My Shopping Haunts in Singapore

If you understand me well, then you know that I will never pay big bucks for branded clothing. Nothing against people who do, but I was brought up in a middle income family, and the only time we bought new clothes was for Chinese New Year. If we bought them early, then Mum would insist that we keep it for a special occasion or for Chinese New Year. We shopped mainly at Metro, Isetan or OG because those were the places that had sales. As we grew older, when we could finally afford some disposable income of our own, we adopted this same policy of being frugal. After all, isn't it more important to look good in the clothes rather than blindly following fashion?

Nowadays, I just don't spend as much on clothes as I used to, when I was back in Singapore. I usually shop for clothes now when I return to Singapore, because almost all sizes fit me, and I like to get stuff that no one else will be able to source when I am wearing them in Sydney. So, when my other friend asked me the best places to shop in Singapore, I was a little gobsmacked.

Singapore is a shopper's paradise but how do you recommend your shopping tastes to others? Would they prefer branded goods, which I have faint idea about where to source except the big shopping malls? Or would they be bargain hunters like me, sourcing for cheaper creations of trendy clothing, which a friend once described as "an excuse to get more when that is worn".

Following the trend of this blog, I will seek to introduce some places for good clothing bargains.

There are two South American brands that I like, and thankfully, they are not as pricey as your D&Gs, Armani but more towards the middle income group. They are "Pull and Bear" and "ZARA". The former has nice fabric and good trendy cuts while the latter (especially the womens' wear) takes inspiration from classic French cutting. They are both exquisite and not overpriced, so I was most impressed with it.

There is only one ZARA outlet in Singapore and it is located at Vivo City, which is all the way out from Orchard Road at HarbourFront Shopping Complex. Located in the same shopping mall is "Pull and Bear" but there is another more city friendly store at Wisma Atria.

Shopping on Orchard Road is the best, and you can spend an entire day there walking around CD shops, boutiques, shopping malls, eating places etc.

This is my shopping guide:

(1) Far East Plaza - you can start from here and make your way down Orchard Road to Plaza Singapura and then all the way from there to City Hall and then Suntec City and Marina Square. This used to be playground because you just go crazy with all the eating and shopping. Retail therapy, even if it is just a big dose of window shopping, always helps to brighten up the day.

On the basement to Level 4 of the Far East Plaza which is not very crowded because it is not as fancy as other shopping malls, there are many small boutique stalls of Singaporean independent designers. They are relatively cheap and competitively priced, so it is a great place to shop for stuff that you will never see anyone else wearing in our part of the world because it is not promoted on tourist guides as a shopping destination. I have bought quite a few lovely pieces of clothing there and have gotten quite a few queries about where I sourced them from.

(2) Boutiques that have sizes or cutting that fit me well - the usual U2, G2000, Zara, Pull and Bear (another South American and favourite - though a little more pricey but not too much - nothing over $70 for a shirt for me) etc. You will find all of them at Takashimaya

(3) The shopping malls like Metro (Paragon), Takashimaya, Tangs, Isetan and Robinsons are all good for underwear shopping and they have great deals too specially during the Sale season. You will find them all sprinkled on Orchard Road.

(4) Heeran - where HMV is. There are interesting stores all around for clothes and has Singaporean designer boutiques as well. There is a "New Urban Male" boutique on Level 4, which is very gay. Cute Asian boys there all the time acting metrosexual but we know are gay.

(5) Plaza Singapura - a few good CD stores, food outlets, Singaporean designer boutiques etc on the lower levels. There is also a Japanese $2 shop, which I love, love love! None of that crap that you find here. Really good quality stuff from Japan, because they have a 100 yen store there, which most of these stuff are imported from.

(6) Suntec City, Marina Square - many stores in there like Takashimaya. More for families but the amount of different stores make for good shopping.

(7) Bugis Markets - I covered this before in my previous post. I haven't found anything during my last trip that I fancied, but I did fall in love with my "Superman" belt buckle, which has garnered much praise.

If you are looking for branded goods, then the places to visit will be Takashimaya, Milena Walk and the Western end of Orchard Road nearer towards Tanglin Road.