Panama Real Estate Investment Travel Information


Personal Shoppers Now Available in Panama

(3 votes)

Written by Matt Landau

Friday, March 14 2008

"I'm with my personal shopper, can I call you back later?" were some the most fulfilling words that had come out of my mouth in a long time. I had often regarded personal shoppers much the way I did spiritual advisors, as pointless ways rich people disposed of their income. But upon moving to Panama and getting my one of my own, the concept of a personal shopper suddenly took a turn for the shrewd.

Pascale is a professional personal shopper originally from Switzerland who made a living in New York City telling people how they should dress. And while I never knew Pascale in New York City, I imagined here there in her element, shopping with her client on Madison Ave. for a special event that night. "Now this silver sarong" her client might have asked while looking over her shoulder in a mirror. "Would it match well up against a red carpet?"

Pascale speaks with a slight European accent which has a tendency to make even the simplest of accessories sound sexy. "Today Matt, we may just find for you zee perfect timepiece."

I didn't even know what a timepiece was, but I knew I desperately wanted one.

For those of you who don't know, my fashion sense is one of monotony. I have a small, reliable collection of clothing pieces that I wear interchangeably every day of the week and while some might describe my style as boring or lame, I like to label it as unswervingly chic: the Landau summer collection of 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. My outfits though, while nice in make and model, are always more or less the same.

I entered the mall behinf Pascale feeling more confident in the presence of retail that I ever have before. It was not unlike showing up at a potluck with Martha Stewart in tow. Once-intimidating storefront manikins didn't have anything on me with Pascale by my side.

"Zo what we are looking for today?" Pascale asked me, as we passed a large man standing in front of a store called Louis Vuitton. He was holding a gun. I gave him a cocky little wink as I replied.

"I'm thinking about mixing a dressy element," I expressed, "like a velvet jacket, with something more informal like blue jeans." I said this because I had just read an article about a certain Wine Valley Social Club and wanted anxiously to appear to be in the know.

Pascale shrugged off my comment. "Maybe we just walk to Zara, no?"

Once in the swing of things at Zara, Pascale did a sort of analysis on what colors looked good on me and which ones did not. "Zees khaki shirt" she said. "I sink zees khaki shirt look too...too much like safari for you." And while I wasn't terribly aware of what style sense we were going for, I was fairly sure safari wasn't it.

She proceeded to throw together, almost effortlessly, several outfits that looked really really really good; nothing I would have ever picked out on my own; a great a mix of linens, pastels, and traditional...versions (I don't even know the word I'm trying to use here). I'd come out of the dressing room and Pascale would look at me the way a painter looks at a half-finished canvas, her head tilted to the side as if to say, something's not quite right here. She even had the man at the shop hemming my pant legs (a service I didn't even know was offered at Multi Plaza).

At the cash register, Pascale decided to switch a blue shirt we had selected for a pink one, and with the most natural of instincts, I turned to the people waiting in line and shrugged. "That's my personal shopper," I smirked. "She does this all the time."

Pascale charges $40/hour in Panama which is roughly what her clients in New York pay to take a dump. My experience was so successful, that we've enlisted her help as fashion guru here on The Panama Report in writing articles. She offers personal shopping and fashion consulting in Panama City and is well worth her fee: call her at 6757-4287 for a quote.

Comments (4)

Rick: yuppies hit Panama-we need personal shoppers

Some of the things u write here are interesting, sometimes informative, but always your view of panama. Ok thats cool its your site. But to pay $40/hr in Panama, to shop at a Zara, is like taking your housekeeper in the US to help you shop at Wallmart an paying her $40/hr extra. Ok maybe you do not have any taste in cloths, or maybe you found her accent sexy, but an $80K a year personal shopper in Panama, kind of kills the whole idea of why most expats are here in the first place. Ok in the US making 300K and just too busy I get it, for furniture or cloths. You can take the GRINGO out of the US but you can't take the US out of the gringo...kind of says it all

March 15, 2008

Pascale Schwander Taylor: my advice

Dear Rick,

Fist thank you for reading the article about me.
I would like to say that almost every brand use the same manufacturers in the world. I know this business very well as I used to work as a products manager and visited many times manufactories. Second it's not because you are paying $2000 for a Brioni suit that you are going to look better than a Zara suit. That depends the fit, the cut and the man! You can find any goods items in any brands, you just need to know about materials...
Kind of says it all

March 17, 2008

bruno: rick missing the point

in response to the first post (rick?):

Your analogy is completely warped. Zara = WallMart ? A house keeper in the US would know as much as a professional, personal shopper in Panama ?

Your are missing the whole point. Panama is evolving, it is not just a cheap alternative to Florida for gringos to retire. Panama is hip and fashionable, with a developing upper/middle class.

And frankly, who would not prefer paying a personal shopper $40/h instead of $300 ? As Matt points out everything available in NY seems to be available in Panama city.

Obviously your idea of why expats are in Panama in the first place is at odds with reality...

March 17, 2008

Paul Ross: Panama Info

Matt,

I'm coming to Panama next month and was wondering if I could pick you brain. Do you have an email I could catch you at? If you want heres mine This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Thanks,

Paul Ross

March 18, 2008

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