Post: #451

(06-05-2013 01:10 PM)Don Juan Tenorio Wrote:  P.S.: For your own security, stay the hell away from any woman who is willing to pay 15.000 $ in a bag

Why?

Post: #452

(06-05-2013 10:56 AM)Prosal Wrote:  

(06-05-2013 10:32 AM)Don Juan Tenorio Wrote:  In SEA it doesn't really matter if what you wear is fake or legitimate, for Asian chicks anything westerns wear is authentic.

Not all SEA chicks come straight from the rice field.

Why do you think that the upscale malls in JKT, KL, BKK, ect are full of stores of high-end italian or french brands and that the alleys are swarming with upper-class girls who shop at places like that ???

Go to glam "in" clubs in Jakarta like Immigrant, Dragonfly or Blowfish, and believe me, most girls there will be VERY good at gauging what you wear, and perfectly know the difference between a Boss and a Zara or H&M shirt .... fake or cheap will take you nowhere with the "high value targets" in SEA.

One of my Indonesian ex-GFs sent me an email recently, saying that if I can find a Hermes Jane Birkin bag in Paris for less than 15 000 €, she will IMMEDIATLY send me the money to buy it. Not all girls come from the kampung.

The moneyed class in most countries most certainly know their way around luxury & high end products.

Btw, I just saw this:

The Wait (List) Is Over: Now Anyone With $5,000 Can Get Their Hands On A Birkin
http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dre...-anyo.html

Post: #453

(06-05-2013 02:04 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  The moneyed class in most countries most certainly know their way around luxury & high end products.

+1. You are totally right.

(06-05-2013 02:04 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  Btw, I just saw this:

The Wait (List) Is Over: Now Anyone With $5,000 Can Get Their Hands On A Birkin
http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dre...-anyo.html

Thanks. But this a priori must be taken with a grain of salt. I've been to the Hermes store rue du fgb Saint Honoré last weekend and they didn't even put me on a waiting list. They said it was too long.

Post: #454

I would go to China for any serious fashion & style shopping spree.

The way the fashion industry works, they showcase and take orders for collections that are 2 seasons forward. So for example: in the fall Fashion Week, designers will showcase their Spring collections for the next year. They will take orders from buyers and proceed with manufacturing - most of which are done in China.

So if you visit China in late fall thru winter, you can buy clothes with designs that aren't out yet in the West.

Post: #455

(06-05-2013 02:12 PM)Prosal Wrote:  

(06-05-2013 02:04 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  The moneyed class in most countries most certainly know their way around luxury & high end products.

+1. You are totally right.

(06-05-2013 02:04 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  Btw, I just saw this:

The Wait (List) Is Over: Now Anyone With $5,000 Can Get Their Hands On A Birkin
http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dre...-anyo.html

Thanks. But this a priori must be taken with a grain of salt. I've been to the Hermes store rue du fgb Saint Honoré last weekend and they didn't even put me on a waiting list. They said it was too long.

Sorry to hear. Have you read Michael Tonello's book - "Bringing Home The Birkin"?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/articl...think.html

The book spills the beans on the luxury handbag business and details Tonello's formula for cracking the code to bypass the brand's famous waiting list.

It explains how he managed to buy up Birkins in their thousands for his cash-rich, time-poor, zero-patience clients - and make himself a small fortune.

With access to the feted bags so limited, Tonello's services became invaluable to the rich, but unconnected. He spent years travelling between Hermes stores in order to circumnavigate the so-called list.

He'd work Capri and Zurich one day and be off to Tokyo the next. In each store, he'd load himself up with prospective purchases - scarves, wallets and the like (which he would later sell on eBay) - to make him seem like a super-rich client.

"The magic formula came to me one day when I was drinking a glass of champagne in the Hemingway Bar of the Paris Ritz," says Tonello.

"I felt as if I had a winning lottery ticket, but had to wait until the morning to cash it as it was 6pm and the Hermes stores were closed.

"I worked out that if I spent between £500 and £1,000, and then casually asked for a Birkin at the last moment, they would effortlessly produce one from the back without even mentioning the list.

"In 2005 I bought 130 Birkins in three months," he says, and that particularly lucrative time alone netted him £200,000.

He would keep notes of the stores he had visited and work them on a six-month rota. However, his methods weren't always fool-proof: the Paris branch realised how many bags he had bought and refused to sell him any more.

He would sell on his spoils at a premium - about £1,000 on a £4,000 'starter bag2 (as Tonello calls the bogstandard version) and £2,500 on the more sought-after £17,600 crocodile skin.

All of his wealthy customers were so desperate to get their hands on the bag that conveys instant status, they would offer him all sorts of sweeteners, such as the use of their ocean-front homes or £125,000 Aston Martins.

Post: #456

(06-05-2013 02:17 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  I would go to China for any serious fashion & style shopping spree.

The way the fashion industry works, they showcase and take orders for collections that are 2 seasons forward. So for example: in the fall Fashion Week, designers will showcase their Spring collections for the next year. They will take orders from buyers and proceed with manufacturing - most of which are done in China.

So if you visit China in late fall thru winter, you'll see designs that aren't out yet in the West.

Not to be controversial, but from what I know, most of the Italian brands make a point to fabricate in Italy, and not in China. I made a real-estate deal with Grupo Forall (Pal Zileri - they also fabricate for Zilli and Zegna by the way) a few years ago and had the opportunity to visit their factory in Vincenza, they produce the finest quality clothing, and this is defined by their simple label: Made in Italy.

Anyway. Sultan, I see you live in UAE, and you seem to be aware about the luxury products ...I plan to buy a new watch, and have a 30% discount at "Les Montres" store in Paris on all brands, but you think that I could get better in Dubai ?

Thanks

Post: #457

(06-05-2013 02:22 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  Sorry to hear. Have you read Michael Tonello's book - "Bringing Home The Birkin"

Thanks again. You know how the salesmen in those high-end stores can be suckers. Maybe the bitch just didn't like me.

Post: #458

(06-05-2013 02:27 PM)Prosal Wrote:  

(06-05-2013 02:17 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  I would go to China for any serious fashion & style shopping spree.

The way the fashion industry works, they showcase and take orders for collections that are 2 seasons forward. So for example: in the fall Fashion Week, designers will showcase their Spring collections for the next year. They will take orders from buyers and proceed with manufacturing - most of which are done in China.

So if you visit China in late fall thru winter, you'll see designs that aren't out yet in the West.

Not to be controversial, but from what I know, most of the Italian brands make a point to fabricate in Italy, and not in China. I made a real-estate deal with Grupo Forall (Pal Zileri - they also fabricate for Zilli and Zegna by the way) a few years ago and had the opportunity to visit their factory in Vincenza, they produce the finest quality clothing, and this is defined by their simple label: Made in Italy.

Anyway. Sultan, I see you live in UAE, and you seem to be aware about the luxury products ...I plan to buy a new watch, and have a 30% discount in Paris on about all brands, but you think that I could get better in Dubai ?

Thanks

For most Italian brands specially suits, I would rather fly to Italy and have it custom made there.

What brand & model of watch do you have your eye on?

Post: #459

(06-05-2013 02:30 PM)Prosal Wrote:  

(06-05-2013 02:22 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  Sorry to hear. Have you read Michael Tonello's book - "Bringing Home The Birkin"

Thanks again. You know how the salesmen in those high-end stores can be suckers. Maybe the bitch just didn't like me.

Maybe the famous Frenchman's charm only works on foreign women?

Post: #460

(06-05-2013 02:36 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  What brand & model of watch do you have your eye on?

http://clicktempus.com/baselworld-2011-b...ollection/

Retail price in Paris is about 18 500 € (- 30%).

Cheaper option would be an IWC Grand Ingenieur Chronograph (about 12 000 € here, still - 30%, i.e about 8 500 €). I already have an Ingenieur Mission Earth, but would keep it for the pool, beach, ect, and would wear the chrono for dates and nights out.

http://www.iwc.com/fr/collection/ingenieur/IW3785RA/

Post: #461

Is that 18 500 € with the discount? I'd have to check availability & price from reputable sellers. There are lots of imitation Bulgari watches.

But first..how soon are you planning to buy? And how are you going to pay for it?

Post: #462

(06-05-2013 02:57 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  Is that 18 500 € with the discount? I'd have to check availability & price from reputable sellers. There are lots of imitation Bulgari watches.

But first..how soon are you planning to buy? And how are you going to pay for it?

Cash. The 18 500 € are without the discount I get at Les Montres, discounted price I can get here is about 12 500 €. I plan a trip to BKK with ukrainian GF in October or November, and if I find a good deal for a watch in UAE, I'll fly Emirates with a stop in Dubai (which will be convenient as Emirates flies from Kiev).

Post: #463

(06-05-2013 03:05 PM)Prosal Wrote:  

(06-05-2013 02:57 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  Is that 18 500 € with the discount? I'd have to check availability & price from reputable sellers. There are lots of imitation Bulgari watches.

But first..how soon are you planning to buy? And how are you going to pay for it?

Cash. The 18 500 € are without the discount I get at Les Montres, discounted price I can get here is about 12 500 €. I plan a trip to BKK with ukrainian GF in October or November, and if I find a good deal for a watch in UAE, to fly I'll choose Emirates with a stop in Dubai

What price below 12 500 € would make you decide it is worth it to 'Fly Emirates' and stop in Dubai? Same on the IWC at 8 500 €.

Post: #464

(06-05-2013 03:11 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  What price below 12 500 € would make you decide it is worth it to 'Fly Emirates' and stop in Dubai? Same on the IWC at 8 500 €.

Thanks for the attentive and friendly ear Sultan, let's talk about it by PM (even if discounts on luxury goods is IMO a very interesting matter that deserve public discussions).

Post: #465

Hi Prosal.
Before pulling the trigger on that IWC, check out the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master collection. They have some fantastic chronographs that will earn you both points with the ladies and admiration from gentlemen with a discerning eye on these matters. I myself own a couple JLC, including a classic Reverso.

Nothing wrong with your choice, just thought I'd chime in as I personally like Jaegers.

Post: #466

(06-05-2013 04:50 PM)Mr. A Wrote:  Nothing wrong with your choice, just thought I'd chime in as I personally like Jaegers.

+1. I really love the Grand Reverso for "sharp dressing" with a suit, but unfortunatly, I am not wealthy enough to own three watches - one for suits, one for swimming pool or beach, and one really "eye catching" for nights out in FSU. I agree with you nevertheless, Jaeggers are great upper-end watches. I saw some Jaeggers up to 200 000 €.

Post: #467

Take a look at the Reverso Gran Sport. It's very versatile on a bracelet and is within the budget you're considering.

Post: #468

in bangkok i like H&M for basic tees and casual shirts. I like massimo dutti (zara's upmarket brand) for jeans, leather jackets, shoes. i give zara a miss these days.

can look pretty stylish in buying a wardrobe for $1000-1500 that in the west would cost three to four times as much.

BUT

that money gets you nowhere once you start looking at ermenegildo zegna, paul smith etc

and at lanvin that kinda money would buy you one-two shirts.


you can look good on any budget. save money on the basics, but when it comes to good denim, shoes and outerwear, save some money, be picky, go for quality over quantity.

Post: #469

Not to turn this into a watch thread, but I had my eyes on a classic JLC reverso for years. Saw it awhile back in Barbados at a duty-free shop called Little Switzerland for a "decent" price but now it is out of my range.
Classic watch to say the least and something you can pass down to your son.

Post: #470

(06-05-2013 03:18 PM)Prosal Wrote:  

(06-05-2013 03:11 PM)Sultan of Swank Wrote:  What price below 12 500 € would make you decide it is worth it to 'Fly Emirates' and stop in Dubai? Same on the IWC at 8 500 €.

Thanks for the attentive and friendly ear Sultan, let's talk about it by PM (even if discounts on luxury goods is IMO a very interesting matter that deserve public discussions).

You're welcome. You can send me a pm or email anytime my friend. And you're right about having a level of discreetness on discounts that one received on luxury goods - you'd like people to think you paid full price but this also makes sense from the seller's viewpoint.

Post: #471

best watches are phillip pateks. rolexes are far too numerous and accessible.

Post: #472

(06-05-2013 11:05 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  Not to turn this into a watch thread, but I had my eyes on a classic JLC reverso for years. Saw it awhile back in Barbados at a duty-free shop called Little Switzerland for a "decent" price but now it is out of my range.
Classic watch to say the least and something you can pass down to your son.

+1. A watch, if you buy it with a good discount, is an investment. One of my friends bought a few years ago a Daytona in Jakarta (at the Rolex store in Plaza Senayan) at about half the price that he could sell it today.

Watches are IMO part of "style" and "looks to bang girls". It suggests success in life, and women like successful men.


PS: Mr A, yeah it's the JLC Reverso Gran Sport that I had in mind, very nice watch.

Post: #473

Prosal - maybe you should check the duty free shops in the Caribbean, Barbados and Bahamas I have seen good shops although don't know if I saw IWC.

Are you saying Jakarta has the best prices?

The JLC was about 4-5$ about 10 years ago and like you rightly said they are probably double that price today. The reverso is so cool because they are no fakes and no other watch that looks like it. I have rarely seen anyone wearing one, not in Canada that is for sure.

Post: #474

http://www.chrono24.com/en/jaegerlecoult...48-new.htm

Post: #475

Now here is something to lure in the bitches:


   


I'm throwing down on this.