Also 2 weeks ago I went DFS Galleria at Orchard Road to shop for a nice but not too expensive handbag. I wanna invest in a branded bag cos I believe it's time for one (I am old!) and I am tired of buying $50 handbags that don't last beyond 1 year.
I am very happy with my Agnes B bags, some which costs around S$200+ which I bought in Japan but are selling for double the price in Singapore.. so if we think in terms of "value price in Singapore", some are worth almost S$500 even though I paid less for them.
I think some of the brands (like Agnes B) is super nice but too expensive in Singapore. Of course, if you just fly to another country and buy a bag then it'll not be worth it as you have to factor in the flight tickets, hotels, time, etc..
Anyway, I was walking around and I narrowed down to 3 choices.
- Gucci
- Fendi
- Burberry
I went into the LV boutique but the design I like is super expensive (S$3600) and Pipimon says it's not practical cos it has lots of things going on.. like chains and ribbons and colourful motifs on the white.. :(
The Gucci bag I like is everything I wanted.. the colour, the shape, the material... BUT there is no zip and my number 1 criteria is the bag must have a zip cos it's safer that way.. I am so unaware of my surroundings sometimes.. if someone reaches in and run away with my wallet, I may not feel it at all!
As for the Fendi bag, it's nice and everything but the price doesn't justify the design! It's like a normal tote bag with two very thin straps.. I guessed it to be around S$900 but it ended up to be S$1600+!
I like to give a price value to an item I like before asking the salesgirl for the actual price. If the price of the item matches or fall below my expected price, than I will consider buying. If it is way higher, it means the things 'looks cheap' to me. I don't know how to explain in greater detail.. but I do it for everything I buy! :)
So in the end..... I chose....
BURBERRY!
The few times I went to Japan, I was so tempted to buy a Burberry Blue Label handbag. A 'Blue Label' means the brand authorizes Japan designers to create a range of products from clothings to bags but it will be labelled under the 'Blue Label' or 'Black Label' depending on range and can only be sold in Japan. Tourists can buy and bring out of Japan and some enterprising people are selling them online.. but of course the best thing to do is to go there and buy it yourself as the price is much cheaper and you can get 5% off for tax refunds. A typical Blue Label bag costs around S$360 to S$800 depending on designs.. may be higher if it's a limited edition design.
I did not buy it cos firstly, everytime I go.. the design sucks! Like during Spring it's pink colour and I love pink.. but I always get to go only during Winter and the colour is always grey, black or blue. Boring like hell! Secondly.. the quality is so-so only and for the price of 1 Blue Label I can get 2 or 3 Agnes B handbags so I prefer to buy the Agnes B ones. And also because I see tons of girls in Singapore carrying the bags so it's no longer as 'exclusive' as the brand makes out to be.
Okok, you may think that the Burberry I bought at DFS is also common.. I admit that cos I've seen many girls carrying similar designs.. but guess what? Theirs are the black straps and so far I've only seen 1 girl carrying the red strap (but the bigger version) of my bag! Red is so nice but I guess people like to buy the 'original' colour since it's most common and also easily recognizable?
Anyway, when I finally decided to buy and we went to pay for it... they told us that they ran out of paper bags! LIKE WHAT THE HELL? Branded boutique ran out of paper bags? So in the end they gave us this huge-ass paper bag that is so big, I could hide a baby panda inside! Pipimon had to ask them to tape the sides up cos it's very difficult to carry!
You would think a high-class boutique would have higher quality scotch-tape... NO!! Theirs is the cheapo 30cents type that is super non-sticky! OHMYGOD!
We just have to make do with it.. but the bag is so small inside and it keeps sliding left and right!
YAY!
Pipimon with the huge-ass paper bag!
After 15mins of walking around, we gave up and asked another salesgirl for a DFS plastic bag so we can stuff the bag inside. Much easier to carry that way.
Dust Bag
Labels~
Front view
Top View
It may not be as big as I wanted but I think it's good enough cos the next size is too big and knowing myself.. I will stuff it with lots of useless stuff! I am really happy with this design cos the red is very striking and most importantly there is a zip! Also, the straps are quite long so it's easier to kiap with my shoulders! I have fat arms you know? Haha!
I have used it for almost 2 weeks and I'm loving it! :)
I even skipped the macarons cos they did not have the Caramel flavour.. only some weird funky flavours left which Joanne and Chin Ming ordered and said not very nice... 
