WillKhitie

Hm, I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum on this, wherein I do think there's a future in the physical retail shop format. Despite it going through a bit of a redefinition/reorientation like every other archaic medium (see: books), I see it pushing on primarily because its core tenets and strengths are unhackable. In contrast to books, wherein anyone can publish on Kindle or buy a spot in the NYT Bestseller list, any random joe can't exactly just open a physical store (be successful at it) and develop that tenure/value of curation with his clientele. There's also that word "physical", that tactile, experiential quality to shopping at a store that technology has yet been able to replicate (maybe after 90 years, post jackpot, when we're logging into each others personal hotel lobby constructs). Good shops (i.e. multibrand boutiques) are statements, triggers, that should make you feel something. "We stock this with this, because of this, inside this, because fuck you." I've yet to see an online store do that. _ _ _ You can argue in favor of or against this idea varying degrees using several businesses that have both (online and physical shops). For against, you can look at Tres Bien for the latter, where their online presence feels so fleshed out, only to see their tiny cute store in Malmö and think.. ??? A personal example in favor of would be Antonioli, wherein I didn't really get what they were about online (regardless of all the marketing). It took me about 5 minutes into a visit their shop in Florence to be like.. "ah, shit. It all makes sense now." I suppose in the end it all boils down to what kind of shopper you are. It's like opera vs. Netflix, a tasting menu vs. a hotdog. Both are pretty damn good, but you have one or the other for different reasons. _ _ _ Now, tying this back into ACRONYM for the benefit of this thread, I've always liked the question of what direction the brand should take going forward? I've never wanted to say it before, in fear of it happening and cutting me off, but offline / darknet / physical store / secret pop-up seems like the most viable way for it to go forward. It'd probably take just another hundred words to explain why, so I'm leaving it here to simmer.

UNIQLO Airism. Don't know if they sell it outside of Asia (it's a summer only product here). As for the LOT talk, I do not have enough 3rd world pennies to subscribe to it, but please let us know how it goes. It would be 10/10 if even this first encounter is already an example of the brand tailoring itself. i.e. Somebody with very different demographics, seeing a LOT site that sells brightly colored basics, gardening tools, and a packet of chia seeds.

Also, given how Gibsonian this is, I'm surprised this hasn't found it's way here in any permutation. Pick it up here:// https://www.ssense.com/en-us/interview/engineering-the-end-of-fashion Here's their actual:// https://www.lot2046.com/

@brainerd666 What's your wash method like? (Apologies, this is like my 3rd time bringing up this debate) I spend days in the kitchen as well and dare not wear anything I care too much about, lest they smell like tacos for days.

@conqueror that's strange and interesting. Check the list above, food is ridiculous around the city. Eater has a wider 38 listing guide of where to eat here, (their lists are always good, IMO). Can't help much in terms of sites though, we just do a "tour de stores" everytime we go in lieu of it.

The wife did on the last visit over. We usually end up in Marco Polo Gateway / Tuve / Upper House (it's a short hop from Manila). Language barriers shouldn't be an issue, never experienced it in all our times over. What are you guys looking to do?

Plenty of ways to get fat in Hong Kong, least that's what the last couple of trips have been for me. Here's a shortlist: https://goo.gl/388UkN, forgot how I labelled them but stars are michelin starred, squares are must eats. Everything in green were the spots we managed to eat in our last time over. GLHF

@rirawin I am way too much of a Rene-fanboy to say anything w/o bias. One thing that my wife pointed out which surprised us both was how most dishes cut this very Asian profile. How we (Southeast Asians/Thai/Fil/etc) tend to balance with sourness, and contrast with texture. Think this holds true for a lot of the other Noma-alumni (i.e. Relæ, Mume)

@rirawin do you have anything in particular for Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto? Did a bit of initial research for a trip in late NOV here (https://goo.gl/d3Dx62), but then again, FOMO. Managed to emotionally blackmail Noma for some seats last year during our honey moon. BONUS ACR Content

Okay, now that we're on the topic, can the more educated ones provide an approved list of detergents, treatment re-applications for shells, and pants? (i.e. thoughts on Grangers Wash and Repel Spray, or is the 2-in-1 Wash+Repel product enough? ) Looking to purchase some off Amazon to d-t-d to Asia, but I'm at a point (financially) where I don't want to waste any on guess work. Thank you in advance.

Not sure which corner of reddit this was from, but it was tres funny.

Is there anymore news on where they'll be restocking the Volts? I don't mind going to exorbitant lengths to get it at SRP vs. the resell price now.

@rirawin If I remember correctly we didn't have a choice at the time as the dirt road was closed. Regardless, it seemed like there was only one view point and parking lot though for everything once we got there.

@rirawin No worries. You can find my comments below. Thank you all the kind words as well. More than happy to share this with you (and Superfuture). The guides/maps have become a sort of habit for me and the wife prior to travelling. She does the sights and instagrammable bits – I do most of the food and coffee. We're working on one for a road trip around Italy this April which would make it Guide no. 09 to date (Iceland, Copenhagen, Malmo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Cebu, Korea, and Tokyo).