Shai Coggins

When I received the instructions: “Make sure to buy something frivolous!” - after I received a Christmas cash pressie over 3 months ago, I didn’t quite know what to purchase. My first instinct was to buy art/craft materials - or a new accessory for my camera. But apparently, those things aren’t frivolous enough.

Frivolous items, I was told by a few folks, are things that you normally wouldn’t buy for yourself. Something like a fur hat or a feather boa.

Ah, yes. Those. Definitely NOT stuff I’d buy for myself.

So, how do you actually buy something frivolous? If you won’t normally buy it, how do you go looking for it?

Then, I remembered coming across this Etsy listing by a Chicago-based craftswoman called Janet Lyn. She called her hand knitted creation, the Lorikeet Kimono Shrug.

Just the name alone captured my fancy, seeing as I associate the term lorikeet to Aussie birds that I fell in love with when I first visited this beautiful country. And, who doesn’t like the idea of wearing anything close to a kimono? That mixture of Western + Eastern imagery captured my mind and my heart.

But, I’ve never bought a shrug. Let alone, a custom-made one. So, I simply marked the item as a ‘fave’ on Etsy, and moved on.

With my Christmas money + the frivolous shopping instruction, I found myself going back to that Lorikeet Kimono Shrug listing. And, before I could stop myself from giving in to frivolity, I clicked on the ‘Buy’ button. Yes, even if it was the middle of summer here Down Under at the time!

Three months after I placed that order, the shrug arrived at my doorstep. And, of course, I couldn’t resist a photo op for my 365 project -

And, the back view -

What luxury it is to own and wear something that you know was made for you by someone. The shrug is soft, very colourful, warm… beautiful. It came with a strong scent of something I couldn’t name - but will forever associate with this item.

Although I had to wait 3 months for it to arrive, I didn’t mind so much, seeing as we were having heat waves here just a couple of weeks ago. A shrug wasn’t actually one that I’d want to wear for that type of weather. And now, it came just in time for the cooler weather. Perfect for Autumn!

How about you? Have you bought anything frivolous lately? If you were given a few hundred dollars to spend on something totally frivolous - what will you buy and why?

What a packed day! But, in-between work, chores, and errands, I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the shops to buy some crafty goodness and a new shimmery scarf. Plus, I fitted in half an hour to stop by the salon to get a much-needed haircut.

Since I work from home, I very rarely get the chance to go out on a week day. Especially not on shopping and salon trips - no matter how briefly. Anyway, this sort of thing always puts me in a girly mood, so I thought I’d spread the fun by sharing these stuff about scarf-tying.

By the way, I must confess that I never knew how to tie/wear scarves properly until a few years ago. I always found scarves beautiful - but didn’t know how to use them before. Well, I’m still no expert but at least I can buy them now and actually be able to wear them. Not just hang them in my wardrobe!

Anyway, here you go for anyone else who might be interested…

A video on 5 Ways to Tie a Scarf:
(Ignore the weird commentaries and ads. This video has some useful tips on the different ways to tie scarves.)

Five ways to tie a scarf

Also see:

• 25 Ways to Tie a Scarf - Some instructions, retro illustrations, and various ways to use scarves - from headgear to handbags.
• 10 Ways to Wear a Scarf - Bikins, bags, and belts, anyone?
• Men’s Style: 10 Ways to Wear a Scarf - Yes - scarves aren’t just for women!

If you’ve got scarf photos, tips, stories and ideas, would love to see/read them too!

Due to my… er, condition… I haven’t been going out much lately. My daily activities had been restricted within the home a lot - work online, sleep, eat, work online some more, rest, watch a bit of telly, take care of household stuff that I can manage (not much, mind you), and work online again… Well, not necessarily in this order but you get the picture.
I only go out when absolutely necessary. Like, doctor’s appointments and such. Ocassionally, when I’m up to it, I’d go out for an hour for my burger-and-fries fix.

I miss being able to go out and do normal stuff. Like shopping.

So yeah, I’m a bit of a worry nowadays when it comes to virtual shops. When I’m having a break from my work on the web, I sometimes keep my fill of window shopping online. eBay and Amazon usually suffice for this type of activity every few days or so.

But, today? Well, today I blame Karen Cheng for pointing me to Mahar Drygoods. Heh. I even created a wish list there.

It’s just full of drool-worthy goodies for the kids and the kid-at-heart. Creative, inspiring, gorgeous stuff! I’m just loving it.

And, because they accept PayPal and I still have an account with cash in it, well… I’m struggling not to fill my online shopping cart with everything they’ve got that my account can handle. Ha.

So far, I’m managing to exercise a bit of self-control. Maybe I should be emptying PayPal in to my own bank account instead of others’? Dear. Dear. Dear.

Must. Not. Shop.

A few months ago, I encouraged my sister to follow her love of fashion and growing interest in blogging by buying a domain name for her and setting up her very own fashion blog on my server. That was how Tops2Bottoms.com was born (around November 2005).

I knew she wanted to join the network I was running at the time, but I didn’t want to get her started with that without getting her to blog on her own first. Yes, yes, I can be a tough person to please.
At the time, the AboutWeblogs.com network was in the process of merging with b5media anyway. So, there were a few things that needed doing.

When things settled down a bit with the merger, I asked my b5 business partners what they thought of Tops2Bottoms and if they’re okay with absorbing it in our network. I didn’t tell my sis about this because I didn’t want her to get disappointed in case they said no. To my sis’s delight, however, my business partners liked what she was doing with Tops2Bottoms. And, since we didn’t have a fashion blog like it on b5media just yet, they were happy to make her a part of the b5 crew.

Well, about a week or so ago, Tops2Bottoms was officially launched on b5. So yeah, I’m officially one of my sister’s bosses now. Hehe.

Anyway, you’d think that Sasha (my sis) would show some gratitude, yeah? Well, this is how she thanks me on her fashion blog: By raiding my closet and talking about my fashion sense! Hah.

Buried in the midst of all that talk about my love for dressing up, matching accessories, colour-coordinated outfits, blow drying my hair at all costs — is the fact that yes, I don’t always go to such extraordinary lengths for fashion.

I do “major shops” only 2-3x a year. I consider it a major shop if I buy more than 3-4 items at a given time to add to my wardrobe. And, I don’t own a lot of designer labels and expensive stuff. If you find some in my possession, they’re usually gifts or knock-offs. I love bargain hunting. I try not to buy clothes and shoes that would look dated in 3-5 years’ time. My collection looks huge only because I keep a lot of stuff even from 10 years ago (my size hasn’t changed much since I was in high school).

My idea of putting on make-up takes approximately 5 to 15 minutes tops, unless I’m being “made up” for one reason or another (special events, photo shoots, etc.). In fact, a lot of the time, I don’t wear much make-up at all.

But yes, I’m also one who’s NOT ashamed to admit that I enjoy putting outfits and looks together. Whenever I’m asked about my fashion inclinations, I often say that I like having fun with it all. And yeah, a “good outfit day” often lifts up my spirits. If I like what I’m wearing (and if my hair is cooperating!) - it will show with the way I walk, talk and carry myself during the day. That’s why I want to make the extra effort to look nice when I go out and/or when I go to work.

I know that one’s physical looks aren’t everything. I don’t check the mirror every couple of hours or so. But, I also realise that consciously or not, looks do have an effect in one’s psyche. That’s why I believe in trying to be, feel, and look the best both inside— and out.