The Posh, the Dosh and the Ugly

Last night Hong Kong upscale department store Lane Crawford held a bash to celebrate the grand opening of its Beijing location.

Situated in the financial district, it's nestled in between banking buildings and five-star hotels like the Westin and Inter-Continental.

From the Fuxingmen subway station, it took us a good 15 minutes to get there by foot. I guess this Seasons Place mall is not expecting plebeians to come here and gawk at the designer stores and prices.

But back to the party...

The entrance was lined with tall good-looking men in black suits who just stood out there in the cold next to tall mirrored pillars.

The only way to get in was to have an invite and then get a special stamp on your hand that could only be seen under a special light.

From then onwards Moet and Chandon flowed freely, canapes floated around and chocolates devoured.

Lane Crawford's interior looks very swank, with marble floors, creative spaces and light fixtures. The room with jewelry cases was dimly lit with a wall back lit and in front were black pieces of wood stacked together that looked like black cork. Another room selling funky sneakers had a moving track from the ceiling displaying both shoes and clothes. You had to look up to see the whole selection and a bench was nearby so didn't have to strain your neck.

And yes - everything in that store was expensive. I don't think I looked at anything less than 2,000 RMB (US$267). The store had everything from Paul Smith suits to Armani, custom-ordered Pumas, Pucci, and Stella McCartney.

There were bottles of Champagne on each floor -- make that cases of the bubbly, along with a makeshift cocktail bar, and DJ booth.

But probably most interesting was the people watching. There were many Europeans there, mostly French and Italian, along with well-heeled Chinese.

I wish the Fashion Police were there as they would have been horrified by the outfits the women wore. Many of the women seemed like they were competing to see who could bare the most skin or wear the highest heels. They wore sleeveless dresses as if they were going to a cocktail party, not a store opening. Overall the men were in suits, but one Chinese man was in a white sleeveless muscle shirt complete with his belly-button sticking out.

But probably the worst offender was a young Caucasian woman in a dark suit with high heels, straight chin-length hair that had a mishap with the scissors. The worst part was that under her suit she wore a grey top that barely covered her tiny breasts and made her look pregnant. She was a potential wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen.