E: Examiner

S: Student

E: So we've been talking about the type of clothes you like to wear. And I'd like to ask you a few more general questions related to that. Let's talk about designer clothes. Are designer clothes popular in Hong Kong? 

S: I don't think they're popular in Hong Kong compared to designer bags. Yeah, designer clothes are ... they’re really rarely seen. Yeah. 

E: Why are designer bags popular? 

S: I think it's because it's more long-lasting, like you can, you can actually just wear it out a lot more compared to clothes where it's a really seasonal thing. And I think designer bags are generally more worth it in terms of money when you spend money on it. Yeah. 

E: For those people who do buy and wear designer clothes – as you suggested it’s expensive, what motivates them to do that? 

S: What motivates them to, you mean what motivates them to buy designer clothes? 

E: Yes. 

S: I think to be able to show to other people that they have the ability to afford them. They're capable that they maybe have a really stable job. They can afford it. That really motivates them. I think they also … in Hong Kong, especially trends … to show people that you're on top of a trend or that you have the most … the latest showpiece that is on, that is on display in a designer store is what motivates them to buy these designer clothes. 

E: So it doesn't really have very much to do with what they actually think of the clothes themselves? 

S: I think it does, but it doesn't really … it’s ... the proportion isn’t as … large or I think they might like the clothing, but I think they might like the brand more or the feeling that it brings them as opposed to the clothing itself. 

E: Let's turn now to the kind of clothes people wear to work. Do you think that people at work make judgments about their colleagues based on the kind of clothes they wear? 

S: If you mean by judging by age, then ... like judging how old they are, they are, then yes. I do feel like in the workplace, how you dress yourself can really reveal the age that you are at, but I think it also shows how confident of a person you are, especially for woman. Obviously, guys … you're all dress in suit, but for woman if ... whether … how revealing on your dress is or how revealing on your outfit is … can really show how confident of a person you are and how people can judge by your outfit in the workplace. 

E: Should people be forced by their employer to wear certain types of clothes to work? 

S: I think it really depends on your … the nature of your job. I think if you're in, like, a really formal setting, then obviously, there should be requirements, because it's a form of respect that you respect the people you're seeing, you respect the company that you're working in. But I feel like if it's not ... if you're not going to attend a meeting with a really special person, then by all means you can dress whatever you're comfortable in. Yeah. There shouldn’t be a limit to that. 

E: So, in Hong Kong, do you think that companies tend to be quite demanding about what people wear to work? 

S: Yeah, I feel like as I've grown older and just kind of semi, semi-stepping into the job field like in an internship position, I kind of feel pressured to dress like them because if I dress less formal, then I feel like ‘oh, I'm not respecting the opportunity that I've been given’ or, I feel like just stepping onto the MTR, you see a lot of people just wearing suit and just wearing really formal dresses and you feel like, ‘oh, am I under dressed?’, as ... 

E: Is it changing in Hong Kong, the way that people dress for work? 

S: I don't think so actually. I think that … it's maintain a really high standard. You never see a person under-dress for work, or maybe ... if the weather is slightly odd, then they may be wearing trainers to come into work and then changing into, say, dress shoes for woman when they get to work. But no, they're still wearing … like a really formal dress, regardless of the weather or whatever. 

E: Alright. Thank you very much. That's the end of the test.