A little bit out of my price range
Taking a peak into the lives of the very rich and famous is always fascinating. I was fortunate enough to go window shopping just the other day in one of the most upmarket shopping areas in the world: The ChampsElysées in Paris.
Note that I did window shopping, because nothing on that strip is quite in my price range. Well, I did splurge on a Nespresso coffee that set me back close on R100. Ouch!
First up was the Fendi store. Thank goodness I didn’t have my two daughters with me. They would have thought they had died and gone to heaven – or hell, perhaps, not being able to afford anything.
Then came Prada – just past the Lamborghini display on the pavement offering potential buyers a free joyride around the block. Also on the strip is Chanel, Hugo Boss, Jean Paul Gaultier ... the list goes on and on. But my favourite favourite is Louis Vuitton.
At first I thought I had accidentally stumbled upon a Chinese/ Arab convention – very interesting customer demographics. Communism is definitely very lucrative for some.
But what fascinated me most in the Louis Vuitton shop was the number of guards. Not shop security personnel. I’m talking bodyguards. It seems that all the shoppers there have their own teams of bodyguards. Just like in the movies.
They all look the same, they are dressed the same, they wear the same communication earpieces, they stand the same. I bet they all went to the same school of bodyguarding. I wasn’t sure what was more interesting, the guards or the merchandise. And then I saw it. Displayed all on its own, in a spotlight, was the pair of shoes. Yes, THE pair of shoes. I could already see them on my feet. Holding them, they felt like they should be mine. Until I saw the price tag. R120 000.
At the rate I’m saving, those shoes will be in my cupboard by November 2038, barring any price increases. Or make that December, because walking to the metro station, I dropped a two euro coin in a beggar’s cup. For a moment I envied him, because he can window shop on the Champs-Elysées every day.