Vegan Handbags from Matt & Nat

This fun bright handbag is actually made of vegan-friendly leather (nope, not sure what that means either, but it's a good thing if you're vegan) and a lining made from recycled bottle tops. Great to see vegan and eco-friendly design moving out of the crusty realm into the mainstream - perhaps Matt & Nat will soon be giving Stella McCartney a run for her money.

Image from Peonies and Polaroids.

Last Minute Halloween Costumes

When I can't figure a solution out, I often just try to ignore the problem until it goes away... the problem with applying this approach to a Halloween costume is that the date just gets closer and closer until everyone is talking about it and has their outfit all figured out! We've got a few really last minute ideas that should help if you've done the same as me and left it until the night before to create your costume.

1. Anything that involves dressing in black and backcombing your hair is great. Everyone has a black dress and a comb, right? A slick of dark lipstick and black nail varnish, heavy kohl around your eyes, rip up your stockings and put a safety pin through your ear and you're a goth... Not the most original, but we're down to the wire here people.

2. In contrast to the above, wear all white flowing clothes, curl your hair into loose ringlets, powder your face and smudge shadow under your eyes and you're Ophelia... or a ghost. Either way.

3. A great Audrey Hepburn look is only a little black dress, sunglasses, string of pearls, cigarette holder and a pair of long gloves away. Maura is a master at this look.

Hitting up Pottinger Street for accessories is best done first thing tomorrow morning - the crowds later on in the day will be pretty crazy. Have a great Halloween weekend!

Kanchan Couture Turns 2 and Launches New Collection

Last week I headed down to Play in LKF for the second anniversary party of Kanchan Couture, the fashion line designed by the lovely and extremely talented Kanchan Panjabi (in the pink hat above). The new collection was also debuted in a runway show down the centre of the packed venue, featuring some Sassy girls as models! In designing her latest collection, Kanch was inspired by the idea of recycling and cutting out waste in the production process, and also by blue and white porcelain. There also seemed to be influences in the line both from the 1980s in the bold bright colours, and also from the 1950s with the nipped in waists and full skirts on display. It was a great event, and I was able to admire Kanchan Couture's new branding by ufo republic which was in evidence all the way down to the little blue and white cupcakes.

Kanchan Couture is run out of a studio on Wellington Street, and you can make an appointment to view the latest designs there.

My Most Recent Delivery

My obsession with all things short is continuing...

I just received this cute (and short!) grey dress from YesStyle and it is absolutely perfect for the weather we are having right now. I plan to wear it with a pair of black tights and it looks adorable with a little jacket - which is perfect for when the cool wind moves in towards the evening.

I am quickly getting addicted to online ordering!

Sassy Hour at Mrs Jones, Thursday 5th November

For us Brits, the 5th November is synonymous with one thing - Guy Fawkes night, where we gather round a bonfire, burn a straw-stuffed effigy while watching fireworks and of course, drink far too much. Here in Hong Kong this 5th November, we'll instead be celebrating our last Sassy Hour of 2009!

Come and join Sassy at Mrs Jones, a super-cosy Italian bar/restaurant on the corner of Wyndham Street and Pottinger Street (you'll be familiar with Pottinger if you've been Halloween-costume shopping recently). As usual we've arranged for all Sassy girls to get a free welcome drink, some fab giveaways, and even some of Mrs Jones' delicious lemon tarts. We'll be chatting, making new friends and generally having a fun time.

All together now.... "Ooohhhh, Mrs Jones.... we've got a thing.... going on!"

See you there!

Rickshaw Bus

Saw the Rickshaw Bus go by today - the picture above is from their website which doesn't show that the design is pretty cute. There's even a fake rickshaw canopy attached to the back of it. Worth checking out if you have visitors or family in town who don't know Hong Kong, as their routes around the island sound quite good, and at HK$50 for a hop-on hop-off all-day ticket, it's a pretty good deal. Having visitors can be tiring, so this way you can pop your visitors on board and go enjoy some time to yourself!

Small Spaces: Elodie in Paris - 280 sqf

We're always on the lookout for great ideas for small spaces (HK is renowned for it's teeny apartments), so when we stumbled across the pictures of French fashion blogger Elodie's 280 square foot apartment in Paris, we wanted to share them as inspiration! On the image above, do you see the little plastic flamingo fairy lights hanging on the flamingo wallpaper? So adorable.

I love how feminine and cosy the style is, and how many creative and funny touches have been added to really give the space character. From the many paper lantern shades which make the space glow, to the little space invader decals on the kitchen cabinets. The use of the purple wall in the living room/study area separates out the space, and shows that rules are made to be broken in terms of using strong colour in small apartments.

You can make space for shoes anywhere - even in the kitchen!

Everywhere there is a lot of stuff, but by keeping it neat and colour-coordinating the books, it doesn't look too crammed. Keeping the scale of items small, such as these delicate bookshelves helps too. If you're looking for small furniture in Hong Kong, our favourite store is FrancFranc in Causeway Bay - exactly the place you should head to to recreate this look!

Here Kitty Kitty...

Vogue Paris... how do you do it? Kudos. Vraiment.

Kate Spade: Spring/Summer 2010

Kate Spade has released images of their new Spring/Summer 2010 collection, inspired by Coney Island, and showing a heavy Chanel influence (nautical stripes - check, black and white - check, quilted handbags, coloured tweed etc etc etc). I just love the frilly-necked dress in the top image with the gold bag. Expect to begin seeing pieces in store here as of January - so long to wait!

Inspiration: Hen Night/Bachelorette Party

Sometimes it's a struggle to think of creative ideas for Hen Nights/Bachelorette Parties. After all, most of us want to give our friends the fun of the traditional experience, but also want it to keep it semi-classy! That's why we love this idea from Melangerie NYC, who've created a special "Dirty Laundry" kit that can includes 40 little clothes-shaped notecards and a washing line, for girls to write up their favourite behaving-badly, funny memory and string it up for all to see.

You can leave the fake laundry-detergent bottle on a table to let guests know what they should be doing! The best thing is that afterwards you could save all the little cards and give them to the bride to keep as special memories forever. Available in tons of different colour combo's, there's a kit to match every theme.

Really feels like Autumn today...

And in the absence of any real Autumn scenery in Mid-Levels, I'm making do with this beautiful polaroid from Pia Jane Bijkerk, whose blog I just love.

Lazy Days at Home

I don't know if you've ever watched Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, but as part of his list of the must-have items that every woman should have in her closet, he includes a "sweatsuit alternative". The implication is that a woman should be stylish even when she's lazing around at home, or popping out to the local 7-11 late at night to do the ice-cream run. As I have a white long-haired cat, for me, lying around at home means gradually becoming more and more furry, which means I tend to go for old baggy clothes which can take being coated in cat fluff. My husband does not love this look.

In honour of the long weekend coming up and winter closing in, we've put together the perfect lounging outfit so that you can snuggle up on the sofa knowing you look effortlessly chic. The sunglasses are for if the lying around is hangover-induced!

Clockwise from top left: Sunglasses by Rayban; Satin Romper by Oli; Cardi by Sita Murt; Lanvin Perfume from YesStyle; Slipper booties from Gap; Pearly Bracelet from Topshop; Badge from Big Cheese Badges.

Short Little Mini

As many of you know, we started Bikini Boot Camp this week and while the girls who attend most likely have the same goals (get in shape, be healthy) I am sure we all have different motivations that are making us go each week. My motivation is the skirt above and I am praying that at the end of the 8 weeks my legs will look amazing in this mini!

I recently purchased the grey version of this skirt from YesStyle. A while back I wrote a post about how I wanted to shorten the hem lines of my skirts and when I saw this skirt while browsing their site I thought it would be a great way to start putting together my dinner and drinks style inspiration (see picture below).

Now that it is getting a bit cooler outside all I need to do is add a stylish blazer. Since the whole idea of this outfit is to show some leg I am going to try to hold off on adding black tights (which would be my security blanket) for as long as possible!

Here is hoping that my Boot Camp training gives me the confidence to show of my legs in this tiny mini in the upcoming weeks!

Inspiration: Autumn Picnic

Why not grab your old or new friends/boyfriend/husband and head out for an autumn picnic this weekend? The weather at the moment looks like it's going to be perfect (a quite unautumnal 28 degrees!), and we're just dying (Rachel Zoe style) over this picnic basket from This is Glamorous.

Sunseeker - Quality and Fashionable Swimwear

One of the things I love about living in Hong Kong is how easy it is to jet off to a warm weather destination. Because of this there is a very high chance that you need to be bikini ready at a moments notice and I recently discovered that nothing is better than a nice quality swimsuit.

I never put much thought into the quality of a bikini before. I figured if it looked good then the job is done. I was usually the one fiddling around with my suit on the beach because of the horrible fit. Well now that I know better I am only going for perfection from here on out and I am excited because I just added a new bikini to my small "quality" collection and it is from Sunseeker. The best thing is that the price is pretty good compared to other high end swimwear brands.

Sunseeker is an Australian swimwear line and they are well known for their "second skin" feel. Now quality is great but since we are relying on a tiny piece of fabric to make us stand out on the beach it also needs to look good and the Sunseeker line does not disappoint. Their Spring/Summer 2010 line is now available and the focus is on strong contemporary prints from flowers to ethic influences. My new suit has a tribal design and I am so excited to give it a debut on the beaches of Thailand in 2 weeks!

I highly recommend trying a Sunseeker on for yourself. The brand can be found at the following locations in Hong Kong:

Ozzie Cozzie, 3A Grand Progress Bldg, 15-16 Lan Kwai Fong, Central (2810 1356) - Sassy Favourite

Blossom, 1/F, No 16 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay (2890 2278)

Rush, G/F Wilson House, 17-29 Wyndham Street, Central (3102 0558)

ESCAPADE Sports & Leisure, Spa & Resort Level 1, 88 Tai Tam Reservoir Road (2812 3935)

Sassy had our first Autumn Bikini Boot Camp Session last night and one lucky girl now has real motivation to get in bikini shape. Jasmine won a Sunseeker swimsuit and I have a feeling that after Bikini Boot Camp and her new Sunseeker she will be the most stylish girl on the beach this season!

Lash Out

The perfect lazy girl's halloween costume... just stick on a pair, dress all in tight black vampy attire and look as though you actually made an effort. All the above images are of Shu Uemura lashes, which are just gorgeous, and look uber-high fashion... You can find cheaper but still pretty cool alternatives at Sasa. We've also started noticing more and more women in Hong Kong wearing falsies during the day, and not just the makeup counter girls. I just need to get over my fear of the glue sticking my eyelids together, and maybe I'll join them!

Affordable Wall Art

Do you have a big white wall staring at you from anywhere in your apartment? Ever wanted to be able to easily fill it with something bold, fun and big, without committing to a hugely expensive piece of real "art" that will cost the earth, and which you have a sneaking suspicion you might get bored of? Do you want something a step up from that framed poster that has been lurking around since your university days? Well, if the answer is "yes" to any of the above, Blank is your solution! Founded by Tinja Wright, a graduate from the prestigious Central Saint Martins School of Art in London, Blank aims to provide eye-catching and unique pieces of art that will perfectly fit with your decor scheme.

You can either choose from one of Blank's iconic Dramaturgy designs (shown in the images in this post) and customize it by playing around with different patterns and endless colour combos, or Blank can create a bespoke piece for you from scratch. We love the bespoke silhouette portrait or literary quote ideas. Maura is currently considering the Union Jack/Chandelier design above for her living room to hang over the couch.

Choose from 30cm, 60cm or our personal fave for maximized drama, 120cm squared. Blank are also offering a special launch discount of 10% off web prices to Sassy readers, so be sure to mention Sassy if you choose to order!

Season of the Jacket

This season is really the season of the jacket. Thrown over a summery dress, plain t-shirt and mini (as above worn by Olivia Palermo to great effect) or with jeans and killer heels, the jacket will be your statement piece. Even the high-street brands are going high-fashion with out-there options that will stand out without breaking the bank.

A boxy jacket is a great choice if you have a boyish or athletic figure or if you are tall and skinny all over (lucky you!). Obviously if you are larger on top then you might not want to add extra bulk in a place where you don't need it. The Topshop jackets above and below are so cool and different you would never know they are high street finds. Unfortunately while we wait for Topshop to arrive in HK (are you listening Topshop? We need you!) we'll have to content ourselves with visits to Singapore, Bangkok and KL.

We were in Shenzhen yesterday to get some dresses made, and noticed that the fabric market in the Lo Wu mall was overflowing with amazing fake furs and embellished sequined materials. Plan a trip there to have some jackets made, and bring along some pics of your favourite styles to show the tailors.

If you're super tall, or want to disguise larger hips or a pear-shaped figure, you could go for a longer-length coat that gives a more formal look. I'm not nearly brave enough to attempt this many gold sequins (as on the Philip Lim coat above), but think it's ultimately glamourous all the same. If you want to emphasize your curves, you can always belt a furry gilet, as with this little H&M number above on the right which I can imagine would look amazing with black opaque tights and knee-high boots.

Bring on the colder weather!

Image of Olivia Palermo via The Sartorialist.

Lose your dim sum bum! Join Sassy for Bikini Bootcamp

Tomorrow at 7.30pm we'll be starting our Autumn Bikini Bootcamp programme! Now that the weather has finally cooled down, we're excited to be able to exercise outside again - leaving the treadmill for some fresh air and a lot of workout fun. We ran our first programme of Bikini Bootcamp back in May, and enjoyed it so much we couldn't wait until next summer to do it again. With the holiday season coming up fast, and all the mooncakes we devoured for mid-Autumn festival, we're needing to put in some work to whittle our waistlines.

Each session is $150 payable in cash on the day, and we'll be meeting in front of the Hong Kong park Sports Centre which is right next to the Peak Tram (perfect if you work in Central or Admiralty). If you need a little time to find a locker (bring your HK ID) and get changed, please arrive at 7.15pm. You can find all the details on the Events page of the Sassy website, or email us to find out more at sassy@sassyhongkong.com.

All levels of fitness are catered for, and the emphasis is on fun as well as fitness! Hope to see you there tomorrow.

Video from our Launch Party!

We were so happy to have a videographer from Entertaining Asia at our Launch Party on September 23rd - he did a such fabulous job! Take a look! It will be fun to have our memories of this party for a long time to come.

We've also now got our own Sassy page on YouTube (they call them "channels", but that sounds a bit poncey to us!) where we'll be able to upload event videos in future. Fun!

Mrs. Jones Restaurant & Bar

There is something about having a nice long lunch with a friend. I had one of those lunches today at Mrs. Jones, which is a place I have wanted to eat at for a while - so it was pretty much a win-win situation for me!

Mrs. Jones is a cozy Italian restaurant on the corner of Pottinger and Wyndham Street. The restaurant was inspired by Billy Paul’s jazz song “Me & Mrs. Jones” and jazz is played throughout the restaurant, which was perfect for a lingering lunch. They sometimes have live jazz music playing which I think would be a perfect accompaniment for an after dinner drink.

I was starving when I arrived so I was very much looking forward to a delicious meal and Mrs. Jones did not disappoint. We started off with the garlic bread which I basically devoured and while it was very good I suggest bringing breath mints for after :-) For lunch I had the crab and prawn ravioli and my friend had Chicken Parmesan, which has always been one of my favourite dishes. Although we were stuffed after our main course we convinced ourselves that we could find enough room for dessert. Being a chocolate lover I ordered the Chocolate fudge cake and my friend ordered the Lemon Tart. The Lemon Tart was the hands down winner of the entire meal – it was so good!

The prices are very reasonable and they have a set lunch for $98, which is very good. Also, they have no corkage fee on Sunday evenings!

Stop by Mrs. Jones and have a drink with us at our Sassy Hour on November 5^th!

Mrs. Jones, Upper Basement, Harllela House, 79 Wyndham Street, Central (2522 8118)

Vivienna Tam Laptop

A laptop cunningly disguised as a beautiful clutch purse? Why thank you Vivienne Tam and HP, we love this idea, and can just see ourselves rocking up at our nearest coffee shop (otherwise known as the Sassy office) with this in hand. Available in Spring 2010, if I wasn't a total mac addict I'd certainly have this on my wish list. It's the very latest in geek chic.

Chiva-Som Event at Kee Club

Life here in Hong Kong can sometimes be a little hectic. We work hard and play hard and the lack of time for ourselves can really wear a person thin. If you are in need of some major rejuvenation and relaxation then come to the Chiva-Som event at Kee Club on the 20th and 21st of October to learn how a get-away retreat can help you. Details for the event are in the invitation above.

Chiva-Som is a luxury resort in Hua Hin, Thailand, which focuses on a holistic approach to health that incorporates mind, body and spirit. The resort is absolutely gorgeous and their main goal is to leave you feeling refreshed, energized and inspired. Guests can enjoy massages, spa cuisine, holistic treatments and fitness activities. To ensure that you have enough time to really wind down their minimum stay is for 3 nights. Chiva-Som has a number of retreats such as Fitness, Yoga and Spa Pampering so you can pick which area of focus you want to explore during your stay. I am already eyeing up the Yoga retreat for myself!

Space is limited so admission to this event is by RSVP only. Email booking@keeclub.com or call 2810 9000 to reserve your space on the guest list.

Where is Home?

I am leaving today to go back to the US (Miami, Fl) to visit my family and friends. My sister's daughter, Olivia, is turning the rightful age of 1! I wouldn't miss her birthday for the world. Going home for me brings so much excitement.....yet at the same time I know that I will truly miss Hong Kong for the next few weeks. So comes the question, where is home? I once thought home was the place I grew up, where I went to school, where my family is located. Now that I am leaving Hong Kong to go "home" I realize that I am going to miss my new "home" here in Hong Kong.

See you in a few weeks :)

Tweetcamp

The world of Twitter can be a confusing one for newbies - how is it different from Facebook? How do I use it to communicate with friends, businesses and organisations? What do all the RTs and #-tags mean, and how do I know who to follow? It can feel like the whole world is having a conversation that you don't know how to access.

Tweetcamp, an all-day comprehensive Twitter training programme run by Jay Oatway (the top Tweeter in Hong Kong) and Perri Gorman of Be the Butterfly aims to introduce you to the Twitter experience and teach participants about the relevance, importance and strategy of tweeting. From a Sassy point of view, of running a small business, we've found using Twitter to be a great way to connect with other Hong Kong businesses, keep up-to-date with the latest news and update our members about upcoming events. Once you learn how to tap into the technology, this is an invaluable tool for entrepreneurs, or anyone with a message they would like to get heard.

Tweetcamp is offering Sassy girls (that's you!) a special discounted rate of HK$1200 for the day, which includes the whole day session, plus coffee breaks and a networking buffet lunch. Tweetcamp will be held at Clifton's Training Centre in Central.

Tweetcamp is this Saturday, and you can email Perri for more information and to take advantage of the special Sassy offer at perri@be-thebutterfly.com.

Fierce Nails

ooh... I want!

via I Know What You Wore...

Cheap and chic?

One of my pet peeves is when fashionistas talk about "budget" items that are anything but budget. I just came across this article on the New York Times Fashion Blog, "The Moment" about Kelly Bergin t-shirts (which admittedly look absolutely gorgeous), which they describe as "cheap and "chic". My favourite line is "the best part is that most pieces are under $100, and none are more than $300". Um, that's US dollars people. Perhaps to Melissa Ventosa Martin who wrote the piece, that's a real steal, but for me? Not so much...

Private Sale: Tina Barrat Bijoux Couture

Tina Barrat will be holding a private sale tomorrow from 10am to 4pm of her fabulous jewellery. We recommend checking it out!

Halloween Fun

As we've mentioned before, Halloween is kind of a big deal in Hong Kong... Revelers throng in the streets of LKF, children are dressed in impossibly adorable outfits and people line up outside the buildings in Central to have their pictures taken with the most outlandishly-costumed.

While wandering the streets is very entertaining, it can get VERY busy and crowded, so it's always a good idea to make a plan in advance of where you're going to end up. We've got a couple of Sassy recommendations to make!

First up is RED (both the ifc and SoHo locations) which is putting on special "Fright Night" set dinners for the occasion, including such delicious-sounding items as the Slimeball (an oyster shooter) and the Spirit of Darkness (shown above) which is a dark chocolate mousse complete with white chocolate ghosts.

The four course dinner which includes half a bottle of house wine per person is HK$500 plus service, but if you book before the 30th October, you can take advantage of the dinner offer plus an open bar until 2am for HK$900 per ticket. To reserve your spot at this ghoulish feast, call 8199 8189.

Second is Stachetober, which is Halloween silliness at its best, and for a great cause. Since the end of September, some brave Hong Kong guys have binned their razors in order to grow the best moustache they possibly can. Friends, family and co-workers sponsor these admirable efforts by providing donations to Room To Read. On the 31st October at Box Thai, "Stacheteers" will meet for a face-off to determine the overall winner, and to have a super-fun party.

The party begins at 10.30pm, and entry is HK$150 which includes a welcome drink and a HK$50 donation to Room to Read. For the rest of the night cocktails will be HK$50. To reserve your place, email information@stachetober2009.com.

Both events are sure to be great so it will be a tough decision!