Fabulista Remarks: A Beautiful Buy.

It was a good when the establishment I bank with decided to PAY ME for doing what I do best – shopping (for obvious medical base therapeutic reasons)! I went straight ahead and got me a few things that had been catching my eye; one of them a beautifully made Loewe (loo-ay-vay) canvas/leather tote.

Not all my buys were frivolous, of course. I also purchase some investment pieces – a Baume et Mercier (bom-ay-meh-syay) timepiece and a Tiffany & Co. trinket that I’ve been eyeing forever.

So in spite of the crazy downpour cum flashflood that soaked my Louis (which has since been lovingly dried), yesterday managed to be a very good day.

Fabulista Reports: Designer Water

Today’s paper just reported about artesian waters that are supposedly more beneficial for the masses.

I have known only one that brings me great joy annually – and joy is a medicine that surpasses all benefits.

I am an Evian Seasonal Bottle Collector.

This year, Evian brings the term Designer Water to brand new heights.

Meet the Limited Edition 2008 evian by Christian Lacroix.

Fabulista Recommends: Loyalty Shopping

There are many advantages to shopping on familiar grounds. For starters, the people in the shop/boutique/atelier/maletier are on familiar terms with you. That means, no waiting, no queuing – service is always available to you. Case in point; a certain luggage store in central shopping district. Yours truly almost never have to queue, even on a crowded weekend. Plus, you get to be ‘in the know’ for sales and promotions and even make reservations on ‘to die for’ products or items that others are queuing just to have a look at *wink*.

Another point, you don’t need to be served to be served. Being a dizzily caffeinated fabulista-shopaholic, I have a favourite café joint. The moment the baristas see my face, they just smile, raise their head and brows as an acknowledgement and confirmation. I just whip out my plastic and in a few seconds, my drink is ready for collection. The only time I spend talking is where it matters most – catching up with the staff, new bean arrivals, flavours and promotions.

You need another reason? How about monetary benefits?

When you shop at places with published rewards programmes, regular return purchases almost always guarantees rebates, discounts and freebies. Yours truly have been making discount purchases from leather goods houses, nutrition and lifestyle outlets and even free merchandise all thanks to the loyal-customers programme.

The abovementioned are just some of the many advantages and benefits to be had from loyalty shopping – going back to the same place all the time, building up a rapport with the staff and even making friends with some of them. Trust me, it’s a privilege that is all yours…

Fabulista: Is not a toy.

I am elegance and grace defined. Unfortunately, there are the uninitiated who mistakes it as weakness.

Nay, nave, I am vicious, vociferous and vindictive personified.

An acquaintance had been sending out invitations to one’s wedding dinner. The process had been going on for more than a month now and being the fabulista that I am, I knew about it. I am not sore about the non-invitation, in fact, except from close friends, I never look forward to any sort of invitation, especially the pink types.

I am also aware that many had declined her invitation. As a result, there are several empty tables. So, imagine my chagrin when I was approached with a last minute invite from said acquaintance. It was obvious that I was meant to be the gap-filler to prevent a loss of profits.

Peeved – I was taken as a spare tyre, a replacement! How rude! I am not putty – I don’t play as filler. I do not enjoy being taken as a pawn to your profits/loss margin.

I have thus declined the invite as well, excusing myself in the usual elegant way. It ironic though – even without tasting the dinner, it has already left a bad taste in my mouth.

Watch out – this is the Fabulista you are working with. The Fabulista is NOT a toy.

Fabulista Reflects: On Laundry

When I was a toddler, I loved to sit with my mum when she did her laundry with a European washer. It’s the front-loading kind with a glass door. I sat for that hour, mesmerized by the spinning fabrics.

When I was nine I was asked to draw my favourite part of the house. I drew the bath cum laundry room.

It was the idea that something stained and used could come out new and clean again – laundry or skin notwithstanding. Smelling wonderfully of phosphate-laden freshness was a plus of course.

Sadly, with life, laundry-logic does not seem to apply. Things like trust, faith and friendship once lost, are almost never found. It’s the human condition presumably. Composed of emotions, memories and sensations, it’s a complex fabric being. Conditions almost never return to its original states once altered.

Fabulista Endorses: Authenticity & Originality.

Fabulista's LV Kiowa Tote

Trust me, it’s not worth the pain.

I am talking about imitation goods. It’s akin to chewing on a candy wrapper when what you really want is the well-made chocolate that it really is.

There is a very good reason to make a preferred purchase of branded items, by those who are truly discerning. This main (and arguably should be the only) reason is for a beautifully designed product that is as equally well crafted. Every designer product is well thought out and detailed to the execution. It is for this appreciation of the artist, artisan and craftsperson who created the products as well as an investment that is durable, comfortable to use that may become an heirloom that we make a designer purchase.

On the other hand, there are people who covet branded goods as a status symbol. They usually represent the demographics of consumers who will resort to imitations or replicas. They buy them and own them for a very superficial reason of ‘face’.

However, what we might not realize is that by supporting these fake goods vendors, we could actually be supporting some very seedy and suspect establishments and institutions. They include sweat shops in several third world countries and many sources have reported that money from such merchandise actually goes on to support terrorism circles and all those what not. This is credible since dirty comes, so dirty goes.

So since one was born original and unique, let’s not shortchange ourselves. Let’s get real. Be authentic; be original. And support the creative and artistic circles. Consumerism, after all is required to keep artists, artisans and craftspeople viably employed. Besides, the fine art of quality handmade products is a heritage worth keeping for posterity.

No heroes; only death.

Every ring on the phone,
Every knock stops the heart.
It is a shot to start the mind racing.
Every nine o’clock news
We are on a diet of shortness of breath
A dessert of cotton fibers.

And then the silence.
And the relief.
And someone in the room grieves.
It is not me, now.
Caught in the suspense.
When will it be…?

The phone, the door.
The cycle starts again.

Fabulista's new IT bag.

One thing about being a fabulista on a shopping fast: thou shalt not tempt thyself by moving around fabulous circles.

One learns it the hard way moving around Etienne and Louis circles the past couple of days. One has since settled on the new IT bag this session round.

One's next target purchase: Kiowa tote in Utah leather by Louis Vuitton.

One would be attracted to the generous sizing and the beautiful proportions of the carrier. It is a design that marries lux and function. The thoughtful adjustable straps cleverly adapts itself from a shoulder to a hand tote, simply by belting them through the various holes.

An ultimately in form, function and luxury material selection, combined with the distinctive craftsmanship and quality of Louis Vuitton Malletier - it's an IT item that can't be beat.

Fabulista reflects: right, wrong, normal, truth.

“Our moral compass can only point us in the right direction, it can't make us go there.”

– Grissom, from the television series, “CSI”.

---

A person raised in the knowledge of right moral values may learn to differentiate what between wrong and right, as stipulated by one’s culture. However, it does not mean that the person will do the right thing. That is the point about choice and free will.

Even then, moral value are at once shaped and passed down through one’s culture. Culture, a manmade entity, differs from group to group – culturally, ethnically and even linguistically. What is acceptable and ‘normal’ to one may not be so of another. What is deemed ‘normal’ is a state of hegemony. Hegemony has the potential and very often has succeeded in making one believe and be convicted in the status quo.

Unfortunately, what is deemed ‘normal’ does not make right. What is ‘normal’ is only the hegemony, the majority. It is what most of society believe in or do. Most of society, however, does not make the right of society. Remember Nazi Germany?

Make choices and decisions, without manmade prejudice, without human influence. Weigh the balance within the self. In the essence and truth of the self, one finds the right and the truth.