Stretch It

No matter how well the shoes might fit when you try them on in the shop, they tend to tighten up (or at least seem to) once you have walked in them for a while – and isn’t that especially so for high heels! Shoe-stretchers might look like something out of a B-grade horror movie but the only pain they bring is to the leather—they stretch as they ease those tight fits. They even boast little add-ons that widen the exact areas of the shoe in which your feet need more room. Shoe-stretchers are available from JUSCO $10 plazas, IKEA, stalls in the Flower Market, which have cheaper deals, or online at http://stores.ebay.com.hk/chukyincobble
which will cost you $279.

Pet It

You’d love a pet but don’t have the time or the money? Try electronics – and, no, we don’t mean a cuddly Xbox or iPod. You may have heard about tamagotchi, the robot dogs,but Sega have brought out something even cuter – the Yume hamster ($99 each). Yep, it’s a furry little creature that fits into the palm of your hand and loves you for the sake of a single 3A battery. The plush toys come in three colours and will turn, shake and even chew – get all gooey over them at citysuper, LCX and UML outlets.

Know It

The world’s most famous chimpanzee is releasing his autobiography Me Cheeta this month (£7.00 at amazon.com). Starting in the real jungles of Liberia and moving through the fake ones in Hollywood, Cheeta, who starred in the Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller and retired from the big screen with a final performance in Doctor Doolittle, writes about everything in his incredible 75 years of life – including a fondness for hamburgers, addiction to drink and cigars and his battle with diabetes. A favourite among the stars, the chimp is a star himself.

See It

We’ve seen them in comics, on TV, and in theatres, now they are on DVD ($78) and VCD ($32). The Atashin’chi (literally meaning ‘My Home’) series is about a cute little family (with a signature mom who looks decidedly fishy!) making their way through daily life. While in appearance they might not resemble humans, their family trials and tribulations are much like ours – and that is what has won over the love of both kids and adults in Japan, Taiwan and China. Find the family at video shops in your area.

Snap It
Professionals photographers may have a different lens – fish-eye, multi-image, colour-filtered, star-filtered – for every occasion but that is a bit beyond the pocket of most us weekend snappers. We can afford Jelly Lenses, though, and they are just as good at special effects as the real thing. These little camera eyes come with a sticky jelly to fix them onto most photocams and digital cameras. Then you just have to click away until that FX is no longer needed, pop the lens off and fit another – or not as you wish. A jelly lens costs less than a 20th of the lens a professional will screw onto his camera. Buy them at $45 at the basement, B33, 582-592 Nathan Road, Sino Centre, Mong Kok.

Dress It

Remember the days when it was fun to dress Barbie and Ken up? Now the same game is online but with real people and clothes in H&M’s virtual dressing room – you can even create and dress your own model. From underwear to jackets, layer by layer, design a fashion show – with the addition of a photo of your own face, you can also become the model and glide down the catwalk in the latest cuts and colours from H&M’s collection. Visit www.hm.com/hk for this virtual fashion playground.