Unvanish Hannam • 언베니쉬 한남

Unvanish Hannam (언베니쉬 한남) is a Korean brand that sells perfume, body oil, hand wash, body wash, and life fragrance. Stumbled upon this store during one of my shopping trip with my friend around Hannam area. Saw their posters plastered on the walls outside the building and we decided to climbed up the stairs to the second floor to check the place out.

Pleasant aromatic scent greeted us as soon as we stepped into the store. The place isn’t too big. But just like the majority of the shops around here, it is well-designed. Their products are displayed around the space that is decorated with modern minimalistic furniture and fixtures. One corner resembles a small living room and on the other they have an open bathroom display area with bathtub and sink where you can use to test their hand or body wash.

Sea of ​​Green Life Mood Spray (씨 오브 그린 라이프 무드 스프레이) ₩59,000

Elegant AldehydeㅣCool MuskㅣSea Beyond the Grass
3.38 fl oz. (100 ml)

TOP     ALDEHYDE, GRAPEFRUIT, MANDARIN
MID     ROSE, MUGUET, VIOLET
BASE   MOSS, SANDALWOOD, MUSK, TONKA

“The elegant and clean aldehyde scent will capture the tip of your nose the moment you apply it. The light floral scent is reminiscent of the sea beyond the grassy plains. The scent of musk and soft sandalwood is finished with  the whisper of a cool sea breeze and the scent of ripples in the earth, bringing to mind memories of early morning walks along the sea.” —Unvanish

Out of all the scents, both me and my friend like the Sea of Green Life the best. But unfortunately, all the Sea of Green products were out of stock when we were there so we couldn’t purchase any. We took it as a sign that we should go back again next time. If you’re looking for perfume around Hannam-dong area, this place is worth checking out. 

Image Courtesy: Unvanish Website

 

Unvanish Hannam • 언베니쉬 한남

Address: 서울 용산구 이태원로49길 19 2층 언베니쉬
Telephone: 070-4129-3333
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11:30-20:00 (Closed on Mondays)

Instagram: @unvanish.official
Website

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Pan Am Seongsu Flagship Store • 팬암 성수플래그쉽스토어

Pan Am Seongsu Flagship Store (팬암 성수플래그쉽스토어) is one of the many cool stores that you can find in Seongsu-dong neighborhood. Opened by a Seoul-based fashion company SJ Group who acquired the brand’s merchandise licensing, Pan Am sells men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, bags and home decor products that are inspired by the airline’s rich history with a modern spin to the designs. The store itself is also a reflection of that same concept. Designed by South Korean architects NiiiZ DESIGN LAB (@niiizdesignlab), they combined the rugged concrete structure left by the old factory who used to occupy the building with more futuristic and sleek fixtures and furnitures decorating the interior, making the store looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. 

If you’re not familiar with the brand, Pan Am—also known as Pan American World Airways—was one of the leading and most well-known US airline during the 1950s until the 1970s. The brand was associated with luxury intercontinental travels with little competition on the market during what many Americans considered as the golden  era of air travel. The company was in operational for 64 years before it ceased operation in 1991. But even after that, their blue globe logo—also known as “The Blue Meatball”—which was used from 1973 to 1991 is still one of the most recognizable piece of their history. 

I personally have heard about and seen Pan Am since I was young. But the one thing that kind of cemented its association with luxury travels in my brain was when I watched the Catch Me If You Can movie (one of my favorite movie of all time actually) where the main character Frank Abagnale Jr. who’s a master of deception and excellent forger pretended to be a Pan Am pilot and got away with it. He lived such a glamorous life during that period of his life and the movie does make it looks like working as an Pan Am pilot comes with certain status symbol and privilege.

Seeing how a fairly iconic brand that’s well-known for its vintage heritage designs translated and adapted into a more modern and sporty direction is always interesting. And I have to say they did a pretty good job at adapting Pan Am’s original branding to the product line-ups they have in store (granted they steer towards the more general sporty lifestyle direction instead of the aviation inspired direction). One thing that I like about their apparel collections is they have a lot of pieces with discreet logo, subtler designs and nice materials. I ended up purchasing a couple of t-shirts (pics below) from the store because the materials are pretty thick (not too flimsy but not too thick either), nice and comfortable and they have crewneck that’s not too wide (I even buy another one of the same model just cause this has become one of my favorite t-shirt to wear 😆).

If you’re looking for basic apparels with nice materials, subtle branding, and a somewhat gender neutral colors and styles, definitely check out this store if you’re around Seongsu area. 

 

Pan Am Seongsu Flagship Store • 팬암 성수플래그쉽스토어

Address: 서울 성동구 연무장길 89 1층
Telephone: 02-3409-5976
Hours: Everyday 11:00-20:00

Instagram: @panam_kr

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Sweetch • 스위치

Another accidental found on my neighborhood walks, I passed by Sweetch (스위치) store and decided to go in and check out their products. Sweetch is a local brand and they sell different type of bags and accessories that are made from coated canvas, felt and leather that are locally made. The material is sturdy and the stitching quality is very good. I actually ended up purchasing one of their market bag for my sister and a document pouch for my dad. Here’s a little bit about their brand from their website:

sweet + switch = sweetch

“Sweetch is a company that provides values. We produce what makes our customers valuable, amid the sea of products that are treated as disposables. Instead of following the trend, we choose to deliver lasting products that you would want to take with you every day, by focusing on the basics of design, carefully selected materials, details and wit, and solid quality, along with practicality.”

I visited their old location and they have now moved to a new location. If you ever looking for a bag, definitely check out Sweetch to see if there’s anything that suits your style.

Sweetch • 스위치

Address: 서울특별시 서대문구 연희동 520-158
Telephone: 02-6933-7209
Hours: 14:00 - 20:00 (Monday to Saturday)

Website: Sweetch

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