Though it wasn’t as packed as last year, and I left before midnight because my feet failed me, it was still fun.

I brought my birthday present, the Hello Kitty Fuji Instax Mini, with me. I took more photos than what’s shown here but some were stolen right from my hands when the camera spotted them out. Guess that’s the effect instant cameras have on people.

Bonus: Anyone can provide home for these kitties. The last batch from this Mommy Cat were “taken care of” by the condo management. I don’t want it to happen again. Just contacted SCAD but taking in strays isn’t exactly their focus. Please pass the word around. The babies are about a month old.

I’ve been debating with myself whether to write this blog post.

I recently received an email newsletter from my favorite clothing store, The Old Story, informing me of its move to the new location, as well as showing off what the owner, P’ Ying, has been working on since the closure of the old outlet.

And since she didn’t BCC her customers, I could see all the email addresses of her die-hard fans.

And the list is too damn long.

But I’m not gonna be selfish. After all, if she gets no business, I get no clothes.

Her store is one of the most unique in the whole Suan Lum Night Bazaar. Perhaps even Bangkok. She designs and makes every piece by herself, with the help of her rockstar-looking boyfriend whom you would have never guessed could sew. Especially if you know the style of fashion in focus here.

1950s-1960s Vintage.

Think Mad Men in the psychedellic colors and patterns of Pushing Daisies.

According to the person who lived the era, my mom (OK she’s not that old but still closer to the period than I was) the fashion of the items here are nothing special. Things you’d find housewives wearing back in the day, not models. But the best thing about The Old Story is that they are faux-vintage, so you don’t have to deal with the holes and the musty smells like you do with real vintage clothes ie. ones that survived 40+ years.

She makes everything: dresses, skirts, blouses and even pants. Since I discovered the store, I’ve bought six blouses and shirts, two pairs of pants, four dresses and four skirts. I wish she would make shoes too so I can rebuild the whole wardrobe.

She was located near the MRT before but now the lot is gonna get bulldozed and turned into a DoiTung outlet, she then had to move further into the market in the competitive Lopburi area.

I’m going there tomorrow to grab the best pieces before the Lopburi shoppers start taking notice of her store and stop buying their Thonglor-appropriate attires and start getting on my bandwagon.

Here’s what I need to go home with at least:

Recently I got a chance to visit a series of stores that I never thought in my life I would step into.

Royal Project Stores.

Just in case you didn’t know, to put it simply, these shops are a part of different foundations and projects initiated by, you’ve guessed it, members of the Thai Royal Family, and each of the stores were set up to support different causes and groups of people.

Out of the ones I went to, I was most impressed by HM the Queen’s SUPPORT Foundation store at the Grand Palace. The project aims to give rural people in Thailand a secondary income by giving them training in handicrafts so they can start their own business. The project will then buy the products made by people in the program and sell them in the stores. The money then will go into the foundation that goes on helping mre people taking on their own handicraft businesses.

The SUPPORT Foundation is called “Sillapacheep” in Thai. Mention this to any Thai you know and they’d go, “Oh my god, that’s so baan baan,” evoking the image of something outdated, corny, traditional–boring.

But not anymore apparently. Despite the cliche location, the store is awesome. Unlike the Grand Palace and Wat Prakaew their area it is sitting on, you don’t need to cover your ankles going shopping here. Come in shorts and flips flops if you want, you’re welcome nonetheless. And unlike many stores in town when anyone with a camera is almost considered a criminal, here you can get all snap happy. They even encourage it.

And why not? When the store offers a lot of things they’re proud to show off.

Thai textiles like silk, woven fabrics, cotton and hemp are dyed, patched, stitched, mixed with other materials creating a wide range of beautifully unique items. Like earrings made of silk worm cocoons, “pha khao ma” rag dolls, silk evening clutches and chic home decor pieces. I got myself a Japanese-esque drape top, made from Northern Thai cotton fabric in electric blue. Electric blue. Sillapacheep does electric blue! No more brown, grey, burgundy, or any other big-haired ladies’ favorite hues.

I got a chance to talk to the manager, who explained to me that it was actually the store’s main goal to take on these changes. They want to promote the products not just to tourists, but also locals who have a rather negative image of local crafts being unfashionable and of poor quality. And that’s why they have taken on a team of new generation designers to help come up with the range of products made from folk materials by the villagers.

If you have a chance, do check out the store before the end of December. They’re currently holding an exhibition on Thai fabrics in a very interesting way–by asking Thailand’s best designers to choose their favorite kind of Thai textile and create a couture dress in their own style. Yes I’m talking Sretsis, Greyhound, Disaya, and more, even my lovely Tipayaphong, all participating in this exhibition.

And yes those dresses are also for sale. But unlike the villagers made pieces, these ones go for about B20-30,000 a dress.

Don’t you think this pink Disaya one just makes a perfect birthday present for me? It’s for a good cause, you know?

*hints to certain people reading this*

We’re all familiar with the whole Ladies Who Lunch concept.

Rich, housewives who go out for fancy meals with fellow rich housewives while their husbands are out making more money for them to spend.

But in Bangkok, there’s a whole other culture of these ladies.

Ladies who do…nothing.

Just pick one: Siam Paragon, CentralWorld, Central Chidlom, The Emporium. They are all there. Not during weekends. Not in the evenings. But during weekday afternoon while us commoners are confined in our cubicles, crunching numbers/penning copies.

Who the hell are these bitches?

And they’re not like 40-50 years old. They are my age. Twenty-something Thai females, all dressed up, carrying the best in designer goods and just walk around. In packs.

Loaded husbands? I doubt it. And even if they have loaded parents, what kind of parents would just let them out spending their money? My loaded friends are working with their parents at least.

And every girl my age I know all have a day full-time job. And ones that don’t, they stay home and slave over their computers. They’re not out and about shopping, drinking Ventis in Paragon all day long.

And then there’s another type of ladies–ladies to sell. They don’t own a store. They are not working in a company that imports these stuff. But they’re online, constantly updating their forum posts, selling not common items like makeup or clothes but Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, YSL bags.

Siam Brand Name

These bags are not selling for a few thousands of baht. And they don’t only sell only one or two at a time. These girls have a whole series of forum posts where they put up at least 5-6 items a post. All brand new items.

Seriously, WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

And most importantly, HOW CAN I BE ONE?

Few weeks ago I bought a perfect flapper hat from Forever 21. It was black, it was simple, it had a little felt flower attached to it and it was the last one in the shop.

I wore it once, left it in the car and never wore it again. And I never will because somehow somewhere between that faithful evening when I threw it to the back of my Jazz, it had disappeared.

I have searched the house over, under the tables and chairs, behind the TV, in closets, among the piles of my clothes and bags etc. Even the car, which was practically ripped open, it was nowhere to be seen.

I am pissed. Not because it was an expensive hat (it was only B800). And it’s not like I cannot find a flapper hat anywhere else considering it has become some sort of a trend thanks to Blair Waldorf and all. What pissed me off the most is that it’s a frigging hat, the size of my head, how could something so big be so easily misplaced? And I only wore it once!

I have been going crazy since midnight last night when I was planning an outfit for work today (which is a sort of ritual I do), I got the perfect outfit to match the hat but then I found out it was missing. I looked until 2am before collapsing on the bed. And today I’ve been multitasking and googling the world over for something remotely similar that can help me fill the hole in my shopaholic heart.

Well here are the righteous candidates:

And of course, just my luck, these items are either too expensive, out of stock, or they don’t ship to outside the US.

I’m gonna be hitting Platinum and Siam Square until I find the worthy replacement. Until then, I’m gonna be obsessing over this for a while. At least I am not obsessing over B50,000 lambskin bags anymore.