Shops: LE TOKO at Seminyak, Bali

This shop impresses me with the variety of delicious items available and the ways they're being displayed. Superb merchandising skill was applied within every inch of the store. An array of caftans made of cotton voile with prints such as leopards, classic tattoos symbols such as mermaids or anchors in faded sailor blue and sweet tiny floral motifs. A variety of thin jersey crop tops, long & lean singlets showed some fashion forward sophistication.

I went through a wooden chest full of unusual batik cloths, lightly adorned with faded drawings as opposed to the usual heavy batik ornamentation while my friend, The Beauty Editor, was excitedly toting her new purchase. A tote bag made of woven recycled fibers trimmed with faux snakeskin. Beach appropriate, generous size, water resistant while looking stylishly urbanite, all at a mere price of RP. 229.000,- !! As I walked to the cashier with the batik of my choice (plain white with faint blue oversized Parang print, Rp. 99.000,-), a pile of vintage dresses caught my eyes. Thankfully, the lovely black & white polkadot dress with a sweet lace collar was not in my size, neither was a summer dress made of linen with pink toile du jouy print.

Apart from delightful fashion finds (leather tasseled strappy sandals, creamy leather biker vest, playsuit in red gingham cotton found in the Sale piles), the store also carries unique home accessories. Moroccan style leather poufs made of black or white patent leather, wooden soldiers and pirouettes with moving parts for Christmas tree ornaments were a few of hard to resist offerings available.

Letoko1

Click here to download:
letoko2 (46 KB)

Shops: DISINI at Seminyak, Bali

I've always loved it when Indonesian words being reinterpreted into playful names for places, brands or in this case, one cute shop! Presented as more of a lifestyle store, a range of home accessories are available at DISINI. All at a suprisingly affordable prices despite the luxe eclectic look of the store. Style on a budget, me likey...!!

So it was with a smile on my face, I explored the goods available. From fresh smelling room sprays, delectable cotton sheets, exquisite bone porcelain until I stumble upon a vintage display chest showcasing an array of twinkling accessories and jewelries. I tried a few rose shaped rings, made of metallic leather in pastel colours (Rp. 55.000,-) and carved out of milky acrylic (Rp. 110.000,-). There were also ones shaped like Ganeshas and blinged out wrist watch, looking like romantic Victorian remnants of days gone by. On the shelves they had studded bucket bags made of supple leather in black and bright colours as well as suede wallets with an art deco design. Tried on the panama hats, sniffed on the succullent smelling candles before deciding on the ivory rose ring and walked away with a skip on my step :)

(download)

It Begins With A Dresscode

Glamorous White, Pink Coctail Dresses, Be Creative With Your Sarong, A Variety of Comfortable Yet Stylish Footwear, etc... Those were the words that haunts me pre-boarding a chartered private flight from Jakarta to Bali for days in the sun with P&G, the beauty magnate corporation.

The invitation to attend their 3 days workshop about human genomics, beauty breakthrough, grooming technical advances and sustainabilty came with 4 page brief of timetable and dresscodes. Complete with visual references showing Rihanna in the above mentioned Pink Cocktail Dress and Chanel's Spring Summer 2010 runway images for the Glamorous White part. More than enough to send shivers down my spine, and sweats down my temple.

Since the event is actually produced by my company, I'd have to also act as a host during the event. So the dresscodes became more than merely suggestions, it became duty I must dully obey.

After frenetically unearthing every white and pink items from my wardrobe, I managed to went armed with appropriate outfits for each dresscodes. Essential to avoid disapproving look from the Event Manager and to please my dear bosses.

Despite not having much time in the sun due to the tight workshop n seminars schedules, I managed to still have fun. Delightfully nutty mini carrot cakes, divine breakfasts by the beach, magical twinkling dinner by the pool, super cheap fragrant Nasi Ayam Ibu Oki, hillarious buggy rides at Bvlgari Resort, numerous wagyu beef satays at sunset and a screaming roomate ;D

Not to mention I got my brain filled with glimpses of year 2020. A time when aging will be treated as a form of disease, vaccines to act as beauty treatments, and devices to replace beauty creams..!!!

(download)

Bringing Home The Birkin

Birkin

A Birkin is supposed to be this holy grail of bag which sightings "should" be so rare, it'd drew gasps and awestruck look from those lucky enough to be in its presence. Not for me who spends almost 1/3 of my daily hours at Plaza Indonesia. There, to shop with a Birkin in tow is almost like wearing your Sunday best. A requirement for attending this church of high fashion consumption.

Not being one with enough means to own the bag (it is, just a BAG right?) regular sightings of it (it is, just an IT right?) took a lot of its exclusivity away. For me, it became just a BAG. A mobile storage for women made of leather.

And then this Cyclamen Birkin 35 came along...

It was just an ordinary morning of mine that begun with me checking the Facebook news feed from my BlackBerry. A friend of mine decided to sell her collection of bright coloured Birkins and Kellys. There were Birkins in what looked like fuschia and grapefruit pink, Kellys in torquise and bright pink. She uploaded the pics and I immediately knew that my cousin, a Birkin enthusiast, would DIE over the fuschia one.

Texted my cousin without thinking too much to inform her of the bag being available. BBed and texted with no response, I proceed my day as usual. Little did I know that within the next 5 hours, my cousin would frantically bid for the bag (through ME) from Hong Kong. She would PING!!! and text me every few seconds (I kid you NOT!) to check on the bidding progress. The Birkin owner was so swarmed with enquiries and offers, her brand new Onyx BB crashed. There I was, in the middle of a full blown Birkin bidding war. If it were a face to face bidding, I'd surely be an object of evil looks and catty hissings. Scarry shit...

After coming head to head with another enthusiast at the asking price. My cousin more than willingly paid MORE than the asking price for the possesion of what turned out to be a Cyclamen Birkin rather than a fuschia one. Still, my cousin coos over the unusual colour and the rigid yet pliable texture of the leather. All is back to peaceful in my BB world.

I came away slightly dizzy with understanding the mayhem this bag could cause, and I can't help but wonder. Did I, as a fashion journalist, played a part in building this hysteria over a bag? I surely has a newfound respect towards this bag for its power over women. Admiration has yet to be expressed though, I might need more private encounters for that...
Sent from my BlackBerry®
powered by Sinyal Kuat INDOSAT