3 non-negotiable rules of sale shopping

Well, that's to say, they are my rules and they work for me.

1) Buy only if 50 % off or more. 50 % is perfect. I gives you actual value for money while the designer still gets rewarded for their hard work and imagination.

2) Buy only clothes which are in season. Worst mistake is buying a big ticket item like a coat out of season. When winter finally hits you will be totally sick of it and you'll be tempted to buy a newer fresher version. Instead, buy bikinis in the summer sale and coats in the winter sale. Lots of swim wear goes on sale in June (I just bought some) and coats go on sale in November. So plenty of time to wear them for the seasons they were intended for.

3) Buy only things you already wanted before they went on sale. Put everything you would love to have in your online shopping baskets. If it's too expensive for your budget, wait till it goes on sale. If you miss out, do not get the next best thing just because it is on sale.

Lanvin bracelet, Pucci bikini and Miu Miu one-piece - my only sale purchases this season - nothing else passed the rules

Sarah Burton is a bright shining star

I cannot get enough of Sarah Burton's designs for the house of McQueen. I am calling their company a house, because certainly Alexander's designs previously and Sarah's designs currently put them right up there with some of the great designers of all time. This black and white trouser suit is my favorite look of the Resort 2013 collection. I think it would look pretty marvelous on Duchess Kate...

photo from www.vogue.com

photo from www.vogue.com

Something to make you think

Www.fashionista.com has interviewed Elizabeth Cline, author of the new book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. Something to think about as I am just about to go to a very cold northern Europe, where I will undoubtedly enjoy some cheap Swedish fashion at H&M, COS, and other places. Read the interview here. In the meantime, if the book steers you towards high end fashion, buy this timeless Vionnet top in white, black and navy jacquard. Wear it with anything really, but keep it simple and hold off on any other embellishment. And then follow Ms. Cline's advice and wear it for many years to come.

Vionnet Rose Jacquard top available here at Nordstrom

Trailer Trash

I wonder nowadays here in Hong Kong, have I become more trashy or has trash just become mainstream? In New York I would have never ever worn pink cut-offs with gold studs on the sides. It would have been white neat shorts with a navy T. In London yes to cut-offs, but it would have been better if they were old and stained blue denim. Stacked bracelets by the pool in either city? No way. So has Hong Kong's blingy style turned me into trailer trash or is trailer trash the way of the world now? You ladies in NY and London, what's going on over there?

Shorts from Zara - they come in 5 colors and I shamelessly love them

79 Honkies

I was so pleased with myself when I turned an ill fitting plastic necklace from H&M into a Marni-esque bijoux - or so I thought. Now I am thinking I look like I have just received a local welcome in Hawaii. Sometimes you just get what you pay for when you pay 79 Honkies.

The perfect suit

I have had this yellow vintage silk sitting around for a few years. I wanted to make a skirt but it smells like 1960s mothballs. It's so strong I think nothing other than boiling it would get it out. But now Carven has made a little resort suit that looks uncannily like it!

I wouldn't wear the whole yellow suit together, but just the skirt or jacket would be lovely. And with regard to the second picture... I am officially retired now. I am going to lay in front of the Carven shop until those 3 pieces come in and while the shop is closed I will be in the pool working my ass off trying to make my belly presentable. Because I will have that suit. Oh yes, I will.

The picture may belong to www.vogue.com but this suit is mine.

Meet Fiona

Our gorgeous friend after whom (?) we named our Fiona dress. Here she is on a junk today wearing our Amanda coverup. Thanks Fi, you are a beautiful JDCamicetta ambassadress.

Reduce Re-use Recycle

There was a little article in Vogue a few years ago about the style of some stylist (aren't I eloquent?), and her frustration at the constant changes in fashion. Anyway, I never got that picture out of my mind, but lost the magazine it was in. Then the girls from www.keepitchic.com featured it, so here it is. The dreamy bright white Chanel bag with the gold hardware, the stripy shirt, the Birkin, the dark blue jeans, the black blazer, the navy scarf. Would I be forever satisfied if I owned just those perfect items? Probably not. And nothing really lasts forever when you wear it all the time. But if you were inclined to scale down the size of your wardrobe, I think planning outfits around navy and white is a really good way to start.

photo from www.vogue.com

Play around with prints or patterns other than stripes as well to keep yourself from getting bored. 

Embroidered blouse from www.oldnavy.com and star t-shirt from www.ronherman.com. Some days I feel too short for flats and can't be bothered with heels, and that's when I love a 60s block heel. Love how they are pussy bow demure but yet go so well with skinnies and a blazer. These navy blue ones would suit the stylish stylist perfectly.

Need a cool breeze...

so that pants become bearable again. How cool are these 2 looks from J.Mendel's resort 2013 collection. I mean, nothing ground breaking in terms or silhouette or fabrics, but exactly what I want to wear. And those shoes, well they are beyond fab. Too lazy to look it up but Mendel has worked with Blahnik for the shoes before, so there you go. PS I don't care if I sound like a tosser but black and navy is just the chicest combo ever.

photos from www.vogue.com

When you are not inspired

I haven't been inspired for a while to wear something special or to be creative. I suppose I always go thru phases where I live fashion very intensely and then others where I couldn't care less cos I've got more serious things going on. That's the time when all the classics come out over and over again. If you ever come across one in the shops, buy a red jacket with navy trim. Or better just have one made exactly like the Chanel example below. How cool does Kate Moss look here even though all she is wearing is blue pants, ballet flats and a-dime-a-dozen stripy shirt. And this was two years ago.

photos from www.zimbio.com

Liverpool

Saw something the other day about best dressed cities in the US - the top three were New York, Charleston, and Los Angeles. I have only been to Charleston once, so don't know much about that, but I don't doubt their fashionable-ness at all. At around the same time I had lunch with a friend who is moving back to England, who was wondering what she would wear when she'd get back there.

Walking around the city centers of NY, LA, Charleston, AND London, you will likely see GAP, Banana Republic, Chanel, H&M, Zara, Club Monaco, Armani, Coach in all of them, yet people still dress so differently in different cities. My friend was saying she may as well throw out every pair of Jimmy Choo, dump all her costume jewelry, and save only the grey and black. At her school pick-ups there will be Barbours and wellies. And costume jewelry, well, that might give the impression you are a footballer's wife from Liverpool. And that may not be a good thing at a posh London public school. Let's hope I will stay in HK for quite a while to come, cos the looks I love at this moment may not be wearable anywhere else in the world.

Baggy cherry colored leather trousers?  Yes bring it on. Clash with crimson red blouse and shoes? Yes, bring it on. Tacky red and rhinestone Prada necklace? Yes bring it on, all of it.

Gold booties by Manolo Blahnik for J.Mendel? Yes bring it on right now.

Mugler dress with one sleeve and crystal shoulders? Yes bring it on.

Denim jacket with logo patches and glitzy buttons? If I could afford it, yes bring it on.

It just occurred to me that maybe I should move to Liverpool!!!!

Call Me Maybe.....