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South China Morning Post

How Hongkongers protected winter wardrobes from the perils of summer

Cool-weather clothes in Hong Kong have long been chosen from classic styles that would not date too quickly. As only three or four months of the year are suitable for most temperate-climate garments – barely two for heavier items, such as tweed overcoats – winter clothes were expected to last for many years, and would only be replaced on periodic long leaves or when an individual's body shape had changed too dramatically for alterations. Advertisement Hong Kong's torrid summer months with prolonged high humidity , weeks of constant rain and proliferation of silverfish, mites, moths and other insect pests, not to mention mould, mildew and damp, will ruin most fabrics not carefully packed away in specialised conditions. So what becomes of one's treasured cool-weather clothes from one winter season to the next – especially expensive, high-quality garments expected to be worn for decades – after they have been carefully packed away? A chilly December day is time to break out the warm winter clothing … but safely storing these seldom-worn garments in Hong Kong's humid summers has always posed a problem. Photo: Winson Wong Before residential air-conditioning became wide­spread from the 1970s, and the introduction of compact domestic-use dehumidification machines over the next two decades, creative storage solutions were essential. From India and Southeast Asia to China and Australia, sturdy, airtight trunks made from pressed sheet metal were the time-tested standby, which kept most clothes in good condition all year round. Garments were first carefully sponged down (if the fabric was unwashable) and hung for several hours in the sun – or dry-cleaned if local circumstances permitted – then carefully wrapped in clean paper, with crumbled-up camphor blocks strewn through the layers. Dried lavender, or other scented herbs, were generally used for more delicate items, such as silk or cashmere. After Naphthalene and other proprietary chemical insect repellents were introduced in the 1920s, these more pleasant-smelling natural materials fell into disuse. While undeniably effective, these products permanently impregnate everything from fabric and leather to timber-lined wardrobes and drawers, and no amount of careful airing in strong sunlight can ever remove that distinctive whiff of stale mothball. In cities such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and much of tropical Asia, cool-weather clothes were seldom required anyway. A few cardigans or jerseys kept handy for occasional short holidays at hill stations such as Malaysia's Cameron Highlands, where mornings and evenings could be brisk, were quite enough. But in wealthy commercial cities with distinct cool seasons that lasted for a few months, like Kolkata and Hong Kong, many residents owned numerous expensive seasonal garments, such as furs, that required careful care during the rest of the year. A fur fashion show at the Hilton Hotel in 1977 was indicative of a Hong Kong society where the wealthiest have always 'said it with mink' despite animal rights concerns. Photo: SCMP Archives In these places, a full-length mink coat, sable jacket or silver fox stole paraded an imprimatur of personal wealth and, by extension, longed-for social standing, to the watching world-at-large. And several such luxuries, carefully rotated through the season's dinner parties, cocktail evenings and club nights, demonstrated just how much that fortunate individual – or her husband – was really worth.