Visa go. Hong Kong Super Shoppers!

Ah~ Hong Kong...I've already been there twice in the past year already, and there's so much I've yet to explore... Now is yet another chance for me to head back. *hou hoy sum ah~~~*

What do you think of when the word "Hong Kong" comes to mind? For me that Hong Kong ad kind of stuck. Remember the “买东西吃东西买东西吃东西~！”ad? Yeah, ever since then my impression of Hong Kong has been a place for great food and fantastic shopping. In fact, more the shopping than the eating, as I ALWAYS made sure I watch my diet whenever I go to Hong Kong, just in case. (Food's too good, dangerous~~~) 一不小心腰围粗了，那不是得舍弃香港的购物？*horrors*

The Hong Kong Tourism Board, knowing there are too many people who love shopping in Hong Kong, have organized a Visa go. Hong Kong Super Shopper contest, and together with Omy.sg, have extended the contest to Singapore!!!

How it works?

Fashionable participants (in groups of 2) have been selected, and each group, together with 1 of 6 fashion/beauty bloggers in Singapore (yes, that's where I come in), will form a team (by drawing lots!) have to complete a fashion theme challenge as set out by the organizers.

So...What's the Challenge?  

We will be given a theme, and the theme would be destinations/places in Hong Kong (e.g Kowloon, Causeway Way, Lan Kwai Fong etc. Each team will be allocated a $50 budget to create an outfit which they think best represents/suits their theme WITHIN 24 HOURS, after which they will present the outfit to a panel of judges. The blogger (me) will then write an entry about the whole teamwork process.

And the Prize...?

The winning team from Singapore will get to go for a 4D3N trip to Hong Kong, and represent Singapore in the Challenge taking place from 30-31August against teams from from Hong Kong, China, and other countries to compete for the grand prize of HKD200,00 Visa spending credit!!!!

VOTERS WILL ALSO GET A CHANCE TO WIN A 3D2N STAY IN HONG KONG!!!!!!

Yes dears, you'll get to DISCOVER HONG KONG~~~ Oh yeah~~~

  

(You know what to do~ *wink*)

Guess who's in my team!!!!

You won't believe this...

Recognise them? It's Nicole Chen and Celeste Chen!!! Yup, the hot sisters~

I just googled them, and trust me, even when we were putting the outfit together I had NO idea they were so famous.

Nicole's an international celebrity model DJ, while Celeste, the younger sister, is also a model. 

Both of them looked super well-put-together, it's like they're fresh out of Vogue magazine. I'm not kidding. =)

And the exciting moment....

6 cards were presented to us, face down. 

We had to draw one!!!!

Celeste reached out her hand and....may the force be with us....

We got....

We got............

Oh gosh we got.............

Ah~ Memories~~~

Tsim Sha Tsui was the first-ever place in Hong Kong I know about, because the first time I went to Hong Kong, I stayed in a cosy hostel in Mirador Mansion known as EastSpider Hostel, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is right smack in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui. ^.^

A shopper's paradise~ Tsim Sha Tsui is one of the main shopping destinations in Hong Kong, where you can find great malls such as iSquare (located just right next to the MTR station!!!!), Harbour City and K11.

Now, how were we going to come up with an outfit that would suit the theme of Tsim Sha Tsui?

To us, all Hong Kongers dress well. Do they have a Tsim-Sha-Tsui way of dressing? And if so, what does that mean? How is it different from say, Causeway Bay?

I came well-prepared. While the girls were still thinking, I whipped out my iPad (brought ESPECIALLY for the discussion today. I like to be efficient. *wink*) and started googling "Tsim Sha Tsui".

Voila~! Out came a long string of results. I chanced upon the words "Avenue of the Stars", and something clicked. We could do a movie star dressing, like one of the stars whose names are along the avenue at the Victoria Harbour waterfront. 

After some discussion, we decided it had to be Anita Mui. (It was a real pity her handprints were not on her mould.) She's one of the most iconic stars in Hong Kong, and one with great character and edge in her dress sense, especially at the peak of her career. She made major contributions to the Cantopop industry, one which Hong Kong would call her own, and she was famous for being the "Madonna of Asia". 

Who better than Anita Mui can we pick as the inspiration for our to-be-created outfit?

We went on to search and study Anita Mui's style...

If this last outfit seems familiar to you, it was the outfit she was "waxed" in at the Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.

I think they have since changed her outfit, because the last time I went in 2009, the wax figure of Anita was wearing this:

Is it the same statue or were there 2 statues??? *confused*

Different outfits, yet distinctly Anita Mui. 

Our conclusion of her style: Edgy, always with a female touch. It could be in her red lipstick, the cut of her outfits which would accentuate her waist and legs, or her eye makeup. And there will always be a somewhat androgynous feel to whatever she pulled off. She could be womanly, yet give off the aura of the strength and 气质 (disposition) of a man.

So that's our brainstorming....
Now comes the REAL challenge: How are we going to be able to pull off that kind of style with $50?????

And it's off to the trendy yet famous-for-inexpensive-clothing Bugis Street!!!

Had wanted to take a picture of the famous lighted words of "Bugis Street" at the entrance of the shopping haven, but it was replaced by a huge TV screen.

Anyway, if you don't know where this is (where HAVE you been???), it's just across the road from Bugis Junction. 

 And our sisters began their search for the perfect Tsim Sha Tsui-inspired-Avenue of Stars-inspired-Anita Mui-inspired outfit.

Celeste seemed to be the expert in Bugis Street - she knew every corner of the place, where to find what, and she manouvred the alleys with swift speed and ease. I was impressed. 

And there's Nicole just following her sister around the place, and there's me following the 2 of them, totally lost. >.<

 Nicole: My sister's the expert. 

 Celeste in fitting room, figuring out how to put the pieces we chose together.

 We picked this corset. Half corset actually. I told Celeste to just wear a nice bra inside, with lace, so it's more edgy and statement-y.

 Check out the material. Pretty!

 "Will this go with the black skirt we chose or not?"

They picked this mid-calf length black skirt with a netted outer layer that looked slightly gothic.

"We will finish the outfit with the huge hat we have at home."

"Ah! You can add long black gloves!"

"Yah yah yah!"

And then Celeste spotted this:

 Alright~ The outerwear looks like something you can actually wear to an event or function, so we dropped the gloves idea and decided the outfit shall be statement-y yet wearable. Woot!

Celeste: Auntie this one how much? 

*aunty mumbles*

Nicole: 可不可以便宜一点auntie? 我们很穷~

O.O

Aiyoh Nicole where got people bargain like that one???

In the end it was too expensive and would exceed our budget of $50. So the girls decided to wear something from home. I suggested meshed stockings with glam high heels. 

And our Tsim Sha Tsui theme look would be complete. ;)

When Celeste tried on the clothes I was very impressed with the Anita-Superstar outfit we came up with. 

It was gorgeous, edgy, loud, outrageous, and yet stylish with a female touch, AND it had a somewhat androgynous feel. It looked like something Anita would wear. *proud of us*

Curious?

I'll reveal the outfit pictures in a couple of days, how about that? And after you see the pictures, don't forget to vote for our team! Remember...VOTERS WILL ALSO GET A CHANCE TO WIN A 3D2N STAY IN HONG KONG!!!!!! *hint*

Yes I know you guys are very smart. ^.^

 May the force be with us! I WANNA GO BACK TO HONG KONG!!!!!!

RAH!!!! Huat ah!!!

IShallStart减肥ingSoICanBuyPrettyClothesInHongKongWithoutHavingToTryThemOn,

*~Silver~*