Given the dismal economic outlook, it comes without much appetite to suggest that one go shopping in Hong Kong. (To wit, I have rewritten this opening sentence at least five times since settling on this one.) But at the same time, one must tell it like it is: HK is about the shopping. It is not about reading circles and literary salons and idle afternoon contemplations over a cappuccio on the terrasse. It is about shuh-opping.

One of the most visible manifestations of rampant retail therapy is sartorial; Hong Kong is about clothes shopping. If that interests you, I’ll further posit that this activity will be particularly fruitful for those in the readership who are, like us, of a smaller stature. Because being in Asia — and being Asian, for the most part, unless you are Yao Ming — you will find that the bar on S, M, L, XL definitions is lower. And thankfully so; entering the fitting room, you may be surprised to realize that the erstwhile droopy shoulders, boxy sleeves and unruly hem-lines — that you have steeled yourself for after years of buying ill-fitting, potato sack-like clothing in the West — are gone. (And gone with that, too, the additional hassle and expense of taking the durn thing to the tailor afterwards).

So then, where to go and blow the proverbial wad? Ahh but grasshopper, that is a question of style and interest-level. As a start, Hong Kong, being a wonderland of materialism, carries all the major labels from Paris, Milan, New York, London, Tokyo. (Surprisingly or not, the prices for many European brands will be cheaper by upwards of 20% than back home. Guess who is waiting to buy his wedding shoes in HK? Word.) But really, it’s not about the major labels; the fun involves heading into the wilds of Causeway Bay or Kowloon to dig thru the racks of the smaller, local shops, which carry the wares of younger, lesser-known designers.

I won’t get into any sort of list of places to go; I think it’s best for you to just wander around Causeway Bay and duck into various boutiques, many of which are scattered in the upper floors of malls (unlike in, say, New York, which is structured sort of like tiramisu, with the goods — i.e. commercial and retail outlets — on the bottom, stacked above by a boring spongey mass of residential, Asian cities are set up more like layer cakes, with stuff going down on the upper floors, and even the roof, of the bldg). In any case, one place that we have reliably found cool threads and decent deals at is with i.t and its myriad subsidiary outlets.

I’m unclear about the corporate structure, but my take is that I.T is an umbrella company that owns several fashion outlets — sort of a youthful, ‘contempo-casual’ version of LMVH. When you wander into one of their main stores — I.T (for the fashionista grownups) or i.t (for the hipster kids) — you’ll see racks of clothing separated in sections by designer (if you’ve gone to Opening Ceremony in New York you’ll be familiar with the concept).

I.T also has something to do with two other outlets that we’ve also been lucky with: izzue.com and 5cm. The look n’ feel is all black, white, or otherwise neutral palettes. Wool and cotton dominate. Stripes prevail. As do funky touches, like built-in ties. Think Club Monaco with a tweakier edge; the architects will eat it up …