The price & joy of buying, owning and hoarding things...

I've done it, finally....I've created a photo catalogue of all my...erm, what I call the `gig wardrobe'. Took a few wee hours in the deep corner of two nights. Walking in and out of my master room, my bedroom, hall...hanging back all the dresses was a bitch. The dust from the dress protector was killing.

What a life I have....

I have yet to have rented out my empty master bed room in this flat which I rent. So the wardrobe in that room has been converted to my second wardrobe many months ago. It's a 4-door ceiling high wardrobe, curtest of the flat owner who's installed it. I keep all my handbags, knack sacks in two doors, and next to it I hang all my Cheongsams and some spare bed sheets
and pillows.
...then in the empty (not so empty at all now) room there's the spare mattress for my folks when they do visit and two big boxes of...more of my clothes, one for my shopping bags (I never really another shopping bag in my life). The other box house my more frequently used `gym clothes'...good for work out, dance class and theatre rehearsals.




So that's just the `empty room' and it's storeroom function.

Oh yes, the store room, the proper store room...of course, house MORE clothes. There is a little bag of all my `office clothes' - now `defunct' since I don't need them while I work from home. A box of clothes not worn for moons but not ready to part with yet, with some warm clothing for my rare trips to cold places. Then there's a container with roller for all my chunky accessories, hats, feather boas, more hats, hair pieces, etc. Piling up are also some random bags of clothes waiting to be altered, given away, etc.



Of course, then there's my bedroom where the the storage of `NOW clothes' is. Among the `NOW clothes' there are pieces that haven't the day light outside my flat for maybe a good whole two years. Cramped tightly in my main wardrobe is this...quirky array of colors, sequins, dresses, weird out numbers that I just don't have the heart to part with (little French-maid-like dresses I bought from flea markets, 80s Dianne Von cat suits). The towel hanger on the back of my door has been turned into a `gown hang-out place' where I hang some of my long gowns.














I have long grown out of this 4-door wardrobe in my room, I have been using the mobile clothes rack in my flat to keep my clothes in slightly better order. Recently the old one broke when I was looking for some skirts on the rack...too heavy. I left my room in a mess for one day while I went out and got myself a bigger & better rack.

While I clean and clear out my stuff in my flat, mainly the clothes...I never really stopped shopping in a period long enough for me to have worn all my clothes at least once. Also nowadays it's getting easier for a freak like me to get carried away in shopping, with the latest shopping culture in town - fashion flea markets & secondhand shops. So these days besides my human best friends, I have other friends with names in the likes of ThreadsZoo, Bijou, Scoop, ShowPink, Lapsap & Second Charm.














Speaking of clothes that haven't been worn...I also have books piling up from the floor that have not been read since they got into my flat. I used to picture my retirement days would be spent staying in in the house and have quiet days reading and finishing the books I collected. At the rate am going...it will take a miracle to finish reading all the books there, and of those that I keep buying when the mood comes or when I see something I cannot resist.

....ok, all this thinking and keeping record of what I own (some folks' ambition lie in owning properties...mine is just simpler) is giving me a migraine. I should get up and get dressed, time to go out for my dress alteration fitting, and off to rehearsal I go, in my gorgeous, second hand gym tights.

Tailors in Shenzhen

...for those of you who wonder about the tailors I went to in Shenzhen to make those qi-paos..here you go.

the four sequined ones are from -

Shanghai Longfa Fashion
Lot 5080, 5th floor
Luohu Commercial City (LCC)
Mobile - 13 80 2294 625
Email - hell83@163.com
(ask for Ah Xin or Mdm Yang Hong Mei the owner)

the two brocade-lookin' ones are from -

Joey Tailor Shop
Lot 5056A, 5th floor
Luohu Commercial City (LCC)
mobile - 137 141 2700
(ask for Ah Zen or Ah Fan)

cost / price

I asked my hotel receptionist (we stayed in Shanshui Trends Luohu Hotel - not bad) the minute I checked in, where to make qipao. She told me to go to LCC (this hotel also provide free shuttle service to LCC every 15 minutes from the hotel lobby) where she has gone herself to make some dresses. She said for about RMB 100 - 300 you can get a qipao. When I got there myself I realised for the drama-queen design (sequin, laces and the works) that I wanted, I had to pay higher than RMB 300 per dress.

At the end I spent about RMB 500 per qipao, that's around RM 240 each. Which is not bad, consider that in KL, you need to pay about RM 800 or more for a decently tailored qipao.

Bargain and agree on a price before you start ordering anything. Usually they will make you choose or indicate what material/textile you want before quoting a price.



What I learned / Tips
- bring a pic or a sample of what you want to make to show the tailors

I brought these pictures with me there
- be very specific on what you want when you order,

eg. how high you want your collar to be, I wanted the vintage look which is high collar, that's at least about 2inches for my measurement, 2-2.5 inches.

eg. how high you want the dress side slits to be. They will tell what the normal ones are like if you ask. I made a mistake for not asking for a higher slits where it would look nicer

eg. how low or high you want the lining-neckline to be for those who order the lacy/see-thro designs like three of mine (the black/purple, the gold and the white one)

eg. how fitting you want your qipao to be

- mind and consider which material might flatter your body more and what kind is good for which design. Mostly the shop ladies or tailors can advise you on that but have some ideas would help you cut down on decision time...if you haven't a clue on what you like or want when you get there, going to their textile shops might even further confuse you, coz the variety there is dazzling (can be a good thing if you are decisive). Generally the thin, lacy ones shows more flaws as it is more clingy to the body, the stiffer textile flatters more.

- do not get intimidated by those who grab your hand and insist on taking you to their shops for a look-see, just walk on or tell them you want to browse yourself, unless you want to be taken to where they take you. After spending about 15 minutes at the plaza you should be able to tell which vendor is more sincere.

- it is an advantage if you speak Mandarin, many of them at LCC also speak Cantonese. If you speak neither, they do have plenty of Caucasian clients but be prepared to do a lot of explanation until you know they understand you fully. They seemed to like me because I sound like one of them there...

I hope these information help some of you out there who are planning on a trip to China to make qipao...if I think of anything other useful information, I will update this post :)

the vain-pot,
soul doc

No Mall, No More

I know I am a shopping creature but I guess I'm just not a mall creature, not a mall crawler. Of late the malls repulse me to the point that today I couldn't stay there any longer after I discovered the only joy I have in Midvalley is gone -- the little store on lower ground that sell good old chee-cheong-fun with just soy sauce, seasame oil and chili sauce.

Out I went heading home during the peak traffic jam hour. I needed to get away from all....the people there, the loud speakers, the festive stores selling mountains of over-priced moon cakes, the perfume salesmen, the boutiques with stifling air-con (that don't work), the SALE signs all over, the labels, the queues at the check-out counters, the queue in the car park, the tastelessness of the crappy food in the food court (chances are you may find good food there but high chances of paying for second-rate quality food also).

While walking in MNG and then Zara and then TOPSHOP, I was half purposeful while browsing through the racks of clothes on sale. I walked out of there quickly after I reminded myself that I haven't received any new bookings for shows yet so it's mere greed if I were to snoop my nose for another on-sale show gown...after all my wardrobe is already bursting with all that dresses.

After walking up and down of lower ground and found my chee-cheong-fun store gone I just couldn't stay there any longer.

That, couple with the reminder of upcoming bills for September, and the soon-outstanding fees for my coming music camp next week, and that I have too much clothes at home to be wanting more, and at the point of my career where I should be putting more time in thinking about securing more jobs, reading up on my music repertoire, learning Italian, cutting down my monthly overheads, go running on regular basis, saving up for the new apartment renovation....

That just gross me out totally, that I could be found wandering about in a mall under these circumstances, that absence place of materialism.

Of course now am sitting at home safe with my music scores and books, am reminded that malls are useful if I know how to manage it, after all, I only went there earlier to change some money for my Bangkok trip this week.

But it was wonderful to feel that I don't need to shop for clothes in a mall :)