I never pay attention to fashion and brands. I wear what I feel is comfortable and convenient. Decades ago, my 10-year-old Italian nephew asked me for jeans from Canada when I visited.

我从不关心时尚与名牌。我只穿感觉舒适的衣服。几十年前，我10岁大的意大利侄子要我去看他时送他一条加拿大当地产的牛仔裤。

　　Upon seeing them, he exclaimed they were not Levis. "What does Levis mean?" I asked naively.

　　当见到他们一家时，我的侄子大声说这不是李维斯。我直言不讳地问道：“李维斯是什么意思？”

　　Later, I was preparing to come to China when my Sichuan friend ordered jeans for her daughter. "You mean Levis, I guess?"

　　后来，当我准备来中国的时候，一位四川的朋友托我为她的女儿买牛仔裤。“我猜，你是想要李维斯的？”

　　 "No, Benetton," she said.

　　她回答说：“不，是贝纳通的。”

　　Living in China I realize the impact brands have on people here. Once I bought a pair of sandals because I needed sandals. More non-Chinese than Chinese told me, "Wow! You wear them? You have money!" I didn't know why they thought 150-yuan ($22) sandals - obviously fake - were for wealthy people. I had never heard that brand name (which I can't remember) before.

生活在中国，我意识到名牌对人们的影响无处不在。一次我由于需要买了双凉鞋。许多人都对我说：“哇！你穿这个牌子的鞋？真有钱！”这其中外国人的比例要超过中国人。我不明白为什么他们会认为标价150元（合22美元）的凉鞋（很明显是仿冒品）只能是富人的专属。另外我之前从没听过那个牌子（我已经记不清叫什么名字了）。

　　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 I ever buy counterfeits.

　　当我回加拿大看望家人时，大家一起谈论着中国的假货。我向他们保证自己不会去买仿冒品。作为一名作家，我无法接受读者剽窃我的著作，如果要我去买仿造品，我会觉得自己是在做贼。

　　A young relative once asked, "What about your purse?"

　　一个年轻的亲戚问道：“那么你的钱包又作何解释呢？”

　　"What's the problem with my purse?" I countered.

　　我反问道：“我的钱包有什么问题吗？”

　　 "It's a Yves Saint-Laurent; do you mean you paid the full price?"

“这钱包是伊夫•圣罗兰的。你的意思是说你全价买的？”

　　 "How can you think I bought a YSL? I bought it because of size, color and price."

　　“你怎么会认为我买的是圣罗兰的钱包？我买它只是因为大小，颜色和价格都合适罢了。”

　　She picked up the purse and pointed to the steel YSL on the flap. Believe it or not, I had not noticed it till then.

　　她拿起钱包指了指外皮上的“YSL”金属标志。不管你相信与否，直到那时我才注意到那个标志。

　　When Hong Qiao Market (Pearl Market) used to sell fake watches, 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.

　　过去红桥市场（珍珠市场）常常出售冒牌手表。一次我恰巧需要块手表，由于那边的选择空间很大，我决定去那儿买。我坚持认为自己需要的只是一块能够看时间的手表。

　　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.

　　他们那并没有中国的品牌，只有卡地亚，西铁城，精工以及劳力士。失望的我最终只好选择了一款古琦手表，价钱则由最初的168元砍到20元。14年之后，这块手表仍旧好用。

　　Two years ago, a family member needed an inexpensive watch with a blue plastic wristband for a special occasion, "something that looks nice on a little girl," she said, adding "a local, not-famous brand".

　　两年前，我的一位家人为了参加一个特定场合，需要佩戴一块蓝色塑料腕带的平价手表。她说：“要那种适合小女孩的款式。”她还补充到：“要当地的没有名气的牌子。”

　　Hong Qiao was the market for children's watches. Having refused several ming pai copies, I was leaving without buying when I saw a blue plastic one.

　　虹桥市场有许多儿童手表出售。拒绝了几款仿名牌之后，我正打算空手而归，这时我看到了一款蓝色塑料手表。

　　"Diesel, what a strange name for a watch," I thought. Wasn't diesel something that went into a gas tank? The transaction went quickly; I offered 35 yuan and left with the watch.

　　我心想：“‘柴油机’，这手表的名字还真是奇怪啊！”难道那不是该呆在油箱里的东西吗？交易过程很快，我付了35元钱后就拿着表离开了。