Saturday, December 27, 2008

Personal update

Sorry to my readers. It had been a busy month for me...tied up with work and everything else. I hope everyone had a happy Christmas!


I will be going to London the next month. It will be for work and an exhibition. I will be staying there at least 3 weeks...and i wonder if it is good or bad news. It will be my first time in London but i have already heard about the freezing temperatures there. I do have some blazers and jackets but i am wondering if it is enough. Perhaps i need a thicker coat - just another reason for shopping.

Anyway, i have been shopping "smartly"...i stopped buying expensive clothes or items that i seldom wear or use. H&M, Zara and shops like these are the places that i shop now. There is no need for me to wear a fancy shirt to work. I just need "normal" working shirts so those are the good places.

I just got back from HK 2 weeks ago and i bought only a Hermes bracelet and a Macbook Pro...i will post some pictures soon...

15 comments:

Phil said...

Dude,

Nice to hear you will be in London. At the moment, it is bloody freezing! A coat or a blazer will not be enough at all. A long coat or a thick coat over what you wear normally will be sufficient. However the good news is that sales are on at full force here at the moment. I just been to all the sales in London for the last 2 days. Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Nics + selective boutiques. They are around 50% to 75% off. With DH being 50%, however small sizes maybe limited. Also make sure you bring a pair of leather or ski gloves with you, as after dark, it gets even more chilly!

Hope you will enjoy your stay, pls post if you need more tips or advice of your stay.

Phil

Monsieur AG said...

Hey Phil, thanks a lot for the kind advice! I am lacking of long or thick coat and i am planning to get one there. The sad thing is that i will be in London only at the end of January...i guess the good items will be gone by then...No matter what, i will get those items that i need in London. It is almost impossible for me to find good ones here.

Perhaps we can meet up and you can bring me around...haha

thank you very much by the way

Monsieur AG said...

haha....i don't really have a good collection of items...i just wore them repeatedly..heh~

I think i will enjoy London but i hope i won't be freezing there

Anonymous said...

Go to Kilgour if you have a chance, their suits are beautifully tailored. Was tempted to buy Dior Homme suit while they are 50% off now but I bought Kilgour instead..

Monsieur AG said...

thanks for the suggestion :)

Phil said...

Sure Mate,

No probs, pls give me a shout and I can show you around (phillip.wong.pw@gmail.com). Yes I do agree with Vincent's comment about Kilgour, I just bought a shirt and a matching silk hankie (their signature spot pattern) at Harvey Nic's for half price. I even met the merchandiser manager for Kilgour there, in which he told me that their bespoke starts at £2k (non Savile Row) and £3k for Savile Row. Their store doesn't open until 2nd of Jan at Savile Row. But I will be popping over there for another round of shopping as when I got to Harvey Nic's almost everything from Kilgour has been sold!

Also if you are in to Burberry Prorsum, their new collection has already hit the stores here. To be honest I am a lil over Burberry now after I been to their sample sales (happens every quarter) 3 weeks ago. Trenches were £150 from £750, stuff were only like £20 - £30. There was a few Prorsum pieces there, but nothing that can fit me nor is wearable. But I am a lil overwhelm as I now see way more people wearing Burberry here than before, is like H&M and Top Shop almost!

In regards of Zara and H&M, I don't like to sound like a snob. But I rather wait for the sales to buy work gears. For example, a shirt in Zara will normally set you back around £40. I bought a shirt from Duchamp the other day, it was half price and set me back £50! What I don't like about Zara is that their windows are amazing! But when you come in contact with their stuff, their fabrics are horrible! My flat mates has shirts from Zara, his shirts will probably last 1 yr - 2 max, I have been wearing my Duchamp shirt for same amount of time and it still looks new after it has been freshly ironed. Also, I am sure you all knew, we can't wear DH in the office all the time, I always get question like "what's that fly doing on your shirt?"

Also it might be worth while taking a trip to Bicester Village (www.bicestervillage.com) - is 50min train ride from Paddington, London. Cos the Jan sales finished around end of Jan. All sale stock that doesn't get sold get transferred to their outlets there. My experience has shown that there are way more smaller sizes from up north coming down while most L and XL are from the South - I have a friend who used to work in Men's wear in Selfridges. Also- yes they do have DH there! It is combined with their Dior Store. Usually is 50% off retail and they also sometime do VIP member discount weekends with an extra 10% off from the reduced price. On top of that since you are travelling, you can also claim your VAT back as well, which is another 15% off! I bought a few items there, the most iconic piece was the VOTC roller neck with torn details and leather elbows for £105 which was retailed at £320 according to the tag - and I managed to pick that up last yr!?

Monsieur AG said...

Thanks a lot man! I will drop you an email when i am in London.

I have never heard of Kilgour before you guys talk about it. I will definitely check it out when i get to London.

Yeah, i do like Prorsum but not the entire collection...Prorsum was good before SS08 but i believe it will get better the next season. Any idea if there is a sample sale in January or Feb?

There are always alot of people wearing Burberry but i think Prorsum is different. Anyway, i have never been to London so i got no idea...

I certainly agree that Zara material sucks...same goes with H&M. But it is undeniable that these are the most affordable brands for work clothes. Your statement on the DH shirt is so right! It is impossible to wear high-end clothes all the time. It gets bored and not everyone can afford such luxury.

What is there at Bicester? Its a fashion outlet? If i have the time, i will make a trip there...maybe we can go together...haha

Anonymous said...

Wholeheartly agree with the comments on Zara and H&M. Their fabric sucks but I only wear them for 1 year and buy new ones when I am bored with them. Would I buy expensive shirts and wear them for > 1 years, maybe. I like the fitting/fabrics on Kilgour shirts but I don't like their big collars. BTW, Kilgour are available at Lane Crawford stores in HK.

Monsieur AG said...

The period to wear them is important....but most expensive clothes are too outstanding to be worn for so long. People recognizes what you wore...I believe you have the same situation before. Furthermore, fashion is a fast-forward trend...it will be weird to wear a particular items for too long...I have some shirts which i stopped wearing because i am sick and tired of it...

just my thoughts

Phil said...

Sorry I was referring to my work shirts. Hence they don't require to be "fashionable" but more like blending in without wearing a boring white shirt and a tie...

Monsieur AG said...

i see...just like an investment...

are u staying in London? Which part are u in?

Phil said...

hmm.. slightly as an investment as I have stuff I still wear 4-5 yrs ago, I see throwing clothes away is a waste. I rather sell it or donate them. But you can't really resell high street stuff really... So I rather buy slightly timeless (good fitting, solid colour,etc) gears for work and wear slightly more risky and fashionable stuff on Friday's and the weekend. Like the Luster Napolean Jacket (I bought a replica as I rather spend the money on another watch)

I live in North West in Zone 2, just 15 to 20 min tube ride to Central London... You know where you staying yet?

Monsieur AG said...

yeah i agree...i will probably donate it away...

The napoleon jacket cost too much indeed. I would have gotten a watch as well.....

The place that i will be staying has not been confirmed yet but i will be probably staying near or at Victoria. My office is there...

Phil said...

Great! I work at Victoria as well. Hope your work won't be booking you those small overnight hotels. They are all around here...

Monsieur AG said...

i doubt so...since i will be staying for quite some time, i guess they will actually arrange for me to stay in apartment at least...

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