YSL Purchase Experience in Honolulu, Hawaii
If you have not already been informed, Hawaii is one of the best places to purchase luxury goods in the United States. Official Yves Saint Laurent boutiques sell all items for prices that are 20% lower than the online listed prices for the U.S. website.
Other luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Valentino, Dior, Jimmy Choo, and etc also offer cheaper prices. Not all brands offer a discount on all of their products. For example, Gucci's small leather goods are 20% off and their bags are 25% off. There is no discount for shoes and belts. The tax in Honolulu is around 4.5% meanwhile, it is around 8.9% in New York City. With this in mind, I wanted to purchase a luxury purse during my Hawaii trip.
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I visited both the Luxury Row and Ala Moana Center locations for Yves Saint Laurent. Out of the two locations, I found my experience at Luxury Row to be better. Ala Moana Center has complimentary parking at their massive lot, which will be a more favorable location if you plan to drive. Luxury Row during the evening to nighttime has a much better atmosphere, that sparkles with lights. If you love walking through scenic and calm places, you will prefer Luxury Row more. Keep in mind that there is no street parking available. There are a few valet lots.
First, I will be talking about my Loulou purchase. I originally wanted the Pale Blush color, which was very limited in stock. There was one available at the Luxury Row location but it was a displayed piece. I checked it out and noticed that the leather was damaged, the shape was worn out, and the hardware had scratches. Even though I absolutely loved the color of the bag, I could not fathom paying a very high price for a purse that had already been worn out before purchase. Definitely try to be a smart shopper, especially when shopping for luxury goods.
Instead, I decided on the black Loulou bag in small with gold hardware because it will match many of my outfits and there were brand new pieces available in store. I love the versatility - it can be worn three different ways: 1) on the shoulder 2) crossbody 3) double-chained on the shoulder. Here is an unboxing video, which includes some modshots.
As expected, the packaging for YSL is beautiful. The chains were carefully wrapped. A dust bag and box provided is also provided. The retail price for this Loulou bag in Small is $1,950.00 in the United States boutiques. With tax it would come out to $2,123.00 if I had purchased it in New York City.
In Hawaii with the 20% off it came out to $1,560.00 before tax. After tax, it came out to approximately $1,630.00 usd.
By purchasing this purse in Hawaii, the bag is almost $500.00 cheaper than in New York City.
Immediately when I walked into the boutique, many of the employees kindly greeted me. There were no other customers inside the store. Many beautiful pieces were carefully displayed. The sales associates were very kind and helpful. They brought out multiple styles out for me and playfully said, "I am giving you even more options to choose from, sorry!"
Outside of the Luxury Row location
At the Modern Honolulu Hotel
The hardware looks silver in this photo due to the lighting. I purchased the gold hardware.
After a week of looking around at Ala Moana Center's YSL boutique and reading numerous reviews on this other YSL bag, I decided to stop by the Luxury Row boutique again. This time, I was assisted by a different sales associate who was very sweet and helpful. She even joked around saying, "Welcome back! You were here a few days ago, no?"
This time, I wanted to check out the Envelope Bag in Mix Matelassé in the size medium. I was particularly interested in the Dark Beige color with gold hardware, which I saw when purchasing the Loulou bag.
There is also a similar color to the one that I have and it is called Latte. This color is slightly darker than the one I have (Dark Beige). Here is the link to the Latte color.
The retail price for this Envelope Bag in Mix Matelassé is $2,190.00 in the United States boutiques. With tax it would come out to $2,385.00 if I had purchased it in New York City.
In Hawaii with the 20% off it came out to $1,752.00 before tax. After tax, it came out to approximately $1,831.00 usd.
By purchasing this purse in Hawaii, the bag is around $554.00 cheaper than in New York City.
Here is a photo of the bag unboxed. You can see that the chains are carefully wrapped in this photo. The exterior size of the bag is quite similar to the Chanel Classic Flap Bag in Medium. The interior of this bag is larger than the Chanel and can fit more items. Similar to the Loulou bag, this bag can be worn three ways: 1) on the shoulder 2) crossbody 3) double-chained on the shoulder. As of the moment, I look for this kind of versatility in a bag. There is also a flap in the back, just like the Chanel bag.
This color is the most accurate of how the bag looks like in real life.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my YSL purchase experience in Honolulu, Hawaii. If you are travelling to Hawaii and you are a fan of luxury goods, please do check out the price differences. Many tourists purchase luxury items that are on their wish list when they are in Hawaii because of the notable savings. Please feel free to ask me any questions!
Love,
