Almost every fashion insider I have met comments on how dressed-up people in Hong Kong are, and it's not always complimentary. Even at a glance, it's clear this city likes to dress up to the nines for any occasion. 'How fashion-forward,' you might think. But does dressing up equal dressing well?
Secretaries and executives alike traipse along Wyndham Street in their beaded neckline, satin-wrap dresses and four-inch Louboutins at lunchtime, but by happy hour many are stumbling bow-legged down Pottinger Street. Most 'suits' keep their two-pieces on for nights out - sometimes, even more bizarrely, at the weekend, despite the summer heat. Wouldn't you rather just throw on a pair of soft leather flat sandals and a simple loose white shirt with flattering shorts outside office hours? Good designers make those clothes too, you know.
Dressing up adds formality - the pomp and circumstance that makes our lives seem more glamorous than they really are - and we are suckers for glamour.
Dinner with friends gains pizzazz when you have the Bulgari Kaleidoscope clutch in your manicured hand or have squeezed yourself into a gorgeous Herve Leger strappy dress - even if you're just going for pizzas. Walking into a sky bar in a well-cut Armani suit and D&G aviator shades gives a man a sense of confidence, even if it's occasionally misplaced (especially four hours after sunset).
Fashion is all about creating a state of mind and confident dress transforms people. It's peacock culture in full bloom.
Does it boil down to our city's rampant brand obsession? Or is it a deep-seated status anxiety?
