Had a quiet week on the blog, was off to Hong Kong for some client meetings. Picked some really value for money stuff from the wonderful Granville Road for the little time I had to explore the town.
What am I wearing? Ahhh!!! This awesome black shoulder detailed jacket and the leopard print clutch (so I so love it) are part of my treasure hunt in Hong Kong!!!! And I am so loving it. It’s amazing to see how my style has evolved over the years. Once upon a time……. I was a girl who sticked to black, and greys and blues that were nearly black, for every occasion and completely alienated bright colours from my wardrobe. And here I am in purple pants and red shoes.
Back to the present. The excitement of getting into the new clothes completely made me oblivious to the winter heat of Mumbai (Mumbai does not understand one word and that is WINTER, the only thing I don’t like about Mumbai is it does not have my favourite season) and I wore this black jacket on a full sun afternoon.
Zara Pants, Aldo Shoes, Amazing (HK) Jacket, Mango Camisole, Bag from HK, Cartier Roadster Watch
Shopping in Hong Kong was an absolutely different experience and fun. For me Hong Kong was all about pragmatic shopping, sticking to buying only the items that I ‘needed’ rather than I ‘wanted’ (let’s not get into the need and want theory at the moment, we’ll talk about it soon). Despite not coming away with a lot of things, it was a wonderful feeling to see all those wonderful clothes, bags and shoes – a real nourishment for the eyes.
I had decided to steer clear from shopping malls and the ubiquitous high street brands (I’d give that an almost) which pretty much everyone around the world are spotted wearing. Stayed loyal to the local stores and boutiques whenever I could sneak out in the evenings after a day full of meetings. What I loved about shopping in Hong Kong was that you don’t have an excuse not to shop. Even if you are late from work, the stores in some shopping districts, like my new favourite Granville Road, are open until an insanely twenty third and a half hour of the day (whoops, its midnight by then – 11.30pm). Yayyyy!!!. I wish it was the same in London, which is where I mostly go for my shopping sprees.
I was told that Hong Kong is quite an expensive city but I was in for a surprise when I picked Granville Road in Tsim Sha Tsui as my first spot to start shopping. Thankfully even the exchange rate was lucrative compared to the European currency (1 HKD was Rs 6.6 as against Rs 80 for 1 GBP). Would you believe if I told you that I bought: a jacket, a bag (wore above), 2 dresses, a pair of leggings, four belts all for just under Rs 10,000 ($200). Isn’t it extraordinary? I still have to pinch myself to believe it’s a reality!!!!!!!!!!!
It was my first experience of a midnight shopping (midnight shopping was a first), walking alone in an alien country, in unknown streets filled with copious amount of (small) stores and among so different looking people; and it was absolutely amazing. Most of these stores didn’t have fitting rooms, so you can only try on the jackets while for the rest of the clothing you have to go by your gut feeling. But hey, if they don’t fit you right you can get an exchange for something else (no refunds). Was quite unusual and inconvenient but I soon got used to it.
I tried some bargaining and was happy to be successful at a few stores that offered me, a not so generous five (and in some cases ten) percent discount. Am not complaining though, something is better than nothing.
Hong Kong gear up, I am coming soon with a bigger budget and more time in hand to shop and explore you!!!!!!!! (am so happy that can’t stop myself from adding these exclamation marks).
