We saw some pretty cool t-shirts the other day. I like this one that says, "Now available in happy!" and the other shirt in a dark, brooding color with a quote from Poe's Raven. The bottom of the shirt says, "And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door."
I wanted to buy the Raven shirt. I am an American size XL. I'm 6 feet tall and I have a 43 inch chest. Typically European t-shirts are a size smaller than their equally-labelled American counterparts. That means if you pick up a Size XL in Ireland, it will fit like an American Size L. The shirt pictured above with the raven on it came from a trendy-and-sort-of-hipster store. When I tried it on I looked like a complete dork; not only was the shirt 1 size too small but it had a low neck and girly "capped sleeves". What is it with hipsters anyway? This cross-dressing stuff is weird. All I needed was tight-fitting-jeans and Buddy Holly glasses and I'd look like a sales associate at American Apparel. Now where did I park my fixie?
(Aaargh!) Pardon me. Hipsters sometimes make me scream. Moving on, we decided to look at jeans. This is what floors me. The price of Levis in Europe is outrageous. I just checked out the Macy's web site, (for those of you who aren't American, Macy's is a famous department store.) As usual, Macy's is having a White Flower Day sale and Levis 501's are $39.99.
Same jeans in Europe: €110. At today's exchange rate that comes out to: $155. That's nearly four pairs in California for the price of 1 pair in Ireland. Holy blue jeans, Batman!
that raven shirt looks cooool :)
ReplyDeletebut yea, the prizes are really high...I´m comparing them to estonian prizes and the difference is awful!
Let me know what size and color Levis you want--I will happily send you some! Are you a 32 now? Guess all that walking must be paying off!
ReplyDeleteUsagi-Chan: Yeah, I really liked that raven shirt, but I looked like a fruitcake wearing it. The neckline was low (I have kind of a hairy chest, so that didn't look too good) and then the sleeves were all "cute" and tight. I would get the wrong kind of attention if I wore clothing like that! haha
ReplyDeleteMom: Thanks! Haha, I don't know if I'm down to a 32 waist yet, but I have lost weight. Yesterday I walked for 3 and a half hours! Walking is such good exercise. My Banana Republic jeans are looking kinda baggy now.
Everything that comes into this country is heavily taxed, and on top of that, we have 21% VAT slapped on top. For example, I saw a blouse in a Jackpot shop in Amsterdam that cost 30 euros. The price tag displayed what the blouse would cost in other EU countries. Guess how much it cost in Ireland?72 euros. BTW - VAT = Value Added Tax. It's a consumption tax and the reason why stuff costs more here. It doesn't explain why a pair of Levi's costs 4 times what they cost in California. But Levi's are considered to be a semi-designer brand like Diesel and Lee...
ReplyDeleteI would love to get that Happy t-shirt for Evan. My little curmudgeon....Seriously - if you ever need anything from the states just put in your order and we'll get if for you. We can trade in tea. Speaking of which - how is the tea there - do you stop everything mid-afternoon and have a pot like civilized people? Any interesting brands? I'm true to my Barry's Tea Irish Breakfast but I imagine that is probably like Liptons in Ireland.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of tea, I love Lyon's. It was difficult to get in the USA and when I did find it, it cost 7 or 8 dollars a box. Over here, it is common and sells for 2 euro a box. It was a delicacy to me but people here think its pretty average. It's like finding out your favourite chocolate dessert is something called Oreos.
ReplyDeleteThe major brands of tea in Ireland are Lyons, Robert Roberts, Barry's Tea and Bewley's. Some day I would like to go to the Bewley's Tea Room on Grafton Street. The front of the building has an Egyptian motif and there is a balcony out front that looks like a Bourbon Street building where you can have tea and watch people walk by.