I saw Liv Tyler in a cool animal top and then saw that others are wearing similar tops so it seems to be a trend. Where should I buy one?
Wild on Top, Western
The Dictator rules: Whether you should dress like Liv Tyler or not is too big a can of worms to open here. Let's talk about the animal-motif tops of autumn-winter instead. As far as I'm concerned, they are one step away from T-shirts with Persian cats on them. Now, I'm betting you didn't actually see Tyler so much as a photo of her. If you had seen her in real life at the Givenchy autumn-winter show after-party (or bothered to read the caption), you'd have surmised the top was, yes, by Givenchy. To be specific, it's the Rottweiler print from the menswear collection that the label's designer Riccardo Tisci also wore at the end of the show. Since we haven't seen it in Hong Kong stores, here are some other top picks already on the racks. At the head of the pack is Markus Lupfer, who's offering a menagerie of sequinned animal graphics this season, including pug jumpers and deer tunics in grey or beige wool (HK$3,300 to HK$3,900; Lane Crawford, IFC Mall, Central, tel: 2118 7777). British designer Emma Cook's new collection has deer and rabbits running around on tops and jumpers (about HK$4,200 to HK$5,300; Harvey Nichols, The Landmark, Central, tel: 3695 3388). You might also like Wildfox's 'American vintage'-inspired designs such as wolf head and leopard jumpers (HK$1,350 to HK$3,390; Harvey Nichols). We love the Parisian nonchalance of the tiger sketch jumper (HK$1,590) and other animal-inspired pieces by Sandro (HK$1,590 up; Rue Madame, IFC Mall, tel: 2234 7880). By the way, even though you have little chance of resembling Tyler, do take some style cues from her. She wore the top with opaque black tights, sexy high heels and a tuxedo jacket. Nothing pussycat-twee about it.
I doubt you fashion people care about the environment much, but I was wondering if you knew where I could buy jeans from brands that have banned sandblasting?
Life's a Beach, Admiralty
The Dictator: How dare you? For your information, sandblasting (the process that gives jeans a lighter, worn appearance by using high-pressure blasts of sand) has been phased out by an impressive number of fashion labels. Countries such as Turkey have taken the admirable step to legislate against it altogether. You might be surprised to learn Versace, for example, has stopped the practice when making its sexy, fashionable jeans (about HK$4,350 to HK$6,500; Pacific Place, Admiralty, tel: 2918 1008). Burberry seems to have been enlightened rather early in the game, and has a fantastic range of jeans in various finishes and colours, especially from the Brit collection (HK$2,300 to HK$3,400; Pacific Place, tel: 2918 9802). For once, you don't even have to spend more for an eco-friendly product, either. H&M banned sandblasting, too, so you can take an anti-'Killer Jeans' stance for just HK$179 to HK$249 (68 Queen's Road Central, tel: 2110 9546). Other labels you can buy from include: Gucci, Levi's, Marks & Spencer, Esprit, Mango and Replay). Sadly, great designers such as Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli and Dolce & Gabbana still refuse to give it up, but they will hopefully follow others like Diesel, which has promised to quit soon.