Here is an interesting shopping concept. Set up shop, but opening hours are when customers call ahead to book an appointment to browse or buy. Oh, of course, and make sure you steer clear of over-crowded shopping malls by parking your shop in a quaint, off-beat location away from Orchard Road, and preferably in a retro-styled black-and-white bungalow house to impart some of that boho chic vibe.

Finally, make sure you devote a large section of your shop to a large, roomy dressing room for customers to dress up and have fun while they try on your clothes. Never mind that this means you have much less space to display your wares.

So far, it seems to have worked for 31-year-old designer Alexia Ho. It is a bold move for someone who has been selling her creations online for the past 5 years.

Alexia's love affair with fashion began some 10 years back. After graduating from Nanyang Technological University with an accounting degree (to placate the folks, she says), she went about the business of her real passion – for design and clothes. She left to pursue a fashion diploma from the Parsons School of Design in New York and remained in the US to do internships at various fashion houses, including a stint at Vera Wang’s bridal boutique.

It was the aftermath of 9-11 that brought Alexia back to Singapore in 2001.

She recalled: "My folks freaked out. Dad called to tell me to withdraw all my cash, buy canned food and water, rent a car and then drive to Canada!"

Returning to Singapore at the end of 2001, she thought of sinking her roots here as a fashion designer here. She said: "I came back to do some soul-searching, but the fashion industry here had hardly taken off."

But she was determined to follow her passion. Having fallen in love with the buzz and energy of New York City living while studying for her fashion diploma there, she channeled that vibrancy into her designs.

She began her fashion business with an online boutique store, selling the clothes that she had designed.

Alexia said: "Online shopping was then a big thing in the US". Not to mention being cost-effective for a young, struggling designer.

But since business has picked up for her, she decided that having a showroom where customers can browse and even consult with the designer before making their purchases would be a fine idea.

These days, she goes on buying trips to New York one to two times a year, coming back with fabrics that look like they came off the runways of fashion designers such as Marc Jacobs or Anna Sui. Alexia reveals that the fabric sellers know what she looks for when she drops by.

Alexia: Fashion should be wearable and practical, not exaggerated.

And instead of two major collection launches for Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter, Alexia wants to put out a small collection of new designs every month, "so customers have something new to look forward to each time they come back to visit." The new mum-to-be is kept busy both on the personal and business fronts - her designs are still flying off the shelves over the Christmas and New Year period even as she awaits the birth of her baby later this week.

A visit to her shop in Kuo Chuan Avenue reveal clothes that are feminine yet functional, with emphasis on details in the most unlikely places – a fitted corporate skirt with a row of frills running down its side, or a pair of shorts with a pretty bow at the back. Dresses come with hidden pockets to keep a mobile phone or loose change, which is a thoughtful touch on the designer's part.

On her philosophy about fashion, Alexia says: "Fashion should be wearable and practical, not exaggerated."

To browse through Alexia's Christmas collection, log onto www.tskye.com. Her shop is closed for appointments until after 31 January, 2008.