Things That Make You Go "Oooh!"

I knew where I wanted to go but I wasn't sure what I wanted. I walked into the store and spotted the black Jimmy Choo bag that I had eyed a few times before but I wanted access to the backroom. I wanted Dior and Vuitton too. I looked around, pretending to be interested in the Tods and and the Coach. Finally, I heard the magic words, "What you want?"

I turned around and whispered, "Louis Vuitton"

He said, "You come to my secret room"

After digging through piles of Channel, Vuitton and Dior, and chatting about being an English teacher in Shanghai, I decided that I just didn't really like any of the bags and started heading back down the ladder.

(Dear Readers/Stephanie, yes, I know you are gasping in shock and horror. Don't worry, keep reading.)

As I made my way out of the door, I saw Red. She was sitting high above the rich Europeans who were "bargaining" (i.e. thinking they were getting a good deal because the Euro is worth so freaking much). As they made their way out of the store, I asked the woman if she would take Red down for me. The second the woman passed her to me I knew then that I couldn't leave the store with her.

Strong metal chain, real leather (well, as far as this vegetarian can tell), strong zipper and ID card inside. It was a match made in heaven. Then I asked the price.

I knew it would be high because it was better quality than most of the other bags ("Korea Quality" as opposed to "China Quality"... if this is true, I'm going to go freaking broke next year). The girl started at 1000 kuai. I said 200.

After a good 20 minutes of bargaining we finally came to 375 final price. Seeing as she was going to let me walk away without it (damn those Europeans! They paid 4000 for 6 bags), I knew I would have to shell out more than I wanted.

As I walked out of the store, I felt a little faint for spending that much on a fake but I know that I'll love her forever (or, at least until next season).