After Paul Smith

My wife saw Paul Smith, and the verdict is: she still prefers Missoni. The Paul Smith boutique at Taipei's Breeze Center is allright, but my wife was rather disappointed about the range of products on offer. First of all, Paul Smith may be colorful, but it's still predominantly a man's brand. The bags with pictures of Mini's - the 1960s original, and not the 21st century BMW-produced retro version - with Union Jacks don't really inspire her.
On our tour of the Breeze, my wife did find a couple of stores that grabbed her attention. She found her favorite burst of color at an unlikely place, the usually buttoned-down Ralph Lauren. He now offers very colorful, almost Hawaiian or Caribbean cashmere-design tops.
My wife also appreciated the sales at Salvatore Ferragamo - clothing, bags and sports shoes - and Calvin Klein - anything but underwear. Both stores inside the Breeze are preparing to close and/or reconstruct.
Talking about construction, Taiwanese designer Gioia Pan is looking to open a store next month at another center of luxury in Taipei, the neighborhood of the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel. Pan's new shop will be situated on the alley on the hotel's south side, next door to the IS Coffee, and just a short walk from Dunhill, Missoni, Marc Jacobs and Salvatore Ferragamo.
And finally, if I am posting twice today, that's because I finally have a new computer, a BenQ S52 Joybook. My next challenge: fix my digital camera so that I can at last add pictures to this blog.