dnunken post 02

hello... drunken again.. kind of.

E. took me along to the cutest little boutique selling reconstructed vintage clothes and antiques. I was sorely tempted by two carved wooden pendants (an anchor and a ship's wheel), and a pair of skirt/shorts that was based on an antique pattern of Victorian bloomers. We hung out there eating cheese + homemade goodies and drinking lots of excellent Sangria.

Z. (bless his dear heart) said 'just splurge on one piece lah', but this year I made a decision to only buy Malaysian-made fashion. I have my eyes on a beautiful long silk dress from Gallo. I've been looking for an ankle-length dress I can wear with sneakers, and the Gallo dress is definitely it. It has a lime green top, with bright purple skirt. If it is the sole item of clothing I purchase this year, I will be happy. I'm proud of myself that I haven't bought any clothing or shoes since February, except a 5-pack of cute cotton panties. I'm finding new ways to wear all my clothes, which is pretty fulfilling. It's the dresses... the dresses that are my weakness. I see a beautiful one and all good sense flies out the window.

Uh... i think i'll have a smoke now. then bed. goodnight. drunken and happy. observatory... seeing stars. mmm.

New dress New dress New dress

Ugh. This online shopping thing is bad for my credit.

Considering I'm living on a hill where grooming really is at the bottom of my priorities, all this dress purchasing must be driven by some compulsion I don't quite understand yet. They're being sent to my house in KL, so I haven't even seen them! When I go back there and open the boxes it will be like Christmas...

Anyway, back to work to pay for these lovely threads!

Once again, dress and photo from http://the-shoplifters.blogspot.com/

My new dress

I'm afraid I may have opened the floodgates with my very first online purchase. The transaction was completed in less than 2minutes. Barely enough time to register just what I was doing.

But look! It's vintage! It's got pleats! And sleeves! And stardust! In black and white! And it's got goddamn snow leopards all over it. I shall say no more, only that I can't wait to wear it out, drink cheap alcohol all night long and feel extremely pleased with myself. Dress and its picture from http://the-shoplifters.blogspot.com/.

(Super) Happy Post 04 - Sailor Shirt Bliss

No time to post pics, but all my clothes dreams came true yesterday. The puffy sleeve sailor shirt I have been obsessing about for months (staring at it the through the boutique window, special trips to the mall where the boutique is so I can fondle it with a wistful look on my face, etc.) is mine mine mine! It is hanging in my closet - making me happy and making the other shirts cower in their non-awesome-non-puffy-sleeve-ness.

Betta (in the boutique): OMG it's on sale
Godzilla: *silence*
Betta (trying it on): Oh, should I get it? Is today the day?
Godzilla: *Exasperated* It's 50 percent! Just buy it and be done with it!
Betta (at the cash register): My dreams are coming true!
Godzilla: Well, it's not hard if you set the bar so low...

And then, dear reader, it gets better!! Godzilla spots ANOTHER sailor shirt - with lots of buttons and a strange detachable bib-thing on the front. I put it on for fun and we both ooh-ahhed at the reflection. And then when I came out of the dressing room she was paying for it on her plastic.

Godzilla: Present.
Betta: OMG. No? Rilly? No I can't. No you can't! No? Rilly? OMG
Godzilla: At least you can wear this one out.
Betta: OMG. Sniff. (Ignoring not-so-subtle insult to personal tastes)

Sigh. I wore bib-front to dinner yesterday, feeling like the Queen of the Nile.

I AM SO HAPPY. Ok baibai, I got to work now.

Maturin II

After I collected my degree (it's still rolled up somewhere, I don't know where), came home and started making art, I thought I'd never want to do anything else. It makes my life so fun and meaningful because I get to indulge in whatever obsession of the moment - barricade tape, ships, tattoos, footballs, astronomy, metronomes.

Progressively, it's been getting more meaningful but less fun. I don't know how that happened. The other night I divulged a secret to T.W. - I often make things thinking of the object first, and then insert some kind of 'message' - that's how 'Executive Toy' came about: you see, all I wanted to do was make ceramic balls and paint on them. Yeah, I know. This post is doing myself no favours.

I've been thinking seriously about going to fashion school next year. My unborn label 'Maturin ' has been on my mind constantly in the past couple of months. I don't want to be in the fashion industry. I don't have a passion for that, no passion to 'be on top'. I only want to make clothes and other things that are crafted with a bit of care and integrity. I look at all the stuff that's in these cute new boutiques today and I have no idea where they come from - which factory in China or Indonesia? Cheap fabrics, poor stitching. Clothes you wear for 2 months and throw out after. It's terrible. And then there are the big clothing companies like GAP and TopShop - although they're better designed, they're still not built to last. I'm lucky enough that I can fit my late grandmother's clothes perfectly - they're probably more than half a century old. The colors are as bright as ever, the edge binding shows no signs of fraying, seams and hems are perfectly intact, even the damn buttons refuse to come off!

I think when you make something like that, something beautiful and useful, it defies the ostentatious and gratuitous commercialism that has come to define the fashion industry. I don't want someone to tell me the meaning of value and luxury. That's why Maturin will be a fashion label, NOT a brand. It's just another reason and avenue to do things my way - independent, self-starting and sustainable. I think that buying good things makes you buy less things. My personal wardrobe is pretty small, and unlikely to grow much bigger.

Anyway, these are just the 3am thoughts of an artist who hasn't been using her hands enough the past six months.

I wants me a...

JUMPSUIT!

This one's from Baby Phat, but mine would be black or navy blue stretch satin with a row of buttons all the way down to...

No hooker heels, no jewelry, just a bare feet or some flat shoes. OMG so much fun.

Yes yes yes. I don't care what you say! Jumpsuit!

Desire

Damn, Phillip Lim is definitely one of my favorite labels. He is just SO GOOD. Look at this dress!

3.1 Phillip Lim Infinitely Pleated Tulip Cocoon Dress

Oh yes, I'm sure I heard a collective sigh of desire from every girl (and maybe a guy or two - you know who you are) out there.

Maturin the label

Sigh, this blog is becoming the repository of all the things I really want to do. But sk'rang, mana ada masa? And headspace? Furgeddaboutit.

My label, my little baby that I'm nursing, is 'Maturin'. The few moments in the day not taken up with work or worrying about work is spent designing (mostly in my head) a line of limited edition bags. There will be one unisex shoulder/messenger bag, one women's shoulder bag, 2 clutches, one soft purse and one wrist-strap purse for when you go out but don't have any pockets (we've all been there, eh girls?). I have little sketches on bits of paper everywhere, and I find I tune out of less-than-scintillating conversation to continue my idle constructions, which have spilled out to an even more limited edition clothing collection - a short skirt, a t-shirt dress, a dress, a shirt and a t-shirt. The dresses have hoods on them. I like hoods because they protect and look pretty fly. The bags are all plain cream canvas on the outside, and lined with highest quality navy blue satin. Topstitching, pin-tucks, piping will feature heavily. Also handmade ceramic buttons, dice hanging from zippers, knots and braided rope for the handles. A 5-piece line of jewelery consisting of ceramic knots joined with braided silk rounds out Betta Sim for Maturin's first collection called 'Galapagos'! Secret evening launch party by the seaside - only dorks and geeks allowed, a certified un-cool event. Free-flowing rum. Best-dressed mermaid gets a Maturin dress for free! OMG. All 100 percent hand-made in Malaysia. No outsourcing to China! When when when? I know you want it too.

Second collection is 'Traveling Circus'.

Sigh. Someone get me a second life.

Say, ahoy!

...to a pair of sailor shoes. Well, Sailor Jerry shoes, anyway.

I haven't worn sneakers in years. Feeling some ballet flat fatigue, I found myself poking around the Converse store and saw these Sailor Jerry tattoo flash ones. Instant love. I mean, 'Death Before Dishonour'... don't you feel chills? The lowtops are good too, and probably a little more to my true tastes. Didn't have my size unfortunately, which is probably a good thing. My bank account doesn't feel too healthy lately.

Enjoy.

Say Ahoy!

... to the sailor shirt that got away.

On the way out with Poop for drinks, we stopped by the boutique next to our usual watering hole which sells out-of-season designer wear. The presence of sailor shirts was extraordinarily apparent. There was one by Marni - dark green-brown with three big navy buttons down the front. Lovely, but not as crazy-beautiful as this one by 3.1 Phillip Lim. The pictures don't do it justice. 100% silk and organza with completely insane transparent pouf-ey sleeves. The top yoke was a series of perfect, over-sized pin-tucks:


Here, this picture shows it better.


Just in case you don't get the obsession, here's a third, in exquisite black where you can see the back. This one is the dress version, but imagine it cut off at the waist and you have Is it or is it not the ultimate sailor shirt - to be worn only on the most special occasions, or just for yourself when you want to feel very beautiful.


How sinfully I covet this garment. At 30 percent off the off-season price, I could just afford it, and I would have done it too, if only they had had one above a size zero. If I had a flat chest it might have worked. I would not mind having no breasts, just to wear this shirt. You really had to put it on to understand. Ah, t'was not to be...

Say Ahoy!

To a new sailor shirt.

Waitaminute didn't I post something exactly like this just a couple of weeks ago? Ah well. So many sailor shirts to own and love, you know?

This one is thin cotton in light, light mint green. Beautiful pleats down the front. This shirt reminds me of my favorite ice-cream flavour. Probably something I will wear when stuck writing or making art, it's that kind of smart, quiet garment - you know, like the girl in your class who never said a word but was always reading something really interesting. Good quality stitch work all round, considering the price. I think the bottom hem is a little too long though - I might have to bring it up a couple of inches, maybe shape the corners so that they are rounded.

Betta is a happy fish. x.

Say: Ahoy!

...to a new sailor shirt. Besides feeling like something to have adventures in, it's also as soft and comforting as an old pillow case. Two sizes bigger so I can slouch in it. Don't think I will be able to resist putting it on before Chinese New Year... if I don't wash it, still counts as 'new', doesn't it? >_<

UPDATE: I NEVER WANT TO TAKE THIS SHIRT OFF! >_<