My cheap, DIY Hong Kong date night!

A few weeks ago, I won a pair of tickets to the Joy of Music Festival here on Hong Kong Island:



Worth HK $200 (US $26) each, I was a thrilled.  I won these through the website www.sassymamahk.com, a site I found since arriving that has links to wonderful deals, events and contests. I wanted to look nice for the event without breaking the bank, and while perusing the Salvation Army in Kowloon Tong one afternoon, I came up with a brilliant solution. I had read about a wrap skirt on a site written by Geneva Vanderzeil, also a fellow western Hong Konger and DIY fashionista. You can read her detailed description of how to make the skirt here: http://apair-andaspare.blogspot.hk/2012/09/diy-proenza-schouler-inspired-wrap-skirt.html. Needless to say, if I made mine by hand in about a hour, with only the fabric and needle and thread, I'm sure you will be able to make one quite easily.

At Sal Val, I found this dress for HK $50 (US $7); I liked the fabric, but not the design:

 

So, I cut off the skirt, ironed the material flat,  and hemmed up the rough edges. Since the dress already had a black satin lining, I left it in place:

 

Geneva held her skirt together with handy little snaps; since I did not have these here in HK, I used two strategically place safety pins and a gold belt (Sal Val HK $10, US $1.33) for effect. I added a black tank (free from a friend), a pair of wedges purchased for US $7 at Mardens in Maine this summer and a costume necklace from a mall store here for HK $25 (US $3.30). Here's the finished product:

We had a lovely evening in the city...proof that culture doesn't always have to be costly. And if Geneva wore her handsewn skirt to a fashion show in NYC, I figured I was safe in HK.