Kumar can be such a tease sometimes, I mean, what was the point of calling me at the office just to tell me that the "girls at the store were going crazy" over some "amazing" Michael Kors clothes *package* they were getting courtesy of Harry Rosen and of course exclusive to lady associates working there only, well, other than to make me green with envy, I guess??? Why tell me to "look down at Claudia's feet" (to see the Gucci shoes she's wearing), or that "Cantonese girls are *sick* dressers" bedecked in designer stuff from head to toe??? Or insist that I "accesorize, accesorize, accesorize" if he makes a fuss whenever I come home with rustling tissue-lined parcels??? Well, Kumar, I realize, isn't actually all that bad because while for most men, the only article of clothing they will ever surprise the women in their lives with, is usually limited to the skimpier nightwear variety, Kumar will surprise me every now and then with an actual blouse or sweater or dress, besides the usual chocolate & flowers and whatnot. If anything, I might be a bit spoiled that way - his working in retail (and being metro) does have it's advantages! For example, while I was at home on mat leave, whenever I wanted new clothes and couldn't be bothered to dress the kids, pay an arm and a leg for parking, haul their stroller out of the trunk and hit the mall, I'd send Kumar to pick something up for me. In general, having someone else shop for you is usually a hit and miss undertaking, but this arrangement seemed to work pretty well for us. All Kumar would have to do is swing by Club Monaco (my fave!) next door of Harry's, size up one of his lady retail friends weighing more or less as much as I do, and enlist her help to choose stuff. This system was almost virtually foolproof! But of course, now that I'm back at work and with the kids in daycare, I've resumed shopping for myself.
Now going back to the other day, Kumar must've mistaken my mock chagrin over his news as real displeasure, because he ended up surprising me with a John Galliano bag from Energie Exchange. I really didn't know how to react. I was certainly appreciative of the gesture - the bag itself wasn't exorbitantly expensive, having been marked down to $200 CAD from $500, but it was simply alright - nothing spectacular or wow...Kumar was right, it was something I could use with jeans on a casual Friday, or as a really really fancy (quoting Kumar: "sick") diaper bag but it honestly didn't have anything going for it, and certainly didn't justify the cost. It was similar to a Juicy bag with the grey velour material and some fancy embroidery embellishment on it and PVC handles and pewter buckles. I turned it over again and again, modeled it in front of the mirror and then finally told Kumar that I would mull it over that night as to whether I really wanted it or not and slept on it (the thought, not the bag). The next morning, I decided that the bag was a waste of money & I was actually getting more and more indignant at John Galliano, I mean, where does the designer get off selling a bag for a gazillion-fold more than what it actually cost to make, what, just because he's Galliano??? And I couldn't believe that Kumar had bought into the trap!!! So I told Kumar, to exchange the bag for something nice for himself, reassured him that I appreciated the thought (because he vowed to never buy me anything again!) and I would apply the amount towards my Canada Goose Parka. And that was that.
When it comes to certain things, I do let go of my bargain-hunting, H&M-frequenting self's philosophy (also held by every other penny-pinching style puss): "A real Timex is better than a fake Rolex." A classic Louis Vuitton tote or a Burberry trench, being some of those *certain* exceptions although a hand-crafted, alligator Hermes Birkin bag might be a bit much! Things like the former two, are items that I think, are worth the price and are defintely good investments, think of them as gifts to yourself that keep giving back, you just can't go wrong, and if you get them as gifts from really generous hubbies, dot, dot, dot, EVEN BETTER ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment