I could well be among a handful of people who have never purchased anything from Uniqlo prior to today. Sure, I have been to their first outlet at Fahrenheit 88 countless times but primarily because I use their store escalator to ascend to the mall but nothing caught my interest. I was immune to the whole Uniqlo hype or so I thought but today I happened to step into their latest outlet at Mid Valley and I am a convert thanks to Orla Kiely,

Since I knew Uniqlo opened at Mid Valley yesterday, I avoided going anywhere near there. I know what the Uniqlo craze is like. Every time one outlet opens, there are crowds. I wasn’t at Mid Valley today specifically to visit the outlet. I was there to pick up and drop off something and since there was no queue, I could walk right in without waiting.

Nothing catches my attention faster than prints on clothes which is why Liberty is one of my favourite retail shops and I adore Emilio Pucci’s beautiful geometric designs. I spotted a shirt on one of the mannequins and went hunting for it. It turned out to be a design by Orla Kiely, “an Irish, London based designer whose creative world was founded in 1995 to express visually her love of pattern, colour and texture,” according to the tag attached to her clothes and scarves.

There’s an extensive range of short-sleeved shirts designed by Orla Kiely, all of which retail at the promotional price of RM39.90 (normal price RM59.90). The shirts are made of 100% cotton and feel really comfortable to wear. I was spoilt for choice and it took me some time to narrow down my choices. I wanted them all. I know there is a huge chance of me bumping into someone wearing the same design because as I was choosing, I saw others walking around with the same designs I chose.

I was equally obsessed with the Orla Kiely stoles, less chance of meeting someone wearing the same stole since I was the only one who paid any notice to the stoles. This is Malaysia after all and you don’t see that many people walking around with stoles. Compared to the scarves/stoles in Warehouse which retail at RM133/RM143, these are a bargain at RM39.90!

Now that I have actually bought something from Uniqlo, I can’t turn back. What can I say? Prints are my Achilles Heel and I succumbed like the majority of people who have walked into Uniqlo. Having seen what Uniqlo has to offer, I’ll be back for sure and won’t be leaving empty-handed, I fear.