Making Room For Changes!

It is the Friday night that you have been waiting for. Your girlfriends have made plans for a wicked night in town and everyone was looking forward to catch up with one another. You come home early from work to give yourself ample time to prep up; the last time you met your girlfriends everyone looked a million bucks. You certainly need to look equally, if not more, fabulous this time around.

But you peel your wardrobe door open and a sudden panic rush attacks. Hung carelessly on the wooden hangers are dresses from last decade, off-season tops you grabbed at a warehouse clearance,skirts and jeans which have gone past their expiry date and ridiculously dangerous pieces like leather minis and skin tight pants which may actually look good if you were thirty pounds lighter. Stacked on the top shelf are boxes of even more ridiculously dangerous heels and boots, each having seen daylight on an average of twice. By the time you finish assessing your accessories and handbags, you have speed-dialled your best girlfriend, screaming "Help!I've got absolutely nothing to wear!"

This is a classic, all-too familiar scenario for many women. We may have hundreds of dresses taking up too much space in our already bulging wardrobe, yet putting together an outfit is often an agonizing experience. The problem stems not from lack of choice, but rather, from a mismatched collection of bad choices. What we need then, is not an emergency shopping trip but rather, a weekend of a major wardrobe overhaul.

The secret to a successful wardrobe makeover lies in knowing what to horde and what to part with. Have you already got too many white shirts? Have you got twenty three pieces of similarly-designed logo tees? When was the last time you wore that pink dress with the plunging neckline? (In the first place, have you actually worn it?)
Sort the items into two sections; those which you are willing to part with and those which you would rather tear your hair off than to give away. The rule is simple; anything that you have not worn in the last twelve months (okay, maybe six, if you have THAT many clothes) should go into the "Give Away" bin. Same goes for items which, how should I put it, have "miraculously shrunk", (therefore seem a little tight around the waist and a little small around the bottom). Remember, even if you lose those inces in the future, you are more likely to buy new clothes than to go back to that old Levi's you bought when you were eighteen.

Sienna Miller may have elevated the status of vintage dressing, but we all know that very few of us can pull off the vintage queen look without being mistaken for a fashion victim lost in time. Think that floral dress would be a sought-after vintage piece in another twenty years? Think again. Most vintage-inspired pieces have a modern twist to it, designers do not merely recreate trends of yesteryears but combine them with the trends of the present day.

Designer goods, however, are worth keeping. A Chanel suit bought in the early 80s hold as much value, if not more, as a Chanel suit bought last winter. Unlike average labels, the value of authentic designer creations tend to increase with time, especially when you have people like Ms Miller donning vintage oversized sunnies and carrying vintage LV purses. In the trend-conscious and trend-competitive world of Hollywood where everyone HAS to get that Birkin bag by hook or by crook, many are more than willing to pay big money for a vintage designer item that has been certified as a 'must have' by Vogue. It is important however, to have a proper storage plan for these items. Unless you want to risk smelling of mothballs, keep your designer dresses in individual bags and send them for dry cleaning at least once in a year. Needless to say, collecting designer goods is not exactly the hobby for those who cannot even bring themselves to doing their laundry on a weekly basis.

Having cleared your wardrobe clean of past retail mistakes and wrong impulse purchases, you are now ready to move on to the next step; the more fun and more challenging side of wardrobe makeover: shopping. But bear in mind that a fabulous wardrobe (think Carrie Bradshaw and her sorority sisters) is seldom created overnight. Slowly and carefully sift through magazines to find the style that you would want to create. Try to stay away from impulse purchases. Invest instead in pieces that would go well with what you already have in your wardrobe. The whole process should some take time so have plenty of patience handy!

Window-shopping: No pain no gain?

Having submitted my last assignment for the semester, my days have suddenly began to feel longer. I have done everything possible to kill time; cleaning the fridge, dusting my window blinds, writing postcards to myself. Yet, I still feel like another eight hours have been added to the usual twenty-four. In the event of such boredom, I do what every fashion lover on tight budget does best; I window shop. I would visit my favourite stores, checking out what is latest, staring longingly at the mannequins on display. I could spend hours scrutinizing the different materials, the different cuts and the ways different pieces are put together to create a brilliant ensemble. It is through such experience that I slowly build my fashion resources.

But the frustration of window shopping could sometimes be overwhelming. How many times have we found that perfect dress, in that perfect shade and that even more perfect size (an added bonus would be when it fits snuggly around the bust and seems to accentuate our assets) only to flick on the price tag and boo hoo hoo, the triple digit tag simply screams 'not affordable, unless you are willing to starve for two weeks'.



For someone who wishes to have a decent university life (read: clean accomodation, 'real' regular meals), I know that even the paypackets from my two part-time jobs are only thick enough to allow for the occasional rich indulgences. I do allow myself small purchases but with the dream of touring the Europe keep on looming above my head even as I roll the kebabs and do the take-away orders, designer and branded items have to be reserved as semesterly treats.

(Picture: Much desired Ralph Lauren peep toe heels)

Unlike the Hilton, Olsen and other sisters with similarly ever-expanding income, the majority of us could barely invest in a Louis Vuitton without having to save up six months in prior (or for the bolder chicks, skimp six months after). And unlike Them The Privileged Ones too, the majority of us have rent and bills inconveniently standing in between us and the seen-it-on-SATC-Manolo Blahniks. The temptation to fish out the Mastercard and make one happy swipe is difficult to resist but the thought of my father even more happily snipping the plastic into two is often enough to bring me to my senses.


So with such traumatizing pain, why still window shop? I know of a handful of people who find window shopping completely time-wasting. It is the middle of the month and your purse is drier than the damns in Kuala Selangor during the draught season. Why further torment yourself with more retail cravings? While people like me make enough visits to the mall to know which floor has the best washroom, there are those whose number of shopping trip in a year could be counted by the fingers. "I dont shop often, but when I do, I just grab whatever I like, regardless of the price," confessed one non-believer of window shopping.

As thrilling as it may sound (imagine, walking into AX and not having to put your inner-shopaholic self in restraining order), somehow the idea of squeezing my weekly store visits into a seasonal event does not seem so appealing. Yes, it is difficult having to walk out of my favourite store sans a purchase but at least the frequent trips help to inform me of what is in, what is current, what looks good and what looks trash. It helps to ensure that I do not blow a week's pay on a supposedly-very-Sienna ensemble only to go home and realize that the boho maiden look is not exactly me. Regular window-shopping sessions also mean that I have the most current and updated information on fashion bargains at my fingertip. Believe me, when you have swiped on a pair of very sexy, very expensive heels, you would not want to walk into the store next door to see a very similar pair priced at very much less.

With the growing number of shopping malls in the relatively small city of Kuala Lumpur, one seldom has to wonder how much us KL-ites love window shopping. It has become almost a culture; to head down to giga-sized shopping malls on the weekends and to hold our breath as we stop in front of Tiffany & Co, joyous that the quest for the perfect wedding ring is over (so now we just have to search for the perfect groom).

And as for me, I am convinced that window-shopping shall continue to help fill the daily extra eight hours that I have until summer vacation is over. The need for retail indulgences is strong yet there is a strict budget I have disciplined myself to live on, so what better way to feed the retail hunger without placing a hazard on my financial situation?

Free ride to the mall? Anytime babes.