Over at Gweilo Diaries, Conrad keeps us au courant:
Hong Kong is in the grips of a mystery pneumonia bug, and the local populace has clearly become worried by the epidemic. Walking around the sidewalks and travelling on the subway in this frenetic city, one can now see a large proportion of the local populace wearing protective surgical masks to cover their faces. But some inhabitants of this city - which in the 1990s became internationally synonymous with conspicuous consumption, infamously outdoing even Manhattan and Beverly Hills in sheer showiness - have grasped the situation in their own hands and taken it as an excuse to go shopping.Kewl! Just think of what an improvement Barbra Streisand in a mask would be.
...
Back at Louis Vuitton, a tai-tai who had bought two of the limited edition masks - presumably one for herself and one for her husband - wandered back into the store yesterday to say how much she loved her new mask and how jealous the other members of her lunch group were. Before speaking she of course had to unclasp the Louis Vuitton Connolly leather mask that she was wearing... and then reached down to unclasp the second Louis Vuitton Connolly leather mask that her pet poodle Benzie was wearing.
