China Rich Girlfriend

The chapter quotes from Corinna’s lengthy advice to Kitty on how to reinvent herself, warning her that “these days, when twentysomething Mainlanders have burst onto the scene with billions apiece, the old guard have resorted to new ways of stratifying themselves” (153). Corinna emphasizes that bloodlines matter as much if not more than how the family made its money. She gives detailed counsel in the areas of appearance, including weight and how Kitty should cut her hair, and advises her to choose more understated makeup and forgo red nail polish.

For wardrobe, Corinna reminds Kitty that the truly elite cultivate invisibility and dislike being photographed. She lists the designers Kitty can wear and the jewelry she can display. She recommends where Kitty should live, what art she should collect, and what uniforms she should require for her household staff. She tells Kitty where to eat, what events she can attend, where she can travel, what charities she can support, and that she must attend Hong Kong’s most exclusive church. She closes with a required reading list of Western classics and some Asian authors. In short, Corinna is trying to make Kitty cultured, elegant, and subtle, curbing her vulgar and ostentatious displays of wealth.