This photo is worth P5 million

Manila, Philippines - You would think that with this recession, women would pack their bags and go into social Siberia. Guess again. Supreme lets you into the other side of this global downturn. We are going to unleash an insider secret. Her name is Lani Velasco.

Lani is the lady behind the bags of so many women you see in the headlines of late. When I say bags, I don’t mean ordinary bags — Birkin bags, to be exact. As in, one-year’s-wait-list-before-you-get-your-hands-onto-one-of-these-bags kind of bag. She is the number one go-to girl of these women for retail therapy. I know the joy a timeless purchase can give the buyer, but I had no idea it could give one so much happiness until I saw the women in my life receive gifts they had bought for themselves from Lani. “It just started for me as a hobby,” Lani told us at the shoot at Pix Republic Studio. “I would travel to San Francisco and shop for particular pieces for friends, and before I knew it, it became a full-blown business!” Lani relates as we fixed the Christian Loboutins, Jimmy Choos and other brands that surrounded her for this particular layout.

I made a mental computation of how much everything was worth, bags and all — and to date, this is the most expensive shoot Supreme has done, the first that reached the seven-digit range. “But I must remind you that in the midst of all this recession, it is only the Hermes Birkin bag whose prices did not go down. In fact, it still went up. That’s real value in these days,” says the affable Lani. Nope, this was not a Confessions of a Shopaholic — more like Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

It was my first time to meet the dusky beauty at our shoot, but I had heard of her countless times during dinner conversations, at cocktail parties, overheard ladies chatting on their mobile phones giggling about their new purchases from her. In fact her store, named What Shoe Wearing (WSW) in Pasong Tamo extension (near Mabolo, the flower shop du jour of the city’s hot set) is the hush- hush gathering spot of the city’s most powerful women — so powerful that sometimes they don’t want to see each other. “In my store I even have a corner where clients can stay so they won’t be seen.” Such is Lani’s pursuit of customer service.

She knows that in this industry (since we are dealing with more or less five percent of the population), discretion is key, and so no matter how persistent I was in getting the names of her big-name clients, she just wouldn’t budge. “I value the trust of my clients,” Lani would just give me a warm smile and my eyes would focus on the high-ticket items we were carefully fixing for the shoot.

“She’s very helpful and accommodating. She’ll go out of her way to help. She’s in every bazaar selling shoes, bags, scarves and shades even if she doesn’t have to, just because she wants to,” this was told to me by one of her clients, who chose to remain anonymous. “I really love to shop, and I don’t mind to shop for everyone because it makes me happy,” Lani talked to me with her eyes focused solely on me, never mind if any of the people present slipped one of her goods into their goody basket, it would cost this paper more than both arms and legs. More than being about the brands, Lani, I noticed, is about the person, her clients. Her instinct is spot on, knowing immediately what her clients will find irresistible.

Not everything is smooth sailing even when it comes to ultra luxury brands. Even with Lani’s other business, which is supplying maids’ and drivers’ uniforms, there are clients that are very hard to deal with. “Some even go to the point of threatening you, even if they’re the ones who owe you money,” Lani relates some of the more unsavory parts of her business. “But I just move on and avoid such people. I choose to focus on the joy I can give to my customers.”

That one’s no secret.

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What Shoe Wearing (WSW) is located at 2295 Jannov Bldg 3, Pasong Tamo Ext. Makati City. Telephone numbers (632) 812-1787 and (632) 892-7691.