By bapester, on December 30th, 2009% I was in Bukit Bintang today to get some accessories for my new toy (a DSLR- yay!) and also to exchange my Cotton On tee shirt for a larger size.
FYI Cotton On is having their sales right now. My cheap Club-Monaco-knockoff-T-shirt is now half price with the new price reductions, damn! Try going on the weekends, though, as the Pavilion branch was like natural disaster ground zero last Saturday.
Crossing over Jalan Bukit Bintang, I noticed this at the corner of my eye:-
 » Continue reading New Ed Hardy Capsule Shop, Lot 10
By bapester, on December 1st, 2009%  The Summit I was in sneaker shop Sole What? in The Gardens Mid Valley the other day, almost getting cross-eyed by the neon colours blaring from them Nike Air’s. Then, a rack consisting of hiking boots, high-tops and topsider-like sneakers caught my eye, beckoning me in its own smug manner.
My curiosity piqued a little more each time I picked up a pair, then the next, and the next. What shoes are these? Are these limited edition sneakers like the rest, or something more? Why haven’t I seen designs like these in KL before? » Continue reading Ransom by adidas: A Lust-worthy Collection
By bapester, on November 29th, 2009%  Photo from Sup's F/W 09 Lookbook In a closer to perfect world, I would be able to make it down to Singapore at the end of every year for some post – Christmas shopping. However, due to some foreseen circumstances, this plan will have to be put on hold. Still, there’s no harm in preparing a shopping list beforehand. After all, time is of the essence while in Singapore.
» Continue reading Shops to visit in Singapore
By bapester, on November 5th, 2009% 
After dinner at 1-Utama today, I was walking past the shops with my friend when this guy came charging across us from our left with a purposeful walk and curious eyes. While I first thought he might want to attack us, it turns out he was actually attracted to the window display on the shop to our right. It was a Clarks shop that he was looking interested in (not us), and I was wondering what the fuss was all about.
» Continue reading Clarks' 60th Anniversary Desert Boots in Malaysia
By bapester, on November 1st, 2009% With some new observations mall-wise, shopping for men’s clothes in KL isn’t such a pain after all..
1. Cotton On
As mentioned in my earlier post, I discovered this label while holidaying in Australia a month ago. I was delighted when I entered its shop in Melbourne, because it was one of the few Australian labels that offers decent clothes at high street prices.
When I first found out that they were opening branches in Malaysia, the sales assistant told me that it was going to be in Pavilion and Sunway Pyramid. Further research on the internet, however, indicates that a branch is going to be opened in 1 Utama as well. Tongue in Chic reports that the 1 Utama branch would have opened on 24th October, followed by the Sunway Pyramid branch on 30th October just two days ago.
» Continue reading An updated take on menswear shopping in Malaysia
By bapester, on October 27th, 2009% Sometimes I feel that I have to stop complaining about the sad state of men’s fashion in Malaysia.
I just came back from a holiday in Sydney and Melbourne, and the selection of menswear there seems even more limited in certain ways. Of course, being a tourist I may have been window-shopping at the wrong places. That said, my observations are that the mens clothing I come across are either limited/expensive/basic.
In terms of the high street, I found men’s clothes in shops like Jeans West, Country Road and Energie rather bland and simple (and given the skyrocketing exchange rate, not worth my Malaysian ringgit). Maybe it’s an Australian thing though, as I observe that many men there tend to be dressed in decidedly subtle/simple basics like distressed plain tees, deconstructed cardigans, skinny denim/shorts and plimsolls. And almost always in monochrome.
» Continue reading A take on menswear shopping- Australia
By bapester, on July 5th, 2009% NB: There is a blog by the name of The Choosy Beggar, a name which is rather self-explanatory (it is a blog that blows the whistle to discerning but broke shoppers in NYC whenever there are sales in credible/noteworthy brands or shops) . Closer to home, we do have a few blogs that announces sales dates etc (one of them is extremely popular, in fact). However, these blogs report sales of all sorts, including electronics, stationery, near expiry toiletries. Furthermore, going to a sale in Malaysia is like a lucky dip- some goodies are no goodies at all. Malaysians who have lived abroad would know what the sale situation like in Malaysia when compared to other countries. Many sales in Malaysia comprise of either very very old/ugly stocks or meager reductions not worthy of the word ’sale’.
Compounding to this problem is if you were the Malaysian version of a ‘choosy beggar’, and a male one at that. I could spend a whole day writing about the predicaments of being a male ‘choosy beggar’ in KL, but in two words- it sucks.
So in conjunction to the nationwide sales, here are some relevant observations and updates which I hope would be useful to some. I didn’t do this on purpose- I was basically wandering around my favourite shops to work off my lunch before my gym workout.
1. Gant
Is closing! It’s a pity that American East Coast/Ivy League style did not catch on among Malaysian shoppers. I am surprised it didn’t because the materials are suited for Malaysian weather (cottons/linens/seersucker) and the designs are conventional and not over-the-top. Plus, they are de rigeur of summer 2009, all over the streetstyle and fashion blogs
Hurrah:
Discounts=Great. 70% off storewide with some value buys. If you are an Amex/Maybankcard user you get additional 10% off the discounted price, ie a 73% discount (You don’t get 80% off, mind you)
I finally found a pair of slim chinos after 1 year of hunting (told you it was hard being a choosy beggar in KL!), at 73% off! It’s probably several seasons old since I didn’t see them at last year’s year end sale. I don’t know if slim chinos are in favour this year, but who cares? We live in KL!
Boo:
Menswear items still available are mostly in sizes L or XL, with the smaller sizes already snapped up (sale started 1 July). My slim chinos were W34, the last and smallest size of the bunch.
A question of ethics arises for the shop not informing the customers that the additional 10% discount is on the discounted price and not the published price.
Verdict: Goodbye Gant, sorry Malaysia didn’t love you as much as I did for your 70% off reductions. But I hope you get bad karma for misleading your customers about your discounts.
2. GAP
I respect the FJ Benjamin group for not insulting the Malaysian shopper’s intelligence and giving genuine discounts on their current items. Their sale started about 2 weeks ago, and it was for the current SS09 collection!
Hurrah: 30% off almost all of their great shirts. I got one in teal gingham long-sleeve for about RM140. Lots of nice summer shirts and shorts in tasteful plaids, ginghams, madras, seersucker. Many sizes available.
Boo: None noted.
Verdict: Noteworthy, genuine sales for up-to-date yet practical American casuals.
3. Zara
Hurrah: Black and white espadrilles for RM49.90.
Boo: Most stuff are only reduced by 15%, but they made seem it like a hell of a big deal. No wonder the cashiers on the men’s dept weren’t busy. The sales in UK were much better in comparison.
Verdict: You call this a sale?
4. Nautica
Selection this time wasn’t too impressive. Discounts were fair, but not noteworthy. I once bought a brown leather belt for RM50+ there, but this time around the discounts were only 10%. Perhaps the best discounts are not to be had at Megasales period.
5. M boutique by Melium, the Gardens
This shop, tucked behind the escalators in the ground floor, stocks the more edgy and youthful fashion labels like CDG, Fred Perry, Y-3 and K by Karl Lagerfeld.
Hurrah: 50% off Fred Perry made in England (I repeat: made in England) polos at various sizes
It doesn’t get much better than this. Hope to cop this during their next sale in the year-end.
6. Club Monaco
Visited this last week in Pavillion. Reductions were mostly for their AW 08/09 collection, not the summer collection. In general, I think they have better discounts at the end-of-season sale, especially with further reductions.
7. Banana Republic
Also visited this last week. Discounts this time around weren’t that great, but being part of FJ Benjamin it still is a genuine sale. Didn’t see many 40% reductions as compared to previous years.
Maybe their other sales are better.
Final word: Don’t fall for the 10-15% discount crap. And as you know, Malaysian sales happen all year round. Many shoppers would realise that some great deals are to be had outwith the Megasale period.
By bapester, on July 3rd, 2009% 
I am behind time as usual.
Just got to know about this after visiting DJ Blink (of Lapsap)’s blog. Singapore is so lucky as usual, all the major Japanese retail chains will choose to open there. They’ve already got Muji and Graniph, and now Uniqlo!
I visited both Graniph and Muji when I was down there in Feb, Muji was fine (was tempted to buy their boston bag) but Graniph wasn’t as impressive as its website suggested. I guess the selection of items brought over to our shores tend to cater more to the South East Asian, less adventurous tastes. Just like how a friend mentioned that H&M in Shanghai wasn’t as good as the ones we were used to in Europe.
Hope the selection in Uniqlo would not dissapoint. On my list are nice slim chinos sold last year. And perhaps some UT’s, too.
Would be looking forward to visiting Singapore at the end of this year, provided I don’t come back a pauper after my Aussie trip this October.
Update: Upon seeing the pictures posted here, I have a gut feeling that I might be disappointed with Uniqlo Singapore? Place looks a bit more F.O.S than its counterparts in NYC or London. Nonetheless, it’s what they sell that matters. Many H&M stores look unsavoury too.
On a related note,
I also hear of a new mall opening up in Singapore around these coming months called the ION Orchard? According to this blog here, they are going to house:
“Cartier, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Louis Vuitton and Prada. Burberry, Ermenegildo Zegna and Yves Saint Laurent….Christian Audigier, Dsquared2, Diane von Furstenberg, Harry Winston, Hilfiger Denim, Just Cavalli, Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Tam…..Bally, Miu Miu, Muji, Salvatore Ferragamo, Sephora, Thomas Sabo, Topshop/Topman, Uniqlo and Zara.“
Typical luxury shopping mall fare. Meh.
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