A large part of Bangkok is, to quote Beck, shopping malls coming out of the walls. And then there are the street stalls. And then there’s Nana Chen.

Lady Luck, happenstance, lot, pluck, providence–whatever you choose to call it, my first Friday night in Bangkok I got lost in a freight elevator with Nana Chen. Nana is a Saigon/Bangkok-based photographer with an exceptional eye for portraiture. She has a fashion blog called Asia Street Style (ASS). I blog for Frivolous Universe (FU). If that isn’t a match made in a stalled freight elevator, I don’t know what is.

On Sunday, to initiate me into the city of cheap thrills, Nana trotted out her collection of subtly-slutty faux-lace: tiny, tatted Matador jackets, Chantilly-esque trenchcoats, and ultra-feminine DayGlo ballerina-necked cotton tops. Turns out she had purchased them all for a pittance–150 Thai Baht or under $5 USD–at her local Silom street stall.

I love the detailing on this top–so much romance for under five dollars! And all I had to do was slip it over my James Perse tank top and my thrifted skirt by Maria Bianca Nero. Nana styled my lacy top for this photoshoot and posted three of these photos yesterday on Asia Street Style. These peekaboo cotton tops get snapped up fast in Bangkok–Pepto-Bismol pink was the only color left when we reached Nana’s favorite clothing stall. The fact that I was already wearing matching Cece ballet flats by J. Crew? Kismet.

This is my Idaho grandmother’s moonstone necklace. Every now and then it sheds a moonstone like a seven-year-old loses teeth. Despite their translucence, I always manage to find the lost moonstone. Perhaps if I sleep with one under my pillow, the Lime Fairy will come . . . .

My handbag is Dooney & Bourke, and it’s getting dirty. I could take it to one of Bangkok’s hi-so bag spas for a good shampoo, but I’d rather save my baht for cheap, glorious street clothes. By the way, the above photo is what you look like when, in the Bangkok heat, you reach full-wilt.

And this is what you look like when you recover! It’s hot here and life moves fast. Sometimes you just have to trust where you are and who you’re with.

To find the faux-lace clothing stall: Take BTS to Sala Deang. Exit 2. Walk along Silom until you reach the junction with Convent. Bring a little baht.