Do Singaporeans dress badly?

I am totally inspired to do this entry, amidst the renovation works happening at my neighbour’s house. The weather’s damn screwed up nowadays, don’t you think so?

This should be a politically correct entry ‘cos I would be shooting myself if I say no. But I can’t say yes either, ’cos I, in my humble opinion, secretly feels that sometimes.. whenever I see a fashion disaster walking down Orchard Road. What a dilemma. Let me reiterate again, I am no fashion guru and whatever I say is probably just my two cents worth. So, read through the entry with an open mind. It’s gonna be a lengthy, boring entry with few pictures, so do bear with me. God bless.

Ok, basically for me, I would say I am somewhere in the middle. (I am not trying to be politically correct, btw!) If you get me to rate how badly do Singaporeans dress in a scale of 1 to 10, I’d rate 4. (1 being the least badly dressed, 10 being the most badly dress)

Let me cite some examples.

Example 1:

A teacher once told the class that when she was in Japan, she did not dare to squat along the road side (though I have no idea how come she want to do that). Her reason was – she felt that the Japanese would think that she is a beggar and she began to tell us how well-dressed the road sweepers(!) there were.

I cannot comment on the above cos when I tried googling Japan Road Sweepers, pictures could not be found. But, I guess, the teacher wouldn’t lie, cos they are always right! Ha. I see no reason to lie about that anyway.

Example 2:

I was walking towards FEP on this fateful day and saw a plucky woman donning a tee shirt with tights. She totally just wore the tights out! Tights to me are NOT supposed to be worn as pants. It is not suitable to wear it as pants anyway due to the material (stretchable). So, because of her size, the tights were really stretched to the max and I could see the colour of her skin inside! And to make matter worse, she was not wearing any underwear as well. I SWEAR I COULD SEE HER BUTT CRACK. (Not that I want to see it!)

Her tee shirt was quite short and so her butt was exposed. She could have bought a better quality tights cos there are different grades as well when it comes to tights, but I wouldn’t want to go into the details. Gosh. What a turn off.

Apart from this one or two incidents that I see on the roads sometimes (and laugh about it) , I think Singaporeans, majority, are quite presentable. We may not be trend setters, but we (most) do know how to dress presentably for different occasions. I definitely can’t compare Singaporeans’ sense of dressing to that of Japan, or maybe HK. For once, we are called Sunny Singapore for a reason. Whenever I start reading those Japan fashion magazines, I would gush at how well dressed the Japanese are. And secretly admiring their clothes and start to wallow in self pity that I live in boring Singapore.. where you tend to ‘follow the flow’.

In those magazines (Japan), you see colours everywhere. People experimenting with colours, which is something we should learn from. Chirpy colours are pretty! If I were to be in a bad mood someday, and I start to see so many colours as I walk out of my house, I think my mood would be lifted up pretty soon. But in Singapore, the only colours you see most of the time are black, black and maybe white.. cos black is the safe colour. Everyone looks good in black. Which is.. so boring. But I don’t blame Singaporeans.

I mean, if you walk down orchard road with boots/hat, you definitely would receive stares. Some would be thinking, ”siao ar, weather so hot wear until like that”. But it’s perfectly normal to own at least a pair of decent boots in HK or Japan. So, I suppose it’s a cultural thing which also makes us unique.. only not in a good way.

Singaporeans just tend to conform.(I find myself falling into this trap sometimes too) Wearing something safe and boring is always better than being adventureous and then.. perhaps ending up in Stomp then perhaps get flamed? Personally, I think teenagers sometimes do it better. No doubt, you always tend to see many teenagers dressed like a fashion disaster, in suspenders with hats + boots + skirt + leggings and whatever what nots. But I guess it’s just a passing phase for most of them. But what is worth mentioning will be - they are not afraid of how people look at them. Something we should learn from them.

For me, I always want to look presentable wherever I go. I mean, afterall, first impressions always count and are important. You just need 5 seconds to leave an impression on a stranger and you wouldn’t want to be remembered for the wrong things.

You wouldn’t catch me in three quarters or tee shirts in town, cos that’s what I wear at home. Flip flops are acceptable cos there are times when you feel lazy and especially when you are going shopping, who in the right mind would want to wear 5 inch stilettos? I guess the most sloppy attire that I would go out in would be shorts and flip flops (with a pretty top and bag). I mean, you have got to compromise, sometimes. There are times when I don’t feel like dressing up as well.  

And I am not advocating that wearing tee shirt with three quarters in wrong, cos some people can damn carry it off well. At least, I feel that as long as you are comfortable in the attire you are wearing and it looks good on you, you are generally fine. I mean we all have different ‘configurations’. Some are always in their jeans and tee shirt and they look good. So, personally, it’s best to find out what’s the right style for you than following the trends blindly.

But dressing up in a different way is good for a change sometimes. You can start from the nitty gritty details first. I for once, am not an accessory person. You don’t see me in necklaces, bracelets, earrings all the time. Maybe, for a change, I should try to don on some accessories to match my plain clothes. And I am always on a look out for bright coloured stilettos. Pastal colours are sweet. But I can’t seem to find any. I guess it’s demand and supply as well. When the demand is low, why would suppliers want to mass produce? Tsk.

What you would never see me in is probably a PJ, unless it’s a themed party, that’s it. Enough said. Those who wear PJ’s out to town should be put behind bars. (Kidding) But once again, I guess it’s the culture of the country you live in. In Aussie, people do wear them out to supermarkets. But in Singapore, people would probably be asking whether it’s time for you to eat medicine. I don’t even wear PJ when I am sleeping!

In a nutshell, as long as you take pride of what you wear and it makes you feel good about yourself, you shouldn’t be too bothered by other people’s opinions. Many have the misconception that looking good means spending $XXX amount on a piece of branded top, I beg to differ. I am no brand whore. It’s about bringing out the clothes in you. You can look good in cheaper alternatives too. Anyhow, I have come up with my list of do/donts at the bottom. Do check it out!   

MY Guidelines of DO / DONTS

1)  Do not try to add too many accessories on your body. e.g. many necklaces, bracelets, earrings. It makes you look like a christmas tree. Less is more, remember.

2) Visible bra straps when you are wearing tubes, spags are major turn offs.

3) Do not wear low waist jeans that show too much of your butt crack. Major TO. Less is more, remember?

4) If the bottom of your dress is sheer, do wear panty hose or nude underwear.

5) Never wear a dressy dress with slippers. Enough’s said. It’s damn sloppy. If it’s a casual dress, it’s ok. But if the dress is really the glamorous kind, wearing flip flops is no-no.

6) Always iron your clothes. Respect yourself – duh.

I am supposed to post a picture of me in my own PJs. But I do not have any, sadly. What bout my little bunny dressed in her own PJs?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cute little bunny in her own Pjs. She looks good yea?