Discovery

Discovery #1.

Les Nereides, is a French Jewellery brand. Nereides means goddesses or nymphs of the sea, which *ta-da* hints at the prevailing theme of *miserable drum roll* miscellany. Their charms look like they were sifted out of a bucket labeled ‘WARNING: TOXIC PARAPHERNALIA’, as the dangling rows of little trinkets range from blue genies to circus folk to anthropomorphic kittens and frog ballerinas to the occasional garden gnome to the really random Japanese Daruma Doll. You can supposedly spot the French girl wearing Les Nereides’ cutesy statement pieces with a simple outfit. Apparently charms are designed exclusively by Les Nereides, and not a third party-supplier, so each of the bracelets, earrings and necklaces are limited editions produced with tender loving care. They also have a younger sub-line called N2. Their blog has that same mood of reverie, and the designers appear to be fun-loving young people.

Sold Out "Café des Poètes" Necklace on Colette

Necklace on sale at Karma Loop

N2 Giraffe Necklace at Olivolga

N2 Pig Necklace at Olivolga

The eyeball thing is very prevalent in jewelery lately. As well as animal heads. The human race is sadistic.

Discovered at:
Shop 217, Silvercord, 30 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon &
Kiosk 3, Level 2, Beauty@Atrium, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon &
Small boutiques along Jaffe Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Discovery #2.

The Liger Store has an attention-grabbing name, especially to Napoleon Dynamite Fans who remember his incredibly artistic doodle on the bored student’s favorite medium of choice, the ubiquitous white printer paper.

The Sexiest Beast Alive

There is an underground, cult vibe that emanates from this store, because it is only for the adventurous. It was set up by actress Hilary Tsui (wife of singer Eason Chan), and stylist Dorothy Hui. Their respective blogs (Hilary's is here, Dorothy's is here) show their trendiness and a taste for high fashion.

Hilary

image via style

Dorothy

First of all, the store is on the second storey of a shophouse, with warm light beaming from the frosted windows, like visiting a guru in the mountains. There is a task to complete before one can embark on this shopping quest. Like a back-room restaurant with a packed waiting list, you have to press the buzzer before someone above silently unlocks the gates, and finally, worth all your effort, you are permitted to enter. Way to whittle down to the fashion worthy!

The brands I thought were really interesting were T.A.T.A Baby, Yeah Right and Johanna Ho. T.A.T.A (Talking About The Abstraction) Baby is a really cool Japanese brand that does hyperphotorealistic clothes, putting a whole new spin on trompe l'oeil. At first I was appalled at how they could blatantly rip off the Hermes design (duh) but then I realized the ingenuity, irony, wit, and artistry that went into it, rivaling that of Magritte's paintings! (Just kidding, Magritte is awesome... Tricked ya! HAW HAW.) I suspect they must have stolen some highly advanced color photocopier from area 51 though... A very plausible prospect indeed.Do you know what this means?! They can cut down on labour and time spent on the repetitive process of cutting patterns and sewing! They can also create the illusion of leather without having to commit mass murder! However, I balk at the thought of tons of people carrying the duds around. They also do normal clothes, and they are great as well. Very funky and casual stuff.

Hilary with T.A.T.A Baby Photo Print Birkin Bag

The bag featured on Jak & Jil no one knows about because Tommy Ton doesn't wanna tell anybody

The back of this jacket is even more amazing!

Images via Ancient Age

Johanna Ho is a Hong Kong graduate from Central St. Martins, who has a very soft but structural style. Me likey!

I attained enlightenment and bought a slouchy chocolate brown sweater from their house brand Oh My God.

Discovered at:
1/F no. 11 Pak Sha Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Discovery #3.

Similarly, the nearby eyeglasses shop Visual Culture is situated above ground, with hypnotic TV screens insidiously reprogramming you to find an entrance round the corner and up another staircase. Check out their blog here.


It is now an in-thing to hide the entrance; it's like a game, like the movie SAW.

"I WANT TO PLAY A GAME"

They understand how the thrill of finding that perfect pair is such an essential mission in life, such that when I did not want to get anything (since I had just gotten a new pair) I saw the sales guy’s smile falter with a slight smidgen of disappointment. The people here know their eyewear, bringing in names like Moscot, Shuron and Jean Maryll. They have Linda Farrow too. I LOVE LINDA FARROW x whatever designer, they make eyewear of an excellent quality.

Well, these look familiar. Linda Farrow x Jeremy Scott

Japanese Outermost Design Frames

In addition to aviators, they have beautiful GOGGLES, by Baruffaldi, a Milanese brand specializing in goggles since 1932. They look like the ones the old Up dude has.

Baruffaldi Goggles

Baruffaldi Annapurna Mountain Natural Leather Shades

German Fredenhaus Aviator Frames

Random factoid: in the 1960s, Hong Kong was the main producer of toy cameras like the the Diana, so you can probably trust them to be good with lenses, frames and the like.

Discovered at:

Flat J,1/F Po Foo building, No:1-5 Foo Ming street, Causeway Bay Hong Kong

-Miss C.