A while back I used to travel up for weekend trips to KL (Kuala Lumpur) pretty often with my brother, sometimes parents, usually friends. And when I say often, I mean every month.
PIC - brother, his friends, my friends, our parents. I'm taking the foto so I'm not pictured. (This trip had the largest number going at the same time. 2 couples drove up and the rest of us took a bus.)
We'd hop on the bus and travel the 5 hours up in the middle of the night (usually a Friday) and then arrive at some god-forsaken hour (like 3 am) only to be met by the one lonely hotel clerk at the Concorde KL who'd be pleasant enough to quickly get our checking-in sorted ASAP.
After a quick change of clothes we'd head down to Bangsar for a supper of Roti Bomb and Tandoori Chicken and often end up crawling into bed just as dawn threatened to break.
Pic: Bangsar for Supper; Brother, his friends and my friend. No, I'm not in the picture.
While the eating was definitely noteworthy, it was merely the side event. The reason I went up to KL so often was so that I could satisfy my insane obsession with shoes.
Yes, yes, I know you're all going to say that every woman has an obsession with shoes, but I'm telling you, in my 20s I never had fewer than 50 pairs at any one time. From thongs to courts to strappy sandals, flats, heels and open-toed mules. I had every possible type of footwear to fit any occasion. I kid you not.
So why all the way to KL? VINCCI. Yes. Padini had just opened in a number of shopping centres in KL and one of their brands was Vincci. Mostly shoes, with a spattering of handbags and sunglasses. Depending on the outlet, sometimes you could find keyrings and wallets too.
The important thing for me - size 9 shoes at affordable prices. Vincci's sizes run all the way up to 10 at a time when Singapore hadn't caught on yet. And I refuse (yes, I still do) to pay more than S$20 for regular muck-around possibly-get-trashed-after-3-wearings footwear.
So, because
1) I'm a klutz and wear out my shoes reeeeal quick;
2) I don't make a ton of money;
3) my feet are gigantonormous;
4) and for me, it's all about the quantity, not quality;
Vincci in KL was the perfect solution. I'd return to Singapore with no less than 3 pairs of lovely fake-leather/synthetic-snakeskin/PVC-covered may-not last-one-year shoes per trip.
Ah, but all that isn't necessary anymore these days. Vincci opened up in City Square JB soon after, so I shopped across the causeway for a period of time. Then Singapore shoe stores got on the big-foot bandwagon and many shops now carry sizes 9 and 10. And nowadays I don't step out of the house as much (to club or party or shop) so I've managed to curb my shoe obsession (having a mortgage helps) and find myself buying fewer and fewer shoes. My current shoe count is less than 20. (EEKS!)
But you know, you can never be truly free from your inner Imelda and so 2 nights ago I traipsed off to Eastpoint Mall with the excuse that I need groceries from NTUC Fairprice, knowing full well that between the multi-story carpark and the supermarket was a shining beckoning Bata.
What I didn't know, was that they were having a sale. Up to 70% off! It was a sign. I mean, I had planned to pop in, try on a coupla shoes then be on my way. In the end, I tried on more than I had intended to, and ended up with these (yes, they're under S$20):
And so, welcome lovely beige strappy kitten heels, you now have a brand new home :)
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