COS I’m blue

It was our last day in Seoul and one realization was that I haven’t bought anything for myself. That wasn’t an unusual moment, and it was actually a source of pride.

One store that was part of my “must-check-out” list was Flying Tiger Copenhagen. The store that I knew was all the way in Lotte World Mall in Jamsil, and that was a good 40-minute train ride from the hotel. But again, it was on the agenda.

Upon reaching Lotte World Mall, it wasn’t at the basement where it was before. They used to be located just across H&M, but now it’s gone! Just as I was about to get bummed, it turned out that they moved to the 3rd floor. Whew!

Yes, it’s the same Flying Tiger with all the fun and quirky stuff that we know and love from their Tokyo store, but admittedly, nothing really caught my eye. So, that visit ended with me still not having bought anything for myself.

While walking back to the subway station, I noticed that the store in front of the old Flying Tiger was COS! 

After ducking in and browsing, I left with this nice pair of jeans:

It’s a dark blue denim with a low rise and a cropped length. Sort of unusual, but it’s very much true to the Korean aesthetic, which is probably why they had it in the Seoul store.

With that, the possibility of leaving Seoul empty handed was finally out!

A Simple COS

Since I'm working from home 98% of the time, there's really no need to "dress-up" for work. For the past year, my work wear has been limited to t-shirts of all colours, sizes and shapes.

That's why even when I order items online, whether it's from Zalora, Lazada, H&M or some other fast-fashion brand, most of my purchases are limited to t-shirts as well.

Needless to say, this is what I'm checking out at the COS website, especially now that their first store in Manila is opening. And - COS being known for fashionable basics - they have a lot of t-shirts in interesting cuts and materials.

Just like this:

Gosh! Even if it may look like most of the black t-shirts I currently have in my closet now, I need to have this. Stat!

For a good Cos

You can just imagine my thrill when I saw this article online.

COS is finally here in Manila!

Looks like the H&M group is making its presence felt in the Philippines. First, it was H&M. Then, it was Monki. And now, COS!

It's a COS for a celebration!

The Company we'd like to keep

The first time I encountered this SG clothing brand was in Ion Orchard. I stumbled upon in while in search of COS.

It was called "In Good Company," and while browsing their store, one realization was that it was very much like COS - modern, minimalist and very fashion forward.

After that, In Good Company became one of my stops during my SG trips.

Imagine my delight when I found out that they're now open in MNL!

Yup, their first store is in SM Makati, and it looks like they transplanted their SG store and brought it here. Way, way cool!

I'm definitely keep this store company.

FMM: Cos Celebre

Here's another SG-trip-inspired Friday Magic Madness ditty.

A lot of the fast fashion brands in SG are also found in Manila, which explains why I'm not shopping here as much as I used to. There's one of fast fashion brand here that hasn't made it to Manila yet.

COS - shorthand for Collection Of Style - is H&M's sleeker sibling. Everything about their clothes, from the design to the fabrication, has that sense of minimalism and quietness. In Europe, they see this brand as Zara's bigger competition, but I think COS has its own market.

Right now, there are only 2 countries in Asia that carry COS. The first one is SG, while HKG is the second country. It's that rarity that draws me to the store whenever I visit these countries.

And since we're on the subjects of COS, my Friday Magic Madness song for today is also about a "cause." More specifically, it's about a "because."

Straight from the 80s, here's Anita Baker and one of her massive hits:



Now, you might be wondering how COS and "Just Because" end up together?

Just because.