Korean Accessories

I love Korean accessories, especially the necklaces and brooches. They are pretty, delicate and feminine. Somehow the Koreans managed to capture the Chanel look with a Korean/Asian twist, making the accessories a chic and inexpensive addition to your wardrobe!

Here are some of my purchases.

1)Seven-strand Pearl Necklace with Flower


Bought this with a black coloured flower at Far East Plaza. Original price about S$62.

After much contemplation, I bought it with the black flower because it looked less common (there were also pink and beige flowers sold online as well as in other shops in Far East Plaza).
This is how the necklace looks when worn on the model.

It would be nice if paired with a lacey outfit, but the pink or beige flowers will look lost. And the outfit should be in predominantly cream/beige and pink colours... otherwise the flower doesn't really complement the outfit. Blue sweater with such a necklace won't be as nice.

I think the black flower makes the necklace more classic and also suitable for work. Pink and beige flowers on a 7 strand pearl necklace looks more casual for some reason. And not to mention very COMMON because lots of the shops have it! Pink looks similar to beige, hence making such necklaces DOUBLY COMMON! I just hate it when the shops bring in multiples of each item. Then everyone starts wearing the same thing... Unfortunately, I had already bought the black flower necklace before I discovered that other shops were also big on this trend.

This is how the necklace would look if paired with the correct outfit and accessories. Pity though about the black bag that the model is carrying. It doesn't go with the rest of her flowery pinky beigey outfit.

I'm glad I bought the black flower necklace, because I found a light pink camelia brooch made of stiff lace! I can attach it onto my existing 7-strand necklace and make it look original, refreshing and pretty.



2)Multi-layer Seed Pearl Necklace with Corsage Flower

I just knew I had to order this beauty when I saw it on the Korean online store "Cherry Spoon".

The adjustable necklace has 6 strands of different sized seed 'pearls', with a nice layering effect. There is a detachable corsage flower too, should be able to multi-task as a brooch.

Or it can be taken off the necklace if the effect is too flowery. Even without the corsage, the necklace on its own is very sweet.

My purchase consists of the necklace, corsage flower and a ribbon tied bracelet made of the same seed pearls! Nice!

I like the floaty ethereal effect of the necklace. It looks like it would belong on a stage play such as A Midsummer Night's Dream... worn on the fairies that live in the moonlit forest!

The model here is wearing the bracelet.

Pic below is from a customer of Cherry Spoon. The necklace looks even prettier on the pink background. The customers can take pics and upload on the website. That way, other customers can see how the clothes/accessories will look on real people.

If you look carefully, the bracelet is shown in the middle. The multiple strands of pearls are tied together with a thin ribbon.

3)Pearl Necklace with Black Ribbon

This is a 3 strand pearl necklace with a removable black ribbon brooch. The pearls differ in size - the longest strand is made of larger pearls, and the mid-length and shortest length of the necklace are made of smaller sized pearls.

Hope it will turn out to be nice. The pics on the Babirolen website where I purchased it, were taken with a bright flash, and so the pearl necklace looked overly yellow. Crossing my fingers... just ordered it so it will likely take about 1 month or more to reach me (since Chinese New Year is round the corner, likely to have some delays).

On the model here, the necklace looks stylish. The grosgrain ribbon is not the usual simple ribbon but a double bow one. The black contrasts well with the creaminess of the pearls. Hope that the necklace will look just as good in real life!

And that the ribbon brooch will be versatile enough to be paired with other accessories or clothing. Since it is black in colour, it should be easy to match.

4)Black Ribbon & Flat Camelia Brooch

Okay, finally here's a non-necklace item. I also ordered this from the Babirolen website. Such nice accessories!

I've seen a similar brooch at Clifford Centre at Raffles Place. Unfortunately, that shop that sold the brooch did not bring in a good quality piece. Bad materials and bad workmanship. So I doubt that shop's brooch was actually from Korea. Can't fool me!

The brooch I ordered from the Korean website is made with a thicker grosgrain ribbon. The ribbed effect is more special and elegant, setting it apart from brooches with cheaply made plain satin ribbons.

Also, the gauzey material is thicker than the fake Korean brooch I saw in Clifford centre. At first glance, both the Babirolen and Clifford centre brooches look the same. But on closer examination, what a world of difference!

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of the brooch. It is part of the same order as the Pearl Necklace with Black Ribbon. But that's what I love about online shopping. It is a thrill when you purchase, and another happy thrill when the parcel arrives and you open up the eagerly anticipated items. It's a bit like shopping twice! Double the fun... :)

The brooch on the model is used as a accesory to spice up her beret. It looks cute when perched on a beret or hat.

So French style!

5)Black Leather Belt with Pearls & Bow
I bought this exact same belt in Far East Plaza! I grabbed it because it is rare to find an all leather belt with such a sweet design. Even the bow is made of leather. Most Korean belts are made of plastic and elastic band. The contrasting tiny 'pearls' form the centre of the bow.

Although it's slightly cheaper online, I'm glad I bought it first, because it was sold out when I finally discovered the website!

Chaber since 1984

This is a brand that I like (I have 5 items which I bought from Takashimaya). Unfortunately, the recent designs are nothing fantastic, not wearable and not so nice. Let's hope they will have good designs that will bring the standard back to what it was, especially in the 2007 period.


The Chaber clothing line was founded in 1984. There are 2 names for this clothing design and manufacturing company, depending on which country it is made in. There is Taiwan Chaber International Co., Ltd and Shanghai Chaber Garment Co., Ltd. But if I'm not wrong, this brand originated in Taiwan.

It's not a cheap brand, when I was in Shanghai in 2006, I discovered the fashion line in a few department stores there. I did not want to pay >S$100+++ for a small item, so I didn't buy it when I was in Shanghai. About a year later, Chaber was introduced to Singapore in Takashimaya. The prices were in line with Shanghai prices... But I could not resist. The detailing, embroidery (mostly hand-embroidered) and flower designs are really pretty and unique!


I like the jeans!

The flowers are so pretty and colour combination is great.

Unfortunately I have not seen these jeans in Singapore. Otherwise would have grabbed them. However, I have tried their smallest sizes for jeans, and they are too big for me.




It's the flower embroidery that makes the denim stand out.



Most of the fashion items seem to be denim - jackets, skirts and jeans. There are few nice embroidered blouses or tops.

I like the white lace and pearl necklace outfit (scroll down)... The lace and stiff tulle peticoat is a bit gothic lolita, but the lace pattern is more modern. Need to layer a lot of pearl necklaces to achieve the semi-victorian yet modern bridal look!

Again, it is unfortunate that most of the nice designs do not make it to the shores of Singapore.

Korean Fashion Items That Got Away

So sad that I did not manage to buy these items from online. They are mostly sold out and I could not find them in Singapore shops. Either that or I did not want to take the risk to purchase from online, in case the fabric is not good.

These were from the 2008/2009 range and from http://www.myfiona.co.kr/

And this fabulous blouse was from the Envylook website.
I love the brooch that comes with it! The beige coloured blouse is the best in terms of colour combination and the jewel brooch is nicely done.



Look at the black & white street sign. The words in French. And the lamp post. Such a fancy and elegant setting for a chic outfit! I really like the street setting where the photos were taken. I would have loved to get my hands on the beige blouse even more! When I spotted the item (in 3 colours) on the Korean website, the beige one was already out of stock.

My choices were only Black (Small) and Purple/Lilac (Medium). I ordered Black as first choice because I wanted a smaller size, although the colour combi wasn't so nice. The black is too stark in colour, and the jewels on the brooch are just dull dull black.

In the end when my item arrived, it was the Purple/Lilac colour. Thankfully the size wasn't too big, even comparable to another blouse that was in size S! The Purple/Lilac blouse is the next best thing to the cream colour, because the purple jewels on the brooch are different complementary tones.


See what I mean? The jewel combi is really nice, with darker rose pink jewels on the lighter pink chiffon. And there is a white pearl chain as well. The overall effect is truly stunning. In the background, you can see the black brooch with the black bead chain. It looks boring and does not stand out.

To further illustrate, here is the black and beige versions of the blouse. Black is a bit severe... (Could not find a good pic to show of the purple/lilac blouse).

My Korean Fashion Purchases

A list of Korean Fashion in my Wardrobe

Bought these at Far East Plaza - The Dress Shop & Belle De Lis
1)Cream lace long sleeve top
2)Pink & Grey blouse with ribbon brooch
3)White top with white rosettes
4)White top with pink rosettes and tulle
5)Grey top with black ribbon
6)Rookie peach and black dress
7)Yellow pastel blue 'Chanel'-ish jacket

8)White and floral panel dress
9)Black top with ribbon tie sleeves (the model is wearing a pink version)
10)Navy lace and pleating 'Chanel'-ish skirt
11)Cream lace blouse with sash
12)Black & grey 'Chanel' tweed cropped jacket with 3/4 sleeves