This shop goes crazy twice a year: Once around Rugby 7s, once around Halloween…read more Indeed, if you need any reason to hang around Stone Slabs Street / Pottinger Street risking of falling off miserably any other second, hunting for some good costume would be a good explanation. Forget about Taobao or online shop. We (aka the party crew) constantly buy costumes here for quite a few years of Sevens and Halloween already, and the quality is always superior than the Taobao-equivalent. You got everything covered here, from the old-school pirates or cops, to the latest Avengers or Minions. Come with size too - I once bought a Snow White costume that specifically designed for men. Heard you want props? Yes, you need props to party. Swords, glasses, wigs, wings, fabricators, masks, you name it. Quite abundance in stock too, which you can safely assume that you can buy the props in bulk for all two dozen friends in the party to make a matching theme. Now two minus points. One - the ladies were very, very reluctant to bargain. To a point that I believed they knew I needed the costumes badly (I did, as I had to wear them the day after), and they knew that they were sort of monopoly around, so they played the cards to the max. Apparently customer loyalty isn't that important to them, as people only come twice a year. Two - lack of costume renting. I got it, this is not their business model anyway, but I'd love to rent a Stormtrooper or other more polished costumes some time without spending 5-figure on it, or rent a very seasonal costume and return it back, without wasting it at the corner at my home. But if you look beyond these points, yeah, party time!

Having a party and stocking up on disposable napkins, plates, glasses, balloons, etc...? Even…read morebetter, hosting or attending a costumes party? Yay! Who doesn't love that? However it can get a little tricky to find just what you need. Usually costume parties fun start when you arrive to the party and people start coming! Especially if you're the host. Not an easy task. That's why this place is such great one for party planning. Split across two levels (1 and 3) in the same building, you'll find party 'stockage' on the first floor and costumes, wigs and accessories on the third. Yeah, the fun is mainly on the third as you can guess. All kinds of costumes you can think of, they have it: the usual - princess, warrior, superman, spiderman...- but it doesn't stop there and I even found naughty and 'what the hell is that' ones. And they have much more online from where you can order! My fav pick were the wigs: there isn't a best way to dress up without it getting too ridiculous and it's still fun. They do have a ton of those too! It's probably best to buy online though because the variety is larger. In fact the shop isn't very big but for a first insight into your party planning it's a good place. Great for inspiration too! Now all I need is a party to wear my wig!!

From the owner: We personzalise party products and decorations from balloons, standees, banners, photo frame, gifts…read morefor birthday, wedding, graduation and more events to celebrate milestones and achievement. We make party a unique and special.

If you're looking for Vera Wang, you probably won't find it here. You can however, settle for her…read moremuch cheaper sister, Fera Wong (just kidding, not a real thing). Chinese knock-offs get a bad rap, but why the hell should you spend CAD $200 on your bridesmaid's dress when she'll only wear it once and it's probably ugly anyway?? Golden Plaza is the place to suppress those wedding budget anxieties with a little strategic spending. Going in for a walk is an experience in itself. Your eyes will get assaulted with all types of colours and sparkles that span 4 floors...and it's overwhelmingly glorious. I've been here on multiple shopping/pick up trips and I will always love coming back. I won't lie, some of the styles are less couture and more your Chinese auntie's version of couture. But look hard and you will find some really exciting stuff at unbelievable prices. Custom ballgown dresses seem to hover around the CAD $500-$1000+ range depending on what you want. You can get simple chiffon/tulle dresses for your wedding party at $60-$100 easily. If you're an online shopper, you might get lucky on Taobao, but I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for and the prices ended up being similar anyway. Talking face to face with the shop owner and being able to pick out colour, style, and material was the way to go. Other than dresses for every occasion at every price point, they've got a million varieties of shoes (customizable), real and fake jewelry, decorations, suits, photo studios, print shops...anything wedding related, they got it. You can't take photos of anything though, so bring a friend for consultation. Customized dresses take a few weeks to complete. We all know anything wedding related is suddenly inflated beyond belief, so places like Golden Plaza are a godsend. You might not want to get a wedding dress here, but what about 5 bridesmaid dresses? Bring in a picture of a $600 Jimmy Choo shoe, lower your quality expectations, and get it done for 1/10 the price. Remember, the essence of Chinese knock-offs is that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". And, of course, arguing your way to a bargain! My recommended stores: Lung Fung Night Dressing Co. (龍鳳店晚裝公司), Tel: 2390 7650 Pure Love Wedding, Tel: 2696 9833, facebook.com/purelovewedding (70/100) - 2017

UK brand Accessorize is a great place to buy, well, accessories. The styles are cute and trendy,…read moreand although is targeted towards the younger people, there are certainly some things fit for the mature audience too. There are no shortages of Accessorizes in HK - I think the first one I ever went to was in the basement of Times Square. It had since closed, but there are stores all over HK. It seems that almost every major mall has an Accessorize, such as IFC, Langham Place and New Town Plaza. Accessorize mainly specializes in jewelry. They have a wide selection of earrings, necklaces and bracelets and they're all adorable. They don't skimp on the quality either. They have a lot of value packs of earrings which are really worth it - eight or ten pairs of earrings for about $100! Their statement necklaces are gorgeous and would really add that much needed pop of color to an otherwise plain outfit. Accessorize does bags and clutches as well. You'll find anything from backpacks to shoulder bags to bags that are fit to bring to work, and they're all really well designed! Accessorize is a really popular shop because the stuff is pretty affordable to begin with, and they very often have sales. And their sales are great - nothing beats their end-of-season sales, where stuff is marked 50% or even 70% off! Once, I bought a pair of earrings that were 50% off, and when I returned a week later, that pair was now 70% off, making it only $27! I couldn't resist - without hesitating, I bought that exact same pair again but in gold instead of silver. In my experience, the 'sterling silver' jewelry - their more expensive line, and supposedly higher quality too - never goes on sale though. If you've never set foot in Accessorize (which, if you're a girl, is very hard to believe!), then it's time to make a change to that. And now's a perfect time too - the store at New Town Plaza has some jewelry going at 70% off right now. You know what they say - there's no better time than the present!