Bonjour Beirut: Bling with Style at Cream Boutique

For the past couple of months, I’ve been highlighting some of the new Lebanese designers who have drifted away from the bling and taken a whole different and more understated approach to fashion, even couture. But that doesn't mean Beirut bling is dead!

Just step into one of the super hip boutiques around downtown and Saifi village (where my dream apartment would be one day!) and you’ll probably need to keep your shades on. Neon, crystals and gold everywhere from accessories to clothing – only it is more on the funky side than tacky.

One of the coolest shops around is Cream – a place for those who are not afraid to stand out and want something bold, trendy and a little quirky. Best of all, most of the stocks are by Lebanese brands who have taken in the footsteps of other successful labels like Sarah’s Bag and started producing cool accessories even if not with the same level of sophistication.

Bling bling everywhere... Cream is full of everything fun and colourful!

Love the location in Saifi Village in downtown Beirut!

L'ILE AUX ASHBY Pop Up Store: Showcasing Singapore Talent at its Best

When young Singaporean designer Rayson Tan decides to have his first and highly anticipated pop up store you know one thing is for certain – there’s going to be a lot of colour.

And the L’ILE AUX ASHBY pop-up store at the Glamour Inc. showroom in Tiong Bahru didn’t disappoint – bringing together an eclectic mix of clothes, accessories, artists, bloggers and stylists who seemed to love it loud.

I was very proud to be asked to be a part of this event – especially when I saw the talent that was on display.

This pop up wasn’t really about selling, it was more about fun. A showcase of talent and colour.

It brought together so many creative disciplines, from art to illustration, from photography to nail art and of course fashion. The result was a fabulous mix, all inspired by the colourful and vibrant prints of L’ILE AUX ASHBY.

Who knew I could jump that high? I think those L'ILE AUX ASHBY
pieces I'm wearing gave me superpowers :-)

Everything in the pop up shop was exploding with colour! Love it!

13 Lucky Monkey: Custom skull rings from the Philippines

This probably won’t come as much of a surprise to you, but I’ve never been much of a rock chick.

Sure, I’ve got perfect headbanging hair, laugh at my husband bouncing around the room to 80s metal and regularly impersonate Slash at fancy dress parties, but that’s about the extent of my dabbling in rock n’ roll.

While I find the biker culture cool, I’ve never been near a real hog (I don’t even know how to ride a bicycle) and I’ve never been into skulls – even when they were massively in fashion with the Swarovski set.

So why am I talking about skulls, bikers and metal? It’s because I’ve found something that has opened my eyes.

Give me a hell yeah! Philippine label 13 Lucky Monkey's awesome skull rings

Bonjour Beirut: Malaika Najem’s Unconventional, Raw and Beautiful Jewellery

If you ask anyone the words you’re least likely to hear when discussing fashion in Beirut – ‘raw’ or ‘urban’ will be top of the list.

For such a gritty environment (and Beirut often defines the concept of raw) there is an almost escapist obsession with being refined and polished. Quite often to an extreme.

Even away from the fashion scene you’ll find architecture that involves plastering new facades over historical buildings and the famous Lebanese look (never leave the house without makeup, bling or a blow dry, what surgery can I do this year...)

Yep, Lebanese people are known for their seeking of what they see as aesthetic perfection. And its no wonder Kim Kardashian is such a hit over there.

Raw, ethnic and intruiging... Malaika's work is not your average
style of jewellery, especially not in Lebanon!

 You can multiply that by 1 million when it comes to fashion - just look at the breakout labels that come from Beirut. Nothing but glamour in the form of Elie Saab, Zuhaair Murad and Basil Soda.

So when I stumbled upon Malaika Najem’s work, the epitomy of raw and unfinished, I was more than a little surprised.

Malaika is a jewellery designer whose work is all about the core rather than the perfectly polished exterior. she definitely is a breath of fresh air in a country stifled by a narrow fashion perspective.

The beautiful and charming Malaika, bringing some depth to the overly
polished fashion scene in Beirut.

Fashfix Singapore: A Fun and Stylish Way to Clean out Your Closet

The cover for my fashfix closet! Wonder who's gonna be my first buyer :-)!

Anyone who has visited Chez Bonjour will know that my apartment’s second bedroom basically doubles as a walk-in wardrobe. It basically houses a bed (which I’m lobbying to remove!) and the important stuff – mainly racks, rows and bags of clothes of which half I hardly wear anymore.

And in case you’re wondering, yes I do wake up most days and feel like I have nothing to wear! While donating boxes of unwanted clothes to charity is something I’m keen on doing (related story coming up next week!), there are some items which are too pretty to let go of and I’d rather see someone else wear them.

Having a stall in flea markets is one option (also helps to fund some more shopping ;-)) but why bother and sit in the sun all day when you can sell your stuff from home at the newly-launched fashion exchange site fashfix.sg?

Fashfix is the brainchild of Vivien Chia, a Singapore-based entrepreneur who has come to the rescue for like-minded (i.e shopaholic) people like myself who want to clean out their closet stylishly. And like they say, someone’s trash can be someone else’s treasure so I decided to try it for myself to start with.

Love this colourful skirt but time to let go...