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Beauty from the Beast
There's nothing like a winter spent in a crowded modern city
to make you look - and feel - bloated, dull and bleh. But torrential rains
and baking humidity signals that summer proper has arrived in Hong Kong and
it's time to break out the sun block, the waxing kits, the speedos (or not)
and bikinis. But for most of us it's going to require more than a few
sticky strips of muslin to sell ourselves as summer beauties and project
cool (in both senses of the word) during the dog days, so bc went out into
the swelter and did what we do best - scrummaged around in other people's
business - ie we spoke to the experts.
Alethea Dean
You've Got It, So Flaunt It
Now
that your corporal cubbyhole is flushed, and your physiognomy fresh and
fitted up for maximum cool, it's time to put in those finishing touches.
Just as colours and fabrics make the chic home, the right furnishings can
make the elegant urbanite. For those seeking effortless new decor for your
fab, ayurvedically balanced body, Carson Kressley sadly isn't available for
personal calls, but don't despair - Hong Kong has its very own style police
to assess your perfect colours, cuts, shapes and fabrics for the summer
season.
I'm sitting across from a perfectly turned out Eve Roth Lindsay (and feeling
extremely nervous in my day's outfitting choices), the HK rep for
international image consultants Colour Me Beautiful. You know, the ones that
drape coloured scarves round your neck to tell you what 'season' you belong
to.
 Once upon a time, Eve
- a longstanding member of the fashion industry - was a devotee of the
designer's fallback: all over, minimalist, neo-Zen black. "And then I
had my colours done in 2000 and they told me I shouldn't wear black. And I
thought 'Whoa, that's my colour!' But I thought I'd give it a try and I
couldn't believe the reactions I got.
"I've done every aspect of fashion: design, photos,
styling, make up... Now I'm combining these disciplines with Savvy Style, advising people on
how to look their best in any situation in the easiest possible way.
Everybody's misconception is that you have to have lots of clothes in your
wardrobe. It's actually the opposite, the less
clothes you have, the easier it is to get dressed." One of the things
Eve likes about reality TV duo Trinny and Susannah (of BBC's What Not to
Wear), is that "they're not trying to put everyone into designer
clothes. And I feel pretty strongly that you can look great without having
to wear labels all the time."
And on her website she lists tips on the hottest trends, from
'A' for accessories (chunky bangles, beaded necklaces, straw bags, etc.) to
'Z' for zebras, leopards and tigers - prints, that is.
But the first step for any style overhaul is a colour analysis
at $950. "I have a special studio with controlled light - you have to
have pure light. When you're wearing colours that look good, you look better, it's as simple as that, though the process
itself is actually quite scientific. You work with your own natural
colouring and when you know what colours you should wear, that's what you
fill your wardrobe with. And then everything goes together." Eve
herself is a 'Warm Autumn'. That's right, it gets
even more specific within seasonality, with 12 categories in all. Though
the selections are far from limiting, it's not as though 'Autumns' are only
allowed to wear reds and oranges. "If you like reds
there's a red for you, if you like blue there's a blue for you. It's
just the tone of the colour, the warmth or the coolness of it."
 Eve stresses that the
price is a sound investment as you receive a booklet of 36 fabric swatches
in your particular colours. "Some people have had theirs 10, 20 years.
It really is a great tool. You also get your make up done, so it's quite a
lot chalked into that $950. A lot of women have their hair done every month
and that's about the same price. And the hair grows out."
If you want to further your fashion cred, Eve's Style
Consultation comes at $1,100. "We define it even further and we talk
about everything to do with the way you look from top to toe. And that
includes hairstyles and the most flattering glasses to wear for your face
shape and even jewellery. And obviously, the most flattering clothes to
wear for your body type, such as the best skirt length or, for men, the
best type of suit." And that goes for all ages...
"I've had 7-year-olds, 80-year-olds and everything in
between. I see working women, I see women who aren't working, I see school leavers. Styling men is a bit different
from styling women. Men are much more direct, they
want to be told, whereas women like to be cajoled."
Other services include Eve's shopping assistance, wardrobe
weeding ("Get that closet cleaned out and make a fresh start.")
and, most comprehensive of all, an exclusively designed wardrobe.
 I meet Christine
Peterson, business woman extraordinaire and recipient of this extensive
service, just after the tailor has finished fitting 45 outfits for her
latest Eve collection. Since having her colours done, Christine is finding
that, "Everywhere I go, people say, 'Gee you look great' and one of
the best ones was, 'Gee, you look young.' Which is really
nice. Another thing I get a lot of feedback on,
is that I've got such big eyes. I've always had such big eyes,
it's just now being able to show them off."
Having to constantly give presentations to large groups of
people, it is vital for Christine to feel comfortable and not worry about
the way she looks, consideration Eve takes into account when designing. At
$500 an hour (for the time Eve spends designing and fitting the clothes),
it can get expensive, but in the words of a business woman: "I believe
that it's much more cost effective than if I had tried to look for things
myself. Everything is co-ordinated so there's nothing left languishing in
my wardrobe. It registers immediately that I'm a professional, and that's
priceless."
Lucy Barrett, who runs a similar service at the YWCA, echoes
the sentiment that the way people look makes a huge difference in their
confidence. "Back in '96 I attended the course at the YWCA that I now
run. It just hit a chord with how I was feeling about myself at that time,
which wasn't that great.
"I don't tell people what to do or what to wear, I'm
sharing a tool that they can use to feel better about themselves. Some
people are great hoarders, accumulating lots of clothes over time and then
they're completely overwhelmed by how much they have. But they don't know
why they like some of it and not the rest, and that's where I come in. To
show them why that piece they haven't worn for 10 years doesn't work for
them. Usually they already know that it doesn't look good
but not why."
Their advice can seem both self-evident and enlightening.
"Your clothes talk to you," Eve asserts. "If you wear a
turtleneck and you spend the whole time pulling at it, it's telling you it's too tight."
"A lot of people don't see themselves as they really are,
focusing on their flaws rather than thinking about their best bits,"
counsels Lucy. "Look at your body for assets."
Where: Eve Roth Lindsay, 210 Sheung Sze Wan
Road, Clearwater Bay, Sai Kung or Frederique Spa, 4/Fl Wilson House, 19 -
27 Wyndham Street, Central; Lucy Barrett, YWCA, 3/F, 1 MacDonnell Road,
Mid-Levels.
Call Eve Roth Lindsay 2719 9674 or email image@savvystyle.com;
Lucy Barrett 2819 5991
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