Competitive shopping

Shopping can be a very competitive activity. Excited by the new Balenciaga website (www.balenciaga.com), I visited the store located on W. 22nd street on Friday. I was hopeful that I could find some leg lengthening pants from the Pants capsule collection, but the trip turned out to be very disappointing. The selection was so little that the store looked like an interior design display with some nice clothes as background: most of the pre-fall items featured in the look books were reserved long time ago and therefore never made the way to the floor.

My SA also informed me that for small sizes, such as French 36, they only bought one for each style. With a city full of stylish and slender women, how is it going to work?

It's is exactly what Balenciaga wants. It makes the individual who pays big bucks to buy the cloak feel somewhat special. But for the unfortunate second place, Ouch.

I was kicking myself for taking too much time thinking before I tried to place an "early" order. Too bad, the SA said, there are three people ahead of you.

I've learned my lesson. I'll call the boutique the morning right after the Paris show in September and put my name down. I might not be able to buy and afford everything, but at least I need to place my name on the waiting list early enough to make sure I have a chance.

There is a game, and let's play.

Value stock - Fendi

Value stocks are the under priced stocks, and investors normally purchase value stocks with the expectation that the price will eventually go up. Believe it or not, the first time when I browsed the Fendi collection in the boutique, my reaction was that Fendi's ready-to-wear is indeed a value "stock".

Starting as a fur salon, Fendi didn't generate much buzz from its ready-to-wear collections, in my opinion, until spring '06. For some reason, Chanel's shows were no longer breathtaking to me; in stead, Fendi's collections were getting stronger and stronger. I'm not sure if anything changed at Lagerfeld's studios, but it's was a complete shift between the two brands' design quality. Chanel got a little boring and sometimes overdone while Fendi looked sharp, classic, yet with a little twist. After looking at the collections online, I was very curious to look at them closely.

We moved to NYC right in time when the spring collection's sale started. My husband Rob and I only planned to stop by for a minute, but my Fendi Spy flat sandals caught John's eyes (John is a very good looking sales associate at Fendi). That resulted in a guided tour in the beautiful boutique. Once we reached the clothing racks, I was almost "forced" by the Italian hospitality to try on different outfits. For the first time in the past months, I saw sparkles in Rob's eyes. He was sitting in the Fendi arm chair chatting with John and looking at different looks on me giving out "yay or nay" like a connoisseur. I was in great joy: the craftsmanship was superb and the details were brilliant. Most of the clothes were simple, but they could be combined to different looks and often time, with a twist. Better yet, the price was so much cheaper than brands such as Chanel. For instance, I bought a wool shell with detailed puffy look at the bottom. It cost me about $270 after discount. It was not cheap, but I guarantee you that the price would be at least double at Marc Jacobs and triple at Chanel. I also bought an A-line silk skirt with similar price. The two items, together with my YSL wide black belt, created a sophisticated yet effortless look. I was impressed.

Looking at the fall collection look book, classic men's trousers and puffy skirts were presented with Fendi's new wide belts. The grey puffy skirt featured on magazines for many times looked amazing in person: the fabric was very thick and rich, perfect for the winter, and the construction was perfect. The skirt and the wide belt combo was $720, which would be at least $2,000 if the label says Marc Jacobs or Chanel. What can I say? I just found the value stock I've been looking for.

A new home on the Upper East

My husband Rob and I finally moved and settled down in our new place. It's a lovely duplex with a small yard, and we love the neighborhood. We got a chance to walk around the shopping area in midtown, and Rob bought a few shirts for his new job.

My new discovery though, is Fendi. I never got a chance to look at their clothes closely because nobody sells Fendi in Boston. Now that I looked at them and tried them on, I found that Fendi's ready-to-wear is actually fairly priced compared with other major fashion brands. I consider it a "value stock/brand". I picked up a few thing there, and I'm very happy with them.

I have to run now, but I promise to update my shopping experience at Fendi ASAP. I just want to thank everybody who are so supportive to our move. Also thank you for leaving the warm messages on the blog. I'm back to my normal schedule now, and the new stories are coming. Stay tuned:)

Hello New York!

My husband and I are moving to NYC. It's exciting. I guess that I will change my profile after we move there, and I am sure that I'll have more to write about. Stay tuned:)

WAIST DOWN - SKIRTS BY MIUCCIA PRADA

I just went to NYC to check out the Prada exhibition in their epicenter - the soho boutique designed by Rem Koolhaas.

In my mind, Miuccia Prada designs the most interesting and beautiful skirts among all fashion designers despite the fact that Prada is a highly commercial brand. She is so consistent that you can count on her every single season to come up with new ideas and new prints.

The exhibition showcases Miuccia's best skirt designs from1988 to 2006. Some skirts are hung in store spinning to accentuate the shadow prints, and some are attached to the same piece of material like a camouflage. The collection includes the lip print skirt from 2000 as well as several popular skirts from the successful FW04 season (my favorite Prada season).

Most of the skirts are going to be reproduced for sale, but the amount is limited to three per style (the lip print skirt is not reproduced though). Part of the proceeds will be donated to charity, but $6,000 per skirt appears to be very steep to a regular consumer like me.Like all exhibitions in museums, this skirt event also hands out brochures and pins. The brochures have all skirts printed chronologically with a store floor plan and section at the back. The pin collection, at the same time, includes the most famous Prada skirt designs printed. Both items are free.There are also three styles of Tshirts with skirt prints on sale ($75 each): the green shadow skirt from FW04 season, the lip print skirt from 2000, and the blue/red print skirt from SS05 season. Another interesting item is a book with all skirt designs, inspirations, and material information. It's a must have piece for a design book junkie like me.

Overall, it is a cute exhibition. My only complaints is that all skirts are blended with the current spring collection through the store, so it’s not very easy to follow if your only objective is to look at the skirts. All the goodies coming with the collection are great add-ons, and I appreciate those details.

Dior Gaucho pumps & tips to make heels comfy

I was so amazed by the details on the pumps when I saw them on runway. Months later, here they are on my coffee table.

They are comfortable shoes, but it takes some tricks to make them the shoes to wear shopping for hours. Those are the things I always add on:

1. Power soles. Leather sole can't take much walking, and a layer of rubber takes them long way. Most of the shoe repair shops do that for you, but you need to ask for beige rubber sole if the shoes are in lighter shades.

2. Pads on forefeet. They reduce the impact on the ball of the feet. You can find them pharmacies such as CVS.

3. Pads on the back of the pumps. Pumps tend to slip on your heels, especially when they are slightly large. The little pads at the back of the pumps will secure the heels and avoid blisters.

All those "add ons" will cost about $30, but the return is priceless.

The only jacket in this world

Yes, my jacket is the ONLY one, which surprises me and amazes me so much.

After months of waiting, my Balenciaga jacket finally arrived.

I fell in love with this jacket right away when it was shown on Balenciaga's '06 spring runway show. It was such an amazing collection which melts Baroque and Rock & Roll together in an extremely architectural way. I knew that it was THE jacket people see once a life time, and I had to have it.

I even put deposit to order the jacket I wanted. They only produced a couple of the variations showed on runway, but I wanted different combination of colors and details. The special order service got me the exact jacket I wanted, just for me:)

I didn't pose. Imagine Jing as a clothes rack in those pictures. I want you to see how the jacket fits and how the details look. I guess that I would wear that outfit to a nice dinner, or to a nice Rock & Roll concert. That is an evening look, and indeed it is so me, the single Jing with all those rebellious ideas and the Jing who rarely followed norms.

I wore the jacket out shopping today. I dressed it down with white corduroy(my husband got eliminated in a spelling bee contest because of this word) pants and a light grey tissue T-shirt under. I also tried a look last night with the Balenciaga tank under but pairing with a flowy schiffon skirt and killer heels. That would be the outfit worn at my birthday dinner with Mr. Jing, and maybe a dance after.

Life changes, but a jacket like this will follow me for the years to come.