Imbalanced $

Remember when I was acting excited that there are so many clothing boutiques near our apartment? Well, not anymore.

I packed minimally for the flight over and am in need of some new clothes, so I stopped into American Apparel earlier today and it was sticker shock. There is always a fine line between the expense of the clothes they sell and the quality. But this was a global economy reality check. I spotted a pair of pants that I liked on a manequin in the window, then I located these black pants amidst the racks of multi-colored clothes inside. The price tag said Euro 68 and they weren't even jeans, they were slacks. That's not what killed me it is that they list the price in 4 different currencies, US $, UK £, Euro and Korean providing a quick lesson in currency exchange. These pants were listed for US $68 and Euro 68! I don't know if you have been following the exchange rate of foreign currencies lately, but I have, and 68 euros does not equal 68 dollars, not even close. Try $100. All of my plans to live cheaply in t he bankrupt city of Berlin for the next year vanished in that moment.

I had to seriously consider ordering these clothes online in the US and having them shipped to me. It still might work. For the time being I be back on the hunt for thrift stores. Fashions turn around fast in Europe, so second hand stores should have a decent selection of clothes (right?). Speaking of fashion and trends I ran across this coach bag in a park that must have been left lying there since the last time these bags were in style.



I found this original Deutshe Werkstatt office desk at a furniture store nearby. It would look great in the apartment. There was a sign that listed the designer and the original date of the table as 1923, more to come…