a VIP birthday card and the compulsion to shop

I received my first birthday card of 2004 yesterday - more than 2 weeks early! I am sure you probably think it is from my mom... but you'd be wrong! It was from mexx!

Since I arrived in Taiwan, a little too much pork fat on my vegetables and a few too many bowls of greasy noodles for lunch have limited my shopping to imported brands carrying Western sizes (anything larger than a size 2... size double 0 can be found in the local markets at a fraction of the price).

Local goods in Taiwan can be bargained for, haggled over and sometimes, as much as 20% can be cut from the price... However, the important brands are as ticketed: Sinequanone, Mexx, Mango, Oasis, Diesel, Benetton, Esprit (links are for the European brands not available yet in Canada and are provided so shopaholic Canadian friends can see what is popular in Taiwan - not so they can shop online). Anyway, the only way to be able to afford such things is to spend a fortune your first time shopping and be presented with a VIP card. This will allow the shopper 10-20% off every purchase. However, once a year (on your birthday) several of these chains will send you a special birthday card entitling the holder of the card to 50% off!

After recently moving and finding out that I had enough to fill a closet measuring about 3 meters across (with clothes spanning 4 sizes), I promised myself that I would stop shopping (and playing yo-yo with my scales)! Anyway, now the questions is how to stem the compulsion to take advantage of the card and spend my birthday shopping at Jin Hua Cheon (Core Pacific City Living Mall).