Good As Gold

Yiyang is bursting with energy, even at the end of a long work day, and happily tells us stories about all her items of clothing. She often raids her mother’s wardrobe for clothes, and the dress that she’s wearing today is an example of one of her finds. “My mum is currently into structured  shift dresses, but I’m more into tailored clothes at the moment: clothes that fit and flatter my body,” she says. “I like her look, but I also like things are more fun, not so cookie-cutter ladylike, so while people go for statement necklaces, I go for statement clothes — in terms of the colours, silhouettes, and prints.” Her mother has also been her style advisor ever since she started work. “I only go shopping with my mother now, and I only buy something if she says that it’s nice.” That’s how close she is to her mother, as well as her two sisters who often give her honest style advice. Her mother even gave her the pair of earrings she’s wearing today, and Yiyang has yet another story behind them. “So my mother passed me this whole box of gold jewellery one day, and she was just like, here, have it,” she says. “I was so amazed and I rotated using them for one and a half years because I didn’t want to spoil them. But then one day my mum overheard me telling a relative about all the gold jewellery she gave me and she burst out laughing. “Are you crazy?” she said. “Do you think I’d give you real gold?” Turns out they were all costume jewellery,” Yiyang laughs. “But I still treasure them anyway.”