fancy dress hong kong style...the places you need to know

I take my fancy dress pretty seriously, I've won awards and been on the front cover of the SCMP (see below) and the Metro (UK) in my creations! Once you've been here a while you build up a kind of second wardrobe full of delightful numbers, albeit slightly bedraggled. Saturday is one of the largest fancy dress events of the year so I thought I would let you into a few of my costume creation secrets.

First tip is Artland - love this place, it is great for finding paints, body paint (you can also get some body paint colours in Hobby Horse in Central) spray glue, glitter, feathers and pipe cleaners (remember them - awesome) plus much more. Find Artland here. 

Second tip Debby - I've been using her for years, she's got a bit popular now, we told too many people and the Wall Street Journal found out and featured her, so she's a bit pricier than she used to be, but she is brilliant. Take along a pic of what you want, get measured, and she will have it made for you somewhere in deepest darkest China. If you have a tricky costume it is best to give her a few weeks notice, if it looks awful pop down the road to my trusted tailor Lydia for adjustments. Debby can be found in the fancy dress shop next to The Chippy on Pottinger Street, Tel: 9622 8343.

So there you go, zero excuse now for not dressing up and looking fabulous! Enjoy x

Gaga's at the Sevens last year - minus coke cans in hair as they got confiscated (it took hours to glue them to the wigs!)

I love Marge, she deserves another outing I reckon

one for the boys

I've been meaning to post on this shop for ages, I had a great chat with one of the owners ages ago when I popped in, loved their collections, design of the shop, and general style. Great t-shirts, shorts, belts, shirts and all reasonably priced, although definitely for the more stylish men you know, not the boring ones. They do bespoke tailoring too. I do think its important when we make such an effort to look so damn hot, that our men folk follow suit (pardon the pun). I know that most of my ex-boyfriends have come out of our relationship looking 1 billion times better having had me (how do we put this?) re-dress/re-direct their fashion sense! You can do it subtly girls, Christmas presents, the odd wardrobe clear out (when they are at the pub - blame it on the cleaner) or you can just send them to Moustache. They're rumoured to be doing girls stuff soon too. Find them on 31 Aberdeen Street.

create your own clive

Anyone who does not find Clive Owen ludicrously attractive is, quite frankly, clinically deranged. I named my first car after him. Just remember that scene in Closer (with the naughty swearing) when he is in the zip neck jumper...yummmm. So this Christmas you are going to create your own Clive:

1 - Head to Uniqlo for a warm-cuddle-up-next-to-jumper, preferably cashmere, with a zip neck front (see Closer scene for ideas).

2 - Book an appointment with Roger for a peck-skimming, bicep-hinting fitted shirt for HK$450. Roger is the most stylish mens tailor in Hong Kong Roger (Roger Concept Tailor Co., Room 504, 5/F, Takshing House, 20 Des Voeux Road Central, Tel 2537 8449). Make sure you ask for the coloured button holes - so gorgeous and Roger can advise on colours and styles.

3 - Hide his razor. A little bit of stubble maketh the man and who cares if its a bit bristly...

Hopefully come 2010 the whole world will be full of mini Clives...ooooooooooo *faint*

allo allo

Darlings I am in Paris, unfortunately not at Hotel Costes, but at the airport. But honestly, the style here is phenomenal. I have spied a superbly glamorous older lady with silver shot hair, peg leg black trousers, black pumps and a black Hermes handbag which she carries off far better than Posh ever could. Just flying back from an amazing wedding at Chateau Martinet (google it, to die for). There were a lot of maxi dresses, quite a bit of colour and a few dodgy fascinators. I am so glad I didn't wear the Eiffel tower one. Phew. We drank champers and rose and danced all night. Jules wore a stunning dark green silk satin which was a Roland Mouret copy, she got it made for just HK$850 by a lady called Bing (Fung Ling Fashion, Flat B, 11/F, Block A, Winner Building, 27-37 D'Aguilar Street, Tel 2521 2133). Us Hong Kongers do rock it in the style stakes. See you soon x

"the economy is going to explode..

...so we can't go around buying organic carrots" says The Boy during a recent supermarket venture. My lord. Whatever next. I, on the other hand can't stop shopping, I am spending an unhealthy amount of time at the tailors and am somehow justifying it with the reasoning that, I, single-handedly, am keeping the economy afloat. I learnt a new phrase there this week. Lydia and I speak mostly in sign language regarding nips and tucks in clothing and with her attempt at English and my feeble Cantonese we get by. This week we were nipping in the new lace dress I bought in Sixty Six, Marylebone High Street. It's very of the moment and Prada esque, with a purple lace over a dark slate grey slip, yummy. Lydia called it "babai" which is better than "ho langer" (beautiful), it means stunning, which we got to after a lot of gestures and confusing descriptions of how brides look on their wedding days (by me). I plan to use it again, when I remember how to pronounce it, but isn't it exciting that you learn a new thing everyday? Lydia, 3/F, Yuen Yick Building, Wellington Street (almost opposite Yung Kee), Central, Hong Kong. It is best to call for an apppointment first, (852) 2522 5788.