WHAT: Little Man

WHERE: 7C Binjai Park

WHEN: Tuesdays to Sundays, 11.30am - 9.30pm

HISTORY: The founders of Little Man, Alicia Ong, main designer behind Al&Alicia, and Ian Yeo, founder of architecture and interior design firm Jian Associates, were renting office spaces above Little Man (formerly a pet store) before they opened the retail space about nine months ago.

WEBSITE: www.shoplittleman.com

In a sleepy corner of Bukit Timah, boutique store Little Man stands tall, offering an enjoyable, quiet shopping experience.

The usual hustle and bustle of shopping in the city is not for this secret shopper.

Rushing to grab that last dress on the rack or queuing for 15 minutes just to find out a dress doesn't fit only makes me a grumpy shopping companion who is more desperate to go home than find fashion.

But at Little Man, big smiles ensued as I thoroughly enjoyed a more personal shopping experience.

And the bonus? Great pizza from Peperoni Pizzeria next door.

Signature style

Despite the name, Little Man is not a shop that sells kids' clothes. This chic boutique has plenty of men's and women's wear.

Although it does have a rack full of children's clothes so cute, it made me consider adopting.

I slowly combed through the rack of women's clothes that featured local labels like Al & Alicia as well as US label Obey Clothing.

If you think your wardrobe (or wallet) can't afford one more dress or shirt, this sleek and stylish store might interest you with some of their more frivolous items for sale on the wooden table at the door.

On sale were leather-bound travel notebooks but what piqued my interest were the travel-related stickers featuring old-school prints of planes and maps. It brought me back to my primary school days when I "needed" stickers on textbooks as motivation to finish my homework.

Who knows if these stickers could motivate me to jot down every detail of my travels - something I constantly fail to do.

Other items that would please shoppers who lead a very hip, Instagram-worthy lifestyle would be the unique furniture - a lot of it from Danish brand Hay.

My favourite was a small but sturdy chair made out of recycled plastic bottles.

Price point

I have to admit that while I loved browsing at the store, the prices were a little out of my range.

A simple white maxi dress would set me back a heartbreaking $412. While the material did seem more luxurious than what I'm used to, I felt that the design and cut of the dress wasn't special enough to warrant such a price tag.

As I looked at the more casual clothes in the hope they would be more affordable, I was again disappointed.

A simple, printed sheer tank top from Obey Clothing was priced close to $70.

But if you really want to leave the store with some form of souvenir of your trip, try out the Popaganda popsicles, all-natural frozen sorbets that cost $4. Perfect for the walk to the nearest bus stop, I say.

Store layout

Little Man features certain design elements that reflect the store's height-challenged name.

The door handle was placed very low - even for a person as short as myself - and there were certain items that would catch your eye only if you looked low enough.

For example, some quirky printed bow ties were placed on shelves so low I almost missed them.

There are also some extremely small chairs by Hay that are meant for adults, but I think the slightly- above-average sized person would have trouble with them.

This also caused me a bit of trouble when I almost tripped over a small table because I didn't see it.

However, something I did appreciate at Little Man was the presence of a sales rack. I'm not used to seeing sales racks at boutique stores so I did a mental fist pump when the friendly saleswoman pointed me towards it.

Service

The saleswoman excitedly sprang to her feet the moment I opened the door. This was about noon and I felt I was probably the first customer of the day.

She was very friendly, encouraging me to try on the dresses - even when I told her that I couldn't afford them.

She then offered me a nugget of information that made my heart skip a beat.

"There is a sale at the store on Friday."

For the time that I was at the store, I was the lone shopper. Yet it was comforting that she wasn't looming and watching my every move, which I sometimes experience at similar boutiques.

Verdict

Given its location at Bukit Timah, it seems like Little Man caters to the wealthier residents of the area.

So if you are on a tight budget, don't expect to leave the store laden with purchases.

But it's certainly worth a look. Especially if you happen to behaving dinner or drinks nearby.

Get The New Paper for more stories.