Halloween 2009, Singapore Style

Ok, I know we're almost a month after Halloween, the Christmas lights have even gone up. Yes, yes, I am aware but I've been super busy with churning out my latest collection, so my writing has suffered somewhat. Apologies to those who read my blog to kill time at 11am and 4pm in the office when you should be preparing that powerpoint deck. Oops, did I just say that out loud? Ah well...your boss already knows you're slacking.

ANYWAYS, I've never really been a big fan of Halloween. My friends in Canada can attest to that. They always have to convince me to dress up and go out and surprisingly, this year, I actually got into the spirit of things. I didn't go to just 1 party, I actually went to 2! SHOCKING, I know.

The 1st party I went to was actually Jessica's halloween themed birthday party. She had booked a Parklane suite at the GoodwoodPark hotel to usher in her big 3-0 in style. The split level suite had a very boutique apartment feel to it, complete with a spacious living/dining area and a kitchenette. I was very impressed with the layout.

When we got there, no one else was dressed up except for the b-day gal. She was the geisha of the night...how apt. I went as a gypsy with my colourful ensemble and Weisan was an angel, who sometimes forsook her wings.

Belvedere vodka flowed freely and champagne was popped at midnight, mere perks of Jess's status within Moet Hennessy. Unfortunately, I am a Grey Goose vodka fan. Jess is gonna hit the roof when she reads this coz Grey Goose is a major competitor of Belvedere. Jess, don't be a hater...hehe...

Jess with a lovely couple, Leanna and beau, engaged to be married in Dec! :) Congrats once again!

JJ with Weisan, haven't seen JJ in years!!

Jess's friend, Ginny came as the black widow, with a spider pinned to her dress.


Boa fairies, cute for Weisan, not so flattering for David. Haha...

The highlight of the night was somewhat of a disappointment. Jessica's girlfriends had hired a male stripper for her. Now, my 1st thought was what are the guys at this party gonna do while another man strips down in front of them? Do they really wanna see another man's dong swinging around in front of their faces??

Turned out there was no full on nudity, plus the dancer danced like he's part of a boy band, plus he was scrawny, plus according to Jess, he was INDEED scrawny, plus he stripped down to reveal fully covered butt checks. How oxymoronic. It was soo non-expose, I have seen boys lounging by my pool, who wear more risque swimming trunks.

Ok, granted this guy had a Justin Timberlake kinda attitude and get up, he most certainly did not bring sexy back. His dance routine was too boy bandish, not at all sexy or sensual. He did not know how to work the room. He was too scrawny to be considered hunky. And seriously, did no one teach him how to wear a cock ring???!

The purpose of a cock ring is to sustain an erection for as long as it's on. It works by trapping all the blood in the penis, causing it engorge. Don't ask me how I know this useless piece of info. All I know is that male strippers in North America wear them to show off their...you know. Jess was disappointed by how little he was. She looked like she was falling asleep at some point. Poor birthday girl, she was only looking for some action...sigh...

Overall, he was not worth the price they paid for him. Then again, maybe this is the standard in Singapore.

Does she look a bit bored here or what?
Having a giggly good time?

This birthday 'cake' was sooo special! It was made of jello and so princessy! A princess for THE princess. A very pretty 'cake', I really liked it.

Jess got another cake she wanted...a pic of Bradley Cooper, her heart throb on it.

Shuqunians in action.

Jess and friend.

Happy birthday, Jess! :)

On Halloween night, we ended up at Zouk. It was kinda a last min thing. We were supposed to head to an outdoor party but it was raining cats and dogs. Thank god, Jeff saved the night by bringing about 20 of us into Zouk without a line up. Yay! Kudos to Jeff who went as James Dean!

What was shocking about this Halloween was that I actually made costumes for David and I, for the 1st time ever! Apparently people rent costumes for $150 in Singapore! There was no way I was gonna pay that kinda money to wear a smelly dirty costume for one night of clubbing. I had fun making the costumes ...although I was really raking my brains trying to come up with a couple costume for us. Initially, I had wanted us to go as the 'high voltage' couple and be a socket and electrical plug but when David heard my idea, he decided he didn't wanna wear a 'stooopid costume'.

So, back to drawing board and after more brainstorming, I decided to put him in a dress instead. We went from a 'stooopid costume' to a dress and he was happy, go figure. He went as Leonidas and I went as his Grecian queen.

I don't know why the gypsy was bleeding on the cheek, maybe someone tried to steal her trinkets?? Samit went as the Yahoo slave, of course.

Hot cops on the prowl.
This is probably his usual get up.

The fallen angel slays a brethen.

A punk French maid/Lolita.
Where are your wings, you evil one?

Chinese vampire, pretty good make up job.

A cute pussy cat came along and purred at Leonidas and of course he relented.

Afros unite! Sha found bruthas from another motha.

A group of monks roaming by screamed at David like they just found Buddha.

Leonidas slays the sweet singing fallen angel.

Chun Li makes an appearance from her street fighting corner.

Hot make up, hot corset, wonder if he won best dressed...broke all conventions, I liked it.

Dark angels lusting after the last good one.

Glad I managed to convince Foxy Cleopatra to come out with us.

Huggin' my mosaic tiled wall.

So that was my 1st Halloween in Singapore. We had a blast. I must say I was kinda surprised to see so many people dressed up. Most people I talked to told me Singaporeans don't really get into the spirit of Halloween so it was good to see so much creativity displayed.

Ok, now back to business. For those of you who stumbled into this blog hoping to see some women's apparel, please check out collections 1, 2 and 3. More collections coming soon, stay tuned!

Peace out, peeps!

Lady Partay.

Goodwood Park Hotel

22 Scotts Road

Singapore 228221

T. +65 6737 7411

F. +65 6732 8558

http://www.goodwoodparkhotel.com/

enquiries@goodwoodparkhotel.com

Zouk

17 Jiak Kim Road

Singapore 169420

T. +65 6738 2988

F. +65 6738 3988

http://www.zoukclub.com/

zoukclub@zoukclub.com

When All Hell Breaks Loose

BOO.

The 7th month is upon us. Oooooooh...spooky. It is also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival and it falls on the 7th month of the lunar calendar. It is somewhat like Halloween in North America but it has way more importance than just dressing up as ghouls and goblins. This festival is celebrated by the Chinese in parts of Southeast Asia and China. It's actually taken quite seriously by the people, even the non superstitious ones, in Singapore. Malays and Indians alike observe the general dos and don'ts of this month long festival.

The Chinese believe that during this time, the gates of hell spring wide open and hungry ghosts are free to roam earth. Brings to mind battles between good and evil on middle earth in Lord of the Rings, don't you think?

To pacify these spirits, food and offerings are laid out for the taking. The Chinese are big believers of ancestral worship so this festival is also one to commemorate and pay tribute to their ancestors who have passed on. This is done to ensure good fortune and to ward off bad luck for future generations.

It's been a while since I 'celebrated' this festival since I've been out of the country for so long. David and I were wandering around the suburbia heartlands of Bukit Batok when we chanced upon a 'getai', literally meaning song stage. It is an operatic concert of sorts, although no Shakespeare, performed outdoors in Hokkien or Teochew for both the living and the dead, is a visual and audio delight to the uninitiated. This tradition is a dying one because only the living old truly understand and appreciate the art of the melo-drama. They observe it fastidiously because they believe these performances will please the wandering spirits.

As a child, I use to accompany my maternal grandma (bless her soul) to the big open field beside our apartment, foldable stool in tow to watch these concerts, every night for the entire month. My grandma would pick a cool and unobstructed spot and plant herself there for the rest of the night. Me, I didn't really care for the opera on stage. I was happy to be out of the house, roaming with the other neighbourhood kids. Grandma would always try to scare me by warning me of spirits roaming the area as well. That didn't do anything for me as I played hide and seek, hop scotch and 5 stones to my heart's delight.

Memories came flooding back to me as I hear the familiar sounds of squeaky flutes and clashing cymbals, smell the burning of fragrant incense, see the colourful costumes and elaborate make up of the performers. For the first time in my adult life, I wish Grandma was here to explain what the people on stage were wailing about.

A female performer, dressed up as a man, possibly a scholar.

This is was the resident drummer, living out his dream of being a rock star. Think he was the troupe master since he was the one who gave me the OK to take pics.

Offerings of fruit and cake to the wandering dead.

Decorations, symbolizing wealth or gold.

The robe and headgear of a deity or spirit on display. No one sits on this chair other than 'him'.

Chinese deities and spirits aren't always the most benevolent looking. This one looks like the King of Hades, god of the dead.

Alot of spirits are also beliefs based on folklore to scare people into submission.

Hell money to be burnt, as offerings to the dead. It is believed that even in the underworld, material goods are highly coveted.

A dinner table, laid out for the wandering ghosts and spirits, to appease their hungry stomachs while on their roam on earth.

Elaborate 3 story paper houses, complete with paper servants, plants, suits, cars, jewellery, DVD players, to be burnt so that such luxuries can be enjoyed even in the underworld.

Resplendent house offering for the dead.

The burning of offerings begin.

A row of red chairs flank the 1st row in front of the stage. These priority seats are reserved for VIPs, also known as 'the others'. These performers entertain and hopefully appease.

I've never been one to believe in the supernatural but I can fully appreciate the culture and tradition of this festival. It actually makes me a little sad knowing that 2 decades, or even 1 from now, this would probably completely die off.

On that note, I will think about what I will dress up as for Halloween this year. It's the 1st time I am celebrating it in Singapore and my girls and I are excited about what we'll do.

Past years...

Pimpin' it up, Foxy Cleopatro style. Hugo was kinda scared at first, he kept looking at my afro and trying to sniff it. I think I left my afro in Canada...:(

Foxy with Morpheus from the Matrix.

I was a 1920s flapper girl at the company Halloween party.

What will you dress up as this year?

Needing ideas!

Lady P.