Knock Knock..

for outerwear.... When we went to Shanghai during winter seasons, we didn't bother to check out the types of outerwear in the market. We got only a coat and down jacket as we were told to. This time round, we were told there is no need to prepare a down or thick heavy coat but a stylish outerwear so we headed down to the city today to get them. Most boutiques are displaying fall/winter outerwear and types ranging from peacoats, trench coat, wool jackets, free jackets, vests to hoodies. YEAH, SO MANY types!! but we had too little time to shop so we ended up got only 3 hoodies.

Updates : 2 for Ben and 1 for me. Ben really looks very boyish with hoodies.

I hate my LongChamp "Les Pliages"

I notice there are actually more and more people started to "appreciate" Longchamp from France. When I started to carry mine in 2006, only one of my friends know about this brand because she owns one herself. In fact, she was surprise that I have it and she even asked if it was a gift from Ben(maybe because of my pathetic pay, she doesn't think I can afford it and YES I was the junior sn back then. Nowadays, MORE AND MORE aunties are carrying it (I really mean it, aunties in their late 40s or early 50s) and more and more people are telling me they got it for few bucks!

I feel like puking when I heard that, seriously! An authentic medium tote's price tag is at least SGD200 and above and these people get it for few bucks! On top of that, YOU CAN'T REALLY TELL IF IT IS REAL OR FAKE!! Unless of course, take a closer look at the leather flap, zipper pull and then pour out everything from the bag to check on the reinforced snaps! Damn...will people think I am carrying a fake longchamp les pliages?

Here is a guide to SPOT THE FAKE from ebay guides and this info are only for those who afraid to get con as there are funny people out there organising BP for longchamp! *faint* and some innocent people are believing they are getting the real stuff

extracted from ebay :
These tips below apply to the Les Pliages line of folding canvas bags (not to Planetes or the leather bags).
I have here pictures of two bags. The blue medium with long handles one is real, and the pink and tan shown are fake. They are "better" than a lot of fakes out there and is a lesson that you have to inspect carefully and ask lots of questions to make sure the bag you are considering is authentic. Many of the fakes I saw on eBay are more obvious than the one here.

Sorry photos are blurry....

GENERAL

The fake is on the left, the real deal on the right. Right away, notice the left bag looks too shiny and the handles don't look right: too short for long handles, and too long for short-handle variant.

Before buying, eyeball the dimensions, check the measurements, then compare with official Longchamp website. Longchamp new colours of the canvas bags 2 times a year (for fall-winter and the spring-summer) but the leather trimming is same always.

Leather
There is contrast stitching on the leather parts of the bag, which is a different colour than the leather itself on the visible side (and same colour as the leather on the back of the flap). Many Pliages I have seen have plastic tubes in the handles, because the leather is soft and not very durable. Real Pliages have no plastic tubes and are made from durable, high-quality leather.

The fake leather looks like a fish-scale pattern, with clean lines of even depth. On authentic bag, it is almost a diamond pattern, and grain is not embossed as deeply as the logo.

Leather Flap

An authentic bag has a jockey logo embossed on both the leather AND the snap. If there is no logo at all..... beware!!!

OLD LOGO: (shown above) There is a jockey on a horse impressed down into the leather, and a straight line underneath. On the knock-off, the logo is not centered above the snap, the lines of the impression are not as clean as on the real, and the horse is lacking details like hooves.

NEW LOGO: (not pictured): Longchamp has introduced a new logo on the leather flap,though on my most recent trip to the shop they had the same bags with different versions of the logos. The new logo has the jockey and horse embossed, so the logo is raised up above the leather. There is _no_ line underneath, and if you look at the back side of the flap there will be a mark where the logo is raised.


The bag above is real. The back of the flap has writing above the stitching. This may, however, vary from bag to bag. On my "shopping" totes the words modèle déposé and made in france are between the lines of stitches (see arrow). Longchamp, Pliages and the name of the bag are above.

Among my real bags, there are variants. On the backpack I saw, the writing is all above the seams. Some say Pliages, some say Le Pliage..I have also heard that Longchamp does not make all bags in France.

Model Name
On my fake, the words modèle déposé are missing the accent marks. In any case, I think you have a fake for sure if the name printed on the back flap does not agree with actual model or it just says the word "type" but not _which_ type:
sac a dos - backpack
type L - large tote, short handles
type M - medium-large tote, short handles
type S - small tote
"shopping" - large tote, long handles; medium tote long handles
cabas - rectangular, no zipper

Reinforced Snaps

An easy one! Real bags have their snaps reinforced with clear plastic discs that extend beyond snaps on the inside of the bag. The foldable Pliages also have snaps near the bottom.

Fabric and Lining
Bags should have crisp seams, and perhaps creases from the original folding. Your bag should fold nicely and the two parts of the snap meet easily. The fabric on fakes I saw is too shiny and texture is much smoother compared with real. If a bag looks too shiny in a photo (see top photo!), you may want to double-check it's other features.

Inside, the plastic coating that lines the bag feels like plastic but not rubbery. For pastel bags (i.e., light blue, pink, etc.), lining should be WHITE, not same color as outside. The tan fake above is lined in tan, when it should be white. Dark colors are lined with black or brown.

Zipper Pull

Longchamp Pliages have round logo zipper pulls, which can be gold or pewter depending on what shape the bag is. The real one is extremely detailed, and on the fake the bodies of the jockey and the horse blend together. Longchamp use YKK zippers, and you can see the letters on the zipper above.

Backside of Flap

Fake bag leather looks hairy and the edges jagged. Real one is also raw but is smooth and clean. On the snap itself, the fake has the words "guang tong" and real says, "ORIGINAL."


Other Bags
From what I've seen on eBay and at places selling knock-offs, the Pliages totes seem to be copied the most, especially small tote, medium shopper with long handles, and large shopper with long handles. But that doesn't mean others aren't. Please notice, this guide does not apply to bags outside the Les Pliages line. The advice stated here is entirely my own personal opinions. Happy shopping!

Guide ID: 10000000006532305Guide created: 04/06/08 (updated 10/07/08)

Mandee Spree

Mandee is US brand and they have a wide range of apparels and accessories, go to their webby and let me know which are the items you want and I shall place the order for you.

Style No:
Hyperlink( make sure the link is valid and correct item as I am not accountable for errors):
Description:
Color (if applicable):
Size (please check the availibility first):
Alternative color/item with style no. :
Price in USD(after discount if applicable):
Conversion : SGDxxx

1.2. I will:

- collate the orders
- do purchases
- arrange for self collection at Jurong East MRT, weekday at 6:30pm / Novena MRT, weekday at 6:30pm (no alternative)
- confirm your orders when you do first payment
- Transfer to my POSB savings 102-15461-4 OR OCBC savings account 558-9-014991


2. Your cost in this purchase includes :

2.1. Item price

2.2. International Shipping, subject to quantity (eg. USD32.95 for 10 pcs tops )I will only know the amount the minute before I place the order.

2.3. My service charge (buying, packaging, handling) is 5% of the total purchase

2.4. Thus, computation of your cost is:

Retail price in USD x 1.45 (conversion rate) + 5% (service fee) = SGD xxx

2.5. Right after placing order, I'll email each buyers regarding your intl shipping fee for second payment.

3. Shipment Process:

The total delivery time includes the time it takes to process the order (7-21 days). I will try my best to get your parcel ready as soon as I can.

Tobias Mayer Spree

You choose the item you want to buy from Tobias Mayer and email me the details:

Style No:
Description:
Color (if applicable):
Alternative color/item with style no.:
Price in USD(after discount if applicable):
Hyperlink( make sure the link is valid and correct item as I am not accountable for errors):

1.2. I will:

- collate the orders
- do purchases
- arrange for self collection at Jurong East MRT, weekday at 6:30pm / Novena MRT, weekday at 6:30pm (no alternative)
- payment transfer to my POSB savings 102-15461-4 / OCBC savings account 558-9-014991

2. Your cost in this purchase includes:

2.1. Item price (to check prices, refer to Tobias Mayer )

2.2. My service charge (buying, packaging, handling) is 5% of the total purchase.

2.3. Thus, computation of your cost is:

Retail price in USD x 1.45 (conversion rate) + 5% (my service charge) = SGD xxx

3. Shipment Process:

The total delivery time includes the time it takes to process the order (10-12 days). I will try my best to get your parcel ready as soon as I can. Please note that the shipment fee is FOC if orders over USD132/SGD188 (approx 4 pairs) and I will only make order if orders reach moq(min order quantity) so we can enjoy free shipment to Singapore. If our orders goes up to EUR 300.00, which is around USD 480.00 then we may enjoy free shipping to Singapore - *Express* (2-5 days) !

To all, Happy Shopping!!

PHILIPS Carnival Sale

Million thanks to our BIL for ferrying us to Philips for their Carnival Sale on last weekend. Yes, it was pouring like crazy and the human traffic was bad later in the late afternoon. For those who didn't go, YOU'VE MISSED THE BOAT!!! The prices slashed by more than 50% for most items and with SGD263 (UP approx.SGD450)we got dvd, radio clock and dect phones! N and C strongly recommended this phone to us as it is different from the ordinary analog cordless phone whereby it won't interfere with WIFI signal. The best part is the set comes with 2 phones, so we don't have to run up and down when the phones ring. *thumps Up*

My Loots

After so many months, I finally went out to do some shopping, no more furniture! Not at this moment, it is time to add some beautiful clothes in my closet. Since June, I was so occupied with our new house and everything I bought, were meant for the house. I didn't even have a decent pants and tops to go downtown so today, I got myself 3 tops at Fox, 2 leggings at COTTON ON and a pair of pants at Myphosis. Total damage : SGD93.30 (UP.SGD166.30)

Stupid 20% off posters

*Early 2008* I was so desperate. I need to go out, I need to make up. I dropped my compact powder and left with nothing to put on. I anyhow grabbed a (sample)compact powder and applied.

"Eh,not bad..what brand is it?"

Since 5 months ago, I've started to use cheapo brand reasonable priced compact powder but still stick to my expensive Ultimation day serum as a base. The effect is good, coverage is good, maybe because I don't have a big face because some said the coverage is "not enough", well, I wonder how big your face is. Then this vain pot thought Robinson is having 20% off for cosmetics and went to replenish her make up items, not knowing these items are not entitled for discount .. *punch ROBINSON*

So what ! to have 6 for smart shopping, still kena chop!

IKEA part 3

Saw the price list?

Not @ Home!

*so kancheong*

IKEA part 2

A crazy woman went to IKEA alone early in the morning and had wonderful breakie before her shopping started. She happily swiped (her credit card) more than $1k and left IKEA by a cab.

And then...

Yes, the crazy woman will go back again to purchase more items.

Redemption

StarHub Rewards
$20 CapitaLand Shopping Voucher x5
$10 Haagen Dazs Voucher x1


Citibank Rewards
$50 IKEA Shopping Voucher x3
$15 Haagen Dazs Voucher x1


Time for redemption! I am going to use these vouchers to buy more stuff for our humble loft, not forgetting to get some "makan" voucher to pamper Ben, he loves HD ice cream,the rum and raisin. Haagen Dazs, here I come!! Oh yeah,I still have $30 Vivocity shopping voucher and $200 shopping vouchers from Sony. Anymore???

Lucky Draw?

Yeah, it is a shopping voucher again, just lucky~ $30 bucks is not a lot but better than none. Well, come to think of it, I don't remember taking part in any lucky draw lately. Is it a joke or what?

Updates: No Jokes, Vouchers Collected, time to go Vivo!

IKEA

Must eat before shopping! Spotted a hungry Panda (Ben likes him) Our loots! There were 8 items and the bill went up to slightly more than SGD400. I love IKEA ! I'll be back... Many thanks to Chris ->I also love your Stream !

Parcel is here!

Time to collect your sandals !

The PowerPuff Girls Outings !

For some reasons we went to Harbour Front today but before that I brought M to Amoy Street Food Centre. I bought some famous kuih and orni from sgkueh and M queued for the famous wanton mee. Too bad we didn't manage to try the wonton mee as charsiew was out of stock and the auntie told us to come back next time. Sigh... Luckily I bought my favourite ondeh ondeh, steam tapioca cake, mum's favourite nine layer kuih and orni. Besides, I bought an 'UFO' - fried oyster cake! I don't fancy fried stuff, I have sweet tooth like the Lians ...

After that, we headed to Bugis as I wanted to see some wc and lightings at Jalan Besar. Margaret suggested that maybe we should have our lunch at Parco but when I saw 过桥米线 at HongGuo, I told M to order it! Yeah, the 过桥米线 Ben & I had during our stay in Shanghai last year. I miss it so much and I wanted to show M how it was prepared. I roughly explained the sequence and let M do the job. Haha, M keep saying we should order another bowl so I could take a better video of her, Hahaha..maybe next time

It was suppose to be oily but obviously it wasn't hence the soup is not hot at allI saw 炒手on the menu and yes, we ordered it too..nice nice but I still prefer the one I had at MacaoHow can I miss Mango Tango ...from Rockery

As I was too tired after visiting Phoon Huat at Bencoolen St, M & I decided to go home. Crazy M bought KFC for our dinner, I think she is planning to murder me --> I have URTI