I miss shopping in Pinas. :( I don't know, but recently I've been wishing for Zara and Tyler shops to magically appear on Pitt Street mall. Those and everything in the Anthropology section of Power Plant. Oh, and Bayo too - if only just to see KC Concepcion's posters.
Never mind the shoes. I like the shoes from over here. Pricey, yes but I find it so easy for me to find styles that I like instantly over here. Plus there's more variety.
Since coming back from Pinas, I've rekindled my love affair with Aussie brands like Country Road, Witchery, Cue, and Sportsgirl, Marcs ... but lately I find that prices just kept going up, which, for an ordinary consumer is quite hard for me to justify. The economy is doing good, the AUD is very strong, everything is made in China (where labour is cheap) ... so why am I paying more? I go online and find the same stuff in US online stores for much less. I'm keeping an open mind about it, thinking there's some explanation to this 'phenomenon' (some economics freak explain it to me, if you dare) but at the moment, I think I'm laying off Aussie brands. I feel there's a streak of rebellion in me that just has to be let out. (Note: Shoes are not included in this rant.)
I'm not even talking about Aussie designer labels here ... just your 'everyday' brands that's supposedly 'mid-market' where basic tees can go as high as 100 AUD, it's ridiculous.
I got me a gray henley shirt from Country Road a few weeks ago, for 90 bucks. I realised the error of my ways so I ended up returning the shirt, and putting my refund towards those biker boots. (Like I said, shoes are excluded from my issue.)
The other day, I was in Melbourne for a business development gig (a.k.a. sales pursuit) and I was wearing an old skirt suit with a Tyler shirt. It was a rather simple dress shirt with an elaborate collar in beige color. I swear I looked like a million bucks. Or at least it felt like it. And the compliments on that day alone ... they'd actually pay for the shirt. And it wasn't even more than 100 AUD. It was less than three thousand pesoses. I was asked by a saleslady where I got it from, and when I told her, she said "Of course! Everything nice you see on people is from overseas." She had a point.
My friend J.L. and I (during that Melbourne trip) passed by this newly-opened Ted Baker shop (the only one in Oz, and it's in Melbourne, dang!) and we were just too excited about it that we braved the rain just to get to the store come lunch break. I don't know if it was my current state of 'rebellion' against Aussie brands, but it seemed like everything in the store was gorgeous AND justifiable. For example, a wool-blend jacket for 400 AUD with matching pants for 250 AUD from Ted Baker, with only one store in Oz (guarantees less occurence of people wearing the same thing as you), fully lined, immaculate stitching, great fit. Compare that to the same stuff from Cue - same price, maybe even a bit more, with less stellar qualities, and mass-produced and mass-sold (?) all over. See? Now I want to get that pant suit.
Having said that, I know that prices in shops like Zara and Tyler aren't as "friendly" as they are to me now, than say, when I was earning in Pinoy money. It's all relative, isn't it? In any case, I wish I'd have access to these stores right now. And I wish they'd open a Ted Baker shop in Sydney also.
Anyone want to be my personal shopper in Pinas? :D
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