PONZ Goo is a woman who wears many hats, literally. The chief operating officer of Haach, a spa and bodycare chain, has a weakness for hats and has more than 30 of them to cover her long, silky hair.

Being in the business of looking good, the slim 35-year-old is big on designer brands like Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

Goo, who is single, travels almost monthly for work or leisure, and she's the first to admit that shopping is top on her list of things to do.

Where and when did you have your best shopping trip?

It would be the trip I took with my sister, Yean, in 2000. It was one of our few shopping trips together and we visited New York, Milan, Paris and London for more than two weeks, solely to shop.

My favourite store in New York was Victoria's Secret. I spent a couple of thousands of dollars there. In fact, I bought so many things that I had to ship them back as we needed to proceed to our next destination city.

The Soho area in New York is a great place to shop because there's a Bloomingdale's department store. I also like Saks in Fifth Avenue, Macy's in West 34th Street and the main Bloomingdale's store in 59th Street.

In Milan, I went to the Chanel, Prada and Gucci boutiques and got myself shoes, bags and accessories. It's cheaper to buy Prada goods there - the prices are about 20 per cent lower than in Singapore.

Via Montenapoleone, the most important street in Milan's fashion world, where Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and many other boutiques sit, is a good place for shopaholics to visit.

I also bought clothes from the Louis Vuitton boutique in Paris and bags from Chanel in London.

In Europe, tourists get treated quite well. You hardly experience any form of discrimination. The staff are very professional and will give you advice.

Where in the world do you think offers the best buys, in terms of variety, pricing and quality?

Melbourne, Australia. I studied there for three years and I make it a point to go back every year.

Chapel Street, Collins Street, Little Collins Street and Toorak Road are great places to shop because there are many boutiques of Australian designers like Scanlan and Theodore. You can't find their designs in Singapore.

Australian designers are very ahead in their designs. Shops see new stock almost every week, so you never get tired of shopping there.

There is great variety in both casual and evening wear, and the designs appeal to me. The clothes come in so many sizes that even I have no problems finding clothes in my size and the clothes I buy seldom need altering.

The staff are patient and you don't feel obliged to buy something just because you've tried on several outfits, unlike in Singapore.

What's the most expensive thing you have ever bought while shopping overseas?

A Louis Vuitton coat and a pair of boots in Hong Kong two years ago. Actually, I saw the coat in Singapore but the LV shop didn't have it in my size. It offered to bring one in from the Hong Kong boutique for me, but since I was going there, I decided to pick one up myself.

The checked greenish-brown woollen coat cost S$5,000 and the stiletto-heeled boots, with signature LV checks cost S$2,000. I've worn the boots only once, in Australia. I did pack them along on other overseas trips but I never wore them.

What's the hardest thing to buy?

Clothes for my family members. No matter how well you know them, understand their style and know what fits them, buying clothes for other people is always a lottery.

What's the one item you always look out for when shopping overseas?

Dresses that can double up for both work and evening events. I love to dress both feminine and business-like at the same time.

I like hats and boots, and have more than 30 of each. My hats include a cowboy hat from Gucci and French berets from Gucci and Chanel. The Chanel beret looks best on me and I got it from Melbourne. But my favourite is a Louis Vuitton baseball cap which I bought from the boutique here.