As mentioned previously, Dawn and I made an order on Taobao via Peeka.sg !! Taobao is like the equivalent of eBay except more awesome, it’s like a wholesale site without having to buy in large quantities.
The catch is that it is based in China which means
- Your search terms would have to be in Mandarin
- You’ll need a proxy site, China bank account or a shopping service in order to buy from Taobao.
- Like eBay, you’d have to beware of scammers. There’s a constant need to check for seller ratings if you wanna buy something
And no, I will not be writing a tutorial on how to buy from there cause Peeka.sg is based in Singapore and I wouldn’t know if there are any ways you can shop on Taobao in your country, it’s far too complicated and I won’t endorse anyone who might potentially scam you.
Where were we? Shoes~!!!
Half of them are authentic and the other half are knockoffs which I bought from Taobao. It might be hard to tell at first glance though.
These Dsquared Nappa spine boots are not the real deal. When they first arrived I was quite disappointed with them cause the heels were spray painted and it was a horrible blue-white which I hate. Also, one of the heels had bubbles from a blotched spray job.
They look fine in the picture cause they’re been sanded down, primed and air brushed to look like actual bones (by the best boyfriend in the world no less). They’re much more convincing and pleasing to the eye. I’ll see if I can find WIP pictures.
It is surprisingly comfortable to wear though.
Ann Demeulemeester Spring/summer 2011 half boots. Real deal, love them to bits as I went all over NYC trying to find them. Really really comfortable, I spent the whole day in them without any aches.
Another pair from the Ann Demeulemeester 2011 collection. I got these for 50% off from the Club 21 sale in Singapore. My awesome friends got me vouchers from there for my birthday and I had to spend it on my absolute favorite brand ever.
Rick Owens knockoff which I got from Taobao. In short, these shoes stink, they have that fake pleather smell which I hate, I hope airing them out would help. Also, they are very stiff, I haven’t worn them out so it’s hard to tell if they’ll be comfortable.
Other purchases included the Alexander Wang inspired mirror clutch and the Linda Farrow Mickey mouse glasses which I also got from taobao.
In summary, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. There is definitely a difference in quality between authentic items and knockoffs. I don’t advocate one or the other and I think it’s really a personal preference, choice, availability and of course how much you’re willing to splurge. The Ann Demeulemeester shoes were expensive and I could only afford them with the subsidy of my friends (who are AWESOME by the way).
However, I do think that awesome shoes should be available to everyone one way or the other.
I’ve been doing way too much shopping for my own good. The loot we ordered from Taobao came in the other day (more on that in the coming post) and I couldn’t wait to bring out the clutch bag I ordered.
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