Life is great....life is fantastic...Versace is great...and with H&M, it's even more fantastic!! What am I blabbering about? Well...through out the whole globe today, Versace with H&M is launching their collaboration and Istanbul's point of sales is strategically closed to me..wow!! So....this is one time I don't mind walking the few kilometers to get my dream pieces. Yeah..I know, its very shallow of me...but hey...the therapy and the exercise would do me good!
For those of you who are too young or too old to know Versace, just go ask Uncle Google, perhaps then you'll understand the significance of Versace, especially its original designer, Gianni Versace. He was a genius...i guess that's why he died young, they all did. The geniuses......Gianni Versace, Steve Jobs, Micheal Jackson.....to name just a few. But today, Gianni's sister, Donatella did a great service to him because most designs launched were mostly archives from his time...thank you, Donatella. What great pieces...what great designs...and what great prices! It was really a feast to the eyes...well..to me, at least. Previously it would be 'breaking a bank' to buy many Versace designs but with the collaboration with H&M, everybody can afford those beautiful collections.
Don't get me wrong, the affordable prices does not mean that they had skimmed on the quality. The quality is almost similar with the usual silk, velvet, leather or other materials in the couture range. In fact, they gave more this time with the beautiful dusting bags for bags, beautiful boxes for shoes and accessories and beautiful garment cover bags for dresses! Its just beautiful and did I mention the carrier bags? Everything is beautiful and I am so lucky to be in Istanbul at this time of the year to be able to collect and buy the pieces.
Why was I lucky? Well....I read every where else, people had to queue overnight to get to buy the pieces. Elsewhere, there were lots of disappointment because most items are sold out. That's why I said that I was lucky. I went to the shop at 10am and got almost everything that I was eyeing for except for the leather jacket and the silk scarf. Thank you God.....I am sooo happy.....
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| All shots taken in the store were from mobile phones...so that explains the grainy photos, but hey....I was not there to take photos....its just that I couldn't resist not taking the shots he he....see all those colorful items? I was outside of the railings, waiting for the "early birds" to shop during their time slots. The early birds were given tags worn a wrist with different colors. They had 10 mins to shop according to their colors. I and the rest of "late comers" are only allowed in at 1.30pm !! |
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| Ahh.....the jackets that I missed and was sold out by 1pm...sigh! In a way, its good...then I didn't have to spend so much...see..there's a blessing in everything !! |
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| the "late comers" like me had to wait till 1pm to start buying.....see those forlorn and worried faces as they watched the pieces being 'snatched away' by the "early-comers'? ...so near....yet...so far.... |
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| the agony of waiting....and praying that there'll still be some left behind for you to choose and buy..arghhh |
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| what lovely colors....what lovely designs....what a temptation....notice how limited the items are.... |
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| there goes another group of "early-comers"...I couldn't bear watching so I left the store to calm my nerve down....it was too much...too painful to watch....the diminishing return..... |
Istanbul also had its share of queuing and stampede but I guess there's nothing to complain about if I compared the situation in other parts of the world. Sure...I was swept off my feet in the stampede, ladies were screaming in the stampede, clothes racks were falling down from the attack by the ladies....and I'm sure some friends ended up being foes after the event but...hey....when you go home, and you take a look at those beauties.....my dear readers...I can assure you...it was all worth it! At the very least, I now know how to handle a stampede... you don't cross the flow, you just follow the surge. Or...let the drift carry you he he...till you get to where you want to be. Then..you can start to elbow your way in to the spot that you really want. Really..its that simple. Of course, when you are in a stampede..you will start to wonder if you'd ever get out of it alive. One thing for sure...those of you out there who say that women are weak...you definitely had not been caught in a stampede among ladies. They can bring the whole house down if they wanted to...so beware you guys!
I got the leather bag due to luck because it was on the floor. When I got up, the lady next to me said "benim..benim!" meaning "mine..mine!" Of course, I replied back by saying " bilmem...bilmem!" meaning "don't understand..don't understand!"...he he...it pays to be a Yabanci (foreigner) at this moment! Ignorance, they say...is bliss.
Ahh...feels sooo good...what a a good therapy to chase the winter blues away.....and the items are really beautiful. It has lots of Gianni Versace taste in his favorite pink, turquoise, green, gold and silver colors...just breathtaking....beautiful collections. What lovely day....this has been....I am so bliss-ed! So, how was your day ??
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| for a start...don't you think the carry bags are lovely? as I said...no quality was forsaken....Versace splurged and optimized its "killer" designs....and the shoppers did the advertisement as they walked away with these gorgeous bags.... |
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| safe at home.....I wanted to immortalize the moment...the shopping spree..the stampede..the walk..and to just remember the moment. In my country, there is a saying...."loser at purchase, winner at owning"..i felt triumphed...really! |
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| and...baby pink makes three......love these beauties...unfortunately, some people used this event to make quick bucks on the internet, eBay especially. Within 24 hours, these beauties are being auctioned off at starting price of twice the selling price.... |
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| you call it handbag....I call it "work of Art"..... |
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| you call it baby pinkie bag.....I call it "cutie pinkie"...... |
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| it may not be of thousand of dollars but...it sure packs lots of fun and excitement as compared to its over-rated and over-priced B****n or L**** V*****n or whatever.....at least you don't look like a grandma when you swing and fling this cutie around..... |
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| gone to sleep....in its sweet duster bags....now...doesn't that lift your spirit up.....a little ?? No..? |
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| you call it scarf...I call it "work of art" and deserve to be on a wall....what do you think, huh ?? |
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| Donatella carried this cutie when she went to the launch in London...cool !! |
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| would you believe that this is the garment bag for dresses .... really... |
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| see the cute box to hold the accessories......even the boxes are too pretty to throw away and made good gift items... |
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| this is not just a cushion....to me, it's a Masterpiece... |
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| may your days be as bright and sunny as these bags are....and hope you had fun in sharing my indulgence !! |
Maybe the new Italian Monti technocrat government should pool all the Italian designers....whether in fashion, cars or other industries to jointly do what Versace did and launch a similar global events with their respective products globally. Maybe these creative and talented designers should commission their masterpieces and the Italian government and people conduct the event as H&M did. The proceeds can be used to settle their debts and help to speed up recovery of Italy. Perhaps...it is time for the talented and creative Italian designers to do their "National" service to the country. There must be a reason why God pooled almost all the best designers in Italy, don't you think? My 2 cents worth.........
