Inside a Shanghai power dresser’s wardrobe: Lin Lin, CEO of beauty expo business, shares her style secrets
Lin prefers striking outfits mixing Eastern and Western influences from her years living in London, Beijing and Shanghai, some of them self-designed and made by her Shanghai tailor, and often paired with vintage accessories
Lin Lin is based in Shanghai and is CEO of the China International Beauty Expo – China’s biggest beauty industry trade fair.
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The petite powerhouse has a wardrobe of striking outfits mixing East-West influences from her years living in London, Beijing and Shanghai. She previously founded and ran a design and branding agency before taking the helm at her family’s beauty expo business.
Styles Lin wears for work
Deep fuchsia flare sleeved top and black flares are both self-designed and made at her tailors. Her slimline watch is a vintage Longines from the 1920s, while the clutch bag is by Chanel.
“I actually tailor everything … I design things myself and go to the tailor in Shanghai. The watch I bought from a vintage watch shop in Beijing,” Lin says.
“If I work, I normally wear a scarf with this, and when I go out after in the evenings I just pull the sleeves off the shoulder and put on a pair of statement earrings and then take of my glasses. These earrings are from a store in Paris called Du Temple. I have a lot of similar tortoiseshell glasses.”
Styles Lin wears for leisure
The white ruched shirt is by Stella McCartney and the pinstripe pants are her own design, which Lin had her tailor make.
“At home it’s outfits with more simple, clean lines – great for relaxing with my dog Shima. The red bracelet I always wear is a good-luck charm, a gift from a friend that I’m supposed to wear until it falls off.”
Styles Lin wears for going out
Metallic and monochrome platforms and heels give her outfits a disco vibe. The shocking pink jumpsuit is tailored and the fur hat is from Portobello Market in London. Often Lin Lin will bring along her dog when she goes out in the evenings.
Lin says: “I wear inches in shoes … lots of heels and platforms and I’m into metallics. Saint Laurent has very good platforms, so I always wear them out to dance. Vivienne Westwood is terrible to dance in, but I love the ones that I bought many years ago from the store on the King’s Road in London.”
Lin’s essential accessories
“I like my big earrings from all around the world, in markets and shops. I know this French Jewish lady who has a Paris workshop who can make items or change them. I like Miu Miu or Prada’s big jewellery but they tend to fall off quite a lot. Because of my quite geometric hairstyle, it works well with bigger pieces and accessories.
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“I love my fur hats, because whenever I wear very little on my body, I’ll keep myself warmer with a fur hat on my head.”
