“神祕顧客”逛北京三里屯
As would be expected in a city of more than 20m, traffic in Beijing moves at the pace of a blood clot and feels equally lethal. The best strategy for shoppers is to focus all of their energy on a single district. I went to Opposite House, a new, posh, modern art gallery-cum-hotel flanked by the Sanlitun shopping villages.
Sanlitun Village North is modelled after traditional siheyuan (housing quadrangles) and features high-end international luxury designer showrooms. The Alexander McQueen unit was in the final stages of construction but most others were open. At Balenciaga, I saw a black crepe asymmetric skirt with khaki accents around the low-slung waistline (Rmb4,350, ￡440). Balmain hooked me with a heavenly silk blouse with artfully deconstructed edging (Rmb11,200) that was beige enough to minimise see-through action but not so beige that it felt like it was trying to minimise see-through action.
三里屯Village北區(Sanlitun Village North)是仿照傳統四合院(siheyuan)而建，以經營國際高端奢侈品而著稱。我看到亞歷山大?麥奎(Alexander McQueen)的專櫃裝修已近尾聲，但其它多數國際品牌門店都已開張納客。在巴黎世家(Balenciaga)，我看到了一件卡其布裝飾低腰的非對稱黑色縐布裙（4350RMB，約合440英鎊）。巴爾曼(Balmain)一件精緻女式拆解式磨邊絲質上衣深深打動了我（11200RMB），這件米色衣服的顏色恰到好處，穿上它既讓人偷窺不得，但又讓人賊心不死、想入非非。Most of the other items in the store induced some degree of sticker shock, such as the various red and black safety-pin laden evening gowns priced in the same range as a mid-sized sedan. I was told cash was preferred to credit, which explains why my next stop was a cash machine.
店裏賣的多數品牌引發了相當程度的“標價震驚”（sticker shock，指看到標籤上的價格而震驚），如綴滿平安針的各款紅黑晚禮服標價都能抵上一輛中型轎車的價格。店員告訴我，在此購物，現金而非信用卡更獲歡迎，這就是緣何我下一個停靠點是自動櫃員機。
In the same courtyard as the cash machine sits the IT Beijing Market, a multi-storey style-fest proudly modelled on Comme des Gar?ons’ Dover Street Market concept store in central London. Even though at least half the merchandise is for women, it felt overwhelmingly male, thanks to the industrial feel of the building: wide-open spaces and exposed staircases.
與自動櫃員機位於同一院子的是IT Beijing Market時尚店，這是一家多層潮店，風格完全比照倫敦市中心Comme des Garcons的多佛街市場(Dover Street Market)概念店。雖說一多半的商品都爲女品，但整體感覺陽剛味十足，這主要歸因於整幢大樓的商業氣息：寬敞的內部空間以及隱約顯現的各層樓梯。The clothing, shoes and accessories are more curated than displayed. I was told by the staff that there were 15 different lines from Comme des Gar?ons in the store, as well as designers such as Maison Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester, Lanvin, Yves Saint Laurent and Givenchy.
服裝、鞋以及配飾更多的是策展，而非單純展出。店員對我說店裏除了展出馬丁?馬吉拉(Maison Martin Margiela)、安?穆拉米斯特(Ann Demeulemeester)、朗萬(Lanvin)、伊夫?聖洛朗(Yves Saint Laurent)以及紀梵希(Givenchy)等名品外，還展出了Comme des Gar?ons15大系列的品牌服飾。Four sales staff tracked my every move, and while I know some people appreciate that level of attention, it made me feel like I was an exhibit rather than a customer.
四個員工亦步亦趨，雖說有些顧客喜歡這種貼心服務，但本人卻感覺自己成了展品而不是消費者。About a block away sits 3.3 Fashion Plaza where stores are all numbered (not named) and the layout is designed more like a logic puzzle than a mall. None of the boutiques takes credit cards, so come prepared or the “conveniently located ATMs” will add about 5 per cent to your tab.
3.3時尚廣場(3.3 Fashion Plaza)就隔了一個街區，此處的各個門店都是按數字而非名字排列，整個佈局與其說賣場，倒不如說更似邏輯拼圖。所有的精品店都不接受信用卡付款，所以來時就帶上現金，否則在“精心設置的自動取款機”上取款，就會多收約5%的手續費。At the first store I saw, 1100, I walked out with a fluttery long-sleeved black silk shirt that had multiple tangles of attached pearl necklaces around the neckline, two chunky plastic necklaces with black and white muslin skulls, and a softly looped chain-link belt made of black and silver grosgrain ribbon. After some negotiation, I managed to bring the total price down to Rmb1,560.
在3.3時尚廣場一樓，我看到了1100號店面，在此買了一件領口綴了好幾串珍珠項鍊的黑色長袖絲質襯衣、兩條掛着女性骷顱頭墜子的粗塑料項鍊、以及一條由黑色及銀色羅緞絲帶(grosgrain ribbon)所做的、休閒圈狀的鏈節皮帶，經過一番討價還價後，我最終成功把這些東西的總價壓至1560元人民幣。I then discovered store 1099 was nowhere near 1100; 1098 was nowhere I could find at all; the display case at 1091 was filled with crystal-encrusted cell phone cases priced upwards of Rmb3,000 that didn’t fit my phone or that of any of the other half dozen customers.
隨後，我發現編號1100號的店面旁邊根本沒有1099號店，1098號店也是子虛烏有；1091號店賣的則全是水晶鑲嵌的手機套，有的價格競高達3000元人民幣，但那些套與我的手機不配，也與旁邊好幾位顧客的手機不匹配。Somewhere in the 1080 range I was surprised to find a store with no number but an actual name, Made in Korea, which only offered items made in China.
在1080號店面旁邊，我驚訝地發現一家沒門牌號、卻有實名的店面——韓國精品屋(Made in Korea)，卻只賣中國生產的東西。At that addled point, I fully intended to find my way to the exit when I noticed stretchy black velvet dresses in the window of 1017. (Who doesn’t stop immediately for stretchy black velvet?)
此時我感覺有點暈菜，滿腦子想的是找大樓的出口處，這時卻突然看到1017號店裏掛着的那件彈性款黑色天鵝絨衣服。（看到彈性款的黑色天鵝絨裙子，誰還能不馬上停下匆忙的腳步？）I tried on a Rmb2,800 cheongsam (or qipao) mini with fuchsia piping along the edges that fit like an anti-gravity body glove. But, as I was walking back into the dressing room, I noticed three male stylists at the 1027 hair salon giggling and pointing at me.
我試穿了那件標價2800元人民幣、紫紅色滾邊的超短旗袍，衣服再合適不過了，就像無重量的身體手套一般。但就在我走回更衣室的時候，我看到1027號美髮店裏的三位美髮師正對我咯咯地笑，並朝我指指點點。Out of curiosity I approached and asked what they thought. “You look like a super-hot hooker,” said the immaculately coiffed, bespectacled, and overly belt-buckled hipster.
出於好奇，我走到他們跟前，徵詢他們的看法。“你的模樣就像紅得發紫的三陪，”那位戴着眼鏡、頭髮梳得蹦棒、皮帶系得過緊的潮人這樣對我說。Slightly taken aback, the only thing I could think to reply was, “Oh, thank you”. I moved on to Sanlitun Village South.
聽到這，我心頭略微感到有點吃驚，唯一能答覆對方的是，“哦，謝謝”。我隨後又逛到了三里屯Village南區。The space is vast but a little easier to navigate than IT Beijing Market, since it was designed like a traditional hutong.
這兒的空間很寬敞，但比IT Beijing Market更容易逛，因爲它是按照傳統衚衕佈局設計的。This collection of stores is probably the most diverse in all Beijing: it’s home to both Apple and the world’s largest Adidas. I browsed through neutral blazers at Reiss and cashmere knits and flannel plaid shirts at Uniqlo. 全北京城，這兒的店面或許門類最爲齊全：此處設有蘋果(Apple)的門店以及全球最大的阿迪達斯(Adidas)門店。我隨便看了看Reiss店的中性色夾克上衣，以及優衣庫(Uniqlo)門店裏的羊絨針織衫與法蘭絨格子襯衣。
Nearing the end of the day and short on cash, I cruised into a pharmacy to pick up some essentials and noticed a quirky little store called Devil Nut next door.大逛了快整整一天，口袋裏的錢也花得所剩無幾，我轉而來到一家藥店買些常備藥，此時，卻看到了緊隔壁一家名叫Devil Nut的古怪小店。
Here, the fabrics were a little stiff, and the sizing and cut were more appropriate for a teenage boy than, say, a “super-hot hooker” – but I saw the humour in their zip hoodies, T-shirts and skater shorts featuring dragons, Lucha libre wrestlers and aliens.店裏的服裝使用稍硬的面料，尺碼與剪裁風格更適合青少年，而不是本人這樣的“超級三陪女”——但店裏的拉鍊帽衫、T恤以及溜冰短褲（繪有龍、墨西哥摔跤手(lucha libre)以及外星人圖案）則顯得詼諧氣十足。
I learnt two serious, and probably universal, lessons: cash is always better than credit cards and no stretchy black velvet.本人得到了或許是全世界通行的兩大教訓：現金永遠比信用卡更獲青睞，以及千萬別買彈性款黑色天鵝絨衣服，雖然讓人慾罷不能。
