Men 100% Leather Messenger Bags - Vagabond Traveler Review

It's hard to find a nice men genuine leather messenger bag in Singapore that doesn't make you feel like you're paying through your nose. And it's even harder to find is one that is well built, looks rugged with a raw finish that cost below 500SGD. I couldn't even find anything I like at this budget.

I have cracked my head for more than half a year before I realised I have yet to explore my online options. Somehow somewhere, Vagabond Traveler caught my eyes on ebay.com. Good reviews were posted on other sites and replies were prompt from the seller.

I decided to go ahead since it'll only cost be less than half the price (inclusive of shipment) of what I was prepared to pay. I opted for Fedex shipment tracking since Vagabond Traveler ships by Fedex.

And eagerly waited....

And got impatient at times...

When it finally arrived in about 2 week's time!!!

It was neatly packed into a flat box.

Ta-da!!! The bag I hunted for so long in the rugged leather finish I wanted.

It is made of oil tanned leather and is in freedom style.

Vagabond Traveler even packed a holder along with it to make it more presentable for gift giving.

Am I a satisfied online shopper of Vagabond Traveler? Yes, I am. At a fraction of the price in Singapore, I am getting a quality product made of genuine leather.

Vagabond Traveler even packed a holder along with it to make it more presentable for gift giving.

The only drawback? My fiance's light coloured pants get chocolate stains when he uses it. At first, we were perplexed and thought the stains came about from his greed in chomping on chocolate bars. Later on, he figured that bag rubs off brown stains on light coloured pants.

We were told that since this is an oil tanned leather that was tanned with colour and wax in raw leather finish, we would have to wait it out for the bag to stop bleaching eventually... :( For now, my fiance just keep to dark coloured pants.

If you intend to purchase from Vagabond Traveler, it may be worthwhile to note that it's cheaper to buy directly from their website instead of from ebay.com or amazon.com.

Good luck in finding the perfect messenger bag!

DUSK Jewelry, My Love

Know what's one of my loves? It's a range of handmade semi-precious gemstone collection designed by me. It's called DUSK Jewelry.

I decided to call this range DUSK because of the beautiful stone colours that we work with. Combined with the gold wire and chains. it reminds me of the wondrous colours of sunset. The myriad hues that descends the sky at dusk. 

Rutilated Quartz Necklaces

DUSK Jewelry is available online too.

One of My Favourite DUSK Earrings with Pearl & Rutilated Quartz

Matchy Eyeshadow with My Blue Dusk Earrings

One of My Favourite DUSK Necklaces

Soothing Mix of Colours

Quartz Ring Designed by Myself

Here's the blog and facebook page. It'll make my day if I see a new like for DUSK on facebook if you appreciate this collection too. =)

Charming Samcheong-dong in Seoul, Korea

I've been wanting to visit Samcheong-dong since my 1st trip to Korea this year, yet I didn't find the time to do so. I was told that it is a charming area with nice cafes, restaurants and lovely shops scattered along the street. 

Bukchon Hanok Village and some palaces are also located in the same area. 

Somehow, I managed to venture there by squeezing out some time at night. Sadly, it was dark and I couldn't see the beauty of the many artistic and interesting buildings in their full glory. It was enough though to see that the shops have their own distinctive character and unique charm. 

It's also interesting to see new and old traditional buildings side by side and how they seem to sit so well together. 

And if you walk into the alleys, you'll discover more shops. It made me feel like I was on a treasure hunt.

With the many cool cafes and restaurants around, we easily found a Korean restaurants for dinner.

I asked for the recommended dishes and was told that we have to try their Traditional Korean Meal. And oh, what a spread it was!

I must say it was really 맛있어요 (delicious)!

The rice was prepared in a special way; it was served with oysters! So good that I could even eat it on its own, 진짜요 (really)! I had a really hearty meal that night in Samcheong-dong. =)

One of the shops I really love there was Accessory Kitchen. I bought myself a ring and a scarf from there as keepsake.

If I were to visualize what my ICING Accessories would look if we were to have a retail store of our own. This would be very close to it. Moreover, the brand colour is green! In almost the same shade as ICING's and it's my favourite colour! Yipee!

The only drawback about Samcheong-dong is the slight difficulty in locating it. We were walking for a while not knowing whether we were on the right track or not. Thankfully, the directions given by a passer-by was easy to follow.

If you exit from Exit 1 of Anguk station (green circle in map), just turn your right and walk straight all the way. In about 5 mins, Gwanghwamun Gate will come into sight. Once you see it, just turn to your right and walk for another 5 - 10mins.

At the end of Samcheong-dong gil, the road will split into 2 and just keep to the right one (follow the purple arrow) that'll lead you into Samcheong-dong.

 I've also uploaded how the view of Gwanghwamun Gate looks like from the 2 streets that intersect. If you want a clearer map, just drop me a note here.

On a positive note, there's many art galleries and interesting shops from Anguk Station to Samcheong-dong.

It's indeed one of life's little pleasures to enjoy a a cool autumn night, appreciating artistic creations as I take a stroll down the streets. 

Seoul Spring Fashion 2011, Dongdaemun Shopping Haven in Korea

Going to Seoul in Spring means the city will be a shopping haven for fashionistas. The city is so vibrant, even in the middle of the night. I don't understand why would anyone wants to shop until 4am though...

One friend got more than 20 pcs of clothings in a few days! And each piece averages around SGD30+.

In early April, most shops are selling thin long sleeve (i.e. Chiffon material etc) tops, sweet dresses and loose thin tops meant for layering for the cool Spring weather. It's great for Singapore's weather if you don't mind wearing a tube inside. Most of the clothings come in free size so be prepared to wear them loose if you're a S size.

And jackets are cheap in Seoul too. You'll be able to easily get chic ones at less than SGD40. Guys will also be spoilt for choice with the many sweaters available.

Just take note that at places like Doota, if you pay in cash, you'll be able to get some discount and ask for your tax refund if the salesperson forget to mention it. 

For myself, I didn't manage to get anything until my last night in Seoul. That was when we finally located the night wholesale market in Dongdaemum meant for retailers. And the great thing is they seem to be stocking more summer clothings with short sleeves and tighter clothings too.

To locate this area can be a little tricky. It's more obscure and cannot be easily noticed from the main Dongdaemum street. Follow the area in pink in the map above and when you past the few building in front, you'll be transported into a world of midnight shopping madness.

Shops here open only from 8pm and close only at 8am. I was told that they are catering mainly to retailers and it's interesting to see bags and bags of clothings in front of the shopping complex waiting to be picked up and shipped to various places. 

So, don't even bother to bargain as some shops may not even sell 1-2pcs. If you're lucky, you'll be able to buy loose pieces at a cheaper price than shops like Doota.

Only KRW and RMB cash is accepted here. It seemed to me that clothings here are a step ahead from the ones retailing in normal retails shop in Seoul.

Although the shopping queen in me came alive only on the last night in Seoul, I only managed to get 2 tops (I had to buy 2pcs of the same design at one go) and 2 pretty skirts. The tops weren't cheap at 29,000KRW each but I so love the green. :P~

BF got some shirts at 15,000KRW and the material is good!

The one below cost only 26,000KRW and pardon the badly taken pic by the lousy iPhone...

The other pieces that caught my eyes were meant for wholesale, meaning I had to buy several pcs at one go. Oh well, at least I know where my first shopping stop in Korea will be the next time I go back.

I just love the energy of this place and it's interesting to find that RMB is actually a accepted currency there.

Other good buys I found in Seoul were scarves and tights. these I got from Myeong-Dong and the scarves below cost me only 7,000KRW each. Now, I love Zebras!

If you are looking for international brands like H&M and its likes, Myeong-Dong is the place to be.

For the latest hip place to shop in, one must head down to Gangnam by exiting Sinsa Station on the no. 2 green subway line.

Night Shot of Gangnam

The shops here are more upmarket and at night, it's lovely to have dinner here and chill at one of the many coffee houses littered along the street. 

As usual, I didn't forget the little ones and got them sneakers made in Korea. For cheap children wear, head down to Nandaemun Market instead. You'll get a better chance of getting inexpensive items. 

Shopping Gems In Millenia Walk

I have always liked Millenia Walk because it's rather dead. Haha... but seriously, I like the malls empty for my shopping pleasure and I can just pop out to Paulaner for a drink in the evening and Bakerzin (no longer there)  for a treat.

But in recent months, Millenia Walk is getting more crowded with the right mix of shops and the MRT exit right next to it.

3 days back, I had a good time shopping in the morning and I wanna share my buys.

A cute handmade ring  from Beads Coffret, they are currently running a 10% discount on most items.

And there's the ever lovely Octa Hotel. It's already a visual treat when you walk in. I simply love this shop and it's cute name. Octa Hotel is not a hotel but a cafe that stocks accessories from Japan. 

They serve food too and have an adorable hotel  lobby reception as a cashier.

When I saw these cute hair pins in Octa Hotel, I couldn't resist buying them! Yeah, everything shouts cute in this store.

As you can see from the picture below, they are running a 10% - 30% discount too! Yeah!

And there's more goodies on sale from Trixilini. They carry quite a few brands of pretty clothing and accessories. 

Have fun shopping in Millenia Walk!

Joop Warehouse Sale at 313 Somerset

I passed by Joop store at 313 Somerset yesterday and saw a mess of clothings. Feeling rather shopping deprived, I walked in with the intention to just take a fast look.

I even scoffed at the rack of "2 for $10" clothings until the purple top caught my eyes. The tops all cost me $5 each, clothings are getting real cheap here!

My friend turned back and joined me in search for more super duper worth it buys. She was hesitant in buying the same long sleeve top (but in white colour) as it was a little too sweet in her opinion. With a little nudge, she was convinced by my rationalization that these $5 tops falls under the category of "must buy"... simply for being so cheap!!

It so wonderful to satisfy my shopping craving without the slightest tinge of guilt. What's more, we even received a $10 shopping mall voucher for a combine purchase of $50. Yeah... being cheapo for a day thrills me so!

8ttote Tote Bag from 8tokyo.com

This is the classic and easy to use Abeille tote bag  from 8tokyo.com that all guests received from yesterday's meet up session (you can read more about it from my previous post).

It's interesting when we were asked to open our goodies bag as everyone got a different colour bag. That got everyone a little excited.

Mine's pink with grey handles and base like this. I love it 'coz I like pink clothes and it's a easy colour to match.

8tokyo will launch new colours and combinations every season and they even take orders to custom the colours!

Their generosity and thoughtfulness made my day! Thank you! =)