Dress to Impress on Hari Raya

Many of us who will be celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri and hosting or going to numerous open houses, would have picked out the fabric and colors for each day’s ensemble, or we may have bought off-the-rack, while the rest of us are still searching, and growing increasingly frantic!

However, even the most beautifully designed and embellished designer outfit may seem unfinished if not paired with the perfect accessories be they handbags, shoes, wallets or jewellery.

Reebonz (pronounced‘ribbons’), Asia’s trusted online shopping destination for buying and selling the widest variety of luxury brands has an amazing selection of handbags, shoes, small leather goods and jewellery to complete your look. All items sold through the Reebonz platform, both new and pre-loved are guaranteed authentic, and are often available at significant savings through the many sale events on the site.

Trends For Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Reebonz experts have curated some of the key accessories, colours, shapes and sizes for the festive season and beyond for the stylista in each of us.

The secret to successful Hari Raya accessorising is to choose timeless pieces that can be used after the festivities as well. As a rule, traditional attire such as baju kurung, baju kebaya, jubah and abaya are best complemented by structured classic shapes, and elegant heeled footwear.

Key colors for Hari Raya include white, yellow and green as well as classic black and shades of gold for formal dinner events.

Luxury comes in many levels and the Reebonz’ Online Price before further markdowns is always more attractive than the recommended retail price at designer boutiques. For the best value at Reebonz, stalk your favorite items for when they are at their lowest price, which could be during special sale events, at clearance or when it is the last piece available. (see our appendix for examples of our ‘as low as’ prices)

Handbags Trends

Tote bagsare functional and ideal for work and weekends. Choosing a structured leather tote with bold hardware can add contrast or subtly complement an outfit. For Hari Raya consider the Michael Kors Jet Set Medium Travel Multifunction Tote in Sun, the upbeat preppy look of the Sophie Hulme Mini Tote Saddle Bag, and Miuccia’s latest saffiano leather collection – Prada Saffiano Cuir Double Bag. 

Clutches convey the elegance and sophistication of the wearer through their sleek, compact styling, either as handhelds or convertible to a shoulder bag with a strap. Flashback to the old school glamour of 60’s movie star Saloma and the many clutches that she used to accessorise her baju kebaya, for inspiration. Among the top pick from Reebonz includes the Christian Dior Medium event Clutch, petite Michael Kors Elsie Dome Clutch which is suitable for all Raya functions, and classic Saint Laurent Monogramme Clutch. 

Timelessness can also come in classic statement pieces that will have other guests oohing and aahing at your taste and refinement. Consider a Christian Dior Lady Dior Medium Bag, a Fendi Shopping 2Jours Petite Tote in buttery yellow or even a vintage pre-owned Chanel Classic Double Flap bag in black.

Trend pieceare ideal for edgy women. For example the minimalist M2Malletier La Collectionneuse’s clean lines and unique metal handle identifies its wearer as an individualist. The Céline Nano Luggage is a new classic that has been seen on the arms of the most glamourous women in the world – the charming ‘face’ on the bag shows off your quirky side. The Givenchy Medium Antigona is structured yet sturdy in a rounded shape that will draw the eye of onlookers.

Wallets

Thedetails differentiate the lady from the masses. Reebonz’ picks for being perfectly put together include the Miu Miu Matelassé Wallet On Chain that can double as a petite shoulder bag, the Prada Saffiano Metal Long Flap Wallet and the Gucci Bamboo Tassel Zip Around Wallet. Give and receive duit rayawith panache!

Shoes

Shoes maketh the woman, and luxury shoes maketh her even more awesome. For Raya open houses where you will be the host and on your feet the entire day, the Salvatore Ferragamo Vara 1 Pumps combine class and comfort. The Christian Louboutin Pivichic 100 with killer heels combine comfort and style, and elongate your silhouette for edgy elegance as you make an entrance, or be the belle of any ball when you put on the Jimmy Choo Lang Sandals in gold. The world will be at your feet.

SURPRISE!

Maybe it's already a nature for Aquarians that they love surprises.

I love surprises. Trust me, my life is really like a box of chocolate, I don't have slight visibility what surprises are ahead of me. 

Most of the surprises came from my work since I'm in the PR industry, I can even get my surprises when i wake up from the bed and check my phone. The surprises ain't nice most of the time, it was those WTF moments.

However, my personal life is kinda mundane actually, it's rather a routine-driven one. I know surprises  could spice up your life but most of my friends are already attached, so we rarely meet to do crazy things like we used to be. 

Friends come and go, those teenage days never last long. In the end, it's only you and your partner. So I don't think it's burden to surprise your partner once in awhile. Surprise make your relationship a little bit more sparkle and it really helps cheer a person up. 

So what are the surprises that I really like or I envisage for?

Well, if i tell you now it wouldn't be a suprise anymore. I know I'm kinda diva and I have preferences in most of the things but if you have the heart to do it, I'm more than happy to receive the surprise. 

I still remember back in those days, I would receive a packet of something to eat from out of nowhere when I had a rough day. Really, I won't tell you what it was coz ...just keep that packet of something in the realm of surprise. 

Come of think of it, most of the surprises I had in my life were related to food. Really, everyday would be a surprise if I had the chance to not to think what to eat..it's like saying the phrase 'suprise me, will ya?'

Okay enough of the food. If non food related surprise, hmmp..I gotta say pop up in the airport's arrival hall without my prior knowledge and that will be a classic surprise :)

It's already late, let the song below be your lullaby. Good night.

10 Bad Experiences in Malacca

I love travelling, if you didn't know. Travelling is like breaking my routine. Adding more colours to my life. Exploring the unknowns at foreign place.

However, there will be a circumstance when I hate travelling the most - holiday season.

Last weekend, I went to Malacca with my partner. I never knew it was school holiday until I was approaching Seremban when Waze alerted stand still traffic ahead. I was like 'Shit! School Holidays!

So my entire trip in Malacca wasn't a pleasant one. After like three hours of driving (instead of an hour and half), we finally reached Ayer Keroh. We were really hungry so the first thought came into our mind was Chicken Rice Ball! We wanted to go to Huang Chang, which is along the way to Melaka City but it was closed. I couldn't endure hunger anymore, so we chosen restaurant which was nearest to us. It was some chicken rice shop and my gosh, so salty! - Bad Experience #1

We reached hotel around 5.30 pm. The hotel wasn't pleasant actually. It was rather dirty. Anyhow, for the price that I forked out and it was just a night to spend only, so I just lived with it - Bad Experience #2

My partner wasn't a fan of cockles, so I went out alone to longkang cockles street at Jalan Bunga Raya. It was my first time though and I heard it was dirty.

So I went to the backlane of Jalan Bunga Raya  and good Lord, it was so DIRTY!!!

But I travelled so far, I had to try anyway. So i sat down at little small stool, there wasn't anyone served me for like five minutes. Yeah, it was bit rude when no one serves the diva. Ok, an uncle took my order eventually. The waiting period wasn't a safe one coz the motor kept on pass by behind me through the small backlane. I had to like bent down all the time.

So the little kid put a bowl of raw cockles in front of me. So i was like dude, you haven't cooked the cockles. I looked to my right and to my disbelief, what I thought was raw actually is cooked. People eating the bloody slimy just like that. Trust me, I'm a big fan of cockles but those cockles are very dirty. I only had four cockles that i gave up. - Bad Experience #3

Backlane of Jalan Bunga Raya for famous cockles

Bloody Slimy Cockles

Night time fell, what to eat? I heard there was a local delicacy called 'putu piring' at Jalan Tengkera. Putu piring is a Malay adaptation of a popular Indian snack - a type of round, steamed rice cake with tantalising sweet centre. So i reached there and everyone was leaving empty handed with disappointed on their faces. I was like "What's going on". To my surprise, the queue to have this small local dish was an hour!!! I gave up and left. - Bad Experience #4

An hour for this!

Never mind, let's go to Jonker Street to find some food there. As we approaching Jonker Street, it was jam and there wasn't any parking spot, and not a single private parking area. What to do? I parked at the road side and had walk of my life. - Bad Experience #5

But before that, I thought to have a boat cruise around the city since I never had that experience before. My excitement was short-lived because we couldn't even find the starting point of the queue. - Bad Experience #6

Managed to catch fireworks display

Feeling disappointed, so we went to Jonker Street. Though it was overwhelmingly crowded but at least we visited a tourist spot in Malacca. Though we bought ourselves some snacks and souvenirs but we were literally soaked in sweat.

Durian Puff- must try!

Next day, after we checked out from our hotel, we tried our luck to have chicken rice ball at Huang Chang. The queue was bearable and we've got our seats in 10 minutes. But sadly, the food didn't meet my expectation. It was cold. I heard the famous Chicken Rice Ball shop in Jonker Street also shares similar quality. - Bad Experience #7

Look at the queue!

After having our savoury, we planned to have some local dessert. So we went to Klebang's famous Coconut Shake. After travelling around 15 minutes out from town, not only the queue was long but it was jam packed with cars! - Bad Experience #8

Nevertheless, we managed to get the non-original coconut shake at Pantai Klebang and it was really good!

Coconut Shake!

Such huge bananas

The next dessert that I wanted to try was Aunty Koh Cendol, based the foodies' recommendation, it's the best in Malacca. But by the time we reached there, it was already closed. - Bad Experience #9

So what is the bad experience #10?

Traffic jam back to PJ.

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