Sex and the City opens in Tokyo today, a hard-to-miss fact no matter what your language.  This is a movie tailor-made for the brand-conscious Japanese women.  I just read with amazement that 94% of women in their 20's own a Louis Vuitton bag, 92% Gucci, 57% Prada and 51% Chanel.  !!!     Not that they are all so wealthy--many make major sacrifices to buy these bags, which they often don't even like.  Status, status, status!  And fitting in.  Both of primary importance in this "collectivist" society.

If you are interested further to know why college kids are wearing Ferragamos, here is the link to the article.  I hope it opens better than the other links I tried to post.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/164421461.html