I have to admit that I hadn't realized how much damage could be done, from a shopping perspective, in Vegas. I'd anticipated the cheap tsotschkes...the craving for which was satisfied with fridge magnets, chip key chains, an Eiffel Tower cookie cutter, nail files, and Pina Colada lip gloss (the last two of which were particularly questionable purchases as I rarely take the time to file my nails nor quaff a PC).

But I hadn't fully comprehended the sheer volume of more expensive options...a Chanel on virtually every corner (obviously following Starbucks' game plan)...Balenciaga...Paul Smith...Chloe...Dior Homme...Fred Leighton vintage (the home of two particularly adorable jeweled lizard pins which would have been mine in the event of a massive amount of luck at Blackjack)...the list goes on.

Most of them, it's true, were set in the kind of Disneyland surroundings that lead to the sort of impulse shopping that instills regret once you set foot back home...at this point I'm particularly thinking of the Louis Vuitton and Gucci stores (vying for attention with painted skies, marbled Gods sitting amidst raging fountains, and varnished cobblestones).

What I hadn't considered was the existence of something like Citycenter...the work of 12 artists, including Jenny Holzer and Antony Gormley...7 architects...and housing currently, in its highly stylized depths, Tom Ford, Paul Smith, and Marni...to be joined in the near future by Miu Miu, Lanvin, and Balenciaga.

It was, in all honesty, a shopping nirvana...quiet, serene, and beautiful...and therefore much more deadly than its jazzier counterparts. My particular nemesis was Marni...having avoided the lure of a dark grey skirt with metallic gold tapestry (alright, by "avoided" I admit that I mean "it was on sale and the only size available was one size smaller than I desired/required")...I fell prey to "the necklace". The necklace in question being a compilation of vintage Paris Metro entrances, Swarovski crystal, Victoriana, metalwork, and all things close to my heart. Resistance was futile...even the storage bag is adorable, with its leather tabs and Marni tag...