Nailed it!

Milan, Paris, New York, Hong Kong--these are all of the places that we look toward for fashion forward inspiration. I am adding mainland China to the list after my recent stay there. Of course one expects huge cites - and I mean huge- like Shanghai (pop. of 23mil.) and Beijing (19 mil.) to offer brand names like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc etc etc, and they do just that. However, the easy access to cutting edge fashion in popular cities is not what impressed me. Instead, I was blown away with fashion and luxury culture in even the smallest of towns.

Lines outside of stores like Chanel and Hermes in Hong Kong.

My boyfriend and I took an hour trip outside of Shanghai to Suzhou which is known for its imperial gardens and beautiful women. What I was not expecting to see was  luxury storefronts amidst such a rural background of jade gardens and tea houses.  It is like you can not escape the shopping culture in China. And what's crazy is that if it's there, that means that people are buying it!

The fashion focus in China goes literally from head to toe. While Sally Hanson has made beautiful manicured nails more easily attainable and affordable with products like Salon Effects Polish Strips, China takes the manicure to an entirely different level. Think Tokyo Nail Expo!

Tokyo Nail Expo. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20110130x1.html

In Guangzhou, where I spent most of my time during the trip, I too indulged in a luxury manicure and pedicure once or twice. I spent half the price and got twice the result!

My manicure in Guangzhou. (Excuse the swollen airplane hands.)

My thoughts on fashion in China: Nailed it!!

With never too much love,
Aubrey