LUST FOR LUXE

The price of a pair of Gucci shoes could probably feed a small country in Africa, but for status seekers that doesn`t matter. When you buy a brand name item, you`re not just getting the item. You`re getting the image of privilege that comes along with it and nowhere is appearance more important than in Korea.

I was having a trivial expat wife crisis. I got invited to the Gucci fashion show, but had nothing to wear.

`You have to go to the Gucci fashion show.` A friend insistently said. `I mean Tom Ford is my absolute favorite designer! I can`t believe you`re even hesitating for a second about going! I will personally strangle you if you don`t go. I don`t have a ticket, so I have to live vicariously through you.`

She then proceeded to offer to lend me one of her Gucci dresses. `Oh, but the dress is from two seasons ago.` She lamented. She decided that only something from the latest collection would do. So off we went to the Gucci shop in Apkujong.

Like most women, I love looking stylish but I generally recoil at spending gluttonous amounts of money on fashion. In the past, I`ve been staunchly opposed to buying brand name items when there are perfectly stylish clothes for sale in Dongdaemun. Nothing in the Gucci shop struck me as extraordinary except for the price tags. Then we spotted the shoes.

They were black strappy stilettos with a pointy toe, silver detailing, and a dangerously high heel. They were the kind of shoes that my husband would ask me to wear in bed if he felt like bowing to Mistress Liza. They could also double as some kind of weapon in case someone was trying to attack. I wouldn`t say it was love at first sight, but when I put the shoes on I felt hundreds of dollars worth of sexy. Then came the approving ooohhs and ahhhs from my girlfriend and the sales lady. Under all this pressure to look fabulous, I succumbed to impulse and nervously pulled out my credit card.

I left the store feeling exhilarated yet guilty at the same time. I mean there are people struggling to pay their rent! What right do I have spending that amount of money on something as frivolous as a pair of shoes? Oh well, I rationalized. If men can spend thousands of dollars on useless electronic gadgets, then surely I`m allowed to buy something stupid once in a while. It`s all relative.

The fashion show did not disappoint. The fabrics were luxurious, the silhouettes were sumptuous and the drinks were free. 95 percent of the audience comprised of women. Beautiful people wearing beautiful clothes abounded.

The highlight of the evening though was not the clothes, but the lack thereof. Hunky men with rippling muscles tended the bar. They wore nothing on top except a slathering of Gucci glitter. Usually girls are the ones being ogled and objectified. In this case the roles were happily reversed. Needless to say, the girls had a lot of fun posing for photos with the gorgeous bartenders. A couple of the male models got jealous that the bartenders were getting all the attention, so off came their shirts as well. I couldn`t help but think that a gay man must have organized this flesh fest.

Only after many hours of teetering on my spike heels did my feet start to hurt and I am proud to report that I made it through the night without falling down. Well, okay I fell once, but it wasn`t because of the shoes.