i'm more of an east-suburb kinda guy, if i have to choose any. you know, burnaby, coquitlam. if i'm ever found outside downtown, those are my stomping grounds. today, though, i decided to go somewhere i've never been before. richmond. well, apart from the airport, that is. i've never even been to the night market before! but over the last few years, i've heard lots of talk about how great richmond is for cheap imports, and i wanted to see for myself. so i headed out to the acclaimed aberdeen centre.
apart from getting lost on the way there, here is where i went wrong: expecting cheap imports at aberdeen centre. okay, that's not entirely true. i'll explain.
yes, aberdeen centre is the home of daiso, which is 2 floors of cute things you probably don't need but will probably buy anyways: stationary and housewear mostly, but also some accessories and makeup too. and for those of you who don't already know, i should probably also mention that everything in the store is $2. so that's cheap finds #1.
cheap finds #2 is the foodcourt. pretty much, the food is inexpensive and delicious. although, if cantonese is not a language you read or speak, you may have to just point and hope for the best.
but if the point of your trip was to find a new outfit for a reasonable price, you might be disappointed, especially if you are a guy. there really aren't any decent stores for guys. for girls, you'll have to hunt through a lot of crap on the sales racks to find a worthwhile deal. nevertheless, make the trip out to aberdeen to browse designer clothes you may or may not afford, depending on your financial status and/or will power. its way more fun and interesting to see what the store owners of these little asian boutiques have picked out of vivienne westwood and anna sui's collections, than to see the choices of holt renfrew's buyers.
lastly, i thought i'd be able to find one of those magazines from hong kong with all the stills from the last season's fashion shows -- you know, like collezioni, but cheaper. i didn't find any, but that's probably because i'm an idiot, and none of the new ones would be published yet. regardless, if you do want a copy of collezioni, you can go to chapters on robson, or sophia books on hastings. but, you can also find fruits magazine at sophia books, so i suggest the latter.
9 comments:
aberdeen wouldn't be my choice for clothes shopping. i'd say parker place (which is 2 strip malls down) has the better selection. but really, for all the asians like myself that go there i don't even buy anything knowing that its just inflated prices for poorly made clothes that we can just pick up when we make our trips Hong Kong! But for those not so fortunate enough to make yearly trips, sometimes there are cute jackets and shoes to be found...
Love the girl on the left's jacket and shoes.
you can get those mags on the second floor of yohan
I buy great Japanese fashion magazines from a chain of stores called Kinokuniya. Do you have those in Vancouver?
...even the night market, although certainly worth checking out for the cheap food alone, has become more of a "hit-or-miss" thing in terms of other items.
Karl buys all his printed asian imports at the magazine store upstairs in Yaohan. IDEA is a solid 8 bucks cheaper than at Sophia's. That last issue featuring the work of Jan Tschichold was goddamned retarded. You can get all your Huge's and Brutus's and Popeye's and Fruits etc there as well. Also pick up your mother some jasmine tea balls. And get a bacon bun from T&T.
Yeah I wouldn't go to Aberdeen for clothes.. it's really only good for, like you said, cheap food and useless little nicknacks.. If you do find something, its usually not the best quality and will probably fall apart by the 3rd wear.
Parker Place is better, BETTER than Aberdeen for clothes..but still not so hot. If you want boots though, its a really great place to go and find cheap(er) boots and cute flats.
PS next time you get lost in richmond, tell trisha to call me for help. haha.
i second yaohan centre for japanese magazines - great store upstairs
also a place for cheap shampoos etc up there - haven't been in a while but last time i went three bottles of back to basics was only $11 - just one bottle at a regular salon was about $14
yeah that store in yaohan is the place for great magazines -- i usually find discounted copies of Fruits and Street there :)
there is also a shop there - well haven't been in a while - that sells discount hair products - really cheap - like 3 bottles for $11.99 - thats $12.99 elsewhere for one
Post a Comment