project, except I'm pretty sure I won't make it (cf. the dismal failure of the Buy 20 Items In 2010 Project). But one can try. Wish me luck!