One of the main issues of the luxury industry and aspiring clientele is that often their products are incredibly expensive and unattainable for the general public. While any educated person can learn to appreciate the craftsmanship of luxury products, the financial confinements of their incomes often limits them from supporting the industry.

This is especially true in the fashion industry, where in days of old Haute Couture were only for the rich, and Ready To Wear was created to be more “accessible” to the public. Yet nowadays in business, RTW is not affordable enough, and the business has trickled down to bridge collections to fast capsule collections.

While I personally don’t want to downgrade to fast fashion level, I can certainly appreciate the revived interest in vintage wear. Now, most friperies are based on no-name brands from past eras, where much of the revival is based upon. But I was introduced to a new store in Montreal that has a higher level concept of the word vintage.

LXR Produits de Luxe is a boutique that specializes in selling vintage luxury brands of Hermes, Chanel and Louis Vuitton in NDG. Baptiste Ballet, Vice-President of the store, which is run with his partner and President, Frederick Mannella, took his time to explain to me the concept of the store.

Established away from the busy streets of downtown, LXR is exclusive enough that had I not received an email from them, I wouldn’t have known of their existence at all. This cachet of being known only to their private clientele already establishes a sense of personal service that is often lacking while shopping in higher end stores in the downtown area. Though small, the boutique is large enough to give people space to peruse, stare, and even sit down and have a glass of wine while Frederick or Baptiste chat with them about their exclusive collections. The pieces are acquired mainly through an existing clientele in Europe who are seeking to resell their used luxury bags at a discount price, often at 40-60% of the original. Most bags were in pretty good condition, namely the Chanel bags, others looked tired and worn out like some Speedy Louis Vuitton bags. But evidence of the state of these bags confirms that these aren’t just any bags acquired randomly from random women, they’re acquired from women that they have met and known, and whom they can trust to sell something authentic. By selling these vintage bags, the state of many of these bags prove through the test of time that the price tag they command are worth every penny.

A prime example would be the now discontinued Hermes Pullman bag, an 80 year old bag from the 1930′s in pristine black crocodile skin, in the unmistakable Hermes trapeze shape. The handles are unlike the standard poingée ronde (round handles) made today, they were thin and flat (probably because women didn’t carry as much stuff as they do now). Inside, it has an extra pouch that has two metal latches (like a briefcase) that must be simultaneously pushed outwards in order for it to open, it also has a lock on it. During its pre-war days the bag cost 250€, today, in Hermes prices, it’s a bag that could’ve sold for at least $20,000. At LXR, I saw it retailing at a fraction of the price and sitting prettily at their window display. If only I had the money, I’d snatch it up in a heartbeat!

Of course, the biggest question of all would be: how can they guarantee authenticity? Well, in general, they can prove it, they keep the receipts of the original purchase and they often come with their original boxes. But keeping in mind that for a purse as old as the Pullman bag, receipts from the 1930s are probably long gone and thus could make it harder to tell from real to fake. However, because of their close relationship to their suppliers, there are many telltale signs to show if a bag is authentic, such as alignment of the stitches, quality of the leather, in some cases little number stickers (Chanel) or printed series and numbers (Louis Vuitton). Some of these tips I didn’t even know existed and helped me check my own used LV bag to see if it was authentic (it passed).

For Louis Vuitton, though currently it’s a more fashionable brand, there were some limited edition bags like the 2008 collaboration with Stephen Sprouse to a unique 1960s travel suitcase bag, which sort of looks like today’s Satellite travel bag. I love the vintage luggage of Louis Vuitton more so than their handbags, so having a piece from the 1960s was pretty fascinating to see.

Other items would be sort of harder to tell from authenticity such as the jewelry or some unorthodox bags like a Chanel tied bag from the 80s that was nearly all in gold with embroidered fabric, big round gold spheres with the Chanel logos. But clients who usually shop here trust their sellers and despite the discount price, they’re still large enough sums that they can’t really afford to lie in these particular circumstances.

So, while the luxury industry pushes forward, it’s refreshing to see that some brands’ products prove that their high price tags are justified. LXR has carved out a nice niche for itself in a too crowded room of fashion competitors, as I think they’re probably the only kind of their kind in Montreal. Definitely worth seeing.

I often look for new yukata (summer kimono) every so often since I regularly practice and perform in a Japanese traditional dance group called Yume-mirai, and had stumbled upon Rakuten. I quickly learned that Rakuten is the largest online shopping mall in Japan, earning a revenue of over $13 billion annually, collaborating with over 28,000 local retailers to cater to its 47 million users.

Rakuten is a lot like Amazon, except retailers can set up their own shops within Rakuten and sell from a wide range of products from clothes to cleaning products. The end result is a 100 million plus inventory of products at the fingertips of users, in which they can virtually ship anywhere, any time around the world. From $5 to $100,000, there’s a price point for everyone.

The site is English-enabled thanks to the growing sophistication of Google Translate, but registered members will have hard time navigating and editing their profiles.

Fashion

It’s well-known that the Japanese have a fetish for luxury goods and sure enough, brands like Hermès, Chanel and Louis Vuitton are sold on hundreds of pages, many of which are used. What’s particular about shopping online with Japanese operated sites is the transparency retailers have with their consumers about used products. This has been evident on my browsing upon a vintage kimono site called Yamatoku, where there are dozens of pictures depicting the qualities and flaws of each garment such as stains, holes and pigment migration.

Rakuten keeps to this standard by also identifying products with flaws, which are graded from New and unused to Need Repair, and are priced accordingly. It was necessary for Japanese retailers to be upfront about flaws of their products as Japanese consumers are notoriously choosy about their luxury goods. A single thread out of place in a dress will be sent back and a sale will be lost. It’s also encoded into their honor system of being honest and truthful to consumers, something that is lacking in North America and Europe.

This example above of a Louis Vuitton traditional Speedy handbag, at a normal retail price of $690, is selling for $350 due to extensive use, with visible rust on  the hardware, and discoloration of the handles. The same bag can be found by another retailer at a higher pricing but with a better grade. This type of transparency with products can win over the the trust of consumers, once you have their trust, you can expect them to come back.

It’s clear that this site may not be for everyone, most products on the site are sold to a Japanese audience, hence probably why most North Americans and Europeans are unaware of this company . However, we shouldn’t disregard Rakuten’s purchasing power and influence. Recently, Rakuten had purchased France’s PriceMinister and US’ Buy.com, and is in talks in producing another online shopping mall in China with Baidu. Indeed, Rakuten is so powerful that it even has it’s own bank and baseball team.

As more people find less reason to shop outside the comfort of their homes, and online spending will grow (said to be 10% a year in the next five years), it’s undeniable that at some point there will be online malls to cater to every whim and desire of the consumer. Whether they are in Zimbabwe or in Brazil, Rakuten is foreseeing this trend, and has already established itself as a major player in this billowing market.

Image credits: Ginkura

Since my foray into fashion, I knew I didn’t want to fall into the traps of trends. Once when I was working as a hostess in a sushi restaurant, my manager had commented on my style choices. I was in a rock chick phase and he said to me “You know it’s a shame, you have the potential to really carry off a classic look.” He was not particularly a man of style, but he was a man of taste. I hadn’t thought about his words much until I started blogging about fashion. All the seemingly trivial bits of sound advice I had learned over the years started to sink in.

Classic I did end up favoring. My clothes had started to reflect my love for office chic in tailored dresses and pencil skirts, however it didn’t quite transcend yet into bags, wallets and shoes.

I have a 15 year old Ann Taylor shoulder bag, a gift from my aunt so that I would get rid of my chained wallet. I still use it because it’s small and compact and gets the job done. It’s because of my Ann Taylor bag that I had decided it was finally time to buy a new purse. The handle is on its last legs, the glue is so old that the handle had split into two and cannot be reglued together (had an attempt to have it fixed in Venice last year, didn’t last long though).

Thus began my search for a replacement, and it wasn’t  easy. My first choice for a luxury handbag is the Birkin bag by Hermès. A classic trapeze shape with an unmistakable clasp, mostly hand stitched together to a flawless finish. Its hefty starting price of $6000-7000 is enough to put off most casual shoppers, including myself. The Birkin is the Holy Grail of handbags and will not be attainable for me for a few more years to come.

The Speedy Louis Vuitton in Epi Leather

I began looking for alternates, but there was really only one remaining choice: Louis Vuitton. I have two of my own sartorial theories about when to buy Louis Vuitton:

1. For their trunks and briefcases, Monogram only
2. For their more subtle designs, namely the Epi Leather and the Taiga Leather (for men)

As fashion goes, nobody wants to end up with what everyone has. I had never thought the LV monograms to be particularly attractive and I’ve always hated the brown and gold colors. Strangely, I find the men’s line to be much more in suited to what I’m looking for: subtle, luxurious and deceptively minimalistic. Their Targas leather would be my leather of choice for a handbag, unfortunately they don’t make women’s handbags in Targas. Why trunks and briefcases should only use monograms, or vice versa is simple. The monogram is a reference to LV’s past as trunk makers. Therefore, classic Louis Vuitton in its truest sense, is always luxury.

I have no reason to pick a trunk at this point, so let’s go for subtle designs in Epi Leather.

A classic Louis Vuitton shape that I have grown to love is their Speedy handbag, which comes in 25, 30, 35 inches, much like the Birkin bag. It’s near bowling bag-like shape and top handles just make it look very compact, cute, and simple. With an Epi leather, it keeps it under the radar. I usually pick black for all handbags and wallets, as I’ve learned over the years that my items always seem to miraculously pick up dirt along the way, and that having a colored bag simply is not practical. At an entry level of $1000, I’d say it’s a highly affordable choice that won’t go out of style. After all, I am looking for classics here.

Hermès’ Kelly Long wallet in black goat skin

A replacement to my red leather wallet would be the Kelly Long wallet by Hermès. Again, the classic clasp and craftsmanship are worth its price tag. I know, the production cost of the wallet is probably about 1/4 of its retail price tag ($2500), Hermès’ craftsmen are paid much more than your $0.10/hr Chinese workers, and about 50% of the price goes to Hermès itself. It’s their business model. Can we be angry for paying so much for a wallet? Of course we can, but let’s not forget that Hermès spends a good deal of money on research and development, along with other business transactions that would be too numerous and complex for consumers to understand. Yes, we know that a synthetic wallet at $20-$40 could do the same job in holding your credit cards and coins, but that wallet was also mass produced in greater numbers by poorly paid workers and probably rotting somewhere in a landfill. I could go on about ethics, but for my piece of mind, paying workers what they should be earning (way WAY above $0.10/hr) is worth it. Craftsmanship here is what comes first.

Finally, I cannot find a better shoe designer than Christian Louboutin. The unmistakable red soles, the sexy shapes of his shoes are, season after season, reinvented in new skins, colors and materials. But classic Louboutin, like the patented black leather Pigalle high heeled shoes, will simply never go out of style. I personally can’t wear anything higher than 85cm, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good pair of high heels when I see them. His work is so iconic that he even has a classic shoe line of Very Privé, Pigalle, and Simple Pumps, which are like Hallmarks of stores like Neiman Marcus’ shoe collection.

This trilogy of subtle luxury defines elegance and style, and most of all is in tune for a classic look suitable in all social scenarios including my favorite – the office.

Swedish-born artist Anna Halldin-Maule depicts her oil paintings with surprising realism, and in her series of “A Head for Fashion” where it expresses a near absurd and comical look at fashion. Though not entirely satirical, the paintings do express the current state of fashion advertising. I almost thought the Louis Vuitton image was a real ad.

You can also view a nice video of her explaining her concept and the painstaking details she undertakes in creating the Louis Vuitton bag. As well as a couple of other videos explaining the concept behind “The Pedestal” with the Chanel 2.55 bag, and “Obsession” with the branded logos on a woman’s body.

Anna Halldin-Maule’s official website

Image credits: Anna Halldin-Maule

Four Square is the latest social media buzz that has numerous retailers jumping in on the action. This new location-based social network allows users to “check -in” their favorite places in the city and letting their friends know where they are. The main goal is to let people explore their cities, get tips from friends and strangers about cool places they’ve been to. What’s unique about Four Square is letting people earn badges, an icon that appears on a user’s profile upon completing certain tasks (i.e.: checking into one place 10 times will earn you a 10 trophy badge). Participating businesses can also created their own badge and let their loyal customers have some great deals or prizes if they check-in on a regular basis.

What I find great for fashion retailers is having another effective marketing tool to give a reason for customers to come back. By adding this fun gaming element and by rewarding loyal customers with prizes, it’s a near win-win situation. It’s like the frequent flyer programs, only much more personal. I frequently buy at Jacob for some practical pieces and if I could get a badge, I could be eligible for a discount after say, 10 check-ins (or purchases), I think that would definitely keep me as a customer.

A lot of major partners have already jumped on board including The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker. The sole big fashion brand giant that has a venue page on Four Square is Louis Vuitton in June 2010. They’re currently in a partnership with London, as part of a promotion of their flagship store in London on Bond Street. As a reward, those who check in regularly at the Louis Vuitton stores can earn a special Louis Vuitton badge and be part of “upcoming surprises” the company will have for its users. Already possessing over 15,000 users on a relatively new social network, LV could be onto something.

By micro-managing these mini events that allow users to participate in their own cities, fashion brands can exercise and measure the power of their brands. According to Mashable, Jimmy Choo and Marc Jacobs have already released campaigns to lure users to follow them. Four randomly chosen lucky winners who regularly checked-in at Marc by Marc Jacob retail stores were given four tickets to this Marc Jacob show in New York last season. Jimmy Choo’s campaign involved participants to arrive at a specific store before a pair of trainers would leave and they would win a pair of shoes of their choice and size.

There are some privacy issues, especially for women who regularly check-in at different venues, where potential stalkers can track people online. So always use these new social networks with caution.

All in all, location-based social networking could prove to be an indispensable tool for fashion retailers worldwide.

Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and the numerous blogging engines on the web, fashion bloggers who have applied to Montreal Fashion Week have gone up to 15% of the media being accredited, according to Sensation Mode’s PR rep Sophie des Marais to La Presse. One accredited blogger wasn’t really a blogger, but a Facebook girl with over 1200 friends who loved fashion. This follows hot on the heels of internet sensation Scott Schuman, Bryan Boy, Tommy Ton, and Garance Doré who have had front row seats (and laptops) at the recent Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan.

This past Spring Summer 2010 fashion “month” has seen some of the most remarkable change of attitude towards fashion bloggers and the relationship between fashion and technology as a whole. A handful of shows have streamed their fashion shows live online, most notably Alexander McQueen and Louis Vuitton, as well as the timely release of LuxuryLab’s Digital IQ list of the most technologically competent luxury brands. Fashion 2.0 has never been such a hot commodity than now.

But, fashion bloggers are still languishing below top journalists and fashion editors at reputable publications in terms of recognition, according to UQAM’s Chairman of Public Relations and Communications, Bernard Motulsky. But the fact that fashion bloggers are making their own space at Montreal Fashion Week and to get recognition for it, is a step forward.

As we move further into the online fashion revolution, we can only expect more online innovations and initiatives.Style Coalition, for example is already one of the first to curate events that involve fashion and new media.SHOWStudio collaborates with some major designer brands and fashion forward artists by melding together fashion, art and technology with video, music and projections. It’s only with time will we see who will emerge as the leading voices of the new fashion media frontier.

Image credits: Kurt Geiger, Bryan Boy, Garance Doré

The Trunk is back people.

Oh, that may be too early to say really. But I think the traditional bulky trunk will be making a return to fashion soon enough. Hermes already showcased a few suitcase trunks for the Fall collection and I’m loving every bit of it.

The JC Report , er, reports that London-based designer Beatrix Ong has collaborated with Globe Trotter to release her own luxury luggage collection including a snazzy looking vanity trunk. I’m not too sure about her foray into athletic shoes, but I think she should keep to the luggage direction.

I had made a trip down to Ogilvy a couple of weeks ago and toured around Louis Vuitton to see if they had anything new to showcase besides some bland neon hash of a garbage shoe collection they had. I noticed they actually keep a vintage Louis Vuitton steamer trunk, complete with reinforced wooden pieces. Now that’s what I call indestructible. Although I admit the trunk must weigh a ton and with today’s airlines fees, would be impossible to travel with on a regular basis. Still, they sure don’t make luggage like that anymore. If I ever spend money on Louis Vuitton, it would probably be for their luggage, which is really the ultimate luxury luggage brand. I would just have to expect them to be stolen one day at the airport because of it too.

Expect classic trunk briefcases to come back as well. Let durability come back in style!

Image credits: JC Report/Beatrix Ong, Style.com

Having heard news that there were chances of thunderstorm in Las Vegas, I was prepared to spend my stay in dreary rainy weather. But no. What kind of meteorologist says that it’ll rain…in the desert. Take no heed to anyone who says it’ll rain in Las Vegas. Today I baked and toasted under the hot desert heat like an omelette on a grill.

I arrived yesterday to our modest but rather very large hotel 15 mins off the strip at South Point Hotel Casino & Spa. The rooms are large and comfortable, very clean, huge plasma screen and a great view over the hotel’s pool.

But enough about hotel and comfort talk, let’s talk fashion and shopping in Las Vegas.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Las Vegas is building CityCenter on the Vegas Strip right next to the Bellagio Hotel. It’s slated to open in 2009 and construction has already been underway and had progressed much faster than I had anticipated. This patch of land already has the infrastructure to a near completion, a few of the buildings are already halfway through putting on the glistening silvery windows. CityCenter will definitely stand out in the Strip as I noticed many other buildings may be flashy with lights, but many are covered in gold mirror like windows. CityCenter will be all silver mirrored.

Caesar’s Palace : The Forum Shops

Not exactly knowing why Caesar’s Palace was deemed la creme de la creme of shopping areas, I understood the moment I set foot in The Forum Shops. A gargantuan maze of marble floors, winding escalators at the entrance, fountain center pieces galore with painted sky domed ceilings, and well over 100 high end brand names including Emilio Pucci, Christian Lacroix, St-John, Roberto Cavalli, Tourneau (a luxury watch store) and even a huge Trojan horse at FAO Schwartz. Tourists crowd the Italy flavored hallways as they are mesmerized by the beautiful sculptures and captivating lighting. The luxury stores were scarcely empty except for the venerable Louis Vuitton store. However, it isn’t to say that they weren’t making any money. I’ve seen dozens of tourist carry shopping bags from Gucci and Dior.

In general the atmosphere was completely commercial, enticing shoppers to spend their precious money at every stop. It was very hard to resist even for someone like me to simply pass by.

Fashion Show Mall

This huge mall is more catered to the general public but remained less crowded than The Forum Shops. The main concept for this mall is that there is a huge center runway in the middle of the mall, with a control room on the 2nd floor which controls the lights above it. From what I saw on the screens, there are regular fashion shows at the mall and models strut down the runway. I call it the Vegas Panache. They always have to add a lil form of entertainment value.

Here you’ll find many generic mainstream brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Steve Madden, etc. There were also the high end department stores like Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as the lower end like Macy’s and Dillard’s. There were a couple of stores that caught my eye, mainly a store I fancy called White House & Black Market. I especially liked their strapless bubble skirt dresses, and the quality looked satisfactory. My main problem with this store is the fit, just a tad too big even as a size 0. A shame, it’s a really lovely store.

Style? What style?

There’s not much to speak of in terms of fashion style in Las Vegas. Everyone’s wearing board shorts, thonged sandals and tshirts. Only at night can you see the few who bother to dress up for a night out on the town, but there’s nothing really relevant to say about American style dressing (sorry). From my experience so far, most American cities are not quite into fashion eventhough they have a huge spending purse for luxury goods. But like many affluent shoppers who love to buy luxury items, they can’t dress themselves to save their lives (I am being biased of course, but if you want a city with style I would say Montreal, Tokyo and New York are the most fashionable I’ve seen so far). I am hopeful that I’ll see more interesting styles in Los Angeles and San Francisco though.

I’m on current a mission to find toy slot machines, the kind that acts like a bank and also serves as an entertaining slot machine. Anyone happen to know where I can find one? It’s for a friend since she couldn’t make it to Vegas with me.

I’ll also be attending a Cirque du Soleil show called “Ka” at the MGM Grand. Originally I had wanted to see “O” at the Bellagio, but unfortunately they don’t play Mondays and Tuesdays. Oh well, at least just one show will be enough.

I’m going on a trip to Las Vegas, LA and San Francisco next week, and hopefully I’ll have enough time to properly blog this time. My trip to Japan was great, but I didn’t have any energy left to blog since I was exhausted of the 5hr walking trips I’d take every day.

Had I known that Las Vegas had signed a whopping $9 billion deal to create perhaps the most luxurious retail space in North America, I would’ve postponed my trip til next year. According to WWD, CityCenter is an 18 million square feet of commercial space that will include over 70 retailers, a 61-story, 4,000-room gaming resort; three luxury nongaming hotels, and a 5000 square foot “flower carpet” where flowers will be changed daily. CityCenter will feature The Crystals – 500,000 square foot of retail space. And I thought our H&M’s 15,000 square feet of space was big. Perhaps there’s a reason why I’m not in architecture right? Most of the well known luxury brands will take up space in this new project including a 10,000 sq.ft for Tiffany’s, and the second largest Louis Vuitton store in North America. Nevermind that many of these retailers already have several store locations in the city.

Frankly, I’m split two ways about it. One is that I’m majorily curious as to what these fanciful places look like (so far they all look the same either in the US or in Japan’s Ginza district). Plus, will they make a profit from all this construction? Second, $9 billion dollars? Is it really necessary to have a repeat of the same luxury retailers? Do you know where all that good money can be used for to help poorer countries? This is what’s contradicting of the luxury world, you have all this money, and you’re always seeking more of it when you very well know you could perhaps donate a few dollars – ok, thousands, hell, millions of dollars – for charities and such.

We will see next year. For now, I will be making rounds in Vegas and dutifully make observations on the shopping experience. I haven’t been to Vegas since I was 12, and back then I was confined to the Circus Circus arcades where I wasted many hours of my youth fending for raffle tickets that would get me at most a toy water gun. I was even told by my mum that the Golden Strip “didn’t exist” when I had asked her about it.

San Francisco should be lovely as I heard so many good things about it. My stop in the LA area would be more so on the beaches of Santa Monica, I’m not really interested in LA to be honest. All that Hollywood gossip is such a turn off.

Image credits: CityCenter (artist rendition)

Bethesda Area

This is another district in D.C. where old money rules and where you’ll find freestanding luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tiffany & Co, and Cartier lining up the streets. Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s reign over as the department store moguls, while the J.Crew and Banana Republic store windows display a large range of classic preppy American lifestyles. I realize that Montreal lacks free standing stores like these, I’m guessing there’s not much of a market for it.

Max Mara

There aren’t any Max Mara stores in Montreal…are there? I haven’t noticed. Either way it was my first time checking out this brand in its marble settings. The style and collections weren’t quite of my taste, it was directed for an older demographer (30-45 maybe), sportswear consisted of linen shirts, business suits, earth toned colors, the cuts weren’t as tailored as I had hoped. Despite this, I expressed my opinion to Susan, the sales woman, and she was nice enough to tell me to check out Co-op Barney’s New York next door, and wanted to refer us to another store in Dupont Circle (she forgot the name though), for something more young and urban. It’s unusual to hear sales people refer you to the competition, so I appreciated that she wanted to help me. Now that’s service. I’m really starting to like the service in these luxury stores.

Co-Op Barney’s New York

At Susan’s recommendation, I indeed made a stop here. I had never heard of this branch of Barney’s, but after taking a look around, it was clear that even the almighty Barney’s has succumbed to the accessible luxury market and established a more affordable store for the young and trendy. Marc Jacobs (he’s everywhere I swear!), Helmut Lang, J Brand jeans, the lot. I did end up buying a strapless jersey dress with pockets by Velvet (made in the USA!). Only to find out later on that I could’ve gotten the same dress at Cusp for 10 bucks cheaper as it was “on sale”. However Cusp didn’t have the color I wanted, which was black, so I’m not too distressed for missing out on a $10 discount.

Tyson’s Corner and Tyson II

This is D.C.’s mega mall that’s split into 2 seperate buildings. Tyson’s Corner is your generic mall where the massive flock of consumers stroll, browse and crowd the walkways. You’ll find the usual fast fashion lot of H&M, Mango, Zara, etc. I wasn’t really interested in this mall since I could find most of these brands back at home, albeit much more expensive.

Tyson II or Tyson’s Galleria has all the expensive luxury brands you can think of – Chanel, Dior, Ferragamo. Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bloomie’s also made up as the major department stores. Surprisingly though, or perhaps I was expecting too much, these luxury stores don’t carry clothes, they’re mostly accessory stores which hold the items that people would be willing to splurge on – mainly bags, wallets, sunglasses, shoes and jewelry. If you were going to look for clothes you’re better off at the department stores. You can already tell that Tyson II has a smaller, more specific crowd. I’ve seen tall models walking around (was there an event going on?) and an overall different atmosphere. Clothes however weren’t of my taste, by demographic the buyers are well aware that the people who have the dineros are the baby boomer generations, so there wasn’t anything fit for a 20-something like myself at my size. I’m not much of an accessory person either, and I’d have to think twice before splurging on $500 shoes.

Overall there’s plenty of shopping to do in D.C., my auntie even suggested that I should visit Pentagon City (about one metro stop from, where else, the Pentagon!), however I didn’t have time to go all way there. There’s also the touristy Union Station for some outlet shopping. But my best bet if you’re ever in D.C. is to visit Georgetown, it’s just a lovely place to see and hang out. I was told that D.C. isn’t really known for any local designers (a shame), however the small boutiques bring in different international brands so there’s always something new to discover.