KEE@FSWMAG.COM
Princess Dr Becky Leogardo with her new Birkin brown crocodile bag costing 31,200 euros or RM 125,000! A steal compared to RM 172,000 in Hermes KL!
Marcel Altenberg carrying the Holy Grail of all handbags
Jenica, Princess Dr Becky Leogardo, Jeroen Brouwer and Kee Hua Chee
Jenica, Princess Dr Becky Leogardo, Marcel Altenberg and Kee Hua Chee
Note my Anya Hindnmarch bag with the photo of Princess Becky and me
The party gets bigger; Jenica, Michael Mantz, Daniel Mantz, Princess Dr Becky Leogardo, Marcel Altenberg and Kee Hua Chee
Michael Mantz, Bianca and Princess Dr Becky Leogardo
Christian Mantz, Michael Mantz and Daniel Mantz
The 3 Mantzes
One for the road
I ARRIVED ON 28 JUNE 2012 ON MALAYSIA
AIRLINES, THE BEST AIRLINE IN TERMS OF SERVICE AND COMFORT, DESPITE THE HEAD
WINDS AND TAIL WINDS IT IS ENCOUNTERING WHICH CAN BE RECTIFIED IF THEY MAKE ME
MANAGING DIRECTOR.
Actually I am staying in The Hague but it
does not have an airport and uses Schipol Airport as it is 40 minutes drive
from The Hague, 30 if you speed a bit.
I am here with Princess Dr Becky Leogardo
as someone has to pay Malaysia Airlines to fly me here as apparently the
tickets are not free. I also need to be fed and watered and taken sightseeing
plus a roof over my delicate head. So we are staying in the townhouse of
Michael Mantz, the lawyer husband of Princess Becky.
Her entourage consisted of 5; me, her
twins Gloria and Raphael and their 2 maids as God forbid Princess Becky and I
would ever soil our manicured fingers changing soiled nappies. Or even dressing
them up or tying their Louis Vuitton shoe laces or making their milk.
We arrived at 6.30am and after lunch went
shopping in The Hague's main shopping street and bought next to nothing!
Princess Becky managed to buy a dress from Mody Mary but everything else was as
boring as yesterday's beer.
On Friday 29 June we all drove to
Amsterdam to the main shopping street called Pieter Cornelius street.
Incredibly, considering KL is so far down the rung compared to the ancient
historic city of Amsterdam, there is only 1 Louis Vuitton, 1 Gucci and 1 Prada
boutique whereas in KL there are 3 Louis Vuitton stores! And KL is not exactly
Paris either! So in the glamour stakes, we are really much ahead as the Louis
Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Prada and Ferragamo stores in KL are much bigger than
the ones in Amsterdam. The Louis Vuitton boutique in Amsterdam is really a poor
cousin to the KL's big brothers!
Anyway there was nothing, absolutely
nothing, worth buying in the LV store so we gave up and hightailed to Hermes
which is one third the size of Hermes Pavilion.
I demanded, on Princess Becky's behalf, to
buy 3 Birkin handbags and was told there was none in stock. So I had to seduce
Marcel Altenberg, Jeroen Brouwer and manager Bianca before a brown crocodile
Birkin was finally produced!
We almost fainted from orgasms as it was a
lovely new colour and at 31,200 euros, an absolute steal compared to what
Hermes Pavilion KL charges! 31,200 euros is about RM 125,000 whereas Princess
Becky was forced to pay RM 172,000 for her purple Birkin in Kuala Lumpur! And
the boutique also forced the poor dear to buy tons of porcelain plates and
other stuff no one ever buys just to be in the loop! If I were Hermes, I would
stop producing everything else and concentrate on making Birkins and
Kellys!
I mean, who ever buys a Hermes saddle or
ash tray or shoes? Perfumes OK but why flog a dead horse when the queue to buy
Birkins is 43.2 miles long?
So Princess Becky got her third crocodile
Birkin and 16th Birkin bag. All due to me which is probably the main reason she
pays for my trip.
The savings between an Amsterdam Birkin
and Kuala Lumpur Birkin is around RM 47,000 and that is excluding 14% VAT! So
the total savings is around RM 52,000!
A normal Birkin in calf leather in Paris
sells under 6,000 euros or RM 24,000 whereas in Kuala Lumpur it is at least RM
36,000! Why the discrepancy is beyond me but those in the know fly to Europe
for European designer goods for good reason! You get the same item plus a free
luxury holiday!
Anyway I am surprised anyone ever bothers
to buy a designer item in KL or Asia as whoever can afford an European designer
can afford a MAS ticket to London, Paris or Milan.
And I had never been offered champagne in
Hermes Pavilion! Here in Amsterdam I was drowning in champagne at Hermes
boutique and ditto for Valentino which offers superb service like couture
coffee and designer cookies on sterling silver tray.
Ferdinand, the manager of Valentino is
half Indonesian so he is always partial to us folks but don't speak Bahasa
Indonesia to him as his command of this great language is terrible.
There is always a little corner where
sales items are offered, from 30% to 40% so don't be shy---ask to see the sales
items. Many if not most of Valentino's past seasons' collections never arrive
in Starhill which has been downsized due to the exorbitant prices but here in
Europe they are not so heart-attack inducing. Ferdinand is not the snooty,
snobbish and irritatingly arrogant sort but is very friendly, charming and easy
going and all designer managers should be like him.
Princess
Becky's stepson Christian Mantz came to join us for a late lunch that stretched
to late tea. Also joining us were Nanny Verwey-Nielen, Miss Netherlands 1976
and now 'Mother to Miss Netherlands' as she is heavily involved in the pageant
industry of Holland.
"Actually
I am a housewife," Nanny tells me modestly and I don't own the Miss
Netherlands franchises but if any organisers ask me to help, I am happy to do
so."
As she
is a nanny to all the current and newly ex- Miss Netherlands, I thought 'Nanny'
was her nickname and not her real name but she gave me her card. It reads
'Nannay Verwey-Nielen' so 'Nanny' is her real name. Fancy that!
Nanny is
tall at 172 and who should she come with but my dear, darling friend---Nathalie
Den Dekker Miss Tourism International 2011!
Nathalie
Dekker was Miss Netherlands when she participated in Miss Tourism International
2011 at Sunway Resort Ballroom and I was one of the judges! She did so well I
gave her near maximum marks!
So it
was a pleasant reunion as I have not seen her since she crowned Gabriella
Robinson on 31 December 2011 and 1 January 2012 as Miss Tourism International
is always held on New Year's Eve.
Nathalie
Dekker then sprang a surprise---she is now Miss Netherlands World 2012! She
will be taking part in the world finals on 18 August in Mongolia and will
be departing Holland on 17 July for Mongolia, China and Hong Kong for the
obligatory month long sojourn before the crowning of the new Miss World
2012/13.
Well, well,
well, what a wonderful surprise!
Nathalie
Dekker is a familiar face in Malaysia due to Panasonic which has used her since
she won the title on 31 Dec 2010/1 January 2011. She is the face of Panasonic
Lumix and Panasonic has offered her a contract till 2013. However she will be
postponing everything until the new Miss World is crowned and I full expect her
to win!
Nathalie
will not be coming to Malaysia as often as she planned due to some unforeseen
'problems' which is so juicy-lucy!
