Just COS

Who's excited about the opening of COS on Queen's Road Central (the first outpost in Asia, isn't Hong Kong wonderful)? The sophisticated older sister to H&M will fling open its doors tomorrow at noon, and I got a chance to check it out on Tuesday evening. (There was also a 30% same day press discount on everything, but since I had to rush to another meeting, I didn't get a chance to take advantage. Boo...)



The store is everything you've come to expect from the minimalist Swedish label: generous shapes, fluid lines, lots of solids and sensible colour blocking or prints, architectural jewellery, practical and borderline dorkish footwear... all of it very true to Scandinavian design characteristics, in my opinion. It, of course, looks best on the very pale of skin and small of chest (neither, sadly, of which describe me), but that doesn't mean the upscale basics won't resonate with a Hong Kong audience. Think... Jil Sander's attitude towards colour meets Celine's approach to minimalist practicality meets Marni's sense of shape and proportion... or something like that. Or just go check it out for yourself.

Now, COS may fall under the same group as H&M, but the prices, it must be said, skew upwards -- say, $250 for a tee to $2,000 for a wool coat. Certainly not Frugal Fanny's favourite price point, but still surely a steal considering even Giordano Ladies has tags featuring higher numbers. And the quality, by the way, is more than a cut above H&M (where, to be honest, I haven't bought anything for two years save for a pair of glittery flats from the children's floor).



According to staff, size restocking will happen on a daily basis, and 20 new items will hit stores per week. The women's section is almost two floors, and men's is upstairs. Since I didn't get a chance to check out the store too much, I've been checking out the press kit (which is all fall-winter, boo!) and the spring-summer lookbook online. Already have my eye on an icy blue pencil dress with cutouts and a boatneck number in forest green.



So, see you there tomorrow lunchtime?