Chinatown Pretty

07/25/2025

Poh poh in a green sporty scarf, tweed suit and purple chenille beanie — ready for San Francisco summer!

Also loving the color and texture pairings, along with the friendly and powerful stance. This outfit means business!

04/18/2025

The Fortune-Teller

We met Ms. Li on the corner of Pacific and Grant in San Francisco, where she read Valerie’s fortune using a deck made out of Marlboro carton cut outs. They were worn and smooth from many years of swishing around and handling.

Even though the fortunes did not come true, we are happy to have experienced her delightful outfit and street psychic set-up.

03/25/2025

Our dear friend Dorothy G.C. Quock is 91 this year! She’s wearing a light caftan decorated with herons that she made herself. A few years ago, we were part of what we dubbed “Dorothy Day,” where she invited dozens of her friends to model her looks along with a screening of “Being Polka Dot,” a short documentary made by James Q. Chan (). Dorothy was a researcher for a few of his film projects.

Dorothy let me wear her caftan; Andria rocked Dorothy’s iconic rice bag dress, which she had made using cotton rice bags that her dad used to deliver to Chinatown businesses and residences.

Content on slides 5 & 6 courtesy of Katie Kwan ()

03/18/2025

Ten-Gallon Bucket Hat

We met Lau Wai Kwong Cho, eighty-four, around the corner from a bus stop on Wentworth Street in Chicago Chinatown. She had on a next-level bucket hat, reminiscent of Yosemite Sam’s ten-gallon cowboy hat. A basic Chinatown bucket hat on steroids. Mrs. Cho purchased it from Costco for two dollars, a bargain for such a statement piece.

03/15/2025

Zhen Chan Zhou sporting a custom front-and-back pack in Oakland Chinatown. We love the how she reused lanyards for the ultimate no-slip, hands-free bag.

08/28/2024

Join us at the Portola Autumn Moon Festival for a snowskin mooncake workshop led by Henry Hsu (). He will demo how to make these delectable and colorful mooncakes. Attendees will also get a chance to make mooncakes to enjoy or take home.

🥮Portola Autumn Moon Festival🥮
🗓️Sunday, September 8
⏰11am-3pm
📍BMO parking lot - 2675 San Bruno Ave

Free family-friendly event featuring
• mooncake, lantern & mahjong workshops
• art walk
• mini flea market
• lion dance performance
• dim sum from Imperial Garden Seafood Restaurant ()

Thank you to Linda Tay Esposito () for connecting us!
Image credit: ’ creations by

05/04/2023

We met Le My Ta, 71, at the AAPI Community Festival at Lincoln Square Park hosted by the Cut Fruit Collective.

She sported a handmade crochet sweater and purse and a beaded “Happy New Year” bracelet. Layered with a monogrammed face mask (LV x Mickey Mouse) and bold green gingham pants – she was host to a pattern party we wanted to be a part of.

She learned how to knit and crochet from a friend when was 16. “I made this in one week – I knitted the whole night on Saturday,” she said of her blue and white sweater. “Every day, every night.”

Handiwork is her hobby – origami is also one of her favorite activities. “I sell my origami for five dollars. I home deliver origami to friends. I can make swans too.”

She grew up in Cho Lon, the Chinatown of Saigon, Vietnam before moving to San Francisco and now Oakland Chinatown. She can speak Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin and Hakka. “You should learn multiple languages,” she said.

Prior to retirement, she worked at the bank, doing everything from wire transfers, data entry, and then becoming a teller. “If I were a young person, I would love to work,” she said. “I worked until 70.”

03/28/2023

We're doing an in-person book talk at the historic Mechanics' Institute in San Francisco with poet Hieu Minh Nguyen.

Thurs, April 13, 2023 at 6pm

Tickets are $5-$10, sliding scale:

Join a discussion with writer Valerie Luu, photographer Andria Lo, and poet Hieu Minh Nguyen exploring intergenerational stories and reflections of the culture of Chinatown. Lavish in the fun, colorful, sartorial images and stories celebrating the residents of Chinatown. This event will be held o...

10/11/2022

Dorothy Quock’s relationships are often integrated into her outfits – she wears items given to her by friends and family.

Dorothy (also known as Polkadot) wore a wool dress made by Fann, her eldest sister, who often knitted clothes while she was on the streetcar or talking on the phone.

When Dorothy was about to embark on her first trip as a tour guide in China, she wanted a “cold weather dress” to keep her warm. Fann designed the dress with a “semi v-neck” and wavy multi-colored lines on the skirt. Our favorite detail is how the colorful motif appears on the neckline and sleeves.

Her shoes were given to her by Penny Lee, who was crowned Miss Chinatown in 1948.

“We wore the same size shoes,” Dorothy said. “Penny complained that it slipped off her heels, so I used elastic strings to keep the shoes on my foot.”

10/05/2022

We spotted Phon P**n shopping in Oakland Chinatown wearing bold patterns – a “Mexico” bucket hat and a jacket decorated with polka dots and a regal anchor motif.

She’s also sporting the Chinatown pant, which we often spot on seniors (and own a couple pairs of) – crinkle pintucked elastic waist polyester pants that keep you warm and comfy at the same time.

Check out that amber bracelet stack too!

05/19/2022

We're doing an in-person book talk at the San Francisco Public Library this Sat, May 21. We'll be signing books afterwards and will have a few copies for sale. See you then!

When: Sat, May 21 / 1-3pm
Where: Main branch, Koret theater
What: Book talk, Q&A, book signing

We’re excited to do our first in-person talk with the SF Public Library. Free and open to the public! We will be signing books after the talk. Limited copies will be available for purchase. Main Library branch Koret Auditorium 100 Larkin Street San Francisco, CA 94102 More details: http://s