Singaporean girls getting 3/10 for fashion sense

Posted on April 27, 2013 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Singapore women either wear too little or too much make-up: TV host Pauline Lan’, 26 April 2013, article by Jan Lee, ST

When Taiwanese TV host Pauline Lan was in town on Friday to launch the Singaporean version of her popular Taiwanese fashion and beauty show Lady First, she was not shy to blast the local women for fashion boo-boos. “A lot of Singaporean girls have either too little or too much make up on, it’s often not suited for the occasion,” she says.

Another mistake she thinks Singaporean girls make is wearing the wrong lingerie and underwear for different outfits.

Out of 10 marks for fashion sense, she gives local girls a mere three. Then she turns her attention to the Singapore men, saying it is their fault that the women do not try harder. Pointing out the men’s general sloppiness, she says: “Singaporean men don’t give Singaporean women the urge to dress up!”

If a local fashion guru slams us for dressing sloppily, we’d probably accept the charge. A foreigner, on the other hand, without an intimate understanding of our crazy weather, is less qualified to judge. But more importantly, an outsider scouting the streets for fashion boo-boos can’t be sure that they’re catching badly dressed SINGAPOREANS or other foreigners since there’s so many of the latter about. It’s also a misconception that women here dress up to impress fellow Singaporean men, whether they’re in flip-flops and shorts or suit and tie. Women dress up to impress OTHER women.  So, bros, go easy on the shoeshine and ties. The babe in the skimpy hot pants is more interested in what your girlfriend thinks than you.

But what’s creepy is fashionistas checking out whether your undergarments match your outfit. Does Pauline Lan have X-ray vision or go around peeking down ladies’ blouses? Isn’t underwear NOT meant to be seen at all? Or do some girls expose themselves intentionally like so:

Brazen lack of dress sense

Lan isn’t the first foreign image guru to remind us that we’re horrid dressers. Television personality Jeannie Mai refers to flip-flops as FLIP-NOTS, and endorses ‘wearapy’, which basically means to dress ‘emotionally’, advocating the use of ‘energetic’ and ‘bold’ colours to lift your mood or confidence. Seems psychologically sound, though I’m less convinced by wearing purple at a public speaking event to ‘convey ROYALTY’ unless you’re giving a tribute to the Joker at a Batman Comics Convention. Or you’re just Groovy, Baby!

Good for public speaking

In 2012, French designer Roland Mouret was shocked by the ‘fashion disasters’ in his hotel, especially sloppy men with their ‘wrong shorts and flip flops’ and suggested that there should be a law against awful dressing in swanky places.  He must have avoided hawker centres like the plague. Shame. In 1994, image consultant Robert Pante said most Singaporeans wear clothes that ‘even burglars would not steal’ (‘Most Singaporeans dress badly, says image guru’, 14 Oct 1994, ST). But burglars generally DON’T steal clothes at all; the only people who do so are those with a panty or school uniform fetish.

Singaporean women know better than to take Pauline’s abysmal rating seriously. After all, this is a woman who wears a beaver’s dam on her head.

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Filed under: 1990s, 2012, 2013, Dress sense, Singaporean men, Singaporean women | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Scoot uniform like Star Trek

Posted on June 24, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Scoot or Star Trek?’ 24 June 2012, article by Cheryl Faith Wee, Sunday Times

Tennis outfit, Star Trek uniform or Yves Saint Laurent couture? New budget airline Scoot’s cabin crew attire has caught some people’s attention – but not always in a good way. While parent company Singapore Airlines has seen its fortunes soar, thanks in part to the iconic sarong kebaya worn by its stewardesses, Scoot’s sporty, stretchy sheath has drawn criticism from some passengers.

Mr Jourdan Ng, 29, who works in the finance industry, took a Scoot flight to Sydney two weeks ago. He says the black and yellow body-skimming V-neck dress accentuates curves, but ‘for quite a lot of the stewardesses, it is not very flattering’. ‘The sporty material of the dress makes them look like they had just finished a game of tennis before coming on board,’ he adds. ‘It might be a bit too casual.’

…Local corporate design and production house Esta designed the uniforms for the budget carrier, which started operating flights earlier this month. Male cabin crew wear polo T-shirts with midnight-blue jeans. Esta creative director Esther Tay, 58, says the dress was inspired by current fashion silhouettes and took about a month to design. Its curved, contouring panels are meant to be understated yet chic and stylish.

Similarly, fresh graduate Christine Song, 23, who is contemplating booking a Scoot flight to Australia later this year, says the design ‘does not have that professional uniform feel and is just like a formal work dress’.

… Keith Png of clothing boutique Hide & Seek, who designs his own labels Koops and Keith Png Bespoke, likens the Scoot uniform to an evening dress from the Yves Saint Laurent 1966 Autumn-Winter collection – a long couture dress in navy-blue wool, encrusted with a pink silhouette that resembles a woman’s arched body. Png, 34, says: ‘Scoot’s uniform resembles this signature dress and I like it.’

As ‘iconic’ and timeless as SIA’s uniform is, it’s easy to forget that  the sarong kebaya, and even the stewardesses’ slippers, have also been criticised in the past for lacking functionality and professionalism. Ditch the stifling elegance for something more ‘casual’ and you get passengers complaining that they were suited up at World of Sports. If I needed a flight attendant to rush to my aid on a plane, I’d probably have a higher chance of survival if my rescuer wore something ‘tennis-friendly’ rather than tiptoe gingerly to my seat in a shrink-wrap kebaya. If I were held hostage by a terrorist, it would also be comforting to know that somewhere in the back someone is whispering orders to ‘Set Phasers On Stun’.

Wimble-scoot

Personally, I think the female dress has its own kooky, adventurous style which fits the whimsy way the budget airline is named, despite making the ladies look like one of Marvel’s original Avengers, the WASP. The male top and dark pants however, as flaunted previously a few months back when the uniform was first launched, made them look like flight technicians rather than flight stewards, or like ground crew who load up baggage instead of cabin crew. Even the waiters at Crystal Jade dress better than this. Taking the plunge from SIA’s suit and tie to T-shirt is stretching the dress code from  ‘casual’ to ‘laidback slacker’.  Not sure if ESTA had changed the design to the current ‘polo-T’ since then, but they should at least consider making them a sleeker, tighter-fit if you want men to command greater presence like Jean-Luc Picard  instead of being mistaken for ball-boy stowaways.

Marvel’s own Tinkerbell

Koops’ Keith Png, on the other hand, summons YSL retro stylings, comparing the female dress to something more glamorous befitting of a catwalk. Such arty affection for something as mundane as a budget airline uniform could also explain the similarity in the playful tones between his fashion label Koops and Scoot. Here, there’s no ‘pink silhouette’ of an arched female anatomy, just a stripe of yellow that mimics the markings of winged stinging insects rather than high fashion. More ‘cartoon’ than ‘couture’, rather.

Yes, Scoot Lives

 

Filed under: 2012, Dress sense, Singapore Airlines | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Xiaxue taking revenge on Facebook bullies

Posted on May 25, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Blogger Xiaxue fights back against Facebook abuse’, 25 May 2012, article by Grace Chua and Jessica Lim, ST

MEN who this week called popular blogger Xiaxue a ‘stupid bimbo’ and a ‘whore’ online are getting a taste of their own medicine. She is fighting back by posting their photos and information on her blog, in an attempt to show that they do not have much of a leg to stand on in the looks and intelligence department themselves.

The furore started when photos of her with two friends, taken without permission from their blogs, surfaced on the Facebook page of political website Temasek Review on Monday, Tuesday and yesterday, with an invitation to caption them. The photos of the three – Xiaxue and her friends Qiu Qiu and Sophie – were taken at a People’s Action Party (PAP) rally in Aljunied GRC during last May’s general election. In the photo, Xiaxue, 28, and Qiu Qiu, 24, have PAP logos on their faces.

…Commenters responded to the Temasek Review’s invitation readily: ‘Cheap b****,’ said one. ‘Pretty and sexy girls, which part of Geylang they work?’, said another. To get back at them, she trawled Facebook for their photos and information – and Facebook was obliging, because many of their profiles were public.

…’She added: ‘What kind of men would say this kind of thing? Singaporean men are such bullies. They think I’m a nobody – just a random girl they can bully.’ Among the men who featured in her gallery of ‘bullies’ were several who are married with children.

…One of the victims of Xiaxue’s revenge, swim coach Lim Soon Chwee, 34, told The Straits Times last night that his comment, ‘Pretty and sexy girls, which part of Geylang they work?’ was incomplete. ‘I didn’t mean that at all,’ he said, adding that he was actually trying to defend her.

…Another man who got one back from Xiaxue, Mr Hong Xing, a 35-year-old father of one, was less forgiving, because the photo Xiaxue held up for ridicule also featured his wife and child. The engineer admitted that he had insinuated that Xiaxue was an underage prostitute, but said he preferred women in more conservative clothes.

‘Look at what she is wearing. When she bends down, you can see her breasts,’ he said, adding that he has seen prostitutes in Geylang who dress this way. He added that he might not have posted the comment if he had known she would see it, but that she should not have posted photographs of his family online. He said: ‘My wife feels really bad. This is between Xiaxue and me. She shouldn’t have attacked my family.’

This girl has a reputation of not giving a fuck, and whatever one’s position on such merciless revenge, this incident has unveiled the social cost of ridicule if you happen to step on the toes of someone immensely popular, while allowing yourself to be exposed via Facebook. Of course Xiaxue isn’t a ‘nobody’, some have even revered her as ‘a slice of Singapore’. Xiaxue.blogspot.com has even been archived by the National Library Board, somewhat like the Declaration of Independence from the National Treasure movie. A million light years from now, aliens will be downloading and translating her blog out of a time capsule and wondering what the ‘KNN’s scattered all over her posts mean.

Celebrities will be targetted from whatever portal there is available for mudslinging, should trolls choose to show their face or hide behind a cloak of anonymity. Most stars would ignore the verbal hooliganism, but Xiaxue has answered, somewhat defiantly, the ‘What if celebrities bite back?’ question. The very convenience of commenting on a Facebook  page or website without the hassle of registering and thinking of passwords has made people forget their place in cyberspace, that the target of their insults, especially one with the classic hallmarks of a narcissism complex (like everyone else who posts stuff on Facebook), is bound to find out through not just her loyal fanbase but from her haters as well. It’s time to finally figure out those privacy settings instead of checking out ex-flame photos, guys.

One could argue one has every right to throw baseless insults at the expense of people you hardly know in the name of ‘entertainment’.  In real life it’s called gossip, and celebrities used to take the slimeballing as part and parcel of the job, while some comedians do it for a living.   When a site claiming to be a ‘socio-political’ blog like TR encourages such behaviour with a seemingly innocuous ‘caption contest’, it’s obvious that you’re not going to get anything remotely ‘political’, witty or smart. I’ve seen the pic myself and all I could think of is whether one of the girls was a spokesperson for Pepsi Cola instead of a PAP supporter from the way her face was painted. One of the victims featured in the ST article even tried to deflect attention away from his prostitute insults by talking about Xiaxue’s BOOBS. It’s like you just dumped cowdung on someone’s head and then saying that you smelled like shit before that anyway. Not clever at all, man.

The web is no longer the venting channel we were once so used to where you can get away with snide, anonymous remarks, curse any saint, god, politician or grandmother you want and leave no trail behind. You could get charged for concocting hoaxes of NS men getting killed (via another ‘Temasek’ clone site), threatened for relaying some juicy tidbits about the PM’s brother(Temasek Emeritus), or blasted for inserting LOLs in all the wrong places. Hell, it’s much easier these days to get into trouble name-calling than downloading hardcore bestiality porn. Xiaxue decided to save on lawyer fees and instead dished out a characteristically bitchy mode of punishment, the online equivalent of catching a molester, pulling down his trousers, strapping him in public and having his wife and kids recoil in horror instead of calling the police. Not a pretty sight, but somehow painfully, worryingly effective. Xiaxue playing the avenging vigilante-angel card is likely to start a anti-bullying meme among blogger celebrities with a similar reputation for attracting all sorts of ‘whore’ accusations, that you’re no longer ‘pwned’ if your occupation, hobbies, innocent pets, embarrassing Bejewelled scores and ugly photos get leaked onto a revenge post, but ‘Xiaxued’. All you need are tens of thousands of followers and have a face that at least some men will get an erection to.

But isn’t Xiaxue herself guilty of flogging strangers, you say? Isn’t her meanness and sharp tongue the secret to her success ? In a 2007 post, she had a field day flaming the ’7 most disgusting bloggers in Singapore’ , victims include the hapless Steven Lim (‘overhanging foreskin with smegma’),  Maia Lee (‘loserish’) and amateurs like Celeste Chen (‘attention whore’). In an attempt at satire she put herself in the list as well. So Xiaxue, of all people, in her ‘do onto others’ element, should expect to receive the same sort of treatment from those she chooses to be nasty to.  In 2005, someone was so offended by her he/she decided to hack her very bread and butter, her blog and e-mail accounts. Over New year in 2006, a netizen petitioned against her ‘racist’ post for a remark about foreign workers (banglas) molesting local girls at Orchard Road Xmas eve/New Year parties (Netizen petitons against blog, 29 Jan 2006, ST). Rival sex kitten blogger Dawn Yang slapped her with a lawyer’s letter for ‘defamatory remarks’ in 2008 (Xiaxue won’t say sorry to Dawn’, 23 July 2008, ST).

By putting random men in the spotlight and getting their families caught in ‘friendly fire’, Xiaxue seems undeterred from past experience and may be setting herself up for another round of hater retaliation. One of these guys may even file a police report for ‘harassment’, but I suppose that’s a risk she’s willing to take, just like these slap-happy morons who compared her to Miss XXX, underaged prostitute and asked for ‘prices’ while leaving their Facebook profiles open to scrutiny from not just Xiaxue herself, but their bosses and wives as well, like sticking an ang pow over your anus before a charging bull. People have mostly good things to say about her ‘heroics’, though.  AWARE treats her like some kind of Joan of Arc now, referring to her post as ‘EPIC’, just like nearly everyone else who read it. This incident also deserves a spot on Oprah because of how ‘You Go Girl-ish!’ it has all become.

Then I read that this woman is married and it makes me suddenly realise how woefully OLD I am. Ris Low, please don’t get any ideas, wherever you are.

Filed under: 2000s, 2012, Bloggers, Dress sense, Foul language, Fun and games, Nudity | Tagged: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Ms Singapore Universe: Mice live on moon cheese

Posted on September 10, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Cheeky or cheesy?’, 10 Sept 2011, article by Kwok Kar Peng in TNP and ‘Is this S’pore’s national costume or rojak’?, 10 Sept 2011, Stomp.

Miss Singapore Universe 2011 Valerie Lim has left netizens agog with her unusual replies to the three questions that were posed to all 89 contestants this year for the Miss Universe pageant’s official online Q&A video interview.

When asked if Lim believes in life on other planets, the 26-year-old said rather jokingly: “I know the moon is not a planet, but I think it’s made of cheese, and so mice live on cheese.” She paused momentarily before adding with a giggle: “The moon cheese!”

Miss Singapore Universe Valerie Lim wasn’t the only Asian contestant who gave quirky replies. Miss Thailand, for example, said the animal she would like to be is ‘plankton’.

Still, English is not the first language of these beauty queens, so something may have got lost in translation.

It’s a bewildering response upon first viewing, but compare Valerie Lim’s answer to the rest of the Miss Universe hopefuls and you’ll realise that this tongue-in-cheek faux pas is a deliberate and bold juxtaposition of an endearing pun and whimsical cliche, delivered with unusually cool confidence and self-effacing child-like humour. Though naysayers would slam this as bimbo playacting and astronomy fans would beg to differ on the actual composition of our satellite, Valerie’s playful answer, if taken the right way by the pageant judges, clearly distinguishes her from the other finalists, who were taking the obvious, but dull, scientific approach and speculating on the probability of aliens using whatever rudimentary knowledge they have about astrobiology and alien invasion movies. Some, like Miss Great Britain, grossly and disappointingly underestimated the expanse of space by using the baseline of  ‘solar system’ instead of the more likely ‘galaxy’ or ‘universe’ when explaining the probability of extraterrestrial life (By the way, she also would like to be a caterpillar. Eew). To be exact, the actual lunar cliche specifies that the moon be made of GREEN cheese, and has been in use, astonishingly,  since the late 1800′s (Thoroughfares, Straits Times Overland Journal, 13 Dec 1879).

If Valerie doesn’t score points on accuracy, surely she deserves credit for saying something unexpected and choosing to steer away from blind speculation and countering one cliche with a cuter one. But maybe this question wasn’t really a test about how many times one has read Carl Sagan’s Cosmos or seen the movie ‘Contact’, but how stylishly one can pull off a somewhat existential poser without sounding like a wannabe astrophysicist. Other than the fact that Valerie could pass off as a nursery school teacher who could trick little kids into believing Jupiter is a really a giant orange, her diction is assuredly cosmopolitan and polished, with only the surprising Malaysian and Indonesian contestants to beat. Couple her unsettling spontaneity with a sense of parody with regard to perceptions of pageant sexualisation and it’s possible that we have a high-scoring MSU in the making.  It would be tragic, however, if she were let down by the perennial bugbear of all MSU contests to date: The national costume segment.

(On Miss Singapore Universe’s costume, Stomp): …”This outfit deliberately combines different styles into a mish-mash of styles and cultures, but I can’t help but feel that it’s all been forced together somehow. “The colours and styles all end up looking ‘rojak’ to me, like someone just tried his or her best to blend it all together.

“Some people have even said it looked like a carpet or curtain. Unfortunately, though I am behind Valerie a hundred percent, I have to agree.

Princess Jasmine wearing Aladdin's carpet

This has bits of Miss China, India and Saudi Arabia mixed in it, which was probably the intention of the designer to weave our multicultural heritage in one costume. Well, you’ve got to admit it’s at least better than our Merlion disaster and last year’s silver bore. Good luck, Valerie.

Postscript: Miss Angola won the title, while Miss Phillipines and Miss China were the two Asians making up the top 5. I guess hoping for a once in a blue MOON event (Miss Singapore in Top 10) is too much to ask for.

Filed under: 1800s, 2011, Beauty pageants, Dress sense, Ms Singapore Universe | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

NDP should be NC-16 because of cross-dressing

Posted on August 11, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘One people , one dress code, please’ and ‘Change to a neutral hue’, 11 Aug 2011, ST Forum

(Ronald Seow): …The National Day Parade is a celebration of citizens, united as one people, regardless of race, language or religion – and more so, political differences.

It should be a significant annual event uniting all political leaders to celebrate Singapore’s birthday. I hope future parades will see all MPs dressed in the national colours – a combination of red and white or the official orchid-patterned shirts and dresses.

MPs must make an effort to stand as one united people to serve the people of Singapore. They should take pride in their efforts to lead in nation building, and not show off their political party colours.

(MR ERIC ONG): I couldn’t help but wonder why no MP turned up in red. Instead, they wore white or light blue tops. Surely they should be together as one with fellow citizens in celebration. A red top with a pair of white trousers or skirt would not go amiss in the sea of red we saw in the stands.

We have had 46 years of independence and NDP celebrations, so why bring up minister dress code only now?  The PAP’s all-white get up has become an indispensable prop at parades by tradition, like marching soldiers or the playing of the national anthem. It is an iconic feature and source of countless ‘men in white’ puns throughout the PAP’s reign as the only political party ever to govern this young nation, which explains why it never struck us to have our ministers wearing red or orchid motifs for a change.  It’s like seeing a clown perform without a red nose, Professor Dumbledore without a flowing white beard, or Hawaiian hula dancers without coconuts.

The VIP stand in 1967

It only makes sense for the Workers’ Party MPs to come dressed in their own party colours because PAP wouldn’t budge having dressed white for half a century, nor would they don red because that also happens to be what SPP ‘s Lina Chiam was wearing that day, despite red being the most obvious alternative to white. If anyone had the foresight to picture this awkward situation even happening, they would have chosen non-flag colours for party logos in the first place. Like how Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United fans all wear England jerseys to a World Cup match, despite being loggerheads when dressed in their respective club jerseys.  Some MPs like Penny Low would gladly welcome the idea of being nondescript and disappearing into a sea of red, but for all the wrong reasons. Heck, why bother with the VIP stand at all and just  do away with the formality of physical segregation altogether? Why not make our ministers march with the contingent and perform for us like they used to do way back in 1966 (Day and night of fun and joy in S’pore, 10 Aug 1966, ST), mingle with us, sing NDP songs with us and rummage through Fun Packs with the enthusiasm of a child opening Santa’s present like everyone else?

From ‘Drag wrong, guys’, 11 Aug 2011, ST Forum

(Ivan Lau): ..As a parent of three young children, I question the appropriateness of cross-dressing in the segment on racial harmony and nation building.

Prominent male comedian Gurmit Singh, known to young audiences in his role as a male alien in the television series Cosmo & George that airs on Okto, was sari-clad as an Indian woman.

Talented male actor Chua Enlai, known to children as a male host of many programmes on Okto, was dressed as a young, modern woman.

Was such casting necessary in the context of portraying racial harmony and nation building on national television? Or was it the organising committee’s intention to portray harmony of another kind, namely that of transgender or transsexuality? It that was the intent, then the show should had been more aptly rated NC-16.

Singled ladies

Well you’ve got to admit, men in dresses are cheap sight gags and worthy of a snigger or two if you’re the kind who used to tape America’s Funniest Home Videos and play them at family gatherings,  but I thought in the spirit of family-friendly wholesomeness  it would have been more appropriate to rope in the Dim Sum Dollies for this skit. The trio has disappeared since the ‘Love Your Ride’ jingle-torture and are probably on indefinite hiatus from public service announcement jobs considering the fact that their boa-swishing and harmonised cooing did absolutely nothing to improve comfort or graciousness in trains. We even have to pay more for it now.

It probably didn’t matter who performs anyway because the script was a sheer waste of the gender-bending comedic talents of both Singh and En Lai, with both resorting to pitch changes and maniacal shrieking to amuse the crowd. And the problem with dolling up two men going over-the-top just to justify the extra weight of fake boobs and leaving one actual female actress in the cast is that it effectively renders the real woman invisible. As for rating, I thought slapping a NC-16 on cross-dressing was a tad harsh. Children are already familiar with the likes of Liang Po Po and Aunty Lucy on national TV, so a milder PG-13 would surely be enough.

Filed under: 1960s, 2011, Cross dressing, Dress sense, Festivals, Local actors, Politicians, Public holidays | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

The right to doze off in the library

Posted on May 15, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Caught napping in the library’, 15 May 2011, article by Ng Huiwen in Sunday Times

…Recently, a photo of two girls dozing on sofa seats at the National Library in Victoria Street was posted on The Straits Times’ citizen journalism website Stomp.The Stomper, who goes by the moniker Alan, said the pair were ‘sleeping soundly’ though there were ‘so many other library users’, adding that he was surprised the library’s staff did not intervene.

…(MS VINDA TIRRANA): ‘If the library is crowded, people who need the seats to read their books can’t get them if there are people sleeping. I’ve even seen those who snore so loudly that it disturbs others.’

…(HUANG JING QUAN):’I don’t see it as hogging the seats because it’s within my rights to take a break.’

Read it and sleep

It’s debatable if sleeping on a library seat, itself intended for free public usage unlike seats at an eatery where operation costs are involved, is considered inconsiderate behaviour. It may look ugly and sloppy, but the seat is unavailable anyway whether it’s used for a snooze, staring into thin air, homework, serious research or ploughing through a thick novel from start to finish, because there is no obligation on the user to give it up to others. Even if you put up ‘No sleeping!’ signs or hire staff just to prod sleepers in the ribs, you don’t have good enough reason to shoo them out of the premises if their snoozing, as they may claim,  is purely involuntary and are not causing unnecessary distress to fellow users. In fact, having a sound sleeper next to you while you’re studying for exams is a confidence booster, and you won’t have to deal with annoying tics like pen tappings, knee shaking or noisy sliding of highlighters.

The issue really, is not the lack of seats, but the inaccessibility to material held but not yet borrowed by the sleeper. In fact sleeping with an unused book is more offensive than ‘hogging’ it, especially if you’ve spent the last few months on the Reserved listing, only to see someone clutching onto your object of desire while in dreamland, like an camel huddling over the last vial of water in the desert when it has absolutely no motivation to drink from it.  So imagine the agony of wanting to see horse racing results only to find the last copy of the Sports section stuck beneath the face of a drooling sleeper, something similar to what a writer from 1918 may well experience based on the letter below (14 June 1918, ST)

But what’s really worrying is this kiasu hogging mentality that pervades our society, whether it’s sleeping in the library or on the train not giving up seats to grumpy old men, choping hawker centre seats with tissue packs, or snatching the last copy of free MyPaper. Singaporeans just seem consumed by an overwhelming sense of entitlement and self-importance. Our only resource are our people, and if we continue to slurry our image as ugly-beyond-redemption Singaporeans and treat each other with base contempt without pulling together and reflecting on our actions,  then very little hope remains.

Filed under: 1910s, 2011, Dress sense, Public works | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Holland V not for heartlanders

Posted on March 24, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Heartlanders not cultured enough for Holland Village’, 24 March 2011, article in Yahoo! News Singapore

…(Samantha, caller on 91.3 FM’s The Married Men show): “I live in Holland Village, and I just can’t understand why people from the heartlands want to come here. We people are cultured, and you heartlanders are definitely not cultured,” she said.

She defines heartlanders as being “people from Ang Mo Kio, Yishun, Toa Payoh and the nearby Bukit Batok” who “have no manners”, “talk loudly” and wear “cheap clothes from Bugis Street”.

“People who come here are cultured. So if you want to come here, you know, when you’re in Rome, behave like a Roman. When you’re in Holland, behave like us — cultured people. “

Er no, when in Rome, you do as the Romans do, you eat in their coffee houses, you drink their water, but you don’t start talking or acting like a Caesar. And to compare Holland V, with hardly an historical artifact remaining worthy of notice, to an ancient European metropolis can only be the kind of lazy analogy someone who hasn’t the faintest idea about culture would come up with. Holland Village is not even a ‘sleepy’ enclave anymore,  now fueled by the cheap buzz of pub crawlers, school kids, expats and horrible parking. There’s no atrium to facilitate intellectual discourse, no eccentric gypsy shops, not even cobblestoned walkways, and the hawker centre is as ‘heartland’-ish as all the others in the country, meaning foreign workers plying their trade, lunchtime workers drinking chin chow, people choping seats with tissue paper, and stinky public toilets with entrance fees 10 cents more expensive than the ones in ‘Ang Mo Kio, Yishun or Bukit Batok’. And they have a shop selling fake Crocs as well as a Sasa too.  Real classy, Samantha.

Of course, this could very well be a radio scam or premature April Fool’s joke to boost ratings because the snobbishness comes across as rather far-fetched, and we’re too small and dense a nation to accommodate the likes of elitist snobs like Samantha, who, despite sounding like a rich man’s daughter whose face you can’t resist thwacking with the most heartland weapon you may think of (a tie between a Sinha beer bottle and an auntie’s wet market trolley)   is highly unlikely to get away with such a comment without losing some inevitable heartland friends. A good time to revisit old Holland V though, which emerged in the late eighties as a haunt for an extinct species of Singaporeans known, rather unflatteringly,  as ‘yuppies’ (Holland Avenue comes alive with a different charm for a mixed crowd, 13 Oct 1989). Who remembers ‘Shakey’s Pizza’?

Holland V even has a long running Mediacorp drama serial filmed about it, and it’s not exactly Singapore’s version of Melrose Place, judging from its lowest denominator melon jokes that even kopitiam uncles would refrain from using to impress their beer ladies (see clip below). Which adds to my suspicion that this ‘Samantha’ jig is really a ploy to get people excited about radio talk shows again, maybe even rev up some much needed solidarity among Singaporeans by creating an irrational fear of  social divide. All at the expense of stereotyping heartlanders as country bumpkin folk who speak mangled Singlish, can’t pronounce macchiato when facing a ‘barista’, can’t handle R21 movies in their hometowns, or take sleazy videos of Miss Worlds parading around their malls in bikinis.

 

The heartlanders won't get it

 

Filed under: 1980s, 2011, Dress sense, Local radio DJs, Nightspots | Tagged: , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Pregnant women wearing short shorts

Posted on February 13, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Unseemingly mums-to-be’, 13 Feb 2011, Your Letters, Sunday Times

(Lee Seck Kay): Some fashion statements are not meant to be made, particularly the kind many young pregnant women seem to be making these days.

One sees them in malls, foodcourts, trains and parks dressed in shorts and jersey vests too short to hide their protuberances, nonchalantly displaying their pregnancy in all its glory.

What a sight. I am not sure it is something everyone would appreciate. Of course, being pregnant is nothing to be ashamed of, but would it be asking too much if these mothers-to-be took the trouble to dress appropriately at this time? Spare the public this unpleasant eyeful by covering up in dignity and style.

‘Dressing appropriately’, of course, is a subjective term, more so for pregnant women who are forced to toe the skinny lines between ‘stylish’ and ‘vulgar’, or ‘decent’ and ‘dowdy’. Despite the complainant admitting that pregnancy is ‘nothing to be ashamed of’, she seems to be advocating that rotund ‘protuberances’, belly buttons and all, should be covered up because it’s an ‘unpleasant eyeful’, like buttcracks peeking over the back of loose pants. She would probably feel the same about fat people in tight T shirts, spaghetti straps or micro-mini skirts. Distasteful or not, how one dresses up in public is their own business, whether they’re pregnant, young, old, obese, skinny, rich or poor. In fact, tummy-baring for commuters to see would make it easier for us to decide if we should give up our seats or not. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tried to decipher if a belly has a squirming organism inside because the pregnancy signals have been muddied by a plump, dowdy appearance, and feeling miserable just staring at it, fearful that a wrong decision would  create an atmosphere of awkward tension, to say the least, if the tummy was in fact more fat than foetus. And if pregnant women shun comfortable loose fits and choose to asphyxiate their unborns, then their gynaecologists, and not vigilante fashion police like the writer here, would be the ones to say ‘I told you so’.

Maternity fashion has evolved over the years, and even in the late 60′s, ‘baby-girl’ short dresses with ‘body pleats  pitted against blue raglan sleeves’ were all the rage, a time when it’s  ‘important for expectant mothers to feel younger than their age. Any outfit that makes them look older is disastrous’ (Waiting in style, 6 Feb 1969, ST).

 

Groovy baby

Just a few years later, smocks were in (Smocks are best for maternity wardrobe, 20 Aug 1972, ST), which probably also coincided with the first Ringo Circus performances here. So begins the shift from ‘girly youthfulness’ to ‘elegant comfort’. And checks.

 

Send in the clowns

Then came the 80′s, with its  ‘oversized clothes for the office, dinner parties and casual wear’ and ‘silk, cotton and ramie outfits by Eli Colaj and PARACHUTE’. No kidding (Baby, here’s looking good for you, 4 March 1984, ST). But then again, it’s the 80′s and all’s  forgiven. At least we know that wearing such blooms would give you a higher chance of survival if you dropped out of a burning airplane compared to someone else in maternity slacks.

 

XX, XY or XL

Today we have celebrity mums-to-be to thank for their influence, with the iconic image of Demi Moore’s nude preggers kickstarting the trend of ‘less is more’. I mean, we should be happy that people are at least getting pregnant, instead of frowning on superficial appearances which only serve to dampen our national drive to have more than 2 children, right?

 

Less is Moore

 

 

 

Filed under: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 2011, Babies, Dress sense, Singaporean women | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

No spandex allowed in church

Posted on February 6, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Church is no place for flip-flops or shorts’, 6 Feb 2011, article by Elizabeth Soh in Sunday Times

…At the Church of St Anthony in Woodlands, recent guidelines in its weekly bulletin have sparked a debate on whether dress codes should be enforced.

The new guidelines include: No skimpy wear, or clothing made of spandex or translucent material, or designs that promote violence.

…(Ms Mary Lee): As I once told a fellow parishioner who said she dresses to go to the market after church – go to the market dressed for church instead

…(Father Gregoire Van Giang, Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour): …Being dressed appropriately was important because ‘when others look at us in church, they learn something about us as Catholics’

…(Father Adrian Yeo): It got to a point where people were wearing tube tops with shorts barely covering their bottoms.

…Last year, he (Father John Joseph Fenelon of the Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea) recruited wardens – who he calls ‘hospitality ministers’. They ‘tell parishoners nicely that they are not dressed in the right manner’.

…(Lilian Chee): Coming for mass is not attending a fashion parade…the church is a sacred place and young people need to learn that

…(Audrey Seow): We are taught that God loves us no matter what we are, so why should the church discriminate against our attire?

 

Church of Our Lady Bars Hemlines above the Knee

 

In addition to banning ‘attire promoting violence or vices such as drugs or alcohol’ (which means no tattoos, nose rings, heavy metal band or Heineken logo shirts), the Church of St Anthony also restricts ‘attire exposing the entire shoulder, CHEST, back or thighs’. It’s understandable if the parish frowns upon low cut blouses which undermine the sanctity of prayer and penance every time the offending churchgoer prostrates before the eyes of God, but I can’t think of any sane person going to church, or even the most decadent club in town, with attire exposing his or her ENTIRE chest.  There are also restrictions on spandex, which rules out Spiderman and cyclists popping by church for a quick prayer before embarking on a race, shuffled off by ‘hospitality ministers’ who are really church bouncers with a keen eye for stray flesh instead of serving tea or ushering the faithful to toilets like what most people would understand by the term ‘hospitality’. What exactly does proper dress say about Catholics in church then, when they could easily be preaching their faith at the kopitiam in shorts and sandals and telling everyone that they’re believers? Does that then make them any less religious? Such clamping down is nothing short of heavy-handed, and if it doesn’t turn people off the religion entirely it’s diverting them to other churches where, you know, you don’t have to be a pretentious git just to get past ‘hospitality’ ‘ministers’.

Of course, God being God, should embrace all manners of humanity into his abode, whether they’re sinners, atheists, terrorists, porn stars or goth-punks with nose rings. And imagine turning away a God-fearing, humble, market-going auntie for sloppy dressing  but allowing into a holy sanctum a smartly dressed, ‘Sunday best’, closet paedophile who locks little children in his basement instead.  In fact, why bother with attire at all, if Catholics and Christians accept that God created humans in his image in our naked glory, we should be honouring Him by displaying ourselves as we were first made, in the nude, and not mask our bodies like we’re ashamed of His handiwork. Otherwise,  if such purist Garden of Eden views don’t go down well with the general public, God should at least accept that scanty attire is quite the norm in our country, no thanks to Him placing us right smack on the equator where we are bombarded with loving sunshine 365 days a year.

This church dress controversy was brought up even in the 1930′s, as seen in this letter dated 22 May 1939, which brings out a similar point about inconsistencies in the way Catholics or Christians present themselves in church and outside of it.

 

 

Filed under: 1930s, 2011, Dress sense, Drugs, Religion, Sex, Violence | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Magiclean models’ costumes too tight

Posted on December 4, 2010 by gdy2shoez

From ‘莱佛士坊女模特派传单　内衣裤若隐若现’, 4 December 2010, article in omy.sg (SM Daily)

少女模特儿在烈日下穿紧身衣宣传产品，内在美若隐若现，竟然有色伯伯紧跟偷拍。

她们是在昨天中午，于莱佛士坊地铁站旁的广场为家用器具品牌Magiclean进行宣传。她们穿上黄色的超紧身衣、红色靴子，围着红色围裙，拿着清洁器具站作出在打扫的样子。另有少女在分发宣传册子。

在地铁站附近工作的公众吴先生（42岁，司机）说，他注意到少女的衣服太薄也太紧，内衣裤在烈日下一览无余，虽然是展露苗条身材，却连内衣的颜色和花纹都依稀露了出来，好像在穿透视装。”

他说，不少路过的男性对她们从头瞄到脚，不停打量，甚至有猫猫之意的色伯伯拿着手机，跟在少女背后，偷拍背影。

吴先生说，幸好少女的身前有围裙遮挡，否则连胸部都看得到。

“我看这些少女只有10来岁，有些看起来像中学生，可能只为了赚一点零用钱来打工，却要穿这么薄的衣服。”

Wipe that smile off your face

Translation: Teenage Magiclean models parade their wares dressed in yellow skintight costumes in Raffles Place, raising the ire of a certain passerby who claims he could see right through the colour and design of their underwear. If it weren’t for the apron, everything could be seen, he says. Uncles, of course, have a field time taking photos of the models’ backs.

A case of Japanese over-the-top wackiness backfiring, Magiclean’s sexy Avenger superhero costume just looks out of place in the heart of the country’s financial hub with its radioactive yellow bodyhuggers and Wonder woman boots. A cosplay French maid get up would probably be a better idea. It’s funny how middle aged men like the complainant above have to strain to read the small print on their daily newspaper but are impeccably hawk-eyed when it comes to observing what lies beneath skintight clothing. Nonetheless, this just begs the disturbing question of what dirty old men are doing at Raffles Place. It’s not like you have office workers wearing translucent clothing with their underwear showing in broad daylight walking around everyday. Are there?

 

 

 

Filed under: 2010, Dress sense, Nudity | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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