Uniqlo, a puffy bag and batik: The 6+1 items defining Singapore style at SG61

SINGAPORE – The most obvious tells are heard, not seen.

When holidaying abroad, a stray “lah”, an idiomatic “can” and even the machine whirr of JisuLife fan blades slicing air instantly alert one to the proximity of Singaporeans.

With a mix of pleasure and annoyance, as if tugged by some magnetic current, one turns to look.

Behold. If they are a family, nine times out of 10, the mother has a Longchamp bag, the father is in a polo shirt – Uniqlo or Ralph Lauren – and the teenage son has a broccoli perm. It is not the Singaporean look, but it is certainly a Singaporean look.

In this pluralistic city-state, it is far easier to recognise a compatriot by his or her accent than features, but dressing can give the game away where physiognomy fails. In fact, people’s accoutrements hint at a national sensibility.

To mark the Republic’s 61st National Day, The Straits Times rounds up six plus one, or seven, items that define contemporary Singaporean style.

This list is non-exhaustive.

1. Airism tee

Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo launched its trademark cooling fabric Airism as a line of innerwear in 2012 and, to the relief of Singaporean men, expanded the range to T-shirts and polos soon after.

The cloth’s ultra-fine fibres are about one-tenth the thickness of human hair and, for some hot-blooded men, make up what feels like nine-tenths of their wardrobes.

The Airism Crew Neck T-Shirt is a daily go-to for many in muggy Singapore, worn at home and out. It is usually paired with bermuda shorts and slippers, and for the office or dates, with long pants. Many have the same shirt in different colours. Its thin fibres help disperse moisture quickly, enabling the fabric to dry faster than the usual cotton so sweat does not cling to it.

The range’s ubiquity here has been memed for years, with Airism mocked as a “starter pack” item for the average Singaporean male.

Uniqlo has doubled down on the jokes, dubbing the breathable top the “SG uniform” in a 2024 campaign that launched three Singapore-exclusive colours for its oversized Airism Cotton Crew Neck. It is a term of endearment, says marketing director Paulene Ong.

With 29 stores across the island, Singapore has the highest density of Uniqlo stores per capita outside Japan, surpassing other markets such as Hong Kong and Taiwan. There is around one Uniqlo store for every 210,000 people in Singapore, compared with one for every 158,000 people in Japan, and every 214,000 people in Hong Kong.

According to Ong, the most popular Airism items among Singaporeans are the oversized cotton crew neck T-shirt, polo shirt, bra camisole and bra sleeveless top.

The brand’s ingratiation into local closets is a source of pride. Says Ong: “For nearly two decades, Uniqlo has been part of Singaporeans’ everyday lives and we are incredibly grateful that Singaporeans view our Airism range as a trusted source for all-day comfort.”

For men, it is a matter of some sheepishness.

A 31-year-old legal counsel bought his first two Airism shirts after years of eyeing the practical fabric askance. “I only recently hopped onto the bandwagon because it used to be too thin. Now, they have made it thicker and more stylish, a bit like the Korean oversized tees,” says the lawyer, who asked to be named Sam Goh for fear of being associated with the too-common line.

The recent spell of hot weather had pushed him to reassess his biases. “It cools down a lot quicker when you wear it outside. It does not trap heat and makes a lot of difference on a warm day,” he adds.

Love it or hate it, unless the world goes topsy-turvy and temperatures start falling, it is safe to say Airism is now part of the national fabric.

2. A nylon handbag (probably puffy)

The powerpuff girls: a cartoon trio of lab-grown girls with superpowers – or a plausible nickname for Singaporean women much attached to their puffy handbags.

These nylon purses shot to popularity around 2023 and can now be spotted on the arm of many a young girl or middle-aged woman, with a claw clip on the handle.

Like the Airism, they strike a balance between function and aesthetics. The waterproof material is practical while its puffed-up body is cute in a can-I-punch-it way.

The style is now commonly produced by local and international brands but in earlier days of scarcity sparked queueing frenzies. Local first-mover, lifestyle brand The Paper Bunny’s September 2023 launch of a puffy handbag drew an in-person line of more than 500 people at its Ngee Ann City store and an online queue of 1,200.

It was all very of the times. Around the world, pillowy, puffy or quilted bags captured consumers in 2023.

Swedish brand COS’ quilted shoulder bag flew off shelves after singer Jennie from K-pop girl group Blackpink posted it online and San Francisco-based Baggu saw a revival of interest in its range of nylon shoulder bags and puffy tote bags.

But appetite in Singapore was particularly strong. Speaking to ST in 2024, founders of local accessories brand Good Totes said its puffy products were significantly more popular in Singapore and Asia than in the United States, where about 40 per cent of its customer base resided.

By that year, the style had inspired a trending audio on TikTok, narrating “how to dress like a Singaporean girl”. The crowning piece was “the puffer bag – bonus if it’s from (Singapore brands) The Paper Bunny, Beyond The Vines or Good Totes”.

Its affordable price point explains some of its appeal. Most puffer bags, big or small, retail below $100 and Singaporeans are awesome deal hunters.

Co-founder of The Paper Bunny Jaime Lee said much the same to ST in 2024, adding that for the price of one designer bag, one could buy five of the brand’s convertible Puffer Swings (then $59). She said people like the bag because it is lightweight, easy to maintain and can be carried every day – “less precious than a luxury bag”.

Puffy popularity has grown beyond a fad. Though the craze has died down, the bags are still a common sight, and top local brands like The Paper Bunny and Beyond the Vines continue to stock variants.

But success can grow cloying. Four years after the launch of its first puffy product, The Paper Bunny is at pains to emphasise its other wares, which range from flat bags to stationery to camping chairs.

Lee tells ST in 2026: “The Paper Bunny has never been about one series or one material. We design thoughtful objects for the rhythms of intentional everyday living, and the Puffer series is one form among many we offer.”

3. Batik

Somewhere between the mid- to late-20s, local men fall in with batik, acquiring shirts printed with the traditional technique of wax resist dyeing when on trips to Malaysia and Indonesia.

It is a permanent love affair that persists into old age. These collared and patterned shirts quickly become a go-to for smart-casual events, lending the wearer a different, more culturally laden kind of gravitas.

Desleen Yeo, founder of local batik brand YeoMama Batik, has observed that men’s interest in batik tends to jump in that post-boyhood bracket. She says: “That could partly be because they’re attending more work functions, weddings and formal occasions where batik offers an alternative to a suit.”

At the same time, batik is also styled casually as a summer shirt so it does not necessarily signal pure maturity or heritage, she adds. “Wearing batik carries what many affectionately call a modern ‘bapak’ aesthetic. We even have customers who wear our batik shirts to work every week; they’ve become their unofficial uniform.”

The textile – native to the Nusantara – is also part of the diplomatic toolkit.

Local politicians frequently dress in colourful batik at high-level regional meetings, projecting solidarity and cultural connection with Singapore’s neighbours. Nusantara is an old Javanese term used to refer to both the Indonesian archipelago and the wider Malay archipelago.

Azhar Ibrahim, senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Malay Studies, says a statesman’s batik serves four purposes.

First, batik, made of cooling natural cotton, is a practical choice in challenging tropical weather. Second, its multicultural dimension means an ethnic Chinese politician can comfortably wear a print with Sinic elements like the phoenix, or a mega mendung cloud motif, while symbolically declaring a Nusantara affiliation.

Third, it has the heft of precedent. Generations of earlier leadership have worn it; thus others imitate the style. Lastly, it is a historical garment, tied to the region’s craft and culture.

Says Azhar: “For our politicians, wearing batik is part of soft diplomatic gestures, like wearing Malaysian batik while in Malaysia, as President Tharman Shanmugaratnam did during a recent visit to Malaysia – and wearing Indonesian batik that has strong Javanese design imprints while in Indonesia.

“Wearing batik gives a sense of an affiliation to South-east Asian multiculturalism.”

For Singaporean Chinese batik lovers like Yeo of YeoMama Batik, the local claim to the regional textile was once cause for unease.

She says: “As a Singapore brand, we struggled with our identity in the beginning. Batik is not originally from Singapore – it is most commonly associated with Indonesia and Malaysia – yet many Singaporeans instinctively think of batik when they want to wear something that represents Singapore.

“It almost felt like an identity crisis. ‘How could batik be seen as part of Singapore’s identity when it wasn’t created here?’”

But over time, those misgivings have been resolved. Adds Yeo: “We realised it is actually very Singaporean. So much of what defines Singapore today came through decades of trade, migration and cultural exchange. Rather than trying to claim ownership of batik, we have embraced the idea that Singapore can wear batik in its own way.”

Though the formal batik button-down is an adult male preference, the medium is not short of contemporary silhouettes and reinterpretations that have made casual batik popular with men and women of all races and professions.

4. Hermes slides (or something like it)

People can be squeamish about toes, but rarely are in Singapore. In this equatorial clime, the ventilation of the feet is a human right and one can be quite sangfroid about open-toed shoes, even in the office.

Women have the advantage here. The most popular style by far is a slide with a very flat sole and geometric “H” strap that looks a bit like a puzzle piece.

French luxury brand Hermes is the originator of this ubiquitous item, the default for youngish working women in their mid-20s to late-30s. Hermes’ Oran Sandal retails for $1,200 in a rainbow wheel of colours, but knock-offs abound, so look closely before suspecting your colleagues of hidden riches.

The original is made of box calfskin, a full-grain leather made from the hide of a young calf. Its low heel is only 1cm high.

Like so many items on this list, the joint forces of hot weather and a taste for the mildly pretty seem to drive this style’s popularity. That, and its fuss-free quality, seemingly made to be kicked off at one’s desk.

5. Ratty school T-shirt

Schools are the unsung suppliers of the nation’s pyjamas. After the standard 12 to 13 years of standard education, one accumulates a dragon’s hoard of Dri-Fit school T-shirts – pockmarked fabrics symbolising the landmark events of youth.

There will be the one neon shirt for Sports Day 2010; one for that treasured Outward Bound Singapore camp in 2013; the random varsity-style shirt commemorating your Secondary 4 class – exactly the same as your Secondary 3 one, except in that less mature year, the collective preferred a faddish meme design that quickly became passe – and so on.

Probably, you have a favourite, one inspired design that turned out to be the maiden work of a budding graphic designer. These pre-university kits are worn to sleep well into adulthood, paired with Dri-Fit shorts, until they literally fall apart from age.

University shirts are the ones you will catch on the street, usually worn casually by men until somewhere near age 30, when the old force of habit of reaching for their school-going uniform finally peters out – or when the kits reach the end of their wearable lifespans.

Dri-Fit or cotton, these are paired with hoodies, sweatpants and slippers. It is probably reflex mixed with pride of belonging to a recognised institution that inspires this frequent guise.

6. ADLV shirt

This big and always black T-shirt is usually emblazoned with a white toddler holding one or two heavily sprinkled doughnuts. It is an old favourite of one of Singapore’s richest subcultures – ah bengs, their younger variant the “young punks” or YPs, and “xiao mei meis”.

The back is instantly identifiable by the sans serif typography that reads “acme de la vie”, French for the peak of life, though the brand is South Korean.

In the pandemic years, the tees were a style epidemic, inspiring memes and a local Instagram page that collected pictures of people wearing ADLV in public from 2020 to 2022.

Often, the shirts were a group uniform, with entire friend groups repping the brand while out and about.

The initial success of the baby-with-doughnut motif later gave way to a wave of teddy bear designs.

Women often wore the shirts so large, the tops covered their shorts. They often paired them with small crossbody purses, though around 2022, when Bangkok brand Gentlewoman tote bags took off, some began pairing the cream canvas bags with their shirts. Overwhelmingly, ADLV shirts were worn with slippers.

The brand is past its local heyday now, though occasional sightings can still be had in heartland malls.

No one brand has taken its place, but another South Korean streetwear brand, thisisneverthat, is a rising contender.

7. Bonus: The JB haircut

Singapore’s independence was precipitated by separation from Malaysia in 1965, but when it comes to weekend plans, locals still cannot seem to get enough of the neighbouring state, especially when a value-for-money haircut across the border is on the table.

Enduring the traffic jam on the Causeway for a perm, colouring job or snip at around half to one-third the price of a local session is a Singaporean rite of passage.

Online, blogs curate lists of the best Johor Bahru hair salons for fresh dos, and word-of-mouth recommendations keep Singaporean customers heading north.

These jaunts are a safe bet, though the occasional mishap can occur. In October 2025, a Singaporean man was splattered with red paint after masked men paint-bombed a hair salon at Paradigm Mall JB, according to a Mothership report.