My DVF sandals
March 26th 2011
My dress was flying!
Wacky tailor
October 20th 2009
Task: replicating the catalogue. Simple. There’s many tailors in this city would happy to do that.
Gradually you will develop the habit of copy all the styles you like to wear. Choosing that one tailor that understands what you want and delivers exactly what you wish could be daunting. A friend of mine has found a lady, in the little alley walking distant at her house. Mango, Zara, even Celine as long as it’s simple she can whip up just about anything. Simple. That is the key.
The only issue with Miss Trang the beloved tailor is that she likes to interpret the pieces in her own way. Therefore our dress might take on another turn when you come for the fitting. So the key to deal with Miss Trang’s complicated mind: Be persistent and really keep sending her threatening SMS, reminding her you who are when you call, what items you have and tell her you will be at her humble workshop on the exact date for trying things on. By the way, if she does not pick up the phone, just turn up. Best on Sunday by noon. You’ll likely to see her serving 2,3 customers at a time. Miss Trang will be multi-tasking going through her bundle of button boxes, trying to find the correct button for Customer A’s dress while Customer B could be browsing the catalogue on her messy desk. A min later she might be on her sewing machine, finishing half of the dress for yet another demanding customer.
Printing out your desired style in colours might help her remember who you are.
The results:
Miss Trang is not a great tailor nor a great inventor. But if you are patient with her, the outcomes can be satisfying. For her labour it would only cost 150.000VND given that you bring along your chosen materials. If you like a certain style and wonder what fabric to get she can also present a final product with her materials and a dress normally cost 300 – 350.000VND including fabric and labour. That is pretty good. If… you can deal with her.
Miss Trang is actually a nice and friendly lady. Just rub her the right way and you’ll soon to be addicted to her odd charm.
Find her @: Tuoi Tre newspapers head quarter on Hoang Van Thu,go on that road, then make a left turn at the tiny intersection, ride long for a wee bit on your right hand side you will find her shop. Miss Trang has some ready made clothes that you can just snap it off the hangers if something caught your eye.
Fashion Virgin
September 17th 2009
My fashion statement/philosophy is basically:
Shop the world
Be brave and customise
‘Life too short to blend in’
My casual fashion blog @ Anyarena under the name of Quirky Bird.
I worked for Portmans store in Auckland for 2 years when the High Street store was just opened. With a great team of Kizzy, Helen, Rachel, Sophie, Emma….some of whom aren’t just workmates. It was a great 2 years, I was only sales-person at the time but I got my fashion lessons there. Esp learning what fashion is all about, merchandising, and I was more or less fashion addicts. Most of my salary went back to the shop, with great staff discounts, even many pieces I still have some now for almost 4,5 years.
Portmans was not the high end line, part of the Just Group, it’s brand positioning is mid market with the young, trendy and fashionable product lines. It has all the great selections: suits and pants for serious working outfit (entire suit would be 300NZD at the time max, good deal actually), party dresses (in trend, chic, around 160NZD max), good basic for mix and match, and great choice of accessories. Basically the trends of the season, key pieces can be found there. We always get excited when receiving the new stock, what’s coming in store, and how we are going to present out products. That song: Portmans girls was so addictive. Plus we had great model/brand ambassador Miranda. For NZ, Portmans market share would have been in a much better position than in Aus due to less competition and value for money, say compare to the local designer fashion line.
After that I worked for a local designer brand : Kimberleys, a very different experience. The store I was working at was in the St Lukes mall, with a foreigner boss. Kimberleys overall caters for older, richer target with a typical NZ women shape and size. Clothing quality is much better than Portmans but has a more serious tone of voice and style. Kimberleys also stocks European designs like Antik Batik, SPY, SaveTheQueen and others (mainly from Italy and France). It was a totally different environment of work and style but our challenges remain the same: changing the store looks frequently, displayed outfits, and yes sale more! The kind of person who wears Kimberleys clothing is much older 35 plus, middle class, and of course has that European connection. An average piece would cost 70 NZD minimum.
My exposure to fashion started then when I enter the world of Portmans. High street was a great location in terms of shopping, and soon I was surrounded by many brands, shops, and yes I almost got to know all the neighbouring shops, who knows…good relations to the neighbour might bring more discounts and favours one day. Plus Auckland CBD was not big.
When I looked back….still recall my fashion disaster when I paid my first abroad journey to Sydney, horrific clothing. I felt so out of place.
I now dont own all the clothes I would love to….but my interest in fashion does not die.
