Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp are down, so I thought this was a good time to catch up on my blog.
I have actually already talked about this on Instagram previously, but in case you’re not following me on there, here’s what happened.
A few weeks ago, my friend Jemma and I moved out of the 3-bedroom flat we had occupied for 3 years and into a 2-bedroom one in the same neighbourhood, because we really love the Marine Parade area.
About two weeks after that, I did a load of laundry, and put them outside our flat in the hallway for them to try overnight.
A lot of our neighbours hang their laundry in the hallway as well, so I thought this was perfectly fine. We also did this in our former flat and nothing ever got lost because this is Singapore, right?
The next morning, when I left to go to work, I noticed that my tee had fallen to the ground. So I went to pick it up and that’s when I realized that most of my laundry was missing. Only three items were left: the black tee I had picked up, black skinny jeans, and a grey scarf. Everything else was gone.
At first I thought maybe the wind had blown them away. But I looked over the railings and they hadn’t been caught up in the tarp that the shophouses on the ground floor put up. And besides, all my neighbours’ laundry were intact. If the wind had gotten mine then it would have gotten theirs too.
I then thought that maybe Jemma had brought in my laundry. So I went inside the flat to check, but they weren’t there. Besides, that didn’t make sense. She would only do that if she also needed to put up her own laundry.
And when I texted her to say that my clothes were missing and she was shocked, that’s when I realized that the worst had happened. Someone had actually stolen my clothes from off the laundry line!
I was upset and posted this on Instagram stories.
Most people, including my teammates, were shocked to find out about this happening in Singapore, of all places.
But a friend of Jemma’s said that this had happened to her before, in Pasir Ris, and that someone else had even lost some expensive bras.
Jemma discovered that you could lodge a police report online, so I did that, and in the process, I had to try and remember which of my clothes had been stolen. Luckily, I take a lot of pictures, so I was able to use them as a guide. I figured that I had lost 7 dresses and 1 blouse. 6 of them are below.
As you can see, they were all good quality clothes. I had just moved so right before that I had gone through the Marie Kondo process of going through all my outfits and getting rid of what I didn’t want. So these all sparked joy. Some of them were even my favourites.
After this incident, I pulled in our shoe rack into the flat as well, because I am not about to lose my shoes to the same thief!
The next day, I got a call from a police officer handling my case. He asked if I could drop by the police station so he could take my statement. Ironically, said station is so near our flat, so I thought that would make it safe from crime. Apparently not.
The officer handwrote my statement into a form. He asked if I had any disputes with anyone or if I had any suspects, and I said no to both. At one point, as he copied my itemized descriptions of the clothes, he asked, “What is peplum?” looking perplexed. I laughed and explained that it was like the blouse that I happened to be wearing. Well at least he learned something new from me! After that, he asked me to sign the form and said they would look into it.
A few days after that I got a formal letter from them about it. Even though I don’t think they will catch the thief, because the CCTVs are only on the ground floor, and if he/she is a neighbour, she wouldn’t have been captured. But I still appreciate that they treated this case seriously.
It’s no use crying over spilled milk, as they say, so I just tried to look on the bright side. Maybe this was a sign that I needed to replace these dresses because some of them are actually too big for me now after I lost 11 kilos (24 lbs) – I will post about how I did this separately.
I then used this as an excuse to go shopping for new outfits. I ordered some from Lazada and Asos and then headed down to my favourite plus size boutique in Singapore – The Curve Cult, in Far East Plaza.
The weekend after the theft, I had been invited by the owners Rani and Ratna to participate in a focus group discussion for their shop, so they could understand what their target market is looking for in terms of plus size fashion.
They gave each participant an $80 gift voucher for their time, so this came just in time so I could replace some of the three The Curve Cult items that I had lost.
I got the same peplum wrap top that I lost but in the colour red and a new dress – a black scuba dress with mesh sleeves which Rani thought looked nicer on me than another dress that I tried.
Then when I went to pay it, she said she was also giving me – for free – a replacement of the same black dress which I had lost. I was so touched that I almost cried. She really didn’t need to do that! This just shows how much they care for their customers and they have just gained a customer for life!
So if you’re a size UK 14 to UK 24 and having a hard time looking for pretty plus size clothes in Singapore, I highly recommend going to The Curve Cult in Far East Plaza. They have the most flattering plus size dresses in Singapore, I can confirm! Just look at their Facebook or Instagram account @thecurvecult (once they’re up) and you’ll see what I mean!
my newly bought yet to wear adidas sports bra got stolen too… did u make a police report?
Yes I did, but unfortunately they don’t have any leads. The CCTVs are only on the ground floor, so perhaps the thief is a neighbour.