Hong Kong Shopping
This column was originally written for KOIT radio in San Francisco. They don’t archive content so now I can share it with you.
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If you’re thinking of shopping in Hong Kong, be ready for sticker shock. There are plenty of high-end boutiques catering to jet-set tourists and the large number of local millionaires. High-rise luxury malls offer well-known brands such as Dior, Dolce & Gabanna and Gucci. If sterling silver rice bowls and brocade opera coats are your thing, local luxury brand Shanghai Tang has four locations in Hong Kong, and offers couture clothing and homewares with Chinese themes.
Hong Kong is all about the malls. Brightly lit and severely air-conditioned, the malls offer many of the stores found here or in Europe. Hong Kongese department store Lane Crawford is well-appointed. Their selection is vast, and includes several nods to novelty. One noteworthy feature was a do-it-yourself decorating bar for HavaianasTale brand plastic flip-flops. In another area, sneakers moved on a conveyer belt across the storefront windows as a DJ spun records.
While Hong Kong does have counterfeit knock-off stalls selling conscpicuously logo’d bags, it’s not at the same volume as other cities. The quality of imposter bags and accessories is very low due to the inexpensive materials and labor used. Better buys are genuine leather, in classic styles or trendy colors. Open the bags to study the linings and test zippers. You can buy quality handbags styled in the same shapes as luxury brands that don’t pretend to be something they aren’t. Shopping in Hong Kong is the perfect time to buy a flashy evening clutch at a fraction of what you’d pay at an American department store. Asian-inspired purses made of brocade and silk are abundant and more interesting than what can be found back at home, and the hand-beading and other detailing is exquisite.
For adventurous bargain-hunters, sellers lure sidewalk shoppers to follow them to back rooms and private shops (read: homes) to see wares. Sometimes these are counterfeit goods, other times the goods are seemingly well-made products at low prices. After hearing the story of a traveler en route to such a shopping spree who was stuck in a rickety elevator for two hours, this writer decided to stick to the well-lit streets. Such shopping excursions come with a very large Buyer Beware sticker.
The Soho area of Hong Kong is home to boutiques with local flair. This is the neighborhood to visit if independently designed clothes are your bag. Small stores in the hillside neighborhood are more approachable than the slick, brightly lit malls. You may even see someone working a needle and thread, creating the wares sold in the stores. The Soho area has a trendy, slightly upscale feel that is reflected in its restaurants and shops.
Nathan Road in Kowloon, a quick ferry ride across the harbor from Hong Kong, is lined with some familiar names as well as European brands. If your luggage was lost, this is the place to stock up for the next few days. Fairly average casual wear and shoes at bargain prices and an inexplicable number of jewelry stores line the area.
There are plenty of sidewalk stalls where prices are more of a starting point than a final rate. Anything from children’s-size silk pajamas to dish towels and inexpensive watches can be haggled down to a song.