dysemevas

Shopping in the kong...

OK so when Huang asked me to share a couple of HK shopping tips, it seemed like the ultimate no-brainer. I love clothes. I’ve worked in retail. I genuinely enjoy fashion. I live here. Who better to ask? And so I’ve compiled a few of what are in my opinion “must-visits.” This is by no means a comprehensive shopping list of HK. But these stores are some of my favourite shopping destinations here in the Kong and so hopefully you will enjoy them too…

Where should we start? Well obviously at the beginning. And it all started at the Landmark… No—seriously, for clothes I always start at the landmark. The Landmark is literally Hong Kong’s flagship shopping destination, given the number of flagship stores that it houses, right? Of course.
I pretty much live at Harvey Nichols. You know, I think multi-brand retail is one of the coolest but most difficult things to do. When I go to a store, I look for a perspective. You want to be able to walk in and feel the vibe, if you know what I mean. And when you have tens of thousands of square feet, its even more difficult because you have lots of little perspectives (or departments) within a larger framework…
I love Harvey Nicks because in many ways it epitomizes my way of life. Obviously its not literally exactly me, but in theory gets quite close. The store is about great fashion and not about brands. It’s luxurious and loves quality. It’s a comfortable and intimate store—one where you can literally sit down and read a book without feeling out of place. And it has a sense of humour—it’s a serious place but come on, any store that houses a restaurant that serves fried peanut-butter and banana sandwiches obviously has gotten over itself, at least a little bit.
So start with a visit to HN, give Jenny, my personal shopper, a call, and take a look around. They wont tell me what’s coming in next season but this season I’ve been obsessed with the Jitrois leather pants that I picked up. Radcliffe skinny jeans rock but I’m still hoping to see hyper-baggies or flares next season. Goyard totes of course. But most to die for? Basso and Brooke print ANYTHING and Giles Deacon dresses… But anyways. Come see for yourselves.

OK. Moving on. One of my friends has as his skype mood message “Rock is dead, go paper and scissors!!!” Maybe. But I think the exhibitionist in me—and my love of The Clash—keeps rock n roll alive in my book irregardless of trends and so the next place I would send any friend of mine is to Rock Candy.
Rock Candy is the brain-child of hong kong’s very own scenesters. Walking in—if you can actually find the door, which I never can—you basically enter a nightclub. Not surprising as the brand was created by the same people who brought us Volar, and soon, Halo. But really, the store is so dark that if it wasn’t filled with diamonds, you wouldn’t be able to see anything.
Rock Candy’s jewelry lies in a space that is sort of only known to those who frequent it. Diamond dog tags? I mean its post-bling, maybe? Ok so I can’t describe it but imagine crossing ESF, missy elliott, and maybe like the killers and creating lots of diamond objects. Its fun. And for celebrity junkies they are the people responsible for Justin Lo’s diamond earring and a new collaboration with Vanness.
But these boys are rock stars, club owners, hipsters, dj’s, creative wonders and a whole lot more by day. Rock Candy rocks cause of their ability to bring it all together and let you literally take home a small piece of the action.

I don’t think any trip to Hong Kong would be complete without a stop off a GOD (Goods of Desire). Yes, I realize that they mainly sell houseware and that their clothes and accessories are sort of obvious but I think that they rock.
GOD is Hong Kong. They’ve basically been able to grab hold of pieces of Hong Kong culture and turn them into accessible and fun things. It’s for people who are beyond trying, happy-go-lucky, and proud of Hong Kong’s local culture (yes—we actually do have some, but that is another conversation altogether). I love their tongue-in-cheek takes on the little things in our lives…

And now, back to “fashion.” Hong Kong has lots of “designers.” Some are good and some are not so good. But one “boy” has been around for a long time and has really made his mark—Barney Cheng.
Trained as an architect, Barney somehow found his way to his calling in the nineties. Having dressed basically every major actress / superstar in Hong Kong since his first days out, he is the pinnacle of Hong Kong couture. We have a love-hate relationship cause I usually call him at three pm to get a dress for 7pm, but if you are in Hong Kong and want a serious dress, he’s your man. (actually the SS07 J Mendel is fantastic but that’s another story right…).
One of the problems with Barney’s dresses is that sometimes they wear you, instead of you wearing them. I mean—if you don’t have any personality, beware, cause he definetly does. But in my book, if you just want to look “pretty” its not hard. Go to Barney if you want to look definitive. And, if you’re lucky, he’ll let you buy some of his custom jewelry as well. Seriously though—I’ve been waiting on my piece for like two years. Maybe you’ll have more luck.

I think that in the last year or two, somehow, little Hollywood starlets have become theoretical fashion icons and LA style has crept its way onto the scene. Again, LA is another conversation entirely, but for a taste of Cali, drop in through TRACE.
Trace, by Tracy, channels LA gear (no pun intended) to Hong Kong. Tracy lives between LA and Hong Kong actually, and her store carries designers like Michelle Mason, Siwy, Johnson Shorts, lots of T-shirts (I personally like plain ones) and easy cotton jersey dresses.
I love Trace cause I love Tracy. She was “not” my college roommate. We were supposed to live together, but we never did. She was the one who brushed her hair and wore real clothes to school (I used to go to school in my pajama’s). Scary but one of the things that drew me to Tracy was her Prada bowling bag—she used this as a bookbag? OK, enough reminiscing.
Trace stocks trendy and fun clothes that are easy to wear and hard to find. Swing through to get a taste of Roberston Blvd.

Alright so now for my little indulgences. I know this is supposed to be about fashion but fashion extends beyond just clothes and so here is my laundry list of other places where you can buy things.
I love music and so I have to put in a couple of record stores. White Noise Records is my new favourite place—they have the best indie selection in Hong Kong. Vinnie, Hong Kong’s premiere chic dj (although he is actually crazy cool in real life), has a record store on Star Street that is attached to the Illy Café. To turn your home into the hippest lounge or club in town, go to Vinnie. And don’t hate on superstars—visit HMV for hyper produced but fun / good pop hits.
For just sheer random objects—Kapok. Kapok is this tiny gallery / store that sells random things. Some are local underground bits and pieces, some are artsy whatevers… its hard to put a finger on. Buts its random, and fun if you have time.
And finally, drop through Page One. I love books and Page One has the best selection in Hong Kong. Nobody should go through life without reading. Books rock. Blogs and periodicals are cool, but there’s nothing like going back to basics.

I wish I had more to say on things like “street” wear or whatever you want to call it. Unfortunately I don’t. But I hear that there’s a lot of stuff going on between thinksilly, clot, greedy, and all of those people. I will get back to you if I find out more…

OK I m now out of words and battery. Enjoy shopping.

123 means i love you

Hot or Not?

My llist of ten things that are “hot’

1) Having values. This is something that is surprisingly unnecessary (take a look around). Please note that what you want to “value” is up to you—we’re all past the idea that there is only one way to live and so being moralistic, self-righteous, judgmental and all of these things are just not cool, especially if you’re also going to be hypocritical. But, all things considered, don’t you think it’s beyond time to know what you stand for? Being able to actually live up to all of that gets you even more points.
2) Things that work. Did anyone else notice that nothing works anymore? I don’t think I need to explain this one. That something works is the most important thing EVER. And since nothing works, working makes you cool.
3) Prints and patterns. I am just obsessed with prints and patterns. They rock. Colours are alright too. But I’ve started to move past that…
4) Science. By science I am referring to (systematically) studying and learning more about the world and how it works. Technology and the application of science to things are interesting / useful and fun but knowing more about the world is much cooler. By association, history and philosophy are awesome too but I think the humanities are just a little bit less fashionable right now…
5) ADD, ADHD, and OCD. I’m not a psychiatrist or a psychologist. And I do not mean to belittle these disorders. But to “have” ADD or ADHD is cool cause people who “have” them are people who are generally interested in lots of things and always running around getting bored and then getting interested etc etc. OCD is cool cause obsession and compulsion drives people to get into things. Getting really into anything is cool. If you’re lucky, one of these things will turn into a longer passion. But even if not, the feeling of having gotten into it in the first place rocks and getting into lots of things rocks as well. Life gets so monotonous without these traits…
6) Beautiful things. You can choose to see beauty in whatever you want to see it in, but beautiful things are awesome cause they touch the soul. And depth is where it’s all at. Really. Or else really ugly things have the same effect as beautiful things, but they’re just sort of depressing to have around.
7) Toys. Toys are cool cause you play with them. Toys have no value other than to amuse you. That’s awesome.
8) Mash ups. They say that the DJ is the artist of the post-modern world. Maybe. But what is definite is that putting different things together is cool if you do it in the right way. And so while things like Soulwax or “The Grey Album” were very early millennium, the theory behind them is still so forward cause of the crazy things that come out of random juxtapositions and contradictions. Overthrowing previous things is so tired—now its all about bringing things together in new ways and creating new stuff while recognizing the old stuff and the new stuff if that makes any sense at all. And the randomness of it all makes me smile. But at the same time, loving the original rocks too. Go both ways.
9) Having a balcony or a roof attached to your house or apartment. I don’t have one and maybe in Hong Kong you don’t really want to breathe the air anyways, but having a private enclosed outdoor space is pretty cool.
10) Sugar. I don’t know if this is particularly fashionable but sugar literally makes me high and I love it.

My list of ten things that are over.

1) “Sharon Stone Syndrome.” People who age ungracefully are not only not cool but stupid as they draw attention to their age through their insistence on being superficially young. Young at heart but old in age exists—look at Karl Lagerfeld. But Sharon Stone Syndrome is the worst.
2) The “concept” anything. Particularly the concept store. Seriously—what does this actually even mean? And it is so tired. Oh and actually also the boutique hotel. Get over yourselves. Or get a “life-style” of your own.
3) Things that call themselves modern Chinese design but which actually are hyper literal translations or mutations of the original. Work a little harder and actually make something Chinese inspired or modern Chinese but I think we are all over the repackaging of old Chinese things and having them sold to us as the next or only real modern Chinese whatever.
4) Dot-com colours. If I never see lime green, orange, sky blue, and yellow ever again I really wont be sorry. And along with this actually goes the whole “friendly” or “cool” company thing? Please—you want me money. I see through you. So make me something that works (see the cool list) and I will give you my money—no false niceties required.
5) MBA’s. Is it just me or does every other person now have a MBA? I don’t have anything against studying business, but take a look around and think about all the people whom you know who have MBA’s. I’m not going to go too far with this one because I’m not going to have any friends left if I say too much but MBA’s were cool in the 70’s, maybe in the 80’s, and just so democratized in the 90’s that please—enough already.
6) Anything pink, girly, cute, or girl themed. Beyond the fact that these past few and coming seasons actually have seen a resurgence on the runways of 80’s, rock, punk, goth and for lack of a better way of saying it “intellectual” fashion, the whole girl thing is dead if you are over the age of 12.
7) Sudoku. How sudoku took over the world is something that baffles me completely but I think that its moment has definitely passed. If you are obsessed with Sudoku then the obsession part might still get you cool points, but just playing sudoku—whether it be to “train your prefrontal cortex” or to pass the time—is just not cool.
8) The discussion on the coolness of ipods, blackberry’s, internet things and other similar effects. These things are not cool, nor are they actually not-cool—they are a part of life. Being a part of life, they are a given. Think of all of these things as different types of cooking utensils. We use them. A new one is fun for a while, but whatever, a newer one will be out next week. Whichever one works, well—you get the idea.
9) CSI. I loved CSI (Vegas) up to season three. Now the format is just tired. Actually all TV shows that are too one-sided are pretty much doomed and boring. Explosions and bigger bangs don’t make a show better. I’ve moved on.
10) Specific things that are “in” or “out.” Trends and “it” things or people or objects are no longer in cause the whole concept of in or out doesn’t really make sense given the speed at which things happen and since the whole concept of a tastemaker is sort of religious. “In” or “out” is beyond out.