Singapore Cheongsams :: {Matching} Cheongsam for Mums & Little Girls

It's been a really hectic time what with Mum in surgery and Lil Pumpkin having a suspected case of HFMD {doc can't confirm either because it's just a few tongue ulcers}. Been in and out of the hospital all week and thank goodness, my mother-in-law is feeling better from her own surgery last week to help take care of Lil Pumpkin since she can't attend school at the moment, and I can't bring her to the hospital with me.

Just want to write and think about happier stuff so sharing some of the modern cheongsams we got recently. I believe cheongsams should be worn all year round, and Chinese New Year {CNY} is really a fantastic time to stock up on cheongsams for the rest of the year! So many beautiful designs released, and even shops that don't usually sell cheongsams have a special collection or two for the festive period.

For example, one of our fave shops for matching mother-child clothes, Glitter Glam, launched modern cheongsams with detachable collars! Very versatile and certainly appealing to those ladies that prefer not to wear cheongsams outside of the CNY period.

I like the cheerful floral prints that just screams "Spring" and "Chinese New Year" to me hahaha. Lil Pumpkin and I will be wearing this on our CNY Day 1 as we'll be doing most visiting that day, and I want something light and comfortable since we'll be running around so much.

The short collars {3cm} are attached by hidden buttons and even when the collars are removed it does not look unfinished... it's just a beautiful by itself as a simple shift dress.

I've not seen any modern cheongsams with detachable collars before so if you're interested, you can get these from their online website, Harbourfront Centre boutique {1 Maritime Square #02-11} or shop counters at Isetan stores.

As I mentioned before, dressing matchy-matchy doesn't mean you always have to wear exactly the same things {see my tips on how to work the matching mini-me trend}. Just having similar details, such as colours or accents, will work as well.

I liked my Lark & Peony Princess Pingyang cheongsams so much that I bought another one in my fave colour - RED. How to not wear something ang ang during CNY??! hahaha

So bold and vibrant, it's really comfortable and fits my body like a glove. The Princess in Crimson comes with an obi belt with shippo {七宝} accents. Shippo is a traditional Japanese print where a series of geometric design combining four ellipses in a circle such that the lines inside make more circles. Somehow people thought the inside of the circles look shiny and they called this pattern shippo, which literally means "seven jewels".

It's not typically so colourful, but the designer of this printed fabric incorporated colours into the parts where the circles overlap giving it a playful feel. Shippo is a lucky pattern in Japan, and red is a lucky colour for Chinese, so I should be doubly lucky wearing this piece???! :)

If you like it too, you can get it from their online store or make an appointment to visit their atelier. I thought it matched Lil Pumpkin's Pretty Porcelain Tutu dress because well, both have reds in them, and there's a shippo-ish pattern in her cheongsam. :P Planning on us wearing this set on CNY Day 2 since we usually have a big buffet that day, and the obi belt will hide my bulging tummy well haha.

Her cheongsam comes in blue as well! Fits girls aged 2-7 years old. We got them from Dreams Avenue, a local kids online boutique, and I'll share more on some of our other clothes from the store later. 

Her dress marries traditional and modern in the most enchanting way: the stunning bodice has cute Chinese cheongsam details including a mandarin collar and Chinese knot buttons set, contrasted with a simple white tutu skirt that keeps all our little princesses happy. There's also a hidden zip at the back for quick dressing up!

I don't usually buy free size clothes, especially for cheongsams, BUT this was too cute to resist! Wasn't that expensive either, so just decided to go ahead with it, especially since I didn't have any in this sweet shade of pastel lavender. 

The Alice Cakes Macaron Cheongsam has adorable prints of maracons and other tea-time delights on the dress collar and skirt rims. There's no inner lining, but the material is soft, stretchy and thick so no need for that anyway. One thing I'm groaning about though is that it crinkles easily and needs to be ironed properly before wear. I prefer fuss-free materials {like that used in the Princess cheongsams} that need little or no ironing :P 

The front Chinese knot buttons can open up for you to put your head through easily, but it doesn't open up fully as the side zip is on the opposite side from where the front flap joins the side.

This cheongsam's free size fits UK 6 - 10. I'm a UK 8 {or 10, depending on cut} and it's an ok fit for me, except for the bust area which is a bit tight. From Little Bow Co, a local baby wear online boutique, it also came in other pastel colours but now there's only light blue, navy blue and red left.

Ok, that wraps up our recent cheongsam haul! :) Hopefully Lil Pumpkin's love for cheongsams will start from young too :P I think for any of the online shops I've listed here, if you order by this weekend, you should be able to get your piece by Chinese New Year since they are all based in Singapore #sgpride #golocal

Also check out these shops that sell traditional and modern cheongsams all year round. I updated the list yesterday.

P.S. It's been a crazy week, but I'm having some crazy good giveaways on the blog that are ending soon too. Have a look to win a Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 10" Android, a KidsFest 2015 Hamper or pair of Havaianas Disney Frozen FlipFlops!

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