Island Beverly

Since this is such a famous shopping centre already, I wasn't sure if I should still write about Island Beverly. It's not like it's hard to find, either. It's across the street from Sogo Department Store in Causeway Bay. (Use Exit D at Causeway Bay MTR Station.)

However, I guess some people might not know about it, so here is my entry. Now, my caveat for Island Beverly is this: you're not going to find bargains here. I've only bought 2 items my entire life from Island Beverly, and the second item I only bought when I visited today.

If anything, visit the place to get a feel for what's being sold right now, check prices and then go to the shopping centres in Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kwai Fong, and other places. The items will usually be cheaper there. If not, then just go back to Island Beverly, right?

Er, I totally forgot to take a picture of the outside of Island Beverly. But anyway, you have to take the escalators to go in.

There are 3 floors full of shops in Island Beverly. You'll find pretty much every style represented here. I probably only took pictures of 30% of the shops. A good reason to visit Island Beverly is to learn some styling tips because some of those kids there have serious steez going on.

Liking these two outfits!

Haha, dig these shoes. They're kind of awesome.

I ended up buying the belt off the mannequin on the left. I'd seen it before in another shop for about HKD400, and it was on sale for just above HKD300 in the shop. Ah, fuck me, I still shouldn't have bought it, but oh well. I'll just have to wear the hell out of it.

I was almost tempted to buy the dress, too, but I'd just come from Retrostone, so fortunately, my guilt stopped me. The girl working here is super helpful and not pushy at all, by the way.

The belt doesn't have to be tied in a bow.

That's her with the long brown hair.

Socks that were just too cute. But I'll be damned if I'm paying HKD59 for a pair of socks.

One of the coolest pair of slouchy black boots I've seen on the bottom right.

You know, I do like peep-toe shoes, but I think this trend is really going to far now. Look at this! Combat boot peep-toes! It's just not right!

Perfect for my post-apocalyptic summer theme...too bad I've sworn not to buy anything more this year.

This dress made me think of DL.

McQueen knockoffs. I really like them a lot, but the style is so distinctive, I'd rather just buy the originals, which I can't afford, so I'm not going to buy them at all then.

The reason I went to Island Beverly was to help the Other Dude look for a pair of wedges. I wasn't sure if I actually found them, but this shop, Coup de Foudre, is one of the better shops at Island Beverly. They do made-to-order shoes and also do custom work (within reason). They have 8 shops all over the city: Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Hung Hom, and Sha Tin. You can call them to find out where the other shops are at 3428 2655.

Really dug these. A bootie version of Alexander Wang's knee-high boots, right?

Now, the other item I bought at Island Beverly 5 years ago (or maybe more) was this denim jacket. It was made by a local designer, Made in the Earth, and you know I have a hard-on for supporting them. The great thing about this jacket is that it's worn upside down.

See?

As you can see, the jacket buttons up almost like a shrug. Yikes, I look pregnant in this picture. Isn't it so 90s, though? A babydoll dress and a cropped denim jacket?

From the back. If you're at Island Beverly or any of the other shopping centres like this, please do support young designers!

Retrostone

Oh Retrostone! I've been trying to avoid you because I know I'll end up buying all kinds of shit. I'd just ended a kind of discouraging work day, I'd had wine coolers and painkillers, and one of the girls working there is so pretty, and she's Taiwanese so she chatted with me in Mandarin, and she had the cutest braces smile...ah! I was a goner. She triggered the 40% of me that's gay, which apparently is connected to the percent of me that does impulse spending. Oh well.

There are 3 Retrostone shops: 2 in Causeway Bay and 1 in Mong Kok. I've put their addresses and phone numbers at the bottom of this entry. Retrostone is open from 2 to 1030 daily. This is one of their shops in Causeway Bay. It's in the same building as Island Wake, so you enter through the door with the arrow sign above it on the bottom right of the picture.

On the way up.

It's a pretty typical vintage shop, although I should note that there are a lot of non-vintage items, as well. They're just kind of retro-looking, you know?

There's a huge amount of t-shirts and denim, as well as jackets. Unfortunately, vintage is not cheap in Hong Kong, and the shirts start at about HKD200. The jackets can go up to HKD1500. Dresses are in the HKD300 to HKD700 range.

I wish they hadn't hemmed this shirt into a belly shirt. Instead, they should have just taken in the sides to make it less boxy.

I ended up spending way too much. Tsk on me! But I've been looking for a red leather jacket for ages, and I couldn't let this one go. It was on sale for HKD790, and it seemed like a fair enough price. The jacket is in perfect condition, it's dead stock so it's never been worn, and the leather is really soft.

And really, anyone who's grown up in the 1980s has a secret desire to own a Michael Jackson red jacket.

It's too bad it's pretty much summer already because I fucking love this jacket.

Retrostone also carries band shirts from Amplified. You know, it's so hard to find good-fitting shirts that aren't boxy and made of cheap cotton. These were just lovely in terms of quality. My only beef is the limited selection of musicians. Rolling Stones? Overdone. Michael Jackson? Okay, acceptable but they didn't have Thriller or Off the Wall. Lady Gaga? I'm not wearing a shirt featuring someone younger than me. Blondie? Also acceptable, but they didn't have my size. Guns N' Roses? Well...I did like their music a lot when I was a kid, but I just can't wear a shirt from a band that doesn't have Slash and only has Asshole Rose now. And I don't do ironic fashion.

David Bowie was the most respectable choice, not just for his music and style, but, of course, for Labyrinth, which I think is how most kids my generation know about him. The power of voodoo! (Who do? You do!)

Yes, I'm a dork.

Also, back in university, I was on the honour roll (unbelievable, I know) and there was this annual ceremony where you would get your certificate. It was really pompous and all my fellow nerds took that shit way too seriously, dressing up in formal wear. I mean, really?? I thought it would be hilarious to go as Bowie during his Thin White Duke phase. I wore a vintage all-white suit and bleached my hair (which was short and probably blue at the time) white blonde. My professors loved it, one of them gave me a thumbs up during the ceremony. My fellow nerds didn't really like it, though.

I also liked this shirt because you wear it inside out. Love it! T-shirt was on sale for HKD189, and I think I might have gotten a further discount, not sure why. I'm contemplating burning holes in the shirt to age it further, but I haven't decided yet.

I also ended up buying this Bowie t-shirt dress, also by Amplified. I think it was around HKD300, not sure because of the sale. It's basically a giant wifebeater. Very comfortable, I'll probably be wearing this a lot during summer. I also just realized that there's a mouth on my crotch.

Haha, I love Chabi's expression.

I guess the clothes were worth it. Perhaps I shouldn't have stepped foot in Retrostone in the first place, but I decided recently that since I'm usually so gross and sweaty during summer, I should just dress according to the theme of post-apocalyptic fashion, and I thought I'd stock up on a couple of items. Since last week, I've been slowly looking more and more disheveled, which has really startled a lot of people. People keep asking me if I'm feeling okay, and I keep saying, "Do you know how much hairspray I used to make my hair look like this?"

Anyway, this was such a rambling entry. Sorry. Retrostone can be found at the following places:
1/F, 504 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, telephone: 2838 6419
2/F, 1 Cannon Road, Causeway Bay, telephone: 3107 9131
Basement Trendy Zone, B28, Mong Kok, telephone: 852 2152 9697

I managed to get a VIP card, which entitles me to 10% to 20% off. If I know you, I'll let you know how to use my VIP status.

Take It or Leave It

Dammit! My thigh high boots aren't necessarily falling apart, but they're starting to get a bit raggedy. I did a cursory search on the Internet and found a Chinese manufacturer's Web site. They make all kinds of shit, including cosplay and fetish gear (FYI to those who've been searching for a PVC body condom).

Anyway, they have these thigh high sheepskin boots for HKD960. I'm really tempted to get them. However, do I really need a second pair when I should really be saving my money for a pair of brown boots?

What to do...?

Fashion as Superstar

Well, Fashion as Superstar isn't actually a Hong Kong company, but they ARE based in China, which is the motherland. I'm just so thrilled to get the gloves I ordered from them that I wanted to share.

I've wanted leather opera gloves for a while now, but they've been too expensive for me to consider. Then, I found Fashion as Superstar, and I emailed Nicole, who is lovely and helpful. I ended up ordering a custom-sized pair of opera gloves because -- sob -- apparently, I have man hands. My hands are disproportionately large in comparison to my arms, and my wrists are disproportionately small. So my sizing ended up being large for hands, extra small for wrists and small for arm width.

I also ended up getting half-gloves, which they have unfortunately named "Sex and the City" gloves. Is it because the gloves were featured on the show? I haven't really watched the series.

Anyway, everything arrived in about a week, and I couldn't be happier. The gloves are lined and made out of very soft kidskin. Here I am with my opera gloves. It looks a bit The Night Porter-ish, but I love them anyway. I'm going to be wearing these as soon as the weather allows! (By the way, please don't cast aspersions on my hair colour and waviness. I really get tired of people commenting on how I should refresh my dye or perm. My hair naturally looks like a half-assed dye and perm job, alright?)

And these are the half-gloves. They were really bright green when I got them, and made me kind of look like the Joker, so I aged them a bit by soaking them in warm water, then rubbing them with cooking oil (you're supposed to use olive oil, but I didn't have any) after they'd dried out. I'll be wearing these every day with my vintage dresses!

Nicole ships internationally, so I urge you to check out her Web site. We e-mailed in Chinese, but I believe her English is fluent. Let her know you heard about her from me!

Halo

I've had a lot of very diverse jobs, some legal and some not quite. I'm not really sure why I changed jobs so much, perhaps I just got bored. Anyway, I once did the marketing for a furniture retailer, and through that job, I found out about Halo.

Halo is best known for its high-quality leather. They used to only do wholesale furniture items (can't remember if they did custom, as well), but now they've expanded their studio on Gough Street in Sheung Wan to include a tiny retail space for leather bags.

The bags are very well made, although I don't think they're handcrafted. The styles aren't super exciting or anything, and I really dislike that they stamped "Halo" on the leather, but they are classic and well-priced. Most bags are in the HKD1,000 to HKD2,000 range.

I really liked this one. The saddle bag pockets and the beautiful colour and patina of the leather were really charming.

Also another bag I really liked.

They also have briefcases, wallets and other things that normal people use. If I had a real job working in a real office that required me to wear normal clothes, I would probably pick something out from here.

The lady said that they don't do custom orders and that things are made in limited editions.