For the longest time, I hardly shopped online. Online shops rose to fame and fell to defeat without me even noticing. I may be an avid shopper, but I'd always thought I should make do with whatever there is on the streets of Singapore.

We've all heard Singaporeans complain about the shopping scene here. It's always too boring, too imported, too uneventful and just too little compared to other Asian cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong.

I visit Asian cities frequently in the course of my freelance writing work, and have come to realise that these complaints have a lot of truth in them. I think our shops are boring because we do not embrace fashion sub-cultures enough. When it comes to fashion, we are not punk, edgy, hippy, or gothic, nor are we accustomed to a more alternative fashion sense.

If you take time to understand the shopping scenes of Tokyo and Hong Kong, you'll find that it isn't the chain fashion labels they have that triumph over us. What Singapore lacks are independent and edgy fashion labels that seem to thrive in those cities.

However, things are changing. A fashion sub-culture is slowly emerging here with the rising popularity of blogshops. Blogshops are online sites set up in user-friendly platforms such as Blogger, Livejournal and Wordpress.

You may not find the indie, highly exclusive goods from the hallowed neighbourhoods of Harajuku in blogshops, but to me, this subculture is definitely one to watch out for. The blogshop culture may just be the way for Singapore to play catch up. Often times, these online retail space features the newest and latest pieces sourced from the region. Their up-to-date designs and affordable prices make them very appealing to students and working ladies.

In my opinion, a subculture of this sort should be nurtured. The biggest draw of blogshops set up by locals is the ease of buying something from these sites. Shoppers don't even have to transact through Paypal, which is a system many may still be unfamiliar with. You can simply pay for your items through POSB transfer, which we use on a daily basis.

Sure, blogshops have their drawback too, especially around the quality of the items. Some of purchases may look better on screen. Common complaints include photos which may have been tampered with and the issue of trusting an unknown source.

But this is not always the case. A handful of reliable sites exist; they are known to be honest and update their stocks frequently. Some of these merchants personally import items from trendy neighbourhoods like Shenzhen, Seoul, Hong Kong and Bangkok. In a way, these operators are like any boutique in Far East Plaza, except that they do not have a physical shop, and the money saved on rental is passed on to shoppers.

An interesting shop which caught my attention recently was a cleverly themed, newly opened store in Far East Plaza: Best of Blogshops. This store carries merchandise from 10 local online blogshops.

At Best of Blogshops, you'll find items from popular online blogshops such as Runway Bandits and Dressabelle.

Each of the label sold at Best of Blogshops has its own style: Runway Bandits appeals to ladies with an individual sense of style and want something edgy and chic, while Dressabelle appeals to ladies who want flirty pieces for work and play.

Both the blogshop owners and the team behind Best of Blogshops benefit from this concept; the online merchants get their items carried in Far East Plaza, an area with their intended audience, while the store gets fresh items stocked from overseas, without having to spend on travels.

And the greatest benefit goes to the shoppers - who get to try on the latest items before they buy them. So, if you've always wanted to explore online shopping, Best of Blogshops is a good start - you get a sense of what you can find on online shops and the quality of the items they sell.

For me, I wouldn't buy my entire wardrobe from Best of Blogshops, but I'd definitely visit the shop every time I'm in Far East Plaza to check out what's 'in' in Singapore and around our trendy neighbours.

Best of Blogshops
Unit #04-52(A) Far East Plaza, 14 Scotts Road
Tel: 6836 9648.

xoxo
Stephie


Stephie & Dottie
Stephie & Dottie are the girls behind Fashion Nation, a high profile blog featuring their adventures in the realm of fashion and retail in Singapore. Catch a glimpse of their worlds on inSing.com every Wednesday, starting 5 August 2009.