Biography

As newly weds, Richard and I moved from UK to Hong Kong on a three year contract. Thirty six years later we still love Hong Kong's diversity and its people.

Early interest in traditional dress worn in the New Territories in the 1970s, has led to my becoming an acknowledged authority on Chinese dress and accessories.

From being a fashion designer and lecturer, (one of my students was the New York designer, Vivienne Tam), I turned to full-time freelance writing and now specialise in Chinese culture and travel.

I have had over a hundred articles published in magazines and newspapers in Hong Kong and overseas. These include The Age, Melbourne; South China Morning Post, Hong Kong; Piecework, USA; The Lady, UK; Solitaire, Singapore; City Weekend, Beijing and many others. I have also written eleven non-fiction books, (see Books) and I am a reviewer for Asian Review of Books.

For three years I was Project Researcher for Rural Dress for the HK Museum of History and spent much of that time in the New Territories collecting traditional Chinese dress. Part of my own large collection of Chinese dress has been acquired by major museums, including the Heritage Museum, Hong Kong, and the Powerhouse Museum, Australia. In 1996 over 250 pieces from my personal collection were acquired and exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

I lecture frequently at home and overseas (see News/Talks). Recently I was Enrichment Lecturer on board the ship, The World, as it sailed down the South China coast from Shanghai to Hong Kong. For many years I was a tour guide for the Hong Kong Tourism Board and helped establish the popular Hong Kong Heritage Tour. I was also responsible for researching and writing the commentary for new tours run by the HKTB.

I am a Council Member of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.