I was wandering around Chinatown at the end of last year together with a friend of mine. There are a few small little stalls in the Chinatown Complex on Smith street, selling sarong kebaya. One was so crowded that it made browsing the shelves a little difficult (we are talking about something the size of a hawker stall here) but another a little further down with a smaller selection, was easier to see and access. To my great delight, they had a series of nice kebaya tops in dark pink rubbia cotton for very reasonable prices. Whilst I don't think that the quality of the embroidery work was as good as that on my existing kebaya, it was still pretty decent. So I ended up getting my outfit for Chinese New Year in this little Chinatown stall. What was a little sad was that the complex was quite quiet, with all the tourists milling around the streets just outside. 
One thing led to another. I obviously am no where near completion on my first beaded slipper and I didn't think my existing pair went that well with my new kebaya top. So I made my way to Katong Shopping Centre and there in another basement shop I found a pair of rather nice (and surprisingly comfortable) shoes and in another shop a few doors down picked up the kerosang. Again, I must admit that even my pathetic amateur work is probably going to result in much finer beadwork (smaller beads)than that on this pair of kasut manek but I figured no one is going to be looking at my feet that closely.So please note - there's no need to go all the way to Malacca to get one's nonya outfits - we have locally quite a few shops able to supply all our needs. And that easily, I was able to venture forth on the first day of CNY in full nonya regalia :-) And of course in the most auspicious of colours to boot.
