Retail Therapy

I'm not a typical Kuwaiti "name brand" ("marka") type of girl, whatsoever. I have my own style when it comes to clothes and shoes, and it's part of what makes me Me. The most expensive items in my wardrobe are my 14 eyelet teal Doc Martens which cost me nearly £100 and which I absolutely love, and my pair of Seven jeans (which, let's face it, are worth every penny). Other than that, my wardrobe is more than happy being in the student-income-bracket. In London I shop in Covent Garden and Camden Town. In Kuwait I have only ever stepped foot in Villa Moda once, for a party back in the day.

I will admit, however, that I love to engage in a bit of retail therapy every now and then. In London I'm always broke so on the rare occasions that I can actually invest in a new item or two, it's a real treat and it can put me on a high for days. Like when I first bought my Docs above, or my maroon and yellow Converse, or my black Osiris skate shoes. (Funky footwear is my weakness.)

So anyway, having prefaced this post with that bit of information about myself, I would now like to share with you the two newest additions to my wardrobe, both of which I absolutely love, and both of which are just so unbelievably "me", I couldn't have designed them better myself.

First, this necklace was part of my birthday gift from my sister Raine.


I think this is just such a unique and funky piece. First of all, it looks exactly like the turntable I have in my flat in London, only mine is white. Second of all, it perfectly represents a passion that I share with P. And third, I just love vinyls and I think turntables are where it's at. The turntable arm on the necklace actually moves, so you can put it over the vinyl. I usually don't wear much yellow gold but this looks perfect the way it is. It's by Swatch, by the way. I've always loved Swatch.

Second, I bought this bag for myself the other day.


How amazing is this? It's a bag with a black and white picture (in fabric) of the soor (town wall) and one of the old gates of Kuwait on one side, and the old souq circa 1937 on the other. What better bag could a historian carry, I ask you? I got this from a little boutique called "Just Me" on the first floor of Galleria 2000 in Salmiya. The lady in the shop told me that the bag was designed by the owner (a young Kuwaiti woman) and that there was only one like it made. Again, I don't normally wear or carry much brown, but it doesn't really matter - it's gonna become my "everyday" bag in London. It's big enough for me to carry to university, and my PowerBook actually fits inside, funky teal fabric protective cover (made personally for me courtesy of "Edo Rex") and all. I absolutely love it. The price was a bit steep - more expensive than I was expecting it to be, and to be totally honest more than I have ever spent on a bag (all I'll say is, it was less than KD 60). But I decided to just get it. It's a totally unique find, nobody else in the world has this, and the concept is just purely me. And at the same time, I get to support a small Kuwaiti business, which I love doing because it really makes me proud to see young Kuwaitis thinking outside the box and doing something original.

While we're on the topic of acccessories, as an afterthought, I thought I'd share that I just got my ears pierced about two weeks ago. I had them pierced as a kid but they got infected so they closed. Then one day a couple of weeks ago P and I were walking around in Marina Mall and for some reason we decided to stop into Claire's to buy a pair of those magnetic stud earrings for fun so that we could both try them on to see how we'd each look (him with only one - and he looked very sexy, btw!). Then it dawned on me - why don't I try again? So the next day we went to the pharmacy in Jabriya where I'd had them pierced as a kid, and P held my hand as they re-pierced them over the old holes. I must admit, they're so cute! Raine also got me a pair of white gold studs for my birthday to replace the special pharmacy ones (which I had to wear for a week), and I now have to keep these in for about a month. Then, a whole new world of fun is gonna open up for me! Although I don't see myself as a dangly-earring type - I think I'm more of a studs kinda girl. It'll suit my short hair better.