Introducing Amber and Nisha of The Broken Hearts – dynamic DJ duo and all-round nail art connoisseurs!

I’m a big fan of these sassy girls and Amber and Nisha have been incredibly kind and supportive. They even modelled for us before!

Today they take a look around the Fashion and Textile Museum to look at how art, style and music have interacted throughout history. Plus, they get a Barry M Broken Hearts-inspired manicure to boot…

Amber and Nisha are wearing our Bow Bells hand beaded bow dress.

For me, Chinese New Year has always been spent in London; the highlight of which was receiving lucky red packets of money and the preparation and eating of auspicious foods. This year, I spent most of Chinese New Year in Hong Kong and experienced more of this colourful celebration. Mini orange trees lined doorways and streets, and red lucky charms adorned businesses and homes.

We visited the village of Lam Tsuen, famous for its wishing tree. Every Chinese New Year, people flock to this village to write their wishes on joss paper tied to a clementine, which is then thrown onto the branches of a banyan tree.

To protect the tree from getting damaged, people can also wrap their joss paper around wooden racks…

…or tie to bamboo poles at “The Wishing Corridor”…

A wish card and plastic clementine (so as not to damage the tree) can be bought for HK$20 (about £1.60). The wish card has a selection of wishes to tick ranging from “I hope to receive a fortune”, “May I come first in examinations”, “May I be youthful and beautiful” to “May I have a happy family” and “May we have world peace”. Hubby and I bought one each; I tied mine to The Wishing Corridor and Hubby threw his onto the tree.

They say the higher your wish is in the tree, the closer to heaven and more likely to come true. Hubby didn’t do too badly…LOOK!

Elizabeth wears: blouse, Tokyo; denim dungarees, Uniqlo; sunnies, Linda Farrow Luxe; scarf worn in hair, vintage Bill Blass; shoes, Opening Ceremony.

In this season’s H & M Magazine, I join celebrity stylist Angie Smith, denim guru Donna Ida, UK Glamour editor Jo Elvin, British Vogue fashion editor Francesca Burns, blogger and photographer Candice Lake and co founder of shoe brand Bionda Castana Natalia Barbieri to offer my tips on how to look after your knitwear.

How to take care of your favourite sweater, by ELIZABETH LAU, knitwear designer…

– Hand wash knitwear in cold water with a mild liquid detergent or shampoo. Yes, your own shampoo will work wonders!
– Modern washing machines have a gentle wool wash setting, which I also use. The cycle must never be hotter than 30 degrees.
– Never tumble-dry knitwear.
– Don’t hang knitted dresses or jumpers. It stretches the garment and distorts the shoulders.
– To store knitwear garments, fold them horizontally. The fold wrinkles will fall out more easily and quickly when worn, owing to gravity and the weight of the knit.
– Deter moths with lavender-scented drawer liners or dried lavender bags.

The full article is available online here.

These cookies are too cute not to share (and believe me, they were mighty tasty too)…

Personalised with my requested word “HAPPY”, Sam (Sam Is Home) and Sybil (The Style Voyager)’s home made cookies really are made with love!

They came simply wrapped in a page from a traditional Chinese calender tied with string, reflecting Sam’s zero wastage eco friendly ethos.

Erm…I LIKE fun knitwear, quirky trousers, spotty socks and big sunnies!

Elizabeth wears…
Left: Knitted blazer, Elizabeth Lau; T-shirt, COS; Stripey pants, Comme Des Garcons; Socks, Happy Socks; Necklace, Vintage; Sunglasses, Linda Farrow; Rosemary satchel bag, Mulberry; Plimsolls, Vans.
Right: Union Jack jumper, Elizabeth Lau AW12; Shirt, COS; Dogtooth trousers, Comme Des Garcons; Socks,Top Shop; Sunnies, 1960s Vintage; Shoes, Opening Ceremony x Adidas