Friday, January 29, 2016

First Purchased Designer Bag : Michael by Michael Kors Jet Set East West Tote.

My second designer bag was this Michael Kors Jet Set Tote Bag which style was on trend when I purchased it. This was my 2nd designer bag I owned BUT TECHNICALLY this was the first designer bag ever purchased with our own money (because the first designer bag I owned was Free from a giveaway I won - SEE HERE : Kate Spade Georgina Bag 😙).

This MK bag was a birthday gift from my husband, and it also started a new customary between me and my husband, where my husband would gift me something from designer brand for my birthday every year (I'm the one who chose the style/model of course hehe, but it doesn't have to be a big ticket item such as bags, it could also be shoes, accessories, watch, etc - depending on our budget that month 😝).





Anyway, this bag was purchased from an online designer outlet website called Reebonz, because I just learned about the website a few months earlier and have had an awesome experience with it after getting my Longhcamp Le Pliage bag a few months before from that site. So here in South East Asia we have Reebonz, which is a trusted online shopping platform for buying luxury products. It sells new and pre-owned luxury bags, accessories, watches, jewellery and shoes from coveted designer labels. It's like an online outlet store which also sells preloved from their members. 

For me which was still a newbie to designer world at that time it feels like a designer outlet heaven. On top of their outlet prices they also have promo discount code almost every day so it's really exciting (but bad news for my wallet ;p). It was a membership-only platform at first and you had to have an invite from someone else who is already a member (if I recall correctly, CMIIW).

So anyway I purchased this bag as a birthday gift from my husband and it was my first Reebonz purchase. Before I purchased this bag from Reebonz I actually went to MK retail store to check the price, and it was cheaper at Reebonz. So of course I went and bought the bag from Reebonz instead of the retail store hehe.

(styled here with my vintage Fendi scarf)


The full name of the bag is the MICHAEL Michael Kors Jet Set East West Tote in the color "Luggage". I like the color and how it has extra pockets on the outer side. And it's made of Saffiano leather which I also been curious about. The saffiano leather is a very durable and scratch-resistant material, it is used in many designer bags such as Prada, Michael Kors, etc.

I chose the luggage color (which is a tan shade) because it's one of the "neutral" color, and Even Michael Kors himself once said that every girl should have a "luggage" colored handbag in her wardrobe. It's a very elegant shade with just a little hint of glint which makes it look more expensive than it's actual price (hehe), and it goes with many of my wardrobe too.

The bag is very structured so it does feel "very office-wear" to me (who used to slouchy bags and never had a structured bag like this before), but the Saffiano material is really beautiful and durable I always like looking at it, LOL. It took me quite a while to adjust myself before I got used to it and then found myself wearing it a lot after that.


It is a medium sized bag, perfect for my petite built, and the lining is elegant with all the subtle MK logo inside the bag. You can find a D-ring to attach your keys or your coin purse or your hand sanitizer, maybe? There are 1 zipper compartment inside, 2 medium slip pockets, and 2 smaller pockets inside the bag. And don't forget the extra outer side pockets! This bag has many pockets and compartments, and that's what I like about this bag! So because of the many compartments I think this is suitable for school, office, and even as a diaper bag. If it's time for me to have children this would be my diaper bag ;)

The bag has "legs" at the bottom but I never put it down on the floor anyway, I took really good care of my designer bags because who knows I might sell them again later ;)

This bag doesn't have a long strap but it's not a heavy bag anyway. And I think a long strap wouldn't be suitable for this type of bag anyway.


Fast forward to now, although I really like this bag but I don't find myself wearing this so much. I'm not sure why I rarely worn this, because I do love the look of it, and it is still in perfect mint condition as the day we purchased it. Maybe because of the structured style that reminds me of "office-wear" or too professional looking for my super casual daily activities, so that's why I rarely picked this up as my bag of the day. Or Maybe I'm keeping it for my future diaper bag 💁 ? But nonetheless I still love it and still wear it sometimes (although not as frequent as my other bags). 


Here's some outfit photo with my MK Jet Set East West Tote :

Styled with my Next jeans, Zara white tee,
Laura Ashley scarf, and some jewellery.

Styled with my Calvin Klein Blouse, Pleat Pants,
Natural stones Necklace, and a matching Michael Kors Wallet.



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Thursday, January 21, 2016

First Designer Clothing : Stella McCartney Kimono Dress

Actually I'm not sure what the name of this particular dress from Stella McCartney is, but I just call it the Kimono dress because of the Obi belt and the overall design resemble a kimono. I think this was from circa 2013.



 Anyway, I think this was actually my Second designer clothing because the First one was a thrifted Christian Dior dress that I found at a local thrift store. It was a vintage Christian Dior dress in two-tone colors with a line of buttons at the front, it reminds me of a stewardess uniform. But sadly it was too big for me so I gave it to my mom. So that Dior dress didn't count as my 1st designer dress because I didn't use it and gave it to my mom instead. Therefore this Stella McCartney one is what I considered as my first designer clothing :)

As I told you before, back to my early days of collecting designer items I was lucky enough to actually got some of them for free, including this dress. I had a cousin who lived in the UK for some time, who all of a sudden messaged me out of the blue, and asked whether I want this dress of hers that she never wore because she feels it doesn't look good on her (we are the same size). 

 Then I looked at the picture she sent me and it was a photo of a grey dress on a mannequin in her room. At first glance I liked the dress, so I say yes (without knowing the brand). The next day she shipped me the dress, and when I finally get the dress I was really surprised that it was a Stella McCartney piece! I even asked her again "are you sure you want to give me this dress?" And she said yes. So it was literally the happiest day for me! It was my first runway designer clothes so of course I was so happy because I got it for free!


 
The dress fitted me perfectly and I always got compliments (even from strangers) whenever I wear the dress. I thought to myself : "Hmm...So that's how it feels to wear designer on your body".. Lol. I'm just kidding of course 😛

Anyway, I love the unique cut of the dress and the attached leather obi belt, and how it falls really nicely on my petite posture. The fabric material feels so lush and really really nice. I aso love the obi belt that gives the unique touch as well as giving a nice silhouette of the bodice. The shoulders and arm have a subtle ruched / gathered design which lends a modern sophistication to the dress. I rarely worn this piece because I'm afraid of ruining it so this dress is only reserved for special occasions or for wedding parties.

One of the prized possesion in my wardrobe. I need to add more runway designer dresses !
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Friday, January 15, 2016

First Designer Bag : Kate Spade Small Georgina Bag

My very first designer item was a Coach Coin Purse which I luckily won in a giveaway several years ago. It came with a box and a receipt as a prove that it was bought from the Coach store in Rodeo Drive Beverly Hills. It was my first ever designer item and I was so happy to have it, but that didn't light up my passion for luxury items yet.

Fast forward a few years later, I won another giveaway from a local designer boutique and the prize was this black quilted Kate Spade Small Georgina Bag in Black. Aaaand THIS BAG is what finally sparked my hidden passion towards designer items (;p).




The Coach Coin Purse was the first designer SLG I had, while this bag was the very first designer BAG I had, and I remember how I inspected it closely to know why designer bags like this are really expensive. I finally understand why. These designer bags obviously were made carefully, with high quality material, precision stitching, and very detailed measurements. These bags are expensive because they have great quality. They would obviously last longer than your regular brand bags. So it is really an investment, just like what every "bag lady" would have said (*wink*).

Anyway, this Kate Spade Georgina bag is a small bag that comes with a top handle as well as a long strap. It is in black color and it has a puffed quilted detailing. I actually felt very lucky when I found out that I won this bag. There were 3 different designer bags to be won as prizes, and I got this Kate Spade Georgina one, and I couldn't be more lucky because : 

 (a) I love quilted anything ! 
(b) It's also the only one in black color amongst the 3 prizes. 

So I guess I snatched a good one here, because as you know, black is versatile :)



I remember how I was too excited in the taxi on my way home after picking up this bag from the boutique. I just can't wait to open it and showed my husband that I won my very first designer bag!

The bag itself is made of quilted and thick material, and kinda have a crackled finish. It's very durable because I had this bag for 4 years now and there is nothing broken with this bag even though I use this bag much too often. I'd say it's scratch-resistant too because if there's any scratch it won't be obvious due to the crackled finish. 

It has gold hardware and the gold has a gorgeous shine to it, just what I'd expected from a designer bag. The outer material has a sheen to it which I think makes it look more 'elegant' and 'lavish', while the interior fabric has that signature Kate Spade sparkly dots all over it. On the inside there are 1 big pocket + 2 smaller pockets. There's no pocket on the outside.



This Kate Spade Georgina bag comes in its own dustbag which is a brown Kate Spade dust bag with it's signature quote : 

"she tucked her coral lipstick away and floated back to the party".
Overall it's a small bag which actually perfect for my petite frame, and the opening is not that big either so you won't be able to fill the bag with junks. But it would surely fit all your necessities though. Here's what I can put inside the bag on daily basis :

- wallet
- cosmetic bag
- mints
- tissue
- key pouch
- phone
- hair clip
- and sometimes sunglasses too.

It would be filled to the brim, but I can still zip it properly. It can fit a long (continental) wallet but it would be hard to put in / pull out the wallet due to the small opening at the top. So I'm looking for a smaller wallet to fit this bag more easily.




The overall design is "cute and casual" so I love wearing it for daily use especially with jeans or with casual skirt + blouse. The black color with gold accent makes it very versatile and I also love how I can wear it crossbody, hangs on the side, or hand-held. The strap can also be adjusted so it's a very very versatile bag to wear as an everyday bag.

I don't think Kate Spade still produces this Georgina bag anymore because this was from 3-4 years ago, but I saw that there are still a lot of very similarly-designed bags from Kate Spade, only under different names now. I actually had a plan to sell this bag because I think it's too small for me now, but I'm still hesitant because I find myself still using the bag anyway. Maybe if I found a replacement for this bag I would sell it then.
Meanwhile, here's an example of how I styled the bag :
Styled with  a Stripe Dress, Bomber Jacket, and Aviator Sunglasses for an edgy look.

Wearing my Kate Spade Georgina bag with my black legging from Loft,
black top from Guess, and some gold H&M accessories.
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Tuesday, January 12, 2016

First SLG : Coach Coin Purse

Hello there fellow shopaholic,

 If my memory serves me right, my very first designer item was a Coin / Key Pouch from Coach. I got lucky and won it in a blog giveaway several years ago.

 I remember I squealed a little when the package came. I won a cardigan from an Etsy store + Coach coin / key pouch. The Coach coin pouch came in it's original box and paper bag complete with it's original receipt (bought in Coach Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, USA). I was ecstatic when I got it because that was my very first designer item. And I couldn't believe that I got it for free :)


I'm not sure about the name of the series of this pouch but I think it might be the Coach Madison Lurex Zebra Print Coin Purse. 

The coin purse is small and there's a pocket at the back. It also came with an attached key ring and another link chain inside to attach your key.

 This little purse can be used for coin pouch as well as a key pouch. It has a black / dark grey / silver zebra-like pattern all over with the Coach logo embossed in silver over a black leather flap at the front. The lining inside has a pink color but now it's a little bit dirty because of frequent use.

As of right now I'm using this Coach keypouch as a place to store all my keys. What I do is attach my car key to the chain that comes inside the pouch. Then I attach my house key to the key ring outside. 
Inside I also stored the key to my parent's house. And on the back pocket I stored my apartment elevator card. So this pouch is an essential item for me, it must always go everywhere with me (;p)




I think I got this around 2011-2012 and it still looks good today despite a little dirty because I'm too lazy to clean it (whoops!). This is the first designer SLG (small leather goods) in my collection and I do got really lucky with these designer items. Some of them I got for free. After that Coach coin pouch I received a few other designer items for free, such as :
  • A dress by Stella McCartney (given to me by my cousin who went back and forth to Europe, bought the dress but doesn't like the way it looks on her), 
  • A Kate Spade bag (from winning another giveaway), 
  • Longchamp Le Pliage bag in Large with Long Handle (got this one from a work related job). 

 I feel very lucky to have received some of these designer things for free (not counting gifts from my husband - because my husband's money is our family's money, so I don't count it as a true Freebie hehe).
So anyway, this Coach coin purse is probably THE MOST USED item in my collection, because as I tell you I bring it with me every time I go out of the house because it contains my keys and elevator card.

 This Coach coin purse was my first ever designer item but my first designer BAG was a Kate Spade Georgina Bag that I won from a giveaway by a local designer boutique. Yes, it all began with that bag. That was the first time the ignition sparks for me, Lol. Although this Coach coin purse is my first ever designer item but that Kate Spade bag was the one that started the collection. Will do a full post on it soon! 
One more thing, just a little disclaimer before we end this post.
This blog is meant for my personal use, to list all my belongings and purchases, and also to chronicle my journey in collecting these designer goods. If this is not your cup of tea then don't read it. If you're like me and you love these kind of things then feel free to read along as I record the journey of my collecting story.
In another words, this is my secret blog, don't tell anyone :)

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Introduction : Building My Designer Bags Collection

Hello there fellow shopaholic,

Welcome to my little place on the internet. 
This is my shopping chronicle.
About 2.5 years ago I officially started my designer collection obsession. Before that, I never thought of starting a collection. Maybe because I haven't jumped into the #bagfrenzy wagon yet and maybe because I haven't realized how they would make a good investment.
Recently I have just started to build a collection of designer items  (although very slowly) because at my current age I came to realize that it's better to invest in something with great quality instead of buying cheaper items that would only lasts 3 - 4 years. I'm in my 30-ish right now and I'm tired of keep buying cheaper bags only to replace them in three years or so.

 At my current age I started to appreciate the quality of things, and that's why nowadays I much prefer quality items whenever possible (and because now at this age I can FINALLY kinda afford them 😝). I think it would be wiser for myself to spend a little extra rather than buying several cheaper priced items that would deteriorate in just a few years. Trust me, I speak from an experience. I now finally realized the importance of a good quality product (which usually comes with a higher price tag). Sure, they are more expensive but they would last you a loooong time because they are made of high-grade material with excellent craftsmanship down to the very details. So it's not that I'm turning into a snob here, but when you're at my age you'll go towards quality over quantity, because you simply learned from your own experience.
Please note that I don't have a lot of money so I can not buy them anytime I want to. Some of these items that I would feature here in this blog were either gifts, or I have to wait until my savings are enough (or I paid the rest by installment), and I also hunt for cheaper bargains => such as : from designer outlets (online or offline), during sale season, or from the preloved market. My collections also mostly are contemporary designers because I just started and couldn't afford the higher price / premium designers YET hehe.. So you might see lots of contemporary designers or entry level luxury brands here, but hopefully down the road I can add more from the premium brands to my investment collection. 

Probably I would scoured the preloved market to find those premium brand items that are still in mint condition. Yes, surprisingly you can still find designer bags in very good condition (sometimes even complete with its original packaging and original receipt) on the preloved market. That's what I meant by "investment". You can still sell your used bag for a good price even though your bag is already a few years old.

 And that's the thing about designer bags/goods. They are expensive because they are made of great quality and exceptional craftsmanship, and that is why they would still retain their quality even after years and years of wearing them.

 I am now at the phase where I'm starting to appreciate how valuable those high-quality products are, how intricate and detailed the process of making them, and how they are really worth their price in term of timeless beauty and excellent quality. They have higher price tag because they're worth it. Their quality surpassed ordinary items, and their material lasts longer than the average mass-produced items. I simply love to collect them because I appreciate their luxury craftsmanship and not because I just want to parade with them in my hands (I'm not that shallow hehe).

 On the economic side, I think of them as an investment. You can sell your luxury items later on and most of them would still retain it's price. At least here in my country they do still hold their price value..
So yeah, for the past two years I have been trying to improve my wardrobe and build a collection of designer bags, SLGs (small leather goods), and other designer accessories. BUT since I don't always have the budget to purchase them so right now my collection just consists of a few items. Hence I created this blog to document my journey of building my personal collection. Because I believe every item has their own story. And this is the place where I want to tell them.

Welcome to my (*not so secret*) blog!