Interview with what the frock?!

For this week’s Sassy Hour we decided to do something a bit special, and help to launch the new clothing brand of two Sassy girls, ‘what the frock?!‘, which is a line of dresses in simple styles, gorgeous fabrics and fun patterns and colours. The great thing about ‘what the frock?!”s dresses are they are the kind of summery dress that we all need a whole wardrobe full of – the kind that you can throw on in the day time with some flip flops for running around town, and in the evening rock with a pair of heels and a ton of jewellery to dress it up. We interviewed founders, Lauren and Maria to find out how they got the inspiration for ‘what the frock?!‘ and their favourite pieces from the collection:

Lauren told us: “We got chatting one day about the lack of mid-ranged clothing options here in Hong Kong, well exciting ones at least and ones that weren’t just run of the mill high street.  What we really wanted were stylish summer frocks, ones that were unique in style and that were made of quality fabrics and more importantly that wouldn’t dent your credit card!  And that’s when we had a light bulb moment and we set about making our idea come to life.. and here we finally are with ‘what the frock?!'”

Lauren first came to Hong Kong when, “I moved here a year ago with my partner who was transferred here for work, and was pretty much the ‘trailing spouse’.  Having resigned from my job in marketing with a big global company, I wondered what would be in store for me in Hong Kong?  After a couple of months settling in to life here I decided that now, would be a great opportunity to try my hand at something different.  I mean how many people get an opportunity in life to do this? And a break from the corporate world wasn’t so bad, it fact it was a great idea!  So I set about brainstorming business ideas and would constantly be scribbling them down.  A few ideas were a little far fetched but then one just popped out.  They say that a good idea generally stems from fulfilling an unmet need, and in this instance for me, it was not being able to find reasonably priced, unique clothing in Hong Kong. And so from that ‘what the frock?!‘ originated.  It is something that I am passionate about and it really doesn’t feel like work, so I guess that is just a bonus!”

Lauren’s favourite frock, “would have to be the silk strapless tiered dress (HK$699). Not only is it sumptuous to wear but it is the perfect attire for those sweltering summer days in Hong Kong! I also love that you can dress it down for a day at the beach or spruce it up with your favourite accessories to wear out on those hot and balmy summer nights.”We asked Maria how she came to be interested in starting her own clothing company and she said, “I have always loved fashion and style.  As a kid I was forever changing outfits during the day and running around in my mom’s heels! In my native Mexico I worked as a Women’s Fashion Buyer for a large chain of department stores before moving to London to pursue a Masters degree in Fashion Business Management. After completing the degree my partner was posted to Hong Kong so we both made the move and very quickly fell in love with the city.

“One of my favourite picks of the collection would have to be the black ribbon dress (HK$799), a classic LBD with a twist. I love it because it exudes a feminine and flirtatious style. When you zip into this LBD you are likely to make heads turn whether it be in the office, on a date or having drinks with your friends. What girl wouldn’t like that?”

Maria also told us: “I’ve been lucky enough to live in places where people are inherently fashionable such as Italy, France, London and now Hong Kong.   The difference in Hong Kong is that there is much less choice of quality affordable fashion, and I very soon met someone who agreed with me in my fellow CFO (Chief Frock Officer!) Lauren. Our desire to change this is the catalyst of ‘what the frock!?‘.  We are both passionate about creating our dresses and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the SASSY girls think of them!”

You can view the first ‘what the frock?!‘ collection at Sassy Hour this Thursday at Roxie from 6.30-9.30pm and the dresses will also be on sale at the event if you’d like to get a head start on your summer wardrobe! Take a look at the collection online at whatthefrock.net.