Forget pounding the streets, let your fingers do the shopping.
Vamastyle
Here at Butterboom, we love internet shopping. You can just sit back and relax as you browse – no competing with elbows, no umbrellas and no aggressive shoppers. Then after a few short days your purchases turn up at your door and, as if by magic, your wardrobe has extended. Again.
With more and more e-boutiques opening their proverbial doors, we decided to do a series on our favourites. We have whittled them down into easy to manage, bitesize groups of five and are kicking off with our top five online stores for independent Asian designers. Of course, all of them ship to Hong Kong and for most of them it’s free. Happy shopping!
Vamastyle
As Hong Kong starts to heat up, hemlines start to rise, fabrics get looser and more floaty and colours get brighter. Vamastyle is the perfect place to head to if your winter wardrobe has engulfed your summer one and you have nothing appropriate for the forthcoming season. Singapore based Vamastyle sells bright, bold casual daywear and beachwear. Think playsuits, maxi dresses and cute little shorts that could transition to evening wear pretty well too.
www.vamastyle.com
ZaoZao
This Hong Kong-based online store offers you a unique shopping experience and is a great way to support local talent; instead of buying what already exists, you pre-order something so that it gets made. What happens is that a designer uploads their design onto the website and then waits for people to place their orders. If they receive enough orders to justify them producing the design, then pre-ordering closes and the item gets made and sent to you. It’s an interesting concept and means that you can walk away with something practically unique at a reasonable price.
www.shopzaozao.com
Clockwise from top left: Blind by JW, Select 18, Hang, Oh My Glasses
Novelty Lane
Novelty Lane is another Hong Kong based online retailer that aims to bring independent designers and boutiques from across Asia to a much wider audience. They select the brands they represent very carefully, making sure that each one has a strong aesthetic and sense of style. There is a lot to choose from here and not all of it will be to your taste, but there are some excellent designers to browse. Some of our favourites include Blind by JW, a contemporary fusion of east meets west by two designers, one based in London, the other in Hong Kong, the duo are previous winners of the Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers contest. We also like Hang and Nudite for their edgy, feminine designs and Hong Kong based eyewear brand Oh My Glasses for their super cool shades.
www.noveltylane.com
Shop des Createurs
Shop des Createurs provides a platform for both local and international designers to sell their wares and includes designers from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan as well as 10 other countries around the globe. When there is this much to choose from, shopping can become a little bit overwhelming, but thankfully they have arranged them into helpful categories. You can shop by look, country or designer. We recommend the awesome sculpted dresses by Singaporean designer ARC, the spring palette and whimsical prints of Stephanedou Changleeyugin from Taiwan and Hong Kong locals Wear and Tear for their unique woven accessories.
www.shopdescreateurs.com
From left to right: Ellery, Stolen Girlfriends Club, Dion Lee
Christing C
This online store is the brainchild of Hong Kong based blogger Christing who decided to use her knowledge of the local fashion industry and market to start her own e-boutique. This site caters to a fashion forward urbanite, offering cool designers whose pieces are neither too young or too out there, but are edgy enough to make you stand out on style points. Hong Kong favourite, Mischa, is here with their Japanese inspired bags, as are some of our favourite emerging designers from Australia, including Ellery, Dion Lee and Stolen Girlfriends Club from New Zealand.
www.christingc.com