Seoul day 4

Since we landed Monday, Seoul has been a very gracious host. Strangely enough, it reminds me a lot of New York (aside from the 100% asian population and Korean signage, of course). People here look normal and act normal, unlike my initial impression of Hong Kong, where wealth and opulence were fairly evident and/or shoved in your face.

When I was packing, I made the decision to leave luxury at home-- no diamonds, no designer handbags, no nice shoes, and I also packed for the hot monsoon weather. Now that I have gotten here, I realize these choices were clearly the wrong ones. I probably should have brought along some bling and a nice bag, as well as left my tank tops and sleeveless shirts at home. The Confucian culture here is quite conservative, and I have yet to see a girl wearing a tank top. Not a one, despite temperatures floating around 90 degrees F. Oh well, guess I have to go shopping...

Bags
The handbag culture seems to be split (or perhaps it is the Haves v. the Have Nots). Brand of choice: LV, style: the Neverfull in the standard monogram. There are a few Guccis, but I have yet to see a significant population carrying anything else. The people without a luxury bag seem to go with the old asian standby - LeSportsac, which is what I actually brought with me.

Shoes
95% of the women here, even up to age 60 or so, wear heeled shoes in the form of wedges or pumps or stilettos. Just some form of heel. The ballerina shoes or gladiator flats so prevalent in the US right now -- not here. Even rarer are your mom's Naturalizer flats. My Cole Haan Nike Air flats and Abercrombie flip flops definitely stand out and contribute heavily to my hobo-ness. Sigh. I did some shoe scouting in Shinsegae department store, and would you believe that Nine West heels cost $201 USD here!?!? (258,000 won) That is UTTERLY RIDICULOUS. I felt like waving my arms and telling everyone in that near vicinity 'No, no! You are getting ripped off!!!'. I was/am so appalled. Where is Nine West's sense of integrity? Obviously companies will profit when they can, so while I can't fault them for exploiting this opportunity, it really is a shame that there is nothing to keep them in check. After pricing out a sample of global luxury brands (LV, Gucci, Prada, Cartier), it is my conclusion that they are pretty much globally consistent +/- 10%, and I attribute this to their worldly and constantly traveling patrons who would definitely call them out for price gouging in a particular market.

Where all the non-natives are
Lotte department store duty-free. Seriously. It is chaos up there. I was pretty impressed because the Hermes store keeps a nice stock of Birkin and Kelly bags behind the counter for just this crowd.

American brands I've seen here
DKNY, Theory, Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Nine West-- all priced about 20% higher than in the US (except for Nine West of course, which is like 80% higher)

So far all the food I've had has been fantastic: bulgogi, kimchi pancake, bimbimbap, fried chicken, dumplings, crepe wraps, and dessert waffles. I'm hoping to be brave enough to try live octopus tentacle, but I am definitely staying away from bosintang (dog-meat soup) since I happen to love my dog. If you love food, come here-- you must come here at least once in your lifetime. Bring napkins, though, if you are messy, as they are super stingy with them (ecologically-minded, you see). And bring PLENTY, just TONS of mosquito repellant in the rainy season. I have covered myself head-to-toe daily and still get bitten at least once a day. The lack of de-humidifiers in the smaller shops guarantees that there are mosquitos buzzing around your ankles as you have dinner.

P.S. Dongdaemun is awesome! I scored 2 cute linen skirts for $13 and $19 USD each, and it is a great place to see where fashion is heading. I plan on going back soon!