Singapore Expats

I'm just wondering if there is a "leather district" (lol I'm not talking about folks who wear it) where I can get a good quality man's wallet for a decent price. I've looked in a few shops and they're all either crappy quality or exorbitantly priced or both. Any market area where there are lots of craftsmen/choices like Arab street is to textiles or Little India is to gold?

If you're looking at branded I'd browse in somewhere like Takashimaya, and then go and buy in online.

My latest one is a Picard and I got it from the Wallet Shop in Tampines Mall, wasn't Cheap, but it;s a great wallet!

My missus laughs that the bags/wallets she buys, cost maybe 3 times what she pays for them in SG. The cupboards full of Kate Spade (and her previous fix Coach) attest to her ability to save so much money (er, by spending so much)

She wouldn't think of buying these brands in SG. She usually buys them online from the States.


p.s. I'm not into flashy labels*, I'm much more taken by the heights of quality. That said I have a Coach wallet (bought in an outlet mall in Florida on double-coupons- naturally), and it is a thing of beauty and utility I have to say. No obvious branding, just a tiny stamped logo in the front corner of the leather.


* In fact I have a habit of un-stitching or removing any exterior visible designer labels from clothes I buy or am given. Not sure the missus gets this lol. Labels are vulgar.... it's just not British!!

Theres a bloke in Hereen mall that custom makes wallets belts etc , made a really nice ipad/man bag for me.

JR8 wrote:
p.s. I'm not into flashy labels*, I'm much more taken by the heights of quality. Labels are vulgar.... it's just not British!!

Agreed. I have one "designer" handbag which isn't a name brand, I actually bought it from the designer at a boutique in Venice. I love it to death, it's so beautiful. I actually had never even considered the quality/workmanship of anything like Coach, I've never even seen one up close because I find the fuss over them to be, as you said, vulgar.

Thanks for the tips, nutnut and QRM, I'll check them out.

QRM wrote:Theres a bloke in Hereen mall that custom makes wallets belts etc , made a really nice ipad/man bag for me.

Really? More info please! I'd like a custom case for my non-apple tablet.

nutnut wrote:My latest one is a Picard and I got it from the Wallet Shop in Tampines Mall, wasn't Cheap, but it;s a great wallet!

My fav store too. Though I always go to the one at Marina Square.

I have a Victorinox wallet that's lasted about 2 yrs but is in dire need of replacement due to lack of CC space. I'm eying a Pierre Cardin one that will take 12 cards - still not enough but at least it'll hold all the main ones.

A timely thread

I have a CK wallet (best I've owned, despite the designer label) that is now falling to bits and really needs replacing. This thread reminds me that I can make an adventure of this, an excuse to explore parts of the island that I rarely visit.

Best regards, Andrew

JR8 wrote:Labels are vulgar.... it's just not British!!

Agreed.

British or not, I fail to understand the obsession of women around me (in this region, I believe) with HUGE labels.

Whenever I'm in a boutique or design house, I often hear sampat women gushing out:

"Oh, take that one! It has bigger LV logo on it."

"Why you so stupid? Buy small small label or no label for what? Already spend so much, may as well buy the ones with big big label on it then worth it ma!"

And that, my friends, explains the blatant marketing of MANGO printed across bosoms of silly girls and women. Or worse, GUESS chiseled onto huge metal plates on handbags. Mind you, those metal plates are huge and heavy enough to whack people out of way when you're in crowded MRTs and buses, especially when those silly women swing their handbags around after a day trip in Orchard.

aster wrote:

nutnut wrote:My latest one is a Picard and I got it from the Wallet Shop in Tampines Mall, wasn't Cheap, but it;s a great wallet!

My fav store too. Though I always go to the one at Marina Square.

I have a Victorinox wallet that's lasted about 2 yrs but is in dire need of replacement due to lack of CC space. I'm eying a Pierre Cardin one that will take 12 cards - still not enough but at least it'll hold all the main ones.

Thanks for the tips! I went here today and picked up a slick Victorinox number. I hope he likes it...he's very picky. I don't see how he couldn't, it's very nice. The Pierre Cardins and Picards were nice too, but I decided to splurge. Even still, it was about half the price of the ones I was looking at in VivoCity :-/

the lynx wrote:

JR8 wrote:Labels are vulgar.... it's just not British!!

Agreed.

British or not, I fail to understand the obsession of women around me (in this region, I believe) with HUGE labels.

Whenever I'm in a boutique or design house, I often hear sampat women gushing out:

"Oh, take that one! It has bigger LV logo on it."

"Why you so stupid? Buy small small label or no label for what? Already spend so much, may as well buy the ones with big big label on it then worth it ma!"

And that, my friends, explains the blatant marketing of MANGO printed across bosoms of silly girls and women. Or worse, GUESS chiseled onto huge metal plates on handbags. Mind you, those metal plates are huge and heavy enough to whack people out of way when you're in crowded MRTs and buses, especially when those silly women swing their handbags around after a day trip in Orchard.

So stupid. I just don't get it. When I see someone with an ostentatiously labeled handbag like this I don't admire her or her handbag, I usually think she's a dumb shallow twit... of course, they're everywhere here.

poodlek wrote:

aster wrote:

nutnut wrote:My latest one is a Picard and I got it from the Wallet Shop in Tampines Mall, wasn't Cheap, but it;s a great wallet!

My fav store too. Though I always go to the one at Marina Square.

I have a Victorinox wallet that's lasted about 2 yrs but is in dire need of replacement due to lack of CC space. I'm eying a Pierre Cardin one that will take 12 cards - still not enough but at least it'll hold all the main ones.

Thanks for the tips! I went here today and picked up a slick Victorinox number. I hope he likes it...he's very picky. I don't see how he couldn't, it's very nice. The Pierre Cardins and Picards were nice too, but I decided to splurge. Even still, it was about half the price of the ones I was looking at in VivoCity :-/

Nice choice with the Victorinox, the original manufacturer of the "Swiss Army Knife." They cost a bit more but are definitely worth it.

Did you get one where the coin section folds open from all sides?

aster wrote:
Nice choice with the Victorinox, the original manufacturer of the "Swiss Army Knife." They cost a bit more but are definitely worth it.

Did you get one where the coin section folds open from all sides?

Nope, Mr. K prefers a smaller bill fold type, so he can easily slip it in his front pocket. They all looked pretty awesome though. Good and sturdy but not too chunky or coarse.

the lynx wrote:
And that, my friends, explains the blatant marketing of MANGO printed across bosoms of silly girls and women. Or worse, GUESS chiseled onto huge metal plates on handbags.

Mango and Guess are practically discount brands by Singapore standards too.

The ones that get me are those LV bags that looks like the size of cloth shopping bags, plastered with that obnoxious "LV" logo/pattern. That bag costs multiple thousands.