I always know Tokyo is the place for fashion all along, but I was still surprised with the overwhelming choices when I was shopping for bags this trip. I wanted a causal bag for traveling. I hunted all possible shops in Singapore a few times before the trip. Loy also accompanied me twice when he was in SG. We shopped high and low along orchard road. Although we found a few close matches, they were still not fully desirable to our taste. We couldn't found anything with the right design, size or material used. We concluded that we couldn't get anything we liked in SG and Loy kindly borrowed me one of his bag temporary for this trip. I intended to get one when I was in Tokyo.I first started looking for a bag when I was shopping in Agnes B voyage boutique in Omotesando. I immediately found 2 bags that exactly fitted what I wanted. I managed to control my urge of buying and told myself not to rush into buying as it was just the beginning of my bag shopping. I was lucky that I made the right decision as I was filled with choices when I later shopped at Takashimaya, Marui, Isetan. I called Loy and told him that he should be there with me as I couldn't decide with so many choices. I was impressed with the huge collections of brands and styles. I was attracted so much to the creative design from different brands. I finally made a choice on one of the bag from CK with price slightly lower than my budget.
I stayed in Tokyo for 3 years and I wasn't conscious of fashion at that time. I think I have missed a good opportunity to learn about fashion. Not that I want to decorate myself like a model in the runway, but I desire to improve myself to present who I am. In the process, I also confront the vanity in me and learn more about myself. Tokyo is definitely one of the best place to learn. Take for example the brand Burberry. We can only source for one meager part of the collection from Burberry HQ in SG, however, there are many different sources in Tokyo from different business model due to huge market segment. Firstly, there is Burberry boutique selling rich collections from Burberry HQ, where you can find usual products made in Italy, UK, China, etc. Next in line, Burberry created two labels, the black label and the blue label, solely for the Japanese market. I have the impression that most of the accessories products are made in China to cater for a different segment of market. Lastly, there is also this category of Licensed Burberry that a Japanese agent gets the license from Burberry Italy and produces the products in Japan. These different kinds of business model result in huge varieties of collection in the market. I think similar model is also used for other brand like Paul Smith.
I really enjoyed my bag shopping in Tokyo, with a little bit of discontentment of not able to buy more than one bag-:)
