Living with Elizabeth Little: Angie Lie reveals her ridiculously simple styling secret
Today, Angie’s collection from Elizabeth Little includes face masks, — over 50 of them between her and her three children — women’s dresses, skirts, and blouses. Acquisition is often a family affair: Wendy or Angie might pop by Takashimaya to shop our exclusives there, or check the online store for new arrivals. What follows is a flurry of text messages and images between both sisters and sometimes their mum, and a consolidated order of everyone’s requests.
As a working mum of 3 teenagers, Angie tells us her style is first governed by comfort and the need to run after her kids. She also enjoys her Elizabeth Little designs mostly as everyday wear, though her older daughter has begun borrowing pieces for special occasions. Below, Angie — with a cameo of her older daughter, Aerin — let us peek into their busy lives.
Angie wears her own Keiko Cheongsam in Strawberry Fields paired with ballet flats from Jaime Mascaro, and a handbag from Bottega Veneta.
“I’m a mum of 3 teenagers and work in the family business. Before this, I used to teach at a tuition centre. I always wanted to teach, so I taught for about 15 years. Then my eldest started primary school, and all three of my kids play tennis competitively, so I stopped working there to join the family business.”
Angie often wears her Elizabeth Little collection for work and church. Here she wears a modified Keiko Cheongsam without the mandarin collar, which she prefers for everyday wear.
“My older girl is being more adventurous in her dressing now, so she will come looking for dresses or skirts when she has to dress up for an occasion.”
Above: Angie (left) and her 15-year-old daughter, Aerin (right), wear the Ava Cheongsam. Even though Aerin prefers solids to prints, she says this cheongsam is her favourite Elizabeth Little design to borrow from her mum — “I just like the cut and design”.
“It’s interesting watching the kids raid your wardrobe with their teenage eyes. For years, they would go for black, white, grey, or more muted colours and refuse to wear a skirt or dress other than their school uniform. It reminds me of myself when I was a teenager.”
The Ava Cheongsam features a peekaboo detail at the back. Angie pairs the cheongsam with earrings from Eli. J Jewelry.
Angie wears her own Yumi Skirt in Kaleidoscope paired with ballet flats from Jaime Mascaro.
“When I shop Elizabeth Little, the print must speak to me. I prefer prints that are a little bit smaller. Unlike my mum and my sister, I don’t always go for the “concentrated” florals; I like the more quirky, geometric floral prints. Also, Elizabeth Little produces in very small batches, which I like. Eileen has told me they produce only 4 pieces per size! So every time I see a print I like, I buy it.”
A typical work outfit of Angie’s. She pairs her Yumi skirt with a top from The Form, and flats from Jamie Mascaro.
“I’m petite so I can’t wear anything too long. My go-to item is the Yumi Skirt. I own five of them! I love this skirt because it’s a no-brainer skirt for me. When I don’t know what to wear, I just pull out this skirt and pick a coloured top to go with it. It takes me through my day from work to running errands to fetching my kids to the tennis courts.”
Angie wears her own Yumi Skirts, which she always pairs with a solid coloured top.
“People don’t seem to like wearing prints because it’s difficult to match, but I always do one plain + one print. If I’m wearing a printed skirt, I’ll wear a plain top. And if I’m wearing a printed blouse, I’ll pair it with pants or jeans. Some people like to do print on print but I can’t do that — I look nuts.”
This print was Angie’s first Yumi Skirt. She tells us she’s been wearing this particular print at least once a month ever since she bought it.
“I used to buy stuff just based purely on how it looks, but after a while I realised the value-per-wear of those items were so high because I hardly wore the clothes. Yes, this is $200+ per skirt, but I wear them all the time! And I just throw them in the washing machine — no laundry bag or anything. It’s still fine — just look at the colours!”
Here Angie is pictured with her mum, Lina, who will be appearing on our journal very soon too!
Being able to witness the intergenerational sharing of clothes, and watching how Angie and Aerin each put their own spin on what was once a sketch in our workshop — this is what makes our work at Elizabeth Little so special. Thank you, Angie and Aerin, for sacrificing precious sleep on a weekend to spend time with us!