Friday, July 31, 2009

Geek Spy: i-Buddy


Useless USB gadgets are a dime a dozen but this might really take the cake. Capitalising on our daily use of MSN (or Windows Live Messenger as Microsoft keeps trying to tell us,) Union's i-Buddy believes that you aren't smart enough to understand an emoticon and so will instead interpret what the emoticon is by flashing its lights, flapping its wings and what not. From what I can gather, each i-Buddy syncs to only one friend so if you are really buying into this gadget, you'd need to buy multiple i-Buddies and endure them flapping away while you chat. If that doesn't deter you, then head on over to City Super where they are being sold for HK$165.

ETA: So it turns out that ShoeGeek is a geek after all and not merely obsessed with shoes. After I had posted this entry, she turns over and tells me that she is currently in possession of one of these i-Buddies. This is when the emoticon -_-;; comes into play

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Up to 70% off Harvey Nichols

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Times Square Bazaar Sale

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Chuffed about Cuffs


Man, has it been hot. Gladly, the oppressive pre-typhoon oven-like heat has dispersed and given way to the regular summer kind, but it's still tough to leave the house in anything with sleeves these days. I'd live in wife beaters if I could, they're my ultimate summer staple: with jeans, high-waisted skirts, cut-offs, under strapless dresses... they seriously go with everything. What I'd give for a Hanes store out here. The key to getting away with them for dressier occasions, in my humble opinion, is to glam things up with some truly eye-catching jewellery. While "statement necklaces" are all the rage right now, I've always been a fan of the gaudy, look-at-me cuff. Plus, I'm really starting to hate the overuse of that term these days; "statement necklace" really doesn't make any statement anymore.

You're showing such a great expanse of arm, it seems a waste to only decorate your neck, and a double whammy necklace-bracelet combo almost inevitably ends up in the arm bling losing out (it's a question of proximity to eyeline, you understand). And ladies, there are some truly amazing cuffs out in the market right now. It took me 15 minutes of dedicated surfing to come up with 13 new items on my wishlist, and you, lucky reader, are going to get a chance to share this wondrous journey into cuffiness with me... (and if you're not British, also learn the meaning of "Chuffed", my newest Brit-slang acquisition!)








oaknyc (up top), steel couture x oaknyc, jen kao x forward, disaya x forward, alex & ani x chickdowntown, cc skye x chickdowntown, citrine by the stones x chickdowntown, susan hanover x chickdowntown 

Oh, and before I forget. "Chuffed" = pleased or satisfied. Use it in a sentence today, you'll feel great!

Coming soon, because I didn't feel like inflicting all 14 specimens on you, Chuffed about Cuffs Part Deux... the budget edition.

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Pin Point


I’m of the camp where needles freak me out too much to try acupuncture. No matter how often my parents reassured me that it didn’t hurt, just the idea of sticking pins into my body a la voodoo doll style doesn’t appeal to me. And after grudgingly trying out acupuncture recently, I vowed never to try it again which is why I gave an involuntary shudder when this press release came into my inbox. If needles don’t make you squeamish however, then you should check out the new facial treatment at the Mandarin Spa at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong.

Starting August 1, the spa will be offering a 45-minute Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture session. Yes, sticking pins into your face. Apparently this will help target your wrinkles as well as providing numerous other benefits such as improved muscle tone and dermal contraction, tightened pores, brightened eyes and improved hormonal balance to help combat acne and to reduce stress.

For the less adventurous, the Spa has also launched a new hair test that can identify toxic metals and mineral imbalances in the body called the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. What they do is they take a small sample of hair and send it to a laboratory for examination. Test results can highlight the body’s nutrient levels, as well as identify some toxins that may be present in the body.

Both treatments are, of course, available at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong.

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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Street Smart



If you’re anything like me, you will DIE when you read the rest of this post. The Lobby Lounge at the JW Marriott in Admiralty is hosting an Asian Street Food Tapas buffet from this Friday until the end of August, every Friday and Saturday evening from 8pm onwards. The Marriott tea and tapas buffets have always been a favourite; buffets should always be about small portions and wide varieties, in tandem. I was at the tea buffet a couple of weeks ago and we scarfed down so much food, I was regretting it for the next two days.

But stomachs bounce back, and so I’m set to challenge the Asian Street Food Tapas buffet this Saturday night. Street food is a pretty integral part of Asian culture, and let’s face it, is usually the best and juiciest stuff ever. And authenticity is guaranteed, because the chefs actually traveled to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City to discover the hidden gems in the alleyways of each city. They documented their travels on a blog, Wok this Way, and if that isn’t enough to get you salivating like a fluffy puppy on a summer day, then I don’t know what will. See you there Saturday!

The JW Marriott is at Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong. Tel: 852 2841 3846.

ETA!!!! Just called to book and the buffet has been postponed until NEXT WEEK. So hold your horses on this one!

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WWW


It still seems shiny and new, but the W hotel is already celebrating its first anniversary since soft-launching on August 8. (The reason it still seems new, perhaps, is that they only did their grand-opening party in January.) But who's going to quibble about dates when with the anniversary celebration comes a killer room deal for the weekend of August 7-11?

For HK$888, stay a night in one of their Wonderful Rooms (capital "W" -- it's the name of the room, not my description of it), with eight great perks subject to availability, including buffet breakfast, $100 spending credit per head, one free cocktail per head at Living Room (photo after the cut), a complimentary in-room movie, an invitiation to a champagne celebration at 8pm on August 8, free internet, a complimentary upgrade to the Spectacular or Fabulous Room (pictured below, and subject to availability) and a special anniversary gift. Not too shabby, eh?


The rest I'm just going to copy and paste verbatim, it speaks for itself, but includes upgrades to rooms and special celebratory offers at Kitchen (a Saturday buffet) and Bliss (a special massage).

Upgrades are as follows:
Cool Corner Room: add HK$88 per person
60 sqm Fantastic Suite: add HK$888 per room per night (to Wonderful Room rate)
80 sqm Marvelous Suite: add HK$888 per room per night to Fantastic Suite rate
120 sqm WOW Suite: HK$8,888 per room per night (maximum of 2 guests receive the above privileges)

Tel: 852 3717 2992; email: wreservations.hk@whotels.com


YUM
The hotel's food and beverage facilities will also reflect the celebratory weekend, with a special Saturday brunch in the award-winning KITCHEN restaurant and in the hotel's magnificent harbour view 7th floor function space. The Saturday brunch, which includes Executive Chef Curt Sassak's New Orleans Jazz brunch dishes as well as a cornucopia of Asian and Western specialties and free-flowing Perrier Jouet champagne, costs just HK$888 + 10% for 2 persons and runs from noon to 3pm on Saturday, August 8 only. Tel: 852 3717 2299.


BLISS
The W’s signature spa inspired by the New York City day-spa brand that started it all, Bliss will unveil its Blissage 60 (signature 60-minute massage) for just HK$888 + 10% all weekend. Tel: 852 3717 2797.

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Made in HK: Are You Taking Me Out


Vintage stores are relatively hard to find in Hong Kong and while my definition of vintage shopping comprises of going through my mom’s closet (her Chanel 2.55 from the late eights/early nineties is my ultimate find), not many are as lucky as me. Etsy has a plethora of vintage finds and I stumbled upon Are You Taking Me Out while looking for designers to feature. Now before you point your finger and say that this doesn’t fulfil the criteria of a “Made in HK” feature, note that the owner behind the Are You Taking Me Out brand also creates her own handbags and clutches. In fact, if I’m being honest, I’d much rather prefer her handmade accessories compared to vintage finds but then again, that’s coz the closet is a free for all and in the next room.

Fun Facts
Inspiration
My inspiration comes from everything such as different cultures, vintage finds and trends. Currently I am really into 50's style and Japanese fabrics.

Brand name
My brother came up with the name and I love it!

Best selling piece
Gamaguchi purses

Most used material
Rigid fabrics for easy manipulation

Piece you can't part with
The midnight garden gamaguchi purse, I just adore the patterns on it!

Favourite designer
Alexander McQueen & Vivienne Westwood

Visit Are You Taking Me Out here

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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

SHOErotica: Bottega Veneta Shearling Slippers


What's this? A non-heeled Shoerotica? Yep. These furry slippers are awesomeness defined. When I was in high school, I owned the furry Steve Madden slippers that were everywhere, and I loved them to death, so much so that even when my dog peed on them (thinking, no doubt, despite their baby pink hue, that they were a female specimen of fluffiness on which he should mark his territory), I washed them in the machine and tried to salvage them. To no avail. Methinks it's time for a resurrection...

GET THEM at Browns Fashion

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Speak Up

Sometime in between my purchasing my last set of speakers for my computer (some 6-7 years ago) and today, a whole culture of cool-looking, sound-dispensing monsters have sprouted. Back then, I thought my two dinky black cupcake-sized contraptions, connected to a larger subwoofer, were pretty high tech. It even had a separate volume control device, PHWOAR, how cool was I. Now, I play music directly from my iPhone, so it seems high time I invest in some sort of device that's both sexy and sonically sound (no pun intended, believe it or not).

Holy Batman, there are a lot of speakers out there, each one more orgasmic than the first. Why have I been buying clothes all these years when I could be outfitting my apartment with the sickest sound system known to mankind?

For sound quality (or volume at the very least), I can't imagine anything comes close to these Ferguson Hill babies.


And you thought I was bad with the punning. Here comes Speak-er, aka speakers in the shape of speech bubbles. This is almost too cute for words...


...Whereas this actually IS too cute for words. iBoo, iPanda and iPig are friendly desktop creatures that will bring you crystal-clear sound effects in addition to ridiculous adorableness. Imagine if you were to download a pig/panda/ghost sound effect and play it from your computer? Yeah, TOO CUTE, that's what I thought.


And then going from one end of the spectrum to the other... who decided it would be a good idea to make speakers out of a headless dog? Not anyone I want to be friends with, morbid lunatic. Another pun-tastic one here. Instead of a sub-woofer, this is a... (say it with me guys) woofer. (insert ellipsis in speech bubble above head, or if you're Asian, a big drip of sweat on your forehead.)



Now speaking to Hong Kongers, you can order a replica of the HSBC lions here. Very cool.


Enough fun with barnyard creatures for now. These babies are a sleek option that'll double as a night light, and they come in multiple sizes.



The Hive is a pretty nifty wall-hanging option...



And last but not least, what would you expect from your resident ShoeGeek but a stiletto-shaped speaker? Now that's sound judgement. And yes, that pun was intentional.


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Mail Order


I think every kid has gone through a stage of stamp collecting though it may not last long. I used to love soaking stamps in water. It seemed rather magical that these stamps would disengage themselves from the envelope, float to the surface and dry without it being all sticky and gross (keep in mind that I was about four years old at that point.) While my love affair with stamp collecting has ended, I’m rather intrigued by these Vivienne Westwood's limited-edition stamp pendants. Each pendant is dedicated to a city and the list includes Hong Kong, London, Tokyo, Milan and Seoul. The Hong Kong version showcases bright neon signs seen littered around busy streets and is priced at HK$1,280. Hong Kong has been allocated 50 pieces of each design and they are of course, available at Vivienne Westwood boutiques.

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Monday, July 27, 2009

Original Sin


Urban Original footwear is bargain mecca for every cash-strapped fashionista. How many Sundays I've frittered away scrolling through the pages and pages of reasonably priced runway-inspired shoes, willing my shoe cabinet to mysteriously expand its capacity while I sleep at night so that I can put in an order of ten pairs at once (at around US$20-45 a pair, but roughly US$30-40 in shipping for the first pair, $12 each additional pair, a large order is only justifiable). Hey, if elves can make shoes in the middle of the night, why not a shoe cabinet for them to go in?

Of course, this Sunday, while again gazing in futility at some woefully gorgeous and economical options, my love pointed out that since we'll be going back to the US in two weeks for a holiday, and are in possession of a valid US Postal Address there in perpetuity, there's no reason I shouldn't put in an order of LESS THAN 10 pairs. How genius! And simultaneously, a savvy method of deterring me from having to buy 10 pairs. Wise move, counsel (who oft complains of the current 1:10 shoe shelf allocation ratio.) Now, to whittle down the selection to just 1-2 pairs...

Category One: The Wedge
While I'm pretty sure it's the lace-ups with cut-outs that are coming home from me, they are number-one on my wish list and for that matter, my list of reasons to live right now. But it's been a while since I contemplated a mary-jane, plus I'm a sucker for anything snakey...





Category Two: The Gladiator
Never really had the guts to go for these styles, HELLO cow calves. But at US$32.99, worse come to worst, Salvation Army will have some very trendy finds. I'm thinking the gold heel with the knockoff Louboutin sole is a bit too trashy; the silver flat is neither here nor there; which leaves me with the perfectly fine black heeled option. Done. If only Goldilocks had my decision-making power.





Category Three: The Good, The Bad, The Ugg-ly
Okay, say I have quota left for one more pair. I know the fashion police ordered us to throw out our Uggs six years ago. I DON'T CARE. I love them anyway, will always love them and their lamby interiors, big fat and flat bottoms, and infinite reincarnations. Fringey, fluffy, or all tied up?




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Kotur Summer Sale


KOTUR
Summer Sale

30% discount on selected products
+ complimentary shipping on ALL orders

Shop the SUMMER SALE here

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What a Drip

I came across this design while reading the Core77 Design Blog and I love how the fluidity of water is transformed into lighting. Wall mounted, The Light Drop features a faucet that should allow users to dim the intensity of the light. According to the designer, Rafael Morgan, the underlying concept behind this design is to "make people think about how we are dealing with our natural resources. In this particular case, water, which is the main source of energy for every living organism in thisfantastic world. Water is energy indeed." While it is not in production, I would love to see this product come to life.More info here

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Friday, July 24, 2009

Friday Linkfest


Mr President is frumpy, and he don't care if you know it.
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/07/barack_obama_on_his_mom_jeans.html

Swinging: the newest trend? No, not THAT kind of swinging, you dirty little one. Swing-inspired jewellery.
http://www.trenddelacreme.com/2009/07/which-way-do-you-swing.html

A history of fashion scandals, and not of the Bjork-wears-a-swan-dress variety.
http://pipeline.refinery29.com/news/drugs_murder_sexcapadeswe_trac.php

Project Runway all-stars? Awwww yeah. Waiting for a Santino/Jeffrey showdown. And yay for Chris March!
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/07/daniel_vosovic_santino_rice_je.html

And for no other reason than I have this song in my head... boy does Keith Sweat know how to make a girl sweat. Enjoy your weekends, get busy to this if you have the chance =)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAvMzrhyZXw

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Bag Lady: Alexander Wang Donna Leather Hobo Bag



Get it at Net-a-porter

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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Eighties Greaties


If you were born in the '80s like we were, you no doubt grew up with the likes of Thunder Cats, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony and other such psychedelic, progressive toon friends. The '80s have been experiencing something of a revival lately -- beyond the acid-trip neons and padded shoulders showing up across the runways, Hollywood has embraced the era too with a whole slew of 80s relics getting the remake treatment, from Transformers to G.I. Joe and more.

If blowing your budget on Balmain plus a ticket to the Imax showing of Transformers isn't feasible, show your support for your animated childhood icons with a T-shirt from 80s Tees, a website that has collected a line-up of great tees, many of which come in distressed cotton that adds to the vintage feel of the image. Besides straight-up homages to the characters, there are also more costume-like takes on the genre (save the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle character shirts for Halloween -- gotta love Crang!), as well as a few other nods to '80s phenomena that are still relevant today -- think Top Gun tees, Super Mario Bros designs and even the imprint of Lloyd Dobbler, vainly holding his Peter Framption-blasting stereo up to Diane Court's window in the pouring rain. (PS, LOVE John Cusack.)





A few others:

God, remember Saved by the Bell? The best thing about this T-shirt is the fact that Mario Lopez is still out there trying to ride the SBTB fame train to a comeback career. And people are still hating on him. With good reason.


I had a Rainbow Brite pillow. And the VHS of the movie Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer. Man, I want to re-watch that. Look closely at the image, and the green little fairy is captioned "Got Green?" Heh.


I always thought She-Ra and He-Man would get married. But I suppose onscreen romances never work offscreen. Still, girlfriend was one of the early feminists, huh? Princess Power!


Funnily enough, I recently bought the Gremlins movie from the VCD store down the street from my place. I thought it would be the perfect accompaniment to a Friday night snackfest. And now, once I own this T-shirt, I can wear it while I watch it and be the ultimate coolest person ever.


This image looks exactly like the one on my Strawberry Shortcake duvet and sheet set. Cartoons were so wholesome in the old days. Not to mention tasty. Nobody wants to eat Pokemon or Samurai Jack, but that fluffy hat makes me think of  muffin tops (of the baked variety, not the fat overhang).


Thunder-thunder-thunder-thunder-CATS!


Anyone know where this image is from? Or how it was reclaimed for modern usage? If not, check here. Or ask my friend Chris.

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