Fashionista's Review: De' Bams, the new name in Kids Fashion

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the beautiful ladies at De' Bams, inviting me to try out their kids apparel for my lil' bub, Alexa. Naturally I was excited because, for one thing, I am a strong supporter of the local industry and for another thing, these are two lovely mothers who create beautiful products while at the same time supporting local Malaysian businesses, just like I do.

De' Bams was established by two BFFs (what an innovative partnership, I must say) who draw inspiration from their own children. They specialise in statement onesies and t-shirts; all designs are originally designed by themselves and the best part is, they do collaborations with other stay-at-home moms in the creation of some of their products. Masha Allah, I am definitely envious of how much girl power that these super-mommies emanate. All designs have one common theme, to channel a positive and playful vibe from the clothes that they make; perfect for growing up kids. And *drumroll* all products are 100% Made in Malaysia *hurrah*.

So the package from De' Bams arrived last week and I was fortunate to have Alexa with me in KL at the time, so, perfect timing to see how the clothes would fit her.

The unboxing. 

The package from De' Bams came in a brown box, complete with a round turquoise sticker with De' Bams label on it. Inside were two statement t-shirts, one blue and white "I'm feeling awesome" shirt and another bright pink "Playful and Cheerful" shirt. There were two flared cotton pants as well, and I absolutely adore the frills at the bottom of the pants. They add style to the outfit, without restricting a child's movements (i.e. Alexa would be able to run, walk, sit and stretch comfortably in the pants without any impediment). 

What I really love about De' Bams is the quality of their material. The choice of material that they use for the clothes are high quality material. Both the shirts and pants are made of 100% cotton. The material is thick (i.e. not the usual flimsy materials that you would get for children's clothing). To compare, I would have to say that their material is slightly thicker than the material used by Pumpkin Patch. Why I am emphasising on the material is because, for one thing, kids (especially toddlers) tend to get themselves into various situations and if they aren't careful, they have the tendency to tear (or at least make a hole) in their clothing. With the quality of material used by De' Bams, I am very confident that these clothes will be able to weather Alexa's antics. And because it's made of 100% cotton, the material is cool and breathable, perfect for hot summer days (which we have all year round in Malaysia). 

I'm Feeling Awesome.

We brought Alexa to the playground to test out how comfortable she would be in the outfit. As you can see, she's enjoying herself, and in all sincerity, her facial expression along with the statement shirt just made my day!

Love 'em frills at the bottom of the pants. Retro is definitely the way to go. 

We tried the second outfit a few days later, just in time for her flight to Kuching. Unfortunately she was slightly under the weather on that day so we wanted her to be in something that is comfortable, breathable and at the same time thick enough for the plane ride.

To see how comfortable she is in her outfit, we've made a video of her trying her best to give her first YouTube tutorial. Do let me know what you think of the video =).

In all honesty, I love De' Bams and I do recommend mothers out there to try them out. I believe that, yes, it is necessary for us to support the local industry but even more so when they create such beautiful and high quality products. They have more designs available (and for various ages) so do visit their website [here] and you can also stay current with them by following them on their Facebook page [here] or Instagram [here]. 

Proud to be supporting a Made in Malaysia product.

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Mia Mikhail 2016 Collection

Last Friday I was fortunate enough to be invited as a plus one for my pal, Imelda Harris to a fashion show by Mia Mikhail. It was also the official inauguration on their first offline boutique so we were doubly excited about the event.
Mia Mikhail is a three-sisters collaboration to providing exclusive prayer clothes (which we call telekung in Malay) to women. The have launched three different ranges of telekung for their 2016 collection: the cute and colourful Macarons, practical and ready-to-go Travel Telekung and the premium and exclusive range called Regal.

And here are some photos of the event:

The show started with a dance performance. I am amazed how the organisers were able to transform the boutique as the fashion venue. I do understand that obviously space might be slightly constrained but I do applaud them on their creativity in being able to fit everyone and at the same time have a decent amount of space for the runway as well. 

Macarons collection. Do excuse me for my amateurish photos. I did not want to get in the way of the professional photographers so I choose to stay put in my seat (thank you to the organisers for providing us front row seats). For better quality photos do look them up in their website or instagram page (link is at the bottom of this page). 

The regal collection. I really love how soft the material looks and absolutely adore the colours of this collection. For future shows, (if possible) perhaps the organisers may want to look into improving the lighting in the middle part of the boutique as well.

Us with the models and one of the founders of Mia Mikhail. 

Me and Imelda Harris. Babe, thank you for letting me tag along =).

So what can I say about their 2016 collection? Firstly, I love their Macarons range because the colours are very bold while at the same time, the designs are simple, making Macarons attractive ladies who would like to colour coordinate their wardrobe with their prayer clothes. I feel that with such vibrant colours, the Macarons range would definitely be very suitable for the younger (or young at heart) crowd.

The travel collection is definitely perfect for corporate professionals (and busy mothers) who needs a practical telekung (it comes with its own travel bag) which they can just carry anywhere they go (or even stuff them in their handbags). There's a huge element of convenience as well as practical style.
The regal collection is stunningly beautiful. I love the soft shimmer of satin as well as the sparkly flower embroidery on the telekung. It's definitely perfect as a gift to love ones or even as the prayer clothes for Eid.

I had a great time at their show and am definitely proud of this Malaysian homegrown brand. Looking forward to seeing more of their success in the future. To know more, do visit their website [here] or instagram page [here].


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

What's in a Tumi?

A what? I know what you're thinking. I've never heard of Tumi either. I was recently given a Tumi and being the snoop that I am, I decided to google Tumi. Like, seriously. Have you ever heard of such a brand? And no offense to the giver, I totally love your gift, but I'd love it more if I knew what sort of brand it is (though you must be rolling your eyes right now, but I bet you'd do the same thing). 

Tumi is apparently an American manufacturer of bags and suitcases and the best part is, Tumi incorporates a unique metal 20-digit registration number in all its bags, which customers can register with the Tumi Tracer just in case we lose our bags. How cool is that? And even cooler, check out these people who's been seen with Tumi, I'm sure you'll recognize a few faces (photos courtesy of Tumi's Facebook page):

Hullo Mr. Pitt =)

Mr. and Mrs. Cruise.

Miss Diaz. Love the hair, by the way =)

Whoa, even Mr. President?

These two might not be so recognizable underneath those huge aviator glasses, they're the Olsen twins =)

Am absolutely glad to be a part of the Tumi family and here's my Tumi: 

Laptop bag pack. This is going to look so cool on me. Thank you soooo much for the unanticipated gift!!

Large Tote Bag, which is going to be hanging on my arms very, very soon *happy sigh*.

Complete with a warranty (the first time ever I've had a warranty for a handbag, and this shows just how confident Tumi is on the quality of their product), Tumi Tracer and Experience Tumi handbook.

And a Consumer Services Manual. These people really have a very good after sales service, I must say. 

I'm glad that I snooped around =). Now I'm even more appreciative of my handbag. People, you should do that, seriously, you'd take better care of your handbag if you do *satisfied grin*.

Oh, I almost forgot, Tumi also has a Facebook page, just in case you might want to check it out. Click [here] for the page. 

To handbags and more handbags. 

xoxo Mrs Fashionista 

S&S Virgin

I am definitely a Sereni & Shentel virgin. My first purchase of their headbands was made on New Year's day (during their fabulous New Year promotion; buy a Mandy and get an Ice Ice Baby for free) and just this afternoon (read: a mere 10 days later) I've got this email from S&S, my headband's ready for pick-up at RockPaperScissors (RPS). 

Too excited for words, I quickly drove to Green Heights Mall and voila, this is what I got:

The Ice Ice Baby in black and a gold Mandy, looking even better now that they're both mine *grin*.

Me trying out the black Ice Ice Baby. I actually had dinner with my family tonight at Cafe Majestic (a belated birthday celebration for my brother and sis-in-law) and I wore this for dinner. Hurrah for me! Despite my initial reservations of wearing a headband on top of my scarf (fearing myself looking like a fish out of water) I actually kinda like how the headband looked on my head *surprise*surprise*. 

And this is me wearing Mandy in gold. Forgive me for the grainy photos, they were all taken on my iPhone.

I've always loved S&S headbands since first seeing it on my pal Karen's Facebook a year ago (I think she was joining an S&S competition back then) but I've never made the leap from being a fan to being a customer, simply because I thought I'd regret buying it. Why? I thought that headscarfs and headbands would mix like oil and water, and boy am I wrong. To tell you the truth, I am very, very satisfied with my purchase. I feel happy knowing that I've made the right choice in settling what I want and I don't believe in discounting myself (i.e. getting a similar headband at a cheaper price) I mean, thy deserve to wear something posh and fancy, you know? Funny thing is, I initially thought that I preferred the Mandy compared to Ice Ice Baby, but now I think the Ice Ice Baby looks better on me. 

What do you think?

xo Mrs Fashionista

Ps: I am seriously contemplating on wearing them to work tomorrow *cheeky grin*.