The first thing most of us notice when we walk into a store is usually the shiny new merchandise on display. Not Casling Tan. She greets the sales team with a warm smile and a genuine embrace, and calls them her friends. “I love it here,” says the bank compliance officer as she eases onto a plush chair in the Christian Dior VIP room at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. “My daughter Amelie and I try on the new looks and I chat with Vivien, the boutique manager over tea.” Her mission today? A final fitting for a Dior event in Seoul in two days. When asked how she balances being a jetsetting fashionista, full-time career woman and doting mum, she credits her bulletproof wardrobe. “My husband is constantly amazed by how quickly I get dressed in the morning—10 seconds! My weekday uniform consists of Chanel silk tops, Dior skirts, my go-to Hermès Birkin bag and ballerina flats which I swap out for Louboutin heels if I’m meeting my girlfriends.” It helps that she’s not so easily swayed by trends as she is inspired by the message behind the couture. Of her favourite purchases, a Diane von Furstenberg gown takes the cake. She often quotes from the designer’s book, The Woman I Wanted to Be. “Diane’s mother taught her three important things: Independence. Freedom. Self-reliance. Those values represent the woman I am and the woman I want Amelie to be.”