With two whole hours to spare (it did seem an very substantial block of time at first) before choir practice for the wedding of a lovely couple in church, I swooped down to Borders hoping to purchase the following:
1) September issue of Domino
2) Debut issue of Project Smitten (latest offering from Viscion who also spawned the controversially snooty Lexean mag)
3) Perfume by Patrick Suskind (gave up on the idea of borrowing it from Jan)
Unfortunately, BORDERS being the second largest bookstore in Singapore and coincidentally, also the most poorly stocked did not have items 1 and 2 on my list- the dreadlocky boy at the counter informed me with infuriating insouciance that oh, they didn’t stock it. Bewildered, I responded that that could not be the case, I had purchased the August issue from the store. He went to check and returned empty handed. Oh, they don’t carry Smitten either, though I’ve heard that even petrol kiosks do. Seriously, Borders sucks. The only reason I go is because they have a great location and better discounts. But range wise, they really suck.
(Kino had all three items on my list AND provides clear wrapping service. Once again the Japs get it right. I love Kino.)
So here I am on my comfy bed gobbling up the mags. Ducks was right- Smitten is a Domino and Lucky rip off. I was APPALLED by the “make this outfit into a room” thingamajig section- that’s sooo Domino seriously! And lots of their “ideas” are stolen from the blogging circuit. Trust me, I would know. I read about 1000 blogs a day. But even so, I won’t deny that it’s chock full of worthy content, and it’s great that i can actually buy the things i see on its pages from our own little sunny isle.
No the worst part was seeing one of the bags I saw recently at Quintessential on the Editor’s Picks page. No!!!! It’s my bag! Now everyone will want it and it’ll be gone in a flash. *sigh* Sometimes it may actually be better when magazine editors are not so in the know and fashionable.
Anyway, on a completely separate note, I love love love the songs we’re singing for the wedding! It’s like a John Rutter fest. I adore the crisp brightness of “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and the lilting swells of “The Lord Bless You and Keep You”. So wonderful. *sighhh* I can’t wait for Christmas so we can start singing christmas carols. *rubs hands in glee*
3 Comments
September 13, 2007 at 4:21 am
oh you should never trust the staff at borders or kino. i don’t know what exactly they keep in that database they read off of, but it’s nonsense. once they told me they were out of stock of a book when i had like, two copies in my hands. so yes, just look for whatever you need yourself.
September 16, 2007 at 8:24 am
I know!!!! He called the stockroom to ask and then went off trying to find it and as I was waiting, the phone kept ringing (probably an answer from the stockroom) but he didn’t bother picking it up and just told me there wasn’t any in store. URGH! I wanted to pick up the bloody phone myself!
September 19, 2007 at 12:48 am
Actually, Smitten IS modelled after Lucky magazine.
it’s meant to be a shopping guide for busy yet fashion savvy women in Singapore.
not too sure about the blogging part..although it may be due to the fact that Betsy, our deputy editor is also the blogger behind Fashion Spinach.com.
do you like it overall? u should subscribe to the mag! And get to enjoy discounts every month!
Cheers,
The Humble Smitten Staff