Bottled Sky

I spent Saturday afternoon eating and (window) shopping on Arab Street and Haji Lane, two of my favorite places in Singapore, with my friend Chrissa.

My company used to rent a studio office in that neighborhood right above a jazz lounge, which was one of our first stops for the day. I just had to take a photo for old time’s sake. I can’t think of many places in Singapore where my lurid dress could blend right into the background.

Lunch was hummus and falafel at Cafe Le Caire on Arab Street. Yummy grub at reasonable prices, what more could you ask for?

We skipped over to Haji Lane after lunch to burn some carbs (and some money). It wasn’t long before Chrissa made her first purchase, a floaty cardigan-shawl hybrid at Zhai. Who knew that bamboo fabric made for such remarkably soft clothes?

There went the happy camper, swinging around her new bamboo cardigan.

We were greeted by this handsome fellow at one of the shops. His name was Jack, and he turned unsuspecting shoppers into cooing, burbling messes without even trying.

So. Freaking. Precious. He made sitting around look like art.

“Fashion is what’s available. Style is what you choose,” the stairs leading to Eight Two Tales, a clothing and accessories boutique, said. Nice touch.

I loved the candy-colored shoes and bags at Sweet Pair. I would have taken one of these babies home had I not been under a self-imposed shoe-shopping hiatus.

After much agonizing (“Well, I don’t really need it… but OMG it’s so damn cute! Should I? Argh!”) I ended up buying a darling mouse pad from Green Poppies. I later realized that it was the same brand as a passport cover I so loved and bought from Hong Kong last year. No wonder they shared the same aesthetic.

Obligatory outfit shot! You can’t tell, but my toe nails were the same yellow as the wall and my bag the same green as the door.

All in all we spent about three hours exploring Haji Lane, a long time for such a small stretch of pavement, and we didn’t even hit all the shops. As we turned the corner to leave, we got one last kick of color from this gaudy pillar. Do I smell a return trip?