I never pay attention to fashion and brands. I wear what I feel comfortable and convenient. Decades ago, my 10-year-old Italian nephew asked me for jeans from Canada when I would go there. Upon seeing them, he exclaimed they were not Levis. "What does Levis mean?" I asked naively. Later, I was preparing to come to China when my Sichuan friend ordered jeans for her daughter. "You mean Levis, I guess?" "No, Benetton," she said.

Living in China I realize the impact the brand image has on people here. Once I bought a pair of sandals because I needed sandals. More Non-Chinese than Chinese told me, "Wow! You wear that? You have money!" I didn't know why they thought 150-yuan sandals-obviously fake-were for wealthy people. I had never heard that name(which I can't remember) before.

While visiting my family in Canada, we were talking about false-fraud-fake products in China. I assured them I would never buy imitations. As a writer, I don't accept that readers pirate my books and I would consider myself a thief if ever I buy counterfeits. A young relative said, "What about your purse?" "What's the problem with my purse?" I countered. "It's a Yves Saint-Laurent; do you mean you paid the full price?" "How can you think I bought a YSL? I bought it because of size, color, and price." She picked up the purse and pointed to the 3-cm steel YSL on the flap. Believe me or not, I had not noticed it till then.

When Hong Qiao Market (now known as the Pearl Market) used to sell forged watches (hum!), I happened to need a watch and went there for the large choice they offered. What I wanted was a watch to see the time, I insisted. They had no Chinese brands, only Cartier, Citizen, Seiko, Rolex... Desperately, I finally bought a Gucci for which I paid 20 yuan, bargained down from 168 yuan. It still works after 14 years.

Recently, in a store at Zhongguancun, young vendors noticed my watch and asked me how much I paid. I joked: "20,000 yuan." While expecting a laugh, I got a "Oh!" full of admiration. I gave them the watch to examine, but that only ended up convincing them it was an authentic Gucci. "I want to sell it, I'm tired of it. What about 2,000 yuan?" I offered. "It's still too much for us." I then asked what Chinese merchants ask: "How much do you want to pay?" No one dared giving an answer. "Well, I will leave it for 200," I concluded. "Is it fake?" one finally asked.