<ul class="generic-article__summary--ul content--ul"><li class="generic-article__summary--li content--li">Consuming pagpag leads to stunted growth in children, and heightens the risk of acquiring hepatitis A, <keyword id="6375416" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="cholera">cholera</keyword> and typhoid</li><li class="generic-article__summary--li content--li">Despite the government’s incremental success at reducing poverty, eating and selling pagpag is a way of life in slums like <keyword id="8014290" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Payatas">Payatas</keyword></li></ul> Morning traffic rattles through the slum district of Payatas in Quezon City, just north of Metro Manila. It is 9am but over 30 degrees Celsius and climbing. A truck pulls over and workers unload the morning’s collection of rubbish, depositing it behind the corrugated iron gates of Joe’s Junk Shop. Payatas is a sprawling shanty town built on a landfill, and these junk shops are an integral part of the local economy. Inside, it is a hive of activity. The space is piled four metres high in parts with sacks bulging with waste; sweaty, black sausages that split their skin in the heat, detritus spilling out to be sorted and separated. Joe Bolon, the owner, pays 6 pesos (10 US cents) for a kilogram of waste. Deliveries begin arriving before dawn. Once pulled out and stripped of packaging by Bolon’s team of wiry young men in plastic sandals, recyclables get sold for 18 pesos per kilogram. Myrna Salazar is the only woman working there. She is 40 years old, but looks more weathered. She moved to Manila from Samar 30 years ago and has been “collecting” in Payatas for two decades. Her eyes skim the sea of refuse for anything worth salvaging; her hands move almost as fast, deftly avoiding jagged objects concealed beneath the surface. One of the men hacks apart a hollowed-out watermelon shell with a machete, adding to the pile of fruit rinds and gristle that will be bundled as pig feed and sold for 150 pesos (US$3) per sack. Other scraps – <keyword id="62613" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chicken">chicken</keyword> and pork deemed edible – are set aside in a white ice-cream tub to be washed, cooked and sold in the neighbourhood. This is pagpag – “shake off the dirt” in Tagalog. Discarded food still fit for hungry mouths in slums like Payatas. <h3 style="margin-bottom: 1.42857rem; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 300; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 2.35714rem; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; display: inherit;">DUMPSTER DINING</h3>After many years of scavenging, Salazar insists she can identify spoiled meat, which she leaves. “If the food is as soft as this, it can’t be eaten,” she says, pinching meat that has gone bad. “But if the pork or chicken is as hard as this, this is the pagpagmeat we collect,” she continues, holding up a chicken breast to demonstrate. “We’re used to eating it. We clean the meat thoroughly to remove the smell and so that it will taste good. We cook it or fry it and later my kids will also eat this.” An employee at Joe’s Junk Shop sorts through the waste for recyclables. Photo: SCMP Pictures Salazar has no concerns about the health risks of eating pagpag. Nor does she see any need to visit the market, five minutes’ drive away, where vendors have stalls filled with goat meat and fresh fruit. “If you have a strong immune system, it’s rare for you to get sick,” she says. “We don’t need to spend money to buy our food in the market. Sometimes we find rice, cooking oil and soy sauce in the garbage, all for free.” Discarded food, known as pagpag, is cleaned and cooked before being served. Photo: SCMP Pictures Salazar has four children and her husband also works at Joe’s Junk Shop, sorting recyclables. The couple can earn 1,000 pesos (US$20) a day – sometimes more, depending on the volume of waste, although there are lean days when they earn less. Payatas takes its name from the phrase payat sa taas (“thin at the top”) because the soil is no good for rice crops. It is a community scarred by generations of hardship and struggle. <h3 style="margin-bottom: 1.42857rem; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 300; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 2.35714rem; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; display: inherit;"><a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3013513/whats-behind-philippine-obsession-beauty-queens" class="link-text">What’s behind the Philippine obsession with beauty queens? </a></h3>In 2000, a landslide of rubbish in one part of Payatas known as Lupang Pangako – or “Promised Land” – killed 218 people, according to official figures. The real death toll was probably much higher, but the authorities could not verify how many people lived in the area. The Promised Land, where combustible substances within the rubbish would erupt unpredictably into geysers of flame, was shut down with untold hundreds buried below. More recently, Payatas became one of the bloodiest focal points in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on drugs. Residents recall too many people turning up dead during the height of the purge in 2016-17, casualties of police operations or vigilantes licensed to kill. Myrna Salazar cooks pagpag at Joe’s Junk Shop in Payatas. Photo: SCMP Pictures Bolon, the owner of Joe’s Junk Shop, moved to Payatas from Masbate. The 59-year-old used to work as an industrial painter – cars mostly – but bought the junk shop at his wife’s urging. The rubbish stays for no more than two days, he says, and the local government regularly sends workers to fumigate the site. He lives close by, his employees all live in Payatas, and although he acknowledges the effects of Duterte’s crackdown on the area – previously, taxi drivers would refuse fares there – Bolon grows cautious when pressed for details. “You hear stories of people in the neighbourhood,” he says, trailing off. “Before Duterte became president, there was a lot of crime – burglary, people involved in drugs. Since the war on drugs, that has reduced.” <h3 style="margin-bottom: 1.42857rem; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 300; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 2.35714rem; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; display: inherit;"><a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3008815/there-are-filipinos-alaska-theyre-called-alaskeros-and-theyve" class="link-text">There are Filipinos in Alaska – they’re called Alaskeros </a></h3>Salazar begins preparing the pagpag. In a small kitchen to one side of the shop, she washes the meat before mixing the adobo seasoning of onion, garlic, peppers and soy sauce. She uses kindling to light a stove and heats a pan with oil before ladling in the meat and adding salt. Next to the kitchen, on the other side of a chicken coop inhabited by a noisy rooster, two signs hang alongside piles of rubbish. The first asks staff to “Clean as you go”. The second is a reminder for would-be thieves: “When you leave, show everything you are carrying.” In Payatas, life may be cheap but nothing is free. An employee at Joe’s Junk Shop sorts through the waste for recyclables. Photo: SCMP Pictures <h3 style="margin-bottom: 1.42857rem; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 300; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 2.35714rem; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; display: inherit;">THE SAD REALITY</h3>According to Cristopher Sabal, a senior technical officer at the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), pagpagconsumption is merely one expression of a multifaceted problem. “A lot of our urban poor settlers are living near these dump sites, in informal settlements,” he says. “They are living in the most vulnerable areas, the danger zones. They don’t have access to basic necessities … They are primarily the victims of drug abuse and dependency. They don’t have security in their tenure in their house – [the houses] get demolished and they will be moved somewhere. There is that sense of insecurity in their lives. They don’t have access to livelihoods which would support them … enough to purchase the food requirements for the family. That’s the sad reality.” For all Sabal’s sympathy for the plight of those surviving on pagpag, he does not tolerate claims it can be eaten “safely”, that unsanitary meat can be avoided or a strong immune system suffices. “You cannot see bacteria, you cannot see how dirty the food is, just by looking at it,” he says. “Pagpag is not nutritious … We can definitely say it has an impact in the stunting of growth in children. Aside from that, they would be at risk of acquiring critical diseases like hepatitis A, cholera, typhoid.” A bowl of pagpag. Photo: SCMP Pictures In coordinating poverty-reduction programmes, the NAPC links federal initiatives with implementation at the level of local government – the barangay. “The fight against poverty does not happen in the boardroom but at the grass roots, where people can really feel the government is doing something to lift them out of poverty,” Sabal says. The Philippine government has also cast Duterte’s crackdown on drugs as part of its mission to alleviate poverty by first eradicating drug crime and dependency. Earlier this month, <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3017656/rodrigo-dutertes-war-drugs-produces-systematic-abuses" class="link-text">Amnesty International released a report</a> , entitled “They Just Kill”, chronicling the “climate of total impunity” and systematic abuses that have become hallmarks of the campaign.Amnesty’s East Asia director Nicholas Bequelin described the war on drugs as “nothing but a large-scale murdering enterprise for which the poor continue to pay the highest price”. <h2 style="margin-top: 1.14286rem; margin-bottom: 0.428571rem; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 2.21429rem; font-family: Merriweather, serif; vertical-align: baseline;">People have been doing it for so long, it has been embedded in the subculture of the slums that eating pagpag is OK, Cristopher Sabal, National Anti-Poverty Commission</h2> Sabal, however, insists that “by addressing the problem of drugs, it has a ripple effect in the lives of poor Filipino people”. “It brought back trust in the government at the barangay level. Now they trust that whoever leads them, they are not narco politicians,” he says. “It brought back peace and security – if you go out at night, nothing will happen to you. “The crackdown on drugs did not only result in murders or extrajudicial killings – it also captured a lot of syndicates, big ones and also small street peddlers. We also rehabilitated a lot of poor fathers and mothers who were dependent on drugs.” Sabal cites incremental success: poverty nationwide has fallen, from 27 per cent in 2015 to 21 per cent last year. The <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/philippines" class="link-text">Philippines</a> is committed to the UN goal of eradicating malnutrition in children. There are financial subsidies for families whose children remain in school, and this year Duterte signed the Magna Carta of the Poor, guaranteeing access to basic services for impoverished Filipinos. <h3 style="margin-bottom: 1.42857rem; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 300; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 2.35714rem; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; display: inherit;"><a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3013510/philippine-cinderella-domestic-helper-miss-universe" class="link-text">A Philippine Cinderella: from domestic helper to Miss Universe </a></h3>The NAPC officer, however, acknowledges the intractability of Philippine food poverty: 2.4 million families still suffered moderate to extreme hunger last year. And pagpag consumption has become so entrenched it cannot be treated as a purely economic phenomenon. “There is a danger in sitting in an ivory tower, looking at the problem, being detached from it,” Sabal says. “Hunger is a reality in the Philippines. “People have been doing it for so long, it has been embedded in the subculture of the slums that eating pagpag is OK. Without the government interceding, the cycle will not be broken.” Children in Payatas. Photo: SCMP Pictures <h3 style="margin-bottom: 1.42857rem; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 300; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 2.35714rem; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; display: inherit;">‘LIFE IS HARD HERE’</h3>In the afternoon, Salazar finishes work, wraps her remaining pagpag and carries it to the residential area of Payatas. The houses are an improvised patchwork of timber, cement, cinder block and chipboard, with tarpaulins covering the gaps. The school term has not started, so the narrow pavements echo with children’s high-pitched chatter and the steady thwack of basketballs hitting concrete. The central quadrangle bears the chalk outline of a hopscotch court, where some girls have fashioned a skipping rope by tying together dozens of elastic bands. This is where residents used to stage cockfights on weekends, but not any more – not in the new era of law and order. Salazar makes her rounds. Bags sell for about 30 pesos, each containing an evening meal for four or five people. Susana Abrera, 60, is a regular customer. She buys enough to prepare dinner for her husband, who works gathering sheet metal, as well as Chuchai, 12, and Mariane, 10. The girls are two of Abrera’s 17 grandchildren. She moved to Payatas in 1990 and has been eating pagpag regularly since. Susana Abrera heats pagpag in a wok in her home. Photo: SCMP Pictures “I wash it three times then sauté the pagpag,” she says, heating a wok in the middle of her home. “Then I add more water to cook it well. We are cautious … If pagpag tastes and smells sour it means the meat is already spoiled and we better give it to the pigs and dogs. If we feel sick, we go to the health centre and they can detect our ailment. Mostly, it’s liver disease – that’s why they advise us to cook the food well.” Abrera says she prepares pagpag four days a week. If there is no pagpag, they eat fried fish and vegetables, although vegetables are more expensive as she must buy other ingredients separately. Chuchai (left) and Mariane in Payatas. Photo: SCMP Pictures Chuchai and Mariane light up at the mere mention of Manny Pacquiao – the champion Philippine boxer who inspires nationwide devotion. Both girls attend school, either walking for 30 minutes or catching a motorised tricycle. Their father drives a truck and their mother sells slippers at a shopping centre. Pagpag with chicken is Chuchai’s favourite, but she insists: “I don’t like vegetables – they make me sick.” Mariane is 10 but small enough to pass for seven or eight. She likes school and learning to read and write, but wants to work in <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/south-korea" class="link-text">South Korea</a> as a helper to “send money to my parents”. She has seen South Korea on television and says being “a helper is the easiest job you can find”.When the pagpag is ready, they eat swiftly and silently. Once finished, Chuchai burps proudly, immensely pleased with herself. <h3 style="margin-bottom: 1.42857rem; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 300; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 2.35714rem; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; display: inherit;"><a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2183272/philippines-dutertes-drug-war-finds-new-target-9-year-olds" class="link-text">In Philippines, Duterte’s drug war finds a new target: nine-year-olds </a></h3>Abrera recalls how dangerous the area was before Duterte’s crackdown, and then the “police raids and shooting everywhere”. “We always hid in our homes because of fear of the police presence,” she says. “There were a lot of drug users and sellers before. When they got killed, our area became more peaceful.” Still, she yearns for her grandchildren to improve their circumstances, to leave behind Payatas and its mortal desperation and the meals scavenged from its junk shops. “Life is hard here. I want them to work overseas. We’re getting old and no one can help them when we’re gone,” Abrera says, overcome with the thought, tears rolling down her cheeks as Chuchai and Mariane stare awkwardly at their feet. “I want them to have a good life far from our lives here. I tell them to study hard … and some day not eat pagpag.” ■

In Philippine slums, meat scavenged from dumpsters feeds those short of meals and hope

<keyword id="443223" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="misselling">Misselling</keyword> is defined as deliberate, reckless, or negligent sale of products or services in circumstances where the contract is either misrepresented, or the product or service is unsuitable for the customer's needs. 
 
In simple terms Misselling means that you were given unsuitable advice, the risks were not explained to you or you were not given the information you needed, and ended up with a product that isn’t right for you. 
 
Examples of Misselling in Finance 
· Selling life insurance to someone who has no dependents. 
· Selling retired or elderly person a long-term or child plan. 
· Selling the policy promising a single premium mode or a limited term policy but it actually turns out to be a regular premium mode. 
· Selling endowment plans without disclosing the expenses and commissions earned, 
· Selling ULIPs by promising huge returns, 
· Asking investors to surrender the existing policy (giving false reasons of non performance) and to buy a new high commission-yielding policy. Churning the policy every five or six years while the policyholder pays the price 
· Selling investor five funds with SIPs of Rs 1,000 each instead of one fund with SIP of Rs 5,000. 
· A bank relationship manager suggesting his client to exit from the existing funds as their NAV is at Rs 140, Rs 80 each, and instead start fresh SIP investments in two cheap NFOs with their NAV of Rs 10 each, recommended by the bank’s research team. Relationship manager used the ignorance of his client that low NAV doesn’t mean the fund is cheap and it has nothing to do with the future performance of the fund. · Recently it’s also observed that some unscrupulous elements call randomly(send emails) and introduce themselves as belonging from <keyword id="6361421" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="IRDA">IRDA</keyword> or Ministry of Finance or <keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword> and lure customers with fake offers like bonus or incentives. But they are pushing high commission-yielding products. 
 
Misselling for financial products is not unique to insurance and happens in various lines of businesses such as loans, credit cards, investment products, pharmacy, hospitality etc. The customers mostly buy financial products either in obligation or because of ignorance. Lot of mis-selling of insurance policy happens during last month of a financial year as people are in a hurry to save taxes. 
 
But Misselling is quite rampant in our daily life also in products other than the financial products. Example of a misselling of non financial products: 
 
● Say you were looking to use 4G on a mobile phone. You told the shop assistant that you planned use 4G and they recommended a model. Then you took it home, and found that it doesn’t work. There’s nothing wrong with the phone itself – it’s not faulty – but it’s not what you needed. The mobile phone was mis-sold to you. 
● Fairness creams are a multi-billion rupee industry in India as in India a large population equates fairness with beauty and superiority. Now they have for men too! 
● A superior course, global exposure, international faculty, good placement. Many universities claim. 
● Speak Asia, duped around 23 lakh investors to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore. It promised a weekly income, merely on filling online survey forms. Members paid money to join the firm’s network and earn reward points for referring its offerings to friends and peers. 
● Diet soda With no calories or sugar, comes with its own set of side effects that may harm your health-from kick starting kidney problems to adding inches to your waistline. 
● Brown bread much of the ‘brown’ bread you’ll find in the supermarket is simply the same white bread with brown coloring added. Hardly the healthier choice it’s made out to be! 
● As Indians are becoming more health conscious market is full of high nutritional products heart-healthy cooking oil, crunchy granola bars, fruit-flavoured yoghurt, to dry fruit-sprinkled muesli, we are taking everything that screams low calorie. 
 
If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. And this applies in case of buying anything, any product financial products as well. Don’t get tricked into the trap of marketing, intermediaries and buy the product just because the advertisement or agent is eulogizing it. 
 
Ignorance is no bliss. If you have limited wisdom about a product, an insurance plan or a mutual fund scheme, it becomes easy for commission-seeking agents to trick you into the wrong insurance or mutual fund scheme. Understand that a salesperson or an agent’s job is not to advice on the product's suitability for the specific needs of customers. He/she is just an intermediary between the company he is representing and you, as a customer and so his strategy revolves around just three words: sell, sell, sell. It is unrewarding for him to think about the investor’s financial goals when he has his own to fulfill. 
 
Stop the blame game. Do your own homework before buying any product, including financial product. Playing victim is no use and then till how long can you hide behind it. Misselling happens because mis-buying happens. There is no easy way out, no short cuts. As they say “It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to cover the earth with carpet.” 
This article is written by Kritika. 
Image: Thinkstock

Misselling: Why You Need To Beware Of It

<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image">Paramount</div></div>
This post originally appeared on <a href="http://www.details.com?mbid=synd_bizinsider">Details.com</a>.
The line between on-call and off-the-clock has never been blurrier. Not surprisingly, the same is true of what constitutes appropriate, good-looking office attire (whether your desk is at a museum or a hedge fund). 
Consider suit separates (like the slate-gray silk pants and pale-blue two-button-jacket combo by Ermenegildo Zegna shown on the right) the new godsend, as they make buying off the rack easier than ever (though you'll still need a tailor, which is why we've included some of the best in the country who just happen to make desk-side calls). 
Of course, on the following pages you'll see less-formal options, too-dark-wash denim, a bold, bright tie, and even a leather jacket should and can be incorporated into the daily and evening grind. How you dress for the job will always leave a lasting impression. 
<h2>1. Dress up your denim with a pop of color</h2>
The key here is choosing a vivid shirt-and-tie combo in complementary shades and a blazer. Try an unstructured one in a can't-miss neutral. 
<h2>2. Wear a suit without the tie</h2>
Get even more mileage out of a well-tailored suit. A fine-gauge crew neck knit sweater strikes the perfect note of refined yet relaxed. 
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image">Getty</div></div></div>
<h2>3. Mix and match patterns</h2>
Keeping these pieces in the same color family means that a subtle pattern on the jacket effortlessly introduces some visual texture.
<h2>4. Remaster the button down shirt</h2>
You should own a fail safe white shirt, but you can also pair a spread collar with a skinny knit tie makes it easy to do casual Friday right. Also, a soft linen blend in a light cream is both unexpected and elegant.
<h2>5. Upgrade your briefcase</h2>
Carry a sleek and streamlined case if you're a modern minimalist. Other classic options include a bag with structure cut from preposterously soft leather, and one just big enough to double as a weekender.
<h2>6. Broaden your footwear options</h2>
Yes, classic lace-ups are always office-appropriate. But so are other, less-conventional shoes, from leather slippers to suede boots. Look for shoes at <a href="http://www.brooksbrothers.com/black-fleece/black-fleece,default,sc.html">Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers</a>, <a href="http://shop.brunomagli.com/">Bruno Magli</a>, <a href="http://www.church-footwear.com/en/UK/new-collection">Church's</a>, <a href="http://www.johnlobbltd.co.uk/main/main.htm">John Lobb</a>, <a href="http://www.gucci.com/us/home">Gucci</a>, <a href="http://www.grenson.co.uk/en_us/">Grenson</a>, <a href="http://www.colehaan.com/">Cole Haan</a>, <a href="http://www.tods.com/us/">Tod's</a>, <a href="http://www.hermes.com/index_us.html">Hermes</a> and <a href="https://www.jcrew.com/index.jsp">J. Crew</a>. 
<h2>7. Less fragrance is more</h2>
No one wants to be the guy whose enthusiasm for eau-de-whatever makes sharing an elevator with him unbearable. It's hardly unprofessional to hit the bottle - in fact, the right fragrance can get you noticed in a good way - but the secret is to find something understated. 
Opt for a cologne with strong base notes (the woody, musky, earthy molecules that most easily bond with your skin), and use as you would REPLY ALL: judiciously. Here are some good ones. 
Bulgari Aqua Amara: With its blend of bitter mandarin and orange oils, <a href="http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/bvlgari-aqva-amara-for-men-eau-de-toilette-spray-34-oz?ID=1222151&amp;CategoryID=30076#fn=sp%3D1%26spc%3D4%26kws%3Dbulgari%20aqua%20amara%26slotId%3D4">this is the scent</a> your girlfriend is most likely to steal. But those citrus aromas are balanced by patchouli essence (less Woodstock-y than woodsy), resulting in a strong finish. 
Arquiste L'etrog: Perfumer Carlos Huber <a href="http://www.barneys.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-BNY-Site/default/Search-Show?q=ARQUISTE+L%27ETROG">describes his creation</a> (inspired by the Calabrian countryside) as "very herbal; a bit of pine needle, a bit of rosemary." Think Mediterranean fields that go on forever. 
Dior Homme Eau For Men: Fresh and floral, <a href="http://www.dior.com/beauty/en_us/fragrance-and-beauty/fragrance/mens-fragrance/dior-homme/pr-diorhommefpl-Y0600940-eau-for-men.html">Dior's classic for men</a> gets an update in which the original's signature iris notes mingle with grapefruit and coriander to create a clean, just-out-of-the-shower vibe. 
Malin + Goetz Dark Rum: This <a href="http://www.malinandgoetz.com/perfumery/dark-rum-edt?keyword=dark+rum">mix of plum, leather, and patchouli</a> is a strong representative of the subset of fragrances with a boozy bouquet; after an initial hit of spice, it dries to a warm, sweet finish. 
Ermenegildo Zegna Haitian Vetiver: Proof that simple doesn't have to mean basic: The star is <a href="http://store.zegna.com/us/ermenegildo-zegna/men/haitian-vetiver_cod62000698hf.html">high-quality vetiver</a>, a lemony grass that's a common crop in Haiti; bitter hints of neroli and orris root add depth. 
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image">Getty</div></div></div>
<h2>8. Wear a low profile watch</h2>
Leave the Garmin for the gym. Classic and sleek, look for a leather-strap timepiece. They are the professional's ultimate accessory. Shop brands like <a href="http://us.tagheuer.com/">TAG Heuer</a>, <a href="http://www.montblanc.com/en-us/default.aspx?sc_lang=en-us">Montblanc</a>, <a href="http://www.patek.com/contents/default/en/home.html">Patek Philippe</a>, <a href="http://www.vacheron-constantin.com/en/">Vacheron Constantin</a>, <a href="http://www.alange-soehne.com/home">A. Lange &amp; Söhne</a> and <a href="http://www.omegawatches.com/">Omega</a>.
<h2>9. Travel with first-class gear</h2>
Luggage with extra padding: A handsome roller, perfect as a carry-on but big enough for a longer trip, is sleek and streamlined while still offering a padded compartment for your laptop.
Try the first foray into luggage by Montreal-based <a href="http://www.wantessentiels.com/us_en/" target="_blank">Want Les Essentiels de la Vie</a> and a signature example of its point of view: traditional style, subtly subverted. The unexpected element is the rich chocolate-brown leather, a sophisticated alternative to the business traveler's standard-issue black nylon.
Comfy-chic sweats: Mastering the art of looking good on (and after) a red-eye flight means finding those elusive pieces that are elegant yet comfortable. 
Thanks to two new labels, you can: Los Angeles-based LongJourney's relaxed black mesh drawstring pants get a luxurious upgrade by way of swatches of suede on the front (think elevated sweats). 
And a just-boxy-enough white French-terry sweatshirt from <a href="http://www.smith-smith.com/" target="_blank">Smith &amp; Smith</a>'s debut collection will keep you warm when the air-conditioning is blasting from on high. Once you touch down, throw your topcoat or a classic trench over it and you won't look like you're wearing pajamas or, worse, yesterday's outfit. 
Pre-flight Tiger Balm: Invented in the 1870s by a Chinese herbalist and perfected by his sons (one of whose name meant Gentle Tiger), <a href="http://www.tigerbalm.com/us" target="_blank">Tiger Balm</a> has long been a multitasking standby for headaches and sore muscles. 
Our style director, Eugene Tong, swears by it; before takeoff, he puts some on his temples to ward off airsickness. 
<h2>10. Hire the best help</h2>
Tailors, barbers, and bootblacks to put on speed dial. Most make desk-side calls, so you'll never have to blow a lunch hour again.
Chicago: Since 1990, <a href="http://www.tailorstouchchicago.net/">Tailor's Touch</a> has been a Gold Coast mainstay, altering suits (working buttonholes are a specialty) and jeans alike. Be sure to ask for head tailor Raymond Vasquez.
Born into a family of stylists, Miguel Betancourt picked up a pair of scissors at 13 and has found his niche offering on-call services for the guy with a demanding schedule, making himself available 24 hours a day.
<a href="http://www.altmansshoesandboots.com/">Altman's Shoes for Men</a> has been an institution for businessmen in the Loop in need of a quick shine.
Dallas: A former alterations manager at the Barneys New York Dallas outpost, Orland Morales counts boutiques like Alexander McQueen and hotels including The Joule as clients. He runs <a href="http://tailorshopdallas.com/">The Tailor Shop Dallas</a>.
With three locations citywide, the <a href="http://www.osgoodoneil.com/about.html">Osgood-O'Neil salon</a> empire is manned by 18 stylists (some of whom have prepped clients for Good Morning America and New York Fashion Week), which means you can usually get an appointment a day in advance. 
In addition to shining or repairing your kicks, <a href="http://www.denosshoerepair.com/">Deno's of Highland Park</a> also works on small bags and belts. 
Los Angeles: Taline Mazlemian's family has owned <a href="http://paragoncleaners.com/">Paragon Cleaners</a> for almost half a century; regulars include the Los Angeles Opera and the vintage boutique What Goes Around Comes Around. 
The stylists at <a href="http://hairroomservice.com/">Hair Room Service by Michael Dueñas</a> offer a full slate of treatments, including beard trims and light facials. They've even spiffed up celebs like Adrian Grenier and <a href="http://www.details.com/celebrities-entertainment/cover-stars/201402/breaking-bads-aaron-paul-interview-exodus-need-for-speed" target="_blank">Aaron Paul</a>. Bonus: They're on-call after hours. 
Shoe Lab, a Beverly Hills spot, is known for its resoling skills on designer shoes. 
New York City: Request a fitting with Wilfredo Rosario himself when you go to <a href="http://wilfredstailor.com/">Wilfred's Tailoring</a>. He learned the trade from his father and older brothers as a kid. He regularly makes alterations for Helmut Lang and Costume National and often leaves the shop to provide services for A-listers like Will Smith and Denzel Washington. 
Marcos (Reggae to his friends) Smith has groomed models and cut hair for Usher, <a href="http://www.details.com/health-fitness/celebrity-workout/201309/jason-derulos-dancers-body-workout" target="_blank">Jason Derulo</a>, and top execs at Atlantic Records, but extends the VIP treatment to all his clients. 
<a href="http://leatherspa.com/">Leather Spa</a> regularly takes on repairs for Gucci, Fendi, and some of the Big Apple's most demanding clientele. 
Washington, D.C.: If you want the best, call Hamza Simrick, the man who wrote the book on tailoring, literally. Simrick is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Tailoring-Hamza-Simrick/dp/B0007AZ22E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1395156635&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+art+of+tailoring+hamza+simrick">The Art of Tailoring</a>, and with stints on Savile Row and at Burberry under his belt, he knows how a suit should fit. 
After 32 years in the business (with Armani, Valentino, and Milan Fashion Week on his résumé), Luigi Parasmo recently <a href="http://www.luigiparasmosalon.com/">opened his eponymous salon</a> in Georgetown, but Beltway insiders know the pro gives the finest in-office cuts in town. 
Back when he was a senator, Joe Biden was a regular at <a href="http://usshoeshine.com/services">Union Station Shoe Shine</a>. If you don't have time to leave the building, avail yourself of its pickup and delivery service.
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