STYLE SLICKER » - London/Hong Kong Fashion & Lifestyle Blog By Kit Lee 李潔儀

Spring fever

by Kit Lee Posted on April 17, 2012

The weather pattern has been quite alarming, a week of heat wave and then it reverted back to its usually cold snaps…come on make up your mind I have a hayfever to worry about. Not to mention my sister’s idyllic wedding setting this early summer, there will be a lot of (real) flowers I do mean in clusters, becoming a maid of honour I fear I will have a continuous man-sneezing fit when I walk up the aisle looking heavily dosed up with anti-histamines, I can envision the embarrassment. Oh dearie me.

My outfit:

Left: Vintage denim jacket – worn since I was 13, unbranded. Fine cotton knit cardigan – MEXX. Right: Floral print top – c/o BENETTON. Pleated skirt – ANTRHOPOLOGIE.

Left: Loafers – DR MARTENS. Right: Bag – BEYOND RETRO, Dalston branch. Scarf – borrowed from my sister’s.

Left: Vintage Russian basket – SOVIET ERA @ ETSY.COM. Silk chiffon scarf – my mum’s. Right: Rose ring – HOUSE OF CHAPEL (HK).

Posted in FASHION, LONDON STREET STYLE, MY STYLE, SHOES & ACCESSORY, VINTAGE | Tagged Anthropologie, Benetton, Beyond Retro, Chapel, Dr Martens, Etsy, Mexx, Street Style, Style Slicker, Vintage | 24 Comments

Style Slicker joins Instagram

by Kit Lee Posted on April 16, 2012

Instagram has finally entered my life (on Android) and loving it like a crazy-giddy teenager, there’s 18 filters to choose from to suit the vintagey effect and share it to your followers. But it sucks that my beloved film cameras are no longer playable as there’s no more funds to feed my hobby, they’ve laid to rest in their own boxes and I’m sure they will see resurrect one day, one day.

Please follow me on Instagram, my username is styleslicker :D

Posted in GADGET/TECHNOLOGY, LIFESTYLE, LOMOGRAPHY/POLAROID, NEWS/OPINION | Tagged Instagram, Style Slicker | 8 Comments

DIY: 1950s style jacket, part 1

by Kit Lee Posted on April 12, 2012

Grain line, centre fold, bias fold, notch, pivot, dart, ease line, blah blah blah these are the typical pattern cutting (dress making) jargon that has stuck with me since uni days. Have I told you that I can create a garment from 2D to 3D? Yup I’m a trained pattern cutter and machinist since I left LCF, if I had accepted the internship offer at Hussein Chalayan I would/could have been a designer or garment technologist at Dior, but I chose a different path, styling.

I wanted to make my own summer garments for a while after watching a series of 1950s movie classics at home, inspired by the cinched in waist costumes in the likes of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, Grace Kelly in Rear Window, Doris Day in The Man Who Knew Too Much, and many others. My fixation on ‘omg THAT waist!’, seems implausible to achieve for my awkward body shape (a small waist and wider hips).

Time wise, I can’t be asked to create pattern blocks from scratch but but but, thank goodness for Ebay there are wide selection of vintage patterns at a lower price, I bought this fabulous 1950s Butterick non-fitted coat pattern, and the Dolce & Gabbana SS12 inspired orange floral fabric from Borovick in Soho. This is just a sneak preview of the jacket, hem cut shorter, not sure whether to cut the sleeves shorter or not, and I have ran out of fabric for the front collar facing (oops) and in desperate need of lining fabric for the inside jacket, so I can complete the jacket by the weekend.

Stay tuned for part 2.

Posted in DIY, FASHION, LIFESTYLE, PERSONAL PROJECT | Tagged 1950s Jacket, DIY, Garment Construction, Vintage | 27 Comments

Luxe goes to Asia

by Kit Lee Posted on April 9, 2012

News of western brands and corporate companies expanding into China and HK markets are common, I’ve seen it and heard it all; retail and luxury goods, fashion brands, luxury e-commerce sites i.e Shouke.com bought by Net-a-Porter to launch Outnet.cn, and The Luxury Club e-mag (Hui She Shang) which I’m freelancing for has launched its own e-commerce portal, totally unrelated but I’m just saying it. Also there’s hotel groups, technology i.e Apple has 4 stores in China generate on average Apple’s highest revenue, public relations i.e Karla Otto and Mango PR, publication titles i.e Elle China goes semi-monthly (85% of its revenue is generated by advertising of major western advertisers and claims 1.3 million readers. Even automobiles, how many Maseratis do you see on the roads in Hong Kong Island? Far plenty, and for goodness sake my photographer friend drives a Rolls Royce, the Phantom one me thinks. Don’t forget Weibo the Chinese version of Twitter, Tom Cruise has over 3million followers. The list and examples could go on and on and on.

Jitrois, a small independent Parisian label is too expanding into China, launching in Beijing this summer. A short visit to Jitrois’s AW12 press day at their London flagship store on Sloane Street, what I loved about the collection was the art of craftsmanship and designs; intricate embroidery and fine stitching, sophisticated leather dresses create sensual and alluring silhouettes, the richness of colour, luxurious fabrics, exotic leathers and furs….and yes, the Chinese will love it and I know it.

Posted in BOUTIQUE/SHOP/STORE/SALON, FASHION, LUXURY, NEWS/OPINION | Tagged Elle China, Jitrois, Karla Otto, Outnet.com, Press Day, Shouke.com, The Luxury Club, Weibo, Western brands expanding into Asia | 20 Comments

Hair like a pro

by Kit Lee Posted on April 6, 2012

A few dozen moons ago after my work trip in Gstaad and Paris, I was invited to attend Percy & Reed‘s ‘Hair Like A Pro’ event hosted by ASOS, would you believe this was my first attendance at the press event (in London) this year since my return from Hong Kong in February? Goodness, have I gone anti-social?

Hair aficionados Adam Reed and Paul Percival created 4 key looks based on the hottest trends from the SS12 catwalks and introduced their latest hair products ASOS x Percy & Reed hair care pack sold exclusively on ASOS.com.

I’m quite familiar with Adam Reed’s work, we worked together a couple of times for events (Harry Winston showcase and something else) in the past when I was an assistant to stylist Marcella Martinelli, silly me for not approaching Adam and say ”Hi, do you remember me? I used to assist Marcella Martinelli.”

The pack contains some nifty goodies, each product features ‘very pretty and girly-leggy’ illustrations with fabulous hair; Quite Frankly Flawless Finishing Polish, Superstar Supersized Bodifying Cream, No Fuss Fabulousness Dry Shampoo, Reasurringly Firm Session Hold Spray (all 50mls) and Smooth, Sealed and Sensational No Oil Oil for Fine Hair (15ml) – For only £20 is jolly affordable for a luxury pack.

The pack is all about ‘texture and movement, with a glossy expensive finish’, feeling intrigued, I had a quick go with 3 of their products, the Dry Shampoo, Bodyifying Cream and No Oil Oil. Miraculously, it gives my un-washed-straight hair some body and texture, as seen on my last outfit post. Looks like I’ll be ditching other unreliable hair products…straight in the bin.

Thanks ASOS and Percy & Reed for inviting me!

Posted in BEAUTY/FRAGRANCE/HAIR, BOUTIQUE/SHOP/STORE/SALON, EVENT | Tagged ASOS, Hair Salon, Percy & Reed | 10 Comments