Finding Hard-to-Finds

One of the reasons why I prefer shopping in HKG and MNL over BKK and SG is the fact that I can find a lot of gems in hidden back alleys of these two countries. Sometimes, I find a random item in Wan Chai, only to find out that it's a coveted piece in the US. Countless times, the stuff I buy eventually end up in InStyle and Lucky, which is enough to make any shopper - including myself - smile.

In last month's copy of InStyle, they featured this black and white plaid polo and listed it as one of the must-haves for the season. It also said that it was fast flying off the shelves.



The funny thing was, I found a similar item a few days before seeing it in the magazine.



There was this nice dress on the BR Monogram website which was fast flying off the site. In fact, a day after I checked out the item, it was already out of stock on the web.



But when I went to one of my favorite Makati haunts, I found the exact same thing. Yes, there's a secret stash of Banana Republic here in Manila.



The dress has excellent detailing aside from the flattering material. It's designed to look like separates, but it's actually just one piece.



Then there's this button detailing at the back. These are faux buttons, though, which is good. At least the wearer doesn't need to spend 15 minutes buttoning up each one.



As I was telling D' Frendz, it's really amazing what you can find when you're not looking for anything. So maybe I should go "not looking" some more this week. What I'll find just might shock me.