A quick post and I have to get some sleep. When I was going through my pictures from Hong Kong, these really stood out to me. The artists here really gave me a different perspective of hardwork and dedication. We saw them on the streets of Mong Kok. I miss Hong Kong already.
I tried to find a better picture from my Hong Kong pictures, but this will have to do. I took this after a shower so they curls are more damp and have a little less body than normal. I would take a new picture, but I have been caught with a bad cold and am not in a pretty shape for any pictures.
Dress: Cream three bow sweater dress (Jill Stuart, Harbor City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong)
Necklace: Vintage Clock Pendant Necklace (Birgitta, Seattle)
On another note: Birgitta (women's department of Blackbird, Ballard Seattle) is closing. It is sad for Seattle as I really enjoyed their taste and style! For the gentlemen out there, Blackbird is still around. You guys are so lucky!
I couldn't make last weekend's closing sale, but they have extended the sale for another weekend!
Everything 40-80% off
Buy 2 Apparel Pieces and get the 3rd FREE
Bring friends and receive 10% off
Friday, December 18th, 9am-8pm
Saturday, December 19th, 9am-9pm
Sunday, December 20th, 9am-7pm
In Hong Kong, your shoes get wrecked much quicker and easier. The pair of double-layer Converse from last trip was great, except for undoing and re-lacing the high tops during security check at the airport. So this time around, I thought ahead...
I took two pairs of shoes - Bensimon's Canvas Lacets & Ladyboy's Low Jazz Canvas Shoes. Both shoes are canvas flats but wore very differently...
The Ladyboys caught my eye its perfection saturation of redness - not too over-powerful but not too washed out. The foam foot beds are cushy but the edges around the top of the shoes need some breaking in. Not something you could wear right away for a long walk in Hong Kong on your first day.
The Bensimons were extremely flexible and comfortable. Not to mention they are much nicer than my converse, and the fact that they are French just did it for me. You could wear it anytime and your feet would be thankful for it.
Shoes can be found at Birgitta, Seattle.
Traveling to my friend Julie's wedding in Spokane proved to be a long car ride, and the two monkeys were behaving pretty good (relatively speaking). Much to my dismay, the vintage/thrift stores I did my online research on turned out not so great. But there was a great little French café called Café Marron that I truly enjoyed, and even though the car ride was long and tedious, the view was tremendous. The beautiful scenery has to be one of the most loved aspect of Washington for me.
I think I forget how slow traveling with children gets. My overly ambitious plan of hitting all the boutiques and researched spots quickly vanished. I did get the chance to go to Frances May, Narcisse, English Department, and Odessa (when the kids were napping, the husband kindly let me go for a walk around town with my good friends Michelle and Eric!)
I met with adorable Ashley from Frances May, (store, blog) one of my favourite spots in Portland. (Ashley lost her lovely discontinuted Mayle sweater on the streets of Portland, so if anyone sees it, please kindly return it to Frances May!) Although I was really wishing for a Church & State item, picked up a floral shirtdress by Canadian designer Lily & Jae. I do love those Canadians and Oregonians.
(above: The Church & State items that I tried on, they were both lovely!)
(below: Lily & Jae SS09. The floral shirtdress was the dress I chose. Even though it is long sleeve and I probably won't wear it until it gets colder, I still love it.)
Next time, I shall go to Farm Cafe for some local and organic food during dinner time instead of lunch (when they are closed). I also plan to go visit Pittock Mansion one day.
I did visit Cacao for some drinking chocolate. I fancy myself as someone who can eat/drink some pretty dark chocolate, so when they asked me if I wanted a shot or a regular size cup, I secretly scoffed to myself and thought, "A shot? You can't even properly enjoy it because one sip and you're done!" I happily ordered the rivoli dark drinking chocolate and it wasn't the dark rich taste that got me, but the thickness that coated my throat then the entire inside of my body. It was still delicious and wonderfully dark, but I think I would have liked a size in between a shot and a regular size cup. Dark chocolate is great through, the darker the better.
(other food goodies from my trip: a rivoli dark drinking chocolate from Cacao, a mocha from Stumptown Coffee (so good, better than Starbucks!), and chocolate & tiramisu gelato from Mio Gelato. Can you tell I love chocolate:?)
My other favourite spot was Powell Books, I could spend hours and days buried in the books. Aisles & floors of new and used books, oh how I love the smell. Michelle got me a lovely book for my birthday - "Fashion - A History from the 18th to the 20th Century" from The Kyoto Costume Institute. I also desperately searched for Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven books and found two. I shall one day rebuild my childhood library. Sometimes I'm sad that my parents gave away my books, but this journey of finding my old books has been a fun one and definitely brings back memories.
Tomorrow I will post the outfit I wore during Portland! You get a gold star if you finished reading all my travel ramblings!
Hong Kong fabric shopping was intense. I thought the trip to New York's Mood Fabric was huge, (the multiple floors and rolls of fabrics was very "Project Runway"), but Hong Kong definitely puts it into perspective. Endless streets of fabrics and trims, it is enough for a designer to salivate.
Advice for shopping in Sham Shiu Po's Fabric District? Good shoes, big bag, get a trust-worthy and knowledgable local to go with you. Many thanks to my uncle and his employee (hi ah-King!), I had a blast running around all the streets for two days. I was raised in Hong Kong, but since I have lived overseas for a significant period of time, my Chinese can give me away as a foreigner, and be labeled as "Gwai Miu". What's wrong with being labeled? Prices (most are not labeled) will be suddenly doubled or tripled out of the vendor's mouth. Tricky, eh?
I did warn you that I was pretty distracted that I did not take as many pictures, but here we go anyway. I think my favourite street was the street with all the trims, I could stay there forever. But for inspiration's sake, I will post some other Sham Shiu Po pictures that others took that gives you a bigger picture.
Two things I had with me always in Hong Kong this trip - my Hayden Harnett's Toulouse Weekender (in Petit Points Amber print), and my Converse double-layer (grey/black) high-tops . The Converse high-tops (thank you Alice!) might seem to contrast with my usual style, but I am not going through another wrecking-of-black-leather-flats-debacle like I did in last Christmas. Hong Kong walking can cause a lot of stress on your shoes. I probably should have taken these pictures before I used them and added so much "character" (dirt and distress) to them.
The Hayden Harnett bag I love dearly. It is sturdy, with a soft and spring-like print to it. It's part of the Paule Marrot Voyage collection. Paule Marrot is a great print designer, and my bag has both the Paule Marrot and Hayden Harnett loveliness to it.
I had my laptop and magazines in the trusty bag during my flight, and took it around Hong Kong when I did fabric shopping. I probably stuck out like a sore thumb, since my oversize bag basically screamed "TOURIST", but that is still better than carrying ten plastic bags of fabric!
There is not enough time for me to write a satisfactory post on Hong Kong. While it is not the city of my birth, it is certainly my heritage. I spent my childhood and preteen years in the beautiful urban metropolis. Back then it was still a British colony, but its British-Chinese influence continues to this day. You might have picked up my "col-our" and "fav-our-ite" spelling. I do it without thinking, and I am not trying to pass off as a British-wannabe.
Recently, I stumbled upon a "Hong Kong Art Walk" site and made me miss my first home. Even more than the city and the shopping (i know), I miss my family. Hi Mom, Dad, Goh Goh & family!
This is hardly a fashion post, although Hong Kong has a lot to offer in this very subject. Since I'm so swamped with deadlines and homework, I'll save it for another day.
I'll share a picture of the crowded Mong Kok area and the Hong Kong Art Walk picture that started my reminiscing.
Listening: Faye Wong's Summer of Love
