Living with Elizabeth Little: Lina Lie shows us how to embrace colours
Remember our last feature with Angie and her 15-year-old daughter, Aerin? Today, we have the privilege of sharing sartorial inspiration by Angie’s mum, Aunty Lina. While Aunty Lina tells us her youngest daughter, Wendy, is the shopper of the family, it is clear to everyone present at our photo shoot that Lina is not without styling smarts of her own.
As evident from below, Aunty Lina is a study in technicolour grace. She loves colours, but not all of them equally. We soon learn from Angie that Aunty Lina’s colour preferences were first affirmed over 30 years ago — because long before getting personal colour analysis was fashionable, she had already gotten one.
“I’ve always liked prints, but I prefer smaller prints — more florals and sometimes stripes. Pink and red are my favourite colours. Pastels are ok, but I generally don’t wear brown as I don’t look good in it.”
Although Aunty Lina is a woman of few words, her daughter Angie was present to share stories about her mum and her fondness for dressing up. Said Angie, “Whenever Eileen posts about something new [on Instagram], Wendy and I will watch it multiple times and screenshot items to show each other. ‘Do you think mom will like this,’ we’ll ask each other, and then one of us will go down to Taka to get it for her. That’s what we did for this top.”
Aunty Lina shared her perspective of how this same top came into her closet with. She said, “My daughter was at Taka when she bought this for me. She asked me, ‘Do you want this piece?’ and I said, ‘Yes!’ I knew I would wear it with this pair of pants.”
Aunty Lina wears her own Caroline Top in Betsy Emerald, a gift from Angie. She pairs it with trousers from Marks & Spencer. Her shoes are from Ferragamo, with added clip-ons for embellishment.
Angie also revealed that her mum loves pairing her Elizabeth Little tops with trousers from Marks & Spencer — “she has them in every colour they make them in!”. The blouse below was a gift from both Wendy and Angie, and although Aunty Lina rarely wears blue, she continues to reach for this blouse today.
Aunty Lina wears her own Caroline Top in Giverny Blanc with trousers from Marks and Spencer. Her shoes are from Asics Pedela, and her bag is from Bottega Veneta.
“We have been in the sports industry for over 40 years — my husband started the family business. Before I joined him, I was a taxi mum for 16 years! I only went to help after my youngest went to JC. I mostly wear pants due to the nature of my work. I am in charge of the packing and warehousing, so I have to move around a lot.”
Aunty Lina wears her own Jemima Dress in Emelie Teal paired with her Asics Pedela flats.
“I like the cut of this dress. It’s smart and very comfortable. I also like that it has pockets! I wear it on the weekends, or to have dinner with friends.”
Like many of our clients, Aunty Lina has also commissioned bespoke designs with us, such as her most recent Lunar New Year cheongsam top. With the encouragement of Angie, she kindly agreed to recreate the outfit for us — top matched perfectly with her favourite M&S trousers, of course.
Aunty Lina wears her own bespoke Taylor Cheongsam Top in Ophelia Scarlett paired with trousers from Marks & Spencer. Her shoes are from Pretty Ballerinas.
