For a break from a 38th parallel Northern hemisphere December, Singapore is a great destination. Well, once I got there anyway. For you intrepid executives out there, I did DCA-JFK-HND-SIN, 23 hours out and SIN-NRT-JFK-DCA, 31 hours(extended layover at Narita) on the return flight. Got rained on a bit while there as well, but the weather was mostly great compared to what I left in DC.

I chose the Grand Hyatt on Scotts Road because I wanted to be near the main shopping district on Orchard Road. After an afternoon and night of sleep to recalibrate, the next day I got out and walked around Orchard Road. The street was bustling and everyone was out, all social and economic strata. I popped in a few of the malls on the street, and saw all of the usual suspects…venerable global brands that you would find in NYC or London. I know that I overlooked them or didn’t know where to look, but I didn’t see much in the way of mens boutiques that was unique or remarkable. (I later had drinks with my B-school buddy Laurent, a fellow BDMOTP who now lives there, and he mentioned a couple nice boutiques but I didn’t get to check them out this trip…next time)

Although not in the Orchard Road district, I heard about a custom shoe boutique, ed et al, and wanted to make certain that I visited before leaving Singapore. I took a 15 minute taxi ride out and found it on the side of what seems to be a small apparel mart called The Mill.

I took a look around the shop then spent a little time with the owner of the boutique, Edwin Neo. He gave me the basics on the different product lines and the particulars of their custom made(from S$800) and bespoke(from S$1500 + one time S$1000 last) shoe processes.

Bespoke is a pretty straightforward process, but you need to be in the city for a few days to come back for multiple fitting. This was a problem for me, as I was flying the next day with no plans to return.

Not to worry, there are many wonderful off the rack shoes to choose from for a realtime purchase. To make sure I saw as much of the line as possible, everything is not on display in the boutique, a salesperson brought me a catalog and offered a drink. Several styles caught my eye as I sipped a bottle of water, but a taupe lace up boot really stood out. I tried them, they looked great, are well made, and are a reasonable price(S$350.) so I bought them.

While at The Mill, I stumbled upon a custom tailor, Kevin Seah Bespoke, in the building and popped in to take a look at their offerings. They did very nice work, had some nice linen pieces on display, but a bit pricey for a whim purchase. However, it is certainly a place I’ll plan a proper visit to on my next trip to Singapore and will also check out on Facebook.

Finally, after grabbing a bite (in some mall, I don’t recall the name), I came across a wonderful Asian textile company by the name of Sahib. They had some of the nicest shirts I have seen in the most beautiful fabrics. I was rushing so I did’t buy anything, but will certainly plan a visit again. These shirts could be the focal point of any ensemble. They also had a host of other interesting items, including storage trunks, and some womenswear as well.

Plan to visit these boutiques when in Singapore. It is worth your time.