We all covet the latest runway pieces, but for most of us, they’re beyond our price range. Luckily, Beijing has no shortage of budget couture stores that provide decent alternatives – you just have to know where to look. Check out the following stores for both affordable and stylish supplements to your wardrobe.

Beijing’s jewelers have much to offer – pearls, jade, gold and silver, and precious gems including crystal, emerald, coral and diamonds. Prices range from a couple of kuai to the tens of thousands, so be ready to bargain hard for that special something for that special someone.

Thanks to the fashion bible that is the Calgary Sun, we found out that animal prints are “in” this season. Not just in the greater Alberta area, or even Canada at large (although both are fashion hothouses, that’s for sure). Beijing, too, is in on the craze with prints that are wilder than a box set of Animals Say The Funniest Things (which is also popular in Canada).

When it comes to multi-brand high-end retailers in Beijing, the list has been exclusive indeed – only I.T, Lane Crawford and The Swank. Now Mr.Ms has joined the club.

Sweets, candy, lollies. Call them what you will but you’ll struggle to find all you want in Beijing, where pricey imports or shoddy local produce are the only choices. No longer. Bonbon Bins have sweets that are stupid fresh.

Ladies and gents, if you’ve ever wanted to smell like tomato, vinyl or even dirt, Demeter Fragrance Library will realize your craziest aroma fantasy. Founded in 1993 in New York, Demeter specializes in fragrances based on familiar, everyday scents.

Last week Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad in San Francisco, described as a device designed to go “between [consumers’] mobile phones and laptop computers.” The iPad is set to hit US stores in late March, and last Friday [January 29] The Wall Street Journal carried an article speculating whether the iPad will be concurrently released in China – unlike long-delayed earlier Apple products like the iPhone.

Find fresh, fantastic produce and fabulous ingredients at these fine food markets.

Roundabout Charity Store is holding a special toy and book day this Saturday (January 30) to raise money for Beijing foster home, Agape Family Life House. The foster home offers orphans suffering from brittle bone disease the care they need and a place to call their home. The organization is currently in need of new wheel chairs and Roundabout is hoping to raise enough money to buy 20 of these for children in the foster home.

Hair. It’s more than a controversial musical. It’s a way of life. How else do you explain the plethora of hairdressers in Beijing? If they aren’t cutting hair, then what could they possibly be doing? No matter. What’s clear is that a bit of mousse and expert tousling can swing you over the fine line between fool and cool.