H&M

For the longest time, H&M was an exclusive privilege for people who traveled to Europe and North America. Their stuff was literally cheap and chic. Got this £20 top (pic above) from H&M in London before I went up to Scotland, thinking I wouldn't see it when I'm in HK.

But since H&M was preparing for their first flagship in Asia and basically covered the whole of Central in ginormous Madonna posters, H&M is now a household name (and most HK people probably think the M stands for Madonna). The Madonna effect certainly worked for H&M - on weekends you can see thousands and thousands of people carrying H&M bags and you still have to queue to get in the store.

Just the other day, I saw a student wearing the exact same top at school. Damn you, Madge!