Remember my poor Sandro belt? Well I loved its style and versatility so much that I actually went to great lengths to fix it. My tailor said they don’t supply hardhare. So I sourced a buckle from a shop in Sham Shui Po (a manufacturing district in Hong Kong). Only 1 out of the 3 I got actually fit. I took it back to my tailor to have it fitted. She then directed me to a leather craftsman down the street, who forgot about my belt a week later when I went to pick it up. 1 MONTH later, I finally had a functioning belt again!
Except it doesn’t really function. Whoever designed the buckle did an exceedingly poor job. The belt loosens whenever I sit down, and the buckle unbuckles itself. I thought I could be careful and live with it. Then one day, as I was seeing a client out the door after a meeting, the belt fell to the floor….. I have not used that belt since.
Filed under: Fashion
One of the “prizes” I got from Paris over the summer was this wide belt from Sandro, a Parisian equivalent of Theory.
Since then, it was been staple in my wardrobe. The perfect item to accessorize my boring work dresses, without being too flashy.
So last night, when I sat down after dinner and it just SNAPPED. I was astounded and outraged! I’ve only worn it a handful of times. It’s almost NEW! 
I thought maybe it was the elastic. But upon closer examination, it was the METAL BUCKLE. How did that happen? I’m not a stick, but I’m not fat either. Nowhere near big enough to stretch metal to the point of rupture.
I can only attribute it to crappy quality. It seems to be a theme with Sandro. My first time at Sandro, I ended up with a cape that shedded everywhere. This time, I ended up with crappy metal, supposedly made in Italy. It’s really disappointing, since every time I go in there I want everything! And they are by no means cheap!!!!
Filed under: Fashion
That is, my contribution to helping retailers turning their accounts from red “into the black.” My wallet is definitely in the red.
Over lunch, I decided to go downstairs and check out the DVF private sale. Most items were 30% off plus another 10% for VIPs. Not bad for Hong Kong standards this time of the year (nothing compared to the crazy happenings in the US. You add an item to your basket, and the next moment it is sold out!). I tried on a few items, but nothing really stood out. This season quick frankly is kind of meh. In the end, I got a classic black marta pencil skirt, in this amazing stiff (yet flexible) fabric that doesn’t wrinkle. I’ve been looking for a pencil skirt for ages. I got one from Zara, but it doesn’t quite have the “feel good” fit that this one has, so I figured it was an investment.
While I was there, I spotted this Haruka jacket I’ve been stalking on Shopbop for ages, and decided to try it on. It looks pretty good! Perfect to go with both work dresses and pants (I’m getting a bit tired of my black blazers and gray cardian). So when I got back to my desk, I hit the button. Currently on 50% off, in addition to Shopbop’s buy $250 get $50 back promotion, I figured this was a deal. It’s like online shopping arbitrage! A very rare opportunity, since nice things online go very quickly. Things my size are almost never left till the 50% off mark.
After yoga-after-work, I had a hour to kill before dinner. So I decided to wander around and ended up in a jewelry shop I had visited ages ago, which had just moved to the area (Dearbell). I remember being really excited when I found the store, because some of the pieces there were edgy, versatile and most importantly affordable. I still frequently wear the necklace I bought there, because it is the most versatile accessory I have!
I went in there looking for something short and gold to match outfits with. When I found out that since the last time I’d been there, they’d marked the prices up 3 times, I was totally not going to buy anything. Not even when they said the materials they use are nicer now. But when we started chatting, and he started to twist and turn the necklace, showing me the many ways I can wear it to make it cooler, helping me make adhoc additions to it to make it more versatile and cute, and then offering me 30% off and saying that their prices will only go up from here as they start to “make it” and walk the higher end road…… I caved in. With the clarity of the hindsight, I have to admit, I am a sucker for the sales pitch (even though I’m a horrible sales myself). I paid double the price for the gold version of the first necklace I’d bought, which is very similar in style. From now on, I am NOT going to chat with the sales assistance anymore.
Ps. Happy thanksgiving everyone!
Filed under: Fashion
The idea started with Stella McCartney a few seasons ago, but was only recently cemented by the Duchess of Cambridge’s dark blue lace dress during her North America tour. She looked so feminine and elegant in it that my mind started shouting – I want a lacey black dress too!
The difficulty of course is to find the right dress in the right style and the right price. Lace dresses are just one of those items that toe the thin line between skanky and stylish. So when I came across this dress at the random boutique in Soho, I was ecstatic. It strikes the perfect balance between lacey and not too revealing.
It looks great on as well! I immediately bought it! The one thing is that the skirt part is a little snug and bunches up a bit, which makes me worry that it’ll border on skanky. My friend G suggested I go to a tailor and get it let out. I wonder if that will be worth it… or whether I should save my lace quota for a more Kate-like dress.
Last Wednesday, in an act of spontaneity, HG and I took ourselves to Times Square over lunch time for the Peddar Warehouse sale (equivalent for us to going from mid-town to Soho). It is the bi-annual sale for staff and friends of Lane Crawford to pick up goodies such as Louboutin pumps for more than 80% off the original price (also a chance for the Lane Crawford group to get rid of stock from the past many seasons). A little like our version of the Barneys Warehouse sale, if you will. About 40-45 minutes for transit (as fast as my pointy Cole Haan heels will take me – I seriously need to reconsider them, I am still feeling the pinching pain today!), we figured that we’d have a good 40-45 minutes of shopping before we had to rush back to the office.
This is not my first Peddar Warehouse sale. Back when I was interning at Chloe back in college, I went to something similar and remembered being relative impressed by the selection. I’d even picked up a pair of white Dior sneakers for HK$800 (roughly US$100). So I was quite excited to go to this one, as I imagined all the goodies I can get at a discount, especially now that I have a constant need for new work shoes. I felt adrenaline rush through as we approached the address, and we saw girls leaving with huge bagfuls of shoe boxes!
Turns out, a few years indeed makes quite a difference to things. To begin with, it used to be located in an office location and entrance was still relatively strict. I had to whip out my Chloe credentials. This time around, it is located in a secluded shopping area of the mall, and it is huge. Entrance was also quite easy, as we whipped out the forwarded email on our iphones and walked in. Turns out, there are lots of Lane Crawford staff and friends. I beelined my way to the size 6 shoe collection. I was disappointed to find that all the shoes my size were either kind of meh or way too tall to be practical. I picked up a pair of red Miu Miu peep toe flats with crystal embellishments for later consideration. As I enviously saw girls struggling with dozens of Louboutin shoe boxes pass by, I wondered how they managed to find anything. Am I looking at the wrong places? Determine, I then explored the other racks, in the hope that not all size 6 shoes are where they should be. I came out with the conclusion that I should’ve either come earlier, or have tiny or really big feet, because there really aren’t anything buy-able left in my size! The selection simple wasn’t that recent or decent. I think I spotted Miu Miu’s from pre-08!
I next moved onto the accessories section in the middle to try my luck. I found some knick knacks such as a crystal headband (which HG thinks looks exactly the same as all the ones I already have – which I disagree with. It’s a similar style, but it is totally different), a hot pink rectangular Louboutin clutch, a gold necklace and a studded belt. I wasn’t in love with any of them, but I wouldn’t mind having them either. They sold bags too. Again, the selection is not great. I saw a lady holding a huge YSL Easy bag covered with studds, in a murky army green/brown color, discounted to around $8000HKD (around $1000USD)… let’s just say, I can see why they couldn’t sell it off at full price.
The way the sale is structured, is that one pair of shoe is on displayed and then there’s a counter where you can go find the other shoe with the shoe box. After 5 minutes in line and it still didn’t move, I looked down at my pair of Miu Miu flats and then looked at the line in front of me, and the many bags of shoes still to be “found” (I am still baffled as to how people can have such big bags of shoes. They can’t all have had no work and really tiny/big feet!). I came to the executive decision that it is not worth it for a pair of flats that I don’t love but wouldn’t mind having.
So I took myself off to the check out line, to pay for the accessories. The line went around a few times and was almost out the door. We estimated that it will take half a hour at laest. HG and I took stock of my selections – and decided it wasn’t worth the time. They aren’t even that cheap! We hurried back to work empty handed, and was amused to find another girl hurrying in front of us in very much the same situation. So much for sample sales in Hong Kong. I wish I’d remembered to take pictures of my almost buys so I can show and write, but sample sale shopping is just plain exhausting.
Filed under: Fashion
This weekend as I was searching for the perfect eye cream (which is hydrating, has preventative qualities, but does not cause millia and is not exorbitantly expensive), I bought a pair of pumps instead. The Lane Crawford at Times Square (it is like the Barneys equivalent in the States) is just so strategically designed this way, with the make-up counter in the middle and the shoe collection surrounding it. As you walk to the next make-up counter, a pair of shoe catches your eye, and then the next pair of shoe draws you in and before you know it, you end up with these to-die-for shoes that you simply must have!
Do these pumps look familiar to anyone? Yes, they are very similar to the Pour la Victoire pair that I’d recently had to return because they were so treacherously high. Except these are not treacherously high, and I’d go so far as to say that they’re actually comfortable (though I have yet to take it out for a walk yet, due to the gloomy weather). The insoles even have a Nike air cushiony quality to it! I must admit, the heels are not quite as elegant as it could be, but at less than $1000HKD (~$130USD) I’m not going to demand perfection. I really must start paying attention to other shoes from Peddar Red!
My search for an eye cream continues……..
Every day I pass by the Moschino store when I go to work (along with many other stores, which makes for a very stimulating walk). Recently they changed their display to the FW12 collection. On passing it looks like just another suit set with a lumpy collar.
But then the lumpiness appeared to resemble arms/legs……I initially thought it was my sleepy eyes, but upon closer inspection, it appears to be a chain of Teddy bears!
If that isn’t one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen this season. Not that I have anything against stuff toys. I am a big kid at heart. But having a chain of them wrapped around my neck while wearing a business suit is just a little disturbing. I sincerely hope this is a marketing display gimmick to get me to take a second look!
Dear Gorgeous beige pumps,
The first time I saw you on the Shopbop website, I was tempted. You looked so gorgeous, classic and Louboutin like staring back at me. On sale, and at more than half the price of real Louboutins, I felt a jolt of excitement course through me, as I looked for the “Add to Cart” button. But alas, you were already sold out in my size, so I didn’t even have the chance to deliberate. That didn’t prevent me from stalking you from time to time though, just for a peek.
So the other day when I visited just to say hi, and realized that you were once again available, all thoughts of awkward sizing and other reservations went out the window and I immediately hit buy. Happy to get my hands on you.
When you arrived 2 days later (shopbop’s free international shipping is the best!), you did not disappoint. You delivered all your picture promised. Extending my legs to impossibly long lengths. Worries about awkward sizing (from the many contradicting reviews online) was disputed, you fit like a handmade glove. You were the party perfect pair of pumps!
The one shadow towering over all this love however was your height. It’s really not your fault. It said on the site that you were 5″ tall, I was given fair warning. But I figured that if I can do 4″, then what is another inch when you’re platformed? Alas, it turns out that in real life, one inch is all it takes to take you from the heights of fabulousness to the floor with a twisted ankle. I felt like I was treacherously teetering on the edge of a cliff as I tested you out around my apartment (everything does look different from new heights!). Thinking of the slopes of LangKwaiFong and Soho, and Grace, still gathering dust at the back of my wardrobe having been worn precisely once in more than a year, I decided to make the prudent decision to return you. I hope you understand. Please know that there will always be a special place in my heart for you.
xoxo
BG
Today I was having an email conversation with some old girlfriends from the States (and I say conversation due to the rapid speed of reply. Usually it is like emailing into a black hole with echoes once in a blue moon), when we came to the age old topic of what we would do if we had no concept of risk and were to start our own business. Thinking of a certain talented photographer mutual friend of ours who is now a sought after wedding photographer fully booked till 2013, I rationed that the first step was to have a talent, and commented that my friend could teach dancing since she’s so good at it. She replied that I could be a fashion consultant, because of my background in fashion blogging. And once again, I felt misunderstood and unworthy of such a comment.
While I may have been an excellent fashion blogger back in the days, the truth is I am not really a real fashionista. I just really like online window shopping (and real shopping when budget allows), making odd observations and offering sensible advice. Most of the time I dress and feel rather drab and boring. You wouldn’t be able to spot me on the streets of Central. It’s not that I don’t have any nice clothes. Just that somehow they just don’t go together very well. Even my mom thinks I don’t dress well and constantly nags me about it (most moms nag about you not eating healthy enough or not working hard enough, but mine nags about why I don’t look celeb fashionable and is my toughest fashion critic). So I end up just wearing the same combo that I know works over and over again. I really get my bang for the buck!
A real fashionista however knows how to mix and match her wardrobe to create refreshing looks everyday (ok maybe not everyday, but at least whenever the mood strikes), mixing colors, prints and layers together that somehow works as if it had been designed for each other. It’s takes talent! She can take a piece that you and I would find awful and dated and make it look retro and modern. It doesn’t even have to be designer. She can put pieces from the vintage store and H&M together, and still look like she’s walking out of a fashion magazine, looking effortlessly cool. Me on the other hand, can have an unlimited budget and walk into Barneys and still come out looking generic or trying too hard. Heads turn on the streets (i.e. my head), when they walk past, trying to get an extra look at their outfit, and people think ”Now that is one fashionable lady”.
I know I am not a teenager anymore and should not be so easily star struck anymore, but I couldn’t help but feel a little awe by the fact that I was in the same room as Miuccia Prada today. Granted it was a huge room and I barely saw her as someone in the background drone on and on about ebitda with an Italian blur. But still. She was there! The genius who brought back the house of Prada and created Miu Miu (one of the many loves of my life! I even felt a tiny hint of pride when I found out that Miu Miu was the fastest growing brand they had outstripping even Prada itself. I have good taste!)
You have to admit, Miuccia is pretty cool (Hey, at least I am not raving about Justin Beaver here!). I tried explaining how cool this was to the guys around me, but they did not appear to appreciate the situation much. Hello? It’s the female equivalent of seeing Rafael Nadal in real life!
Oh and I was super happy with the gift bag too. We were expecting either nothing or a small keychain, but instead we all got a Prada leather folder/sleeve! My colleague pointed out the fact that they are giving one to everyone must mean that their leather goods seriously don’t cost much to make in the first place. I don’t think I will dwell too much on that though. Personally I don’t even associate Prada with leather goods (mostly nylon goods).Besides, there must be a reason why leather good is their major return driver after all.
