Instant Goddess studies fashion economics at Sandro, checks out some Juicy (Couture) arm candy, and gets some bang for her buck at Dorothy Perkins

The Spring/Summer 2013 previews are well under way, making for one very busy Instant Goddess… I would like to say this keeps me out of mischief and away from the shops but au contraire, mes petites Goddesses! And the reason for my little French outburst? I was invited to S/S ‘13 previews of Folli Follie (sounds French, non? But is in fact a Greek brand), and Sandro which is a French brand, both of which got me dredging up a little Français from the dim and distant past.

Folli Follie

We have to kick off with Folli Follie’s guide to being an “IT” Girl – come on mamas, we can but dream:

“More is More” and “Lounge in Style” are my particular favourites and will be adopted whenever possible going forward… you have to admire my wishful thinking with a tot in tow.

If you’re unfamiliar with Folli Follie, it has now been around a good number of years – 30 to be precise – with over 10 in Hong Kong and London. Most famed for its affordable costume jewellery and watches, the bags and sunglasses are also definitely worth a second look.

These are my faves from the current collection:

From left to right: “Dazzling” collection leather and bling bracelet $785 (available in a range of colours), “Classy” collection bracelets $1025 and $1945 and if gold isn’t your thing these designs are also available in platinum / white gold effect. 

As well as seeing A LOT of studs this season, laser cut shoes and bags are making their mark and I’m feeling rather partial – don’t mind if I do to a bit of laser cut! From left to right: laser cut bag $2215 (available in different colours) and sunglasses, both $755. 

Sandro

Don’t worry Goddesses, I’m not straying from my affordable, humble origin roots, but I have realised that here in Hong Kong, plenty of people have a lot more money than this Goddess! Whilst Sandro might be considered easily affordable for some, I’ll stick to my Zara, Massimo, ASOS etc. (Then again, as hubby often reminds me if you tot up the multiple trips to Zara at the end of each month you could easily afford one or two of these!) But I guess I’ll always favour quantity over quality, because quite frankly fashion is fickle and I know I would get too easily bored of wearing the same expensive item to death. But, Goddesses, I’ll leave you to make up your own mind… will you splash the cash or not?

“Rivage” dress $2990, “Envie” top (it’s all about the back detail – ooh la la!) $2190 and “Eldorado” top $2445.

Juicy Couture

I often forget about Juicy Couture, but swinging by after visiting Sandro in the IFC, I noticed they have some fabulous chunky bracelets in store at the moment. Excuse the photography – I had to whip out the iPhone and take my pic before the velcro shop assistant stuck to me with a “no photos, missy!”… still, you should get the idea.

Juicy Couture $890

Dotty P’s

Summer is coming and these super-cute dresses from Dorothy Perkins landed on the Instant Goddess shopping radar this week. Affectionately known in the UK as Dotty P’s, Dorothy Perkins ships to Hong Kong and often offers great discounts and free international shipping (otherwise shipping is approx HK$120), so join their emailing list to get alerts about discounts and free shipping. But even if you do fork out for shipping, the prices are so reasonable that it doesn’t work out too punitive on those precious purse strings. Prices on the site are in GBP but I have made approx conversions for you into HKD below.

Ruby Rocks embellished collar dress $330, Closet denim tab shift dress $355, Alice & You navy rope crossover dress $345

Hair

This week Andrea Clark, Creative Director, of The Mandarin Salon at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is getting very excited about another grande dame celebrating the BIG 5-0… yes, the Instant Goddess is in good company (not so long back we also celebrated our 50th blog) and the Mandarin Oriental is also celebrating 50 fantastic years… Happy Birthday Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong!

Andrea looks back on 50 golden years of hairstyling at the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong: “A lot of wonderful (and perhaps not-so-wonderful) looks have evolved over this time. Let’s take a look at the styles which we will see blend beautifully from the past into 2013.

The 1960s saw the mod-look emerge for both men and women. This was the look worn by Twiggy and the Beatles. The hair was completely straight with heavy bangs inspired by Vidal Sassoon. It looked like model Edie Campbell‘s cool chic bob seen in Vogue recently.

As we moved into the ‘70s, the hippie movement brought about the long natural look of free-flowing hair adorned with headbands. We still see free-flowing locks, plaits and braids remaining popular today.

Later in the ‘70s, the punk era emerged and the higher the hair the better! The look featured coloured Mohawks and bright colours set as firm as concrete. A softer option was the Farrah Fawcett look with the feathered flick which remained popular for many years.

The ‘80s were big – in fact the bigger and curlier, the better! A perm, hairspray and teasing were the three vital components of this interesting period in hairstyling. (We won’t be emulating this again, I hope!) 

The best way to explain the ‘90s is to ask, did you sport the ‘Rachel’ from Friends, the ‘Demi’ crop from Ghost, or the choppy ‘Meg Ryan’?

The 2000s saw a resurgence of looks from every decade, both in fashion and in hair. There were boho and vintage looks, the gothic look, the return of the beehive, quiffs, extensions, and bobs.

Be brave this year. We are getting rid of dry ends, and cropping hair into soft urchin looks, as worn by Charlize Theron and Anne Hathaway. For long hair that turns uncontrollable in the humidity, we return to the romance of films, with the low chignon like Naomi Watts’ Academy Awards look. The list goes on and so will we at The Mandarin Salon in 2013. I call this year’s look: “Nostalgia”.

Midweek Meal Inspiration

The Rugby Sevens have been and gone… depending on how large you went (or if you went at all) you may be in need of a little TLC and comforting this week. So, I got quite excited when I found this recipe: a curry and pie all rolled into one… HAPPY DAYS! I give you the BBC Good Food’s Masala Chicken Pie. Oh and it’s relatively low fat and good for you – guilt free comfort food – even more Happy Days!

Full recipe here.

Yogi tea saying of the week: “He who is so quick to point out the flaws in others, is the one who needs to work on himself”.

Instant Goddess saying of the week: “Oh pork pie, where art thou? Instant Goddess needs to line her stomach tout-suite”.