Speaking of Karl Lagerfeld and Salzburg...

... the current windows of Chanel are full of Austrian inspired clothes and accessories - so gorgeous ♡

Inspired By Hussars And Grace Kelly

Uniqlo cardigan and J.Crew T-shirt

Ever since I ripped apart a Stella McCartney Falabella bag (read about it HERE) I have been fashioning stuff out of the enormous amount of chain I was left with. My favorite use by far has been to keep my cardigan from slipping off my shoulders. Only women with the natural elegance of Grace Kelly could walk around with a cardigan casually draped on the shoulders - everyone else and me are likely to fidget with it incessantly. But not anymore since I attached some inches of Falabella chain to it. When you wear it, the chain stretches out over your collar bone. Really pretty and you don't need any jewelry.

Miu Miu cardigan and J.Crew T-shirt

Here I have done the same thing with a J.Crew necklace. Just pin the ends onto the inside of your cardigan's placket. I first thought of doing this when I was re-watching the Sissi trilogy a while ago. Some of the hussar uniforms in the Sissi movies are amazing - the men not only wear tight fitting jackets with gilded details, but also wear a cape over the shoulders held together by some sort of rope, or lanyard. If you love fashion but haven't watched Sissi, you need to watch it! There is a version HERE - you will totally understand why Karl Lagerfeld has such a fondness for Salzburg after you watch this.

Anyway, wearing your cardigan on your shoulders is also a perfect way to make jeans a bit dressier for evening. Just add a simple heel and you can go pretty much anywhere.

HKAHF Hope Bracelet: How Do You Wear Yours?

 Funnest techie in town: IT Director Fiona Welsh wears hers with Hermès and Valentino bracelets

Mountaineer and charity campaigner Annabelle Bond wears hers with lots of sparkle (find her website HERE)

I love my own bracelet with an Hermès scarf tied around my wrist and a JDCamicetta shirtdress

If you want to help the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital Foundation, check out their Hope bracelet HERE and show us how you wear yours on instagram @HKAHF.

Summer Solstice In The Sky, Fall Winter Fashion In The Stores

Get your bikinis fast, girls, cos in the shops it's officially Fall...  And while you're at it, how about some Gucci pointy snakeskin brogues for October?

You Haven't Lived If You Haven't Been At Joyce

The vast amount of choice in shoes is staggering. I have never seen this many exciting shoes in one place. Btw, look at the Charlotte Olympia shoes in the bottom photo - yet another shoe slightly inspired by the Valentino Rockstud. Lovely though...  (click on photos to enlarge)

Summer Rain in Hong Kong

 junks anchored in South Bay are surprised by a sudden storm

the Jumbo restaurants at in the marina at Aberdeen

Lara Merrett Mixes With Sophia Webster At The Cat Street Gallery

Early evening light in Hong Kong is positively magnificent - and those first minutes of dusk when the faint taxi brake lights start enhancing the city's shimmer are mesmerizing. Tonight I was on my way to the Cat Street Gallery for a look at the works of Lara Merrett. Quite beautiful they are, and very much worth a visit to Cat Street. I was so pleased to meet the gorgeous Alix, who is part of the gallery team, and who wore the most beautiful shoes I have ever seen. Sophia Webster, of course ♡

The Maje Party Dress I Mentioned This Morning

I bought it in Paris where everything was on sale, which was an added incentive on top of the already very low Euro. The fabric of the skirt is quite substantial and a bit stiff - I think it is still on www.maje.com among many other very fun party dresses.

Working Off A Weekend In Macau

Four Seasons in Macau

The Cotai Strip in Macau is a bit like Disneyland for grown-ups. The building facades all look like you may be able to push them over, as if they are part of a Hollywood movie set. That said, it's a very pleasant mini-break destination less than an hour away from Hong Kong.

Tabitha Simmons and Jimmy Choo getting reading to go out on the town

On the left birthday girl Fi in a House of Holland dress, and me on the right with wet hair in my excellent new Maje party dress

My crab starter at Robuchon au Dôme at the Grand Lisboa Hotel in Macau's old town

The very charming sommelier kept us entertained and liquid with some delicious champagnes

But now back in Hong Kong, trying to run off the French food and the liquid refreshments on what has to be the most beautiful exercise path in the world? 

Hong Kong harbor this morning, 16 June, 2015

How Not To Look Dowdy In A Calf Length Lace Skirt (2nd attempt)

Prada bag

Chloé T-strap flats with glitter bows

J.Crew T-shirt

J.Crew lace skirt

How Not To Look Dowdy In A Calf Length Lace Skirt

I actually don't know how to do that, but how to posts get the most views ♡ - here's today's attempt

J.Crew lace skirt

Gap denim shirt

Jason Wu shoes

Balenciaga black bracelet

Valentino white bracelet

Women of Hope Awards 11 June 2015

I have woken up to a beautiful bright sunny day for the Women of Hope Awards. The Hong Kong Adventist Hospital Foundation (HKAHF) honors women leaders in a variety of fields for their contributions to the beautiful city and people of Hong Kong. I am beyond thrilled to attend the lunch today and I will be covering the event for I LOVE FASHION - but now of course there is the question of what to wear!

an old favorite Phillip Lim dress

Uniqlo cardigan with Stella McCartney chain to drape over my shoulders

Miu Miu clutch

Hermès bracelets

Laura Mercier lip gloss

Leaf shape diamond earrings

Jo Malone Earl Grey and Cucumber perfume

The Perfect Smokey Eye

As the weather in Hong Kong has been too horrendous to worry about clothes I have been thinking of make-up instead - I was tidying up old magazines when I came across this picture of smokey eyes in a 2010 issue of Paris Vogue. The perfect eye to compliment my new biker jacket.

Back to Anine Bing

I knew about Anine Bing from a blog called www.sincerelyjules.com, and after many visits to her site (www.aninebing.com) I ended up buying these boots. The other thing I adored was a leather biker jacket with cropped sleeves. I have never owned a biker jacket - although they have always been around as a rockstar basic or a utilitarian garment for actual bikers, they weren't really a fashion trend for nice girls until sometime around 2007. And at that time the trend went really big, and women of all ages were dying to get their hands on one with such disastrous results according to editor Sarah Mower of the Daily Telegraph, that she decreed in a subsequently much maligned article that women over 40 should not wear leather biker jackets. She also warned that Kate Moss was getting close to looking horribly wrong in her leather jackets (read more about it HERE).

At the time, I wasn't really interested in buying a biker jacket, probably due to my contrarian nature (if everyone wants it I do not want it anymore) but that article and the outrage from women everywhere have always stuck with me. So I loved the Anine Bing jacket from a distance for a few weeks but didn't get any closer, after all I have reached my forties now.

And then on Monday, the Daily Mail showed pictures of a grey and frail looking Val Kilmer, who is rumored to be ill. For some reason, maybe because he was in Top Gun, I thought he was my age but he is apparently 55. Still, I had a very instant reaction to seeing Iceman looking so frail, and developed a severe mini-midlife crisis at once. What if I would be that frail at 55? How long do I really have left to love fashion? I have never owned a biker jacket!

So screw Sarah Mower - I bought that jacket. And thank you Anine Bing, for making a biker jacket with bracelet sleeves. I hope Val Kilmer gets better soon - I'd love to conclude with an all's well that ends well here ♡

We Need To Talk About Anine Bing

 A few days ago I texted my friend Melbourne Fashion Girl to say I was really intrigued by this Danish designer called Anine Bing, and that I had just ordered some boots from her company. The above photo flew back over cyberspace and Indonesia and Singapore faster than I could say Bing - because lovely MFG was a step ahead of me and the Anine Bing boots I had ordered and also a jacket I much admired had already landed in her expansive dressing room. Great minds think alike.

Why I am worrying about boots and leather jackets on a hot and sunny day like this? Well, it's all about Val Kilmer in the Daily Mail. But I have had too much champagne and sun to make any sense today, so a bit more tomorrow ♡