I think it's a safe assumption to say the reason most try to obtain this bag is to fend off the scourge of a lack of pearl slots. As an older player and one that engages with the fashion aspect of the game across multiple characters, the 1 "guaranteed" box a week is not sufficient to keep spare pearl slots available in sufficient amounts. The move to split outfits that had combined slots (e.g. outfit piece that took body and gloves slots into 2 separate pieces) and now with moving event outfit pieces into pearl slots, both good changes from the customisation & management standpoint, has however aggravated this situation more. While Patrigio himself graciously has some in stock himself, the frequency the Apparel box is offered is too unreliable to be considered a solution to the problem.

My suggestion is to remove the limit on the quest to remove the bottleneck preventing players addressing the pearl slot issue. This can simply be switching the quest to be a repeatable turn-in quest (similar to the 100 Silver keys for 1 Gold Key quest from Morco as well). The manufacturing suggestion removes the need for one to be in a specific city to obtain the box.

The apparel boxes cannot be sold on the Central Market, so the only real adverse effect is the demand for any crafting materials spiking for a period until the players need for the apparel box balances out. This also leads to part 2, which suggests to reduce the amount of materials required for the boxes. While I do appreciate that certain niche materials found utility beyond their initial design, as a life-skiller (more specifically someone who enjoys doing alchemy), the need to utilise fairly high quantities of sparsely available alchemy materials. I strongly feel if we look to remove the barrier to the quest, the crafting materials should also be adjusted, as most would be crafting this box out of necessity and for no real in-game benefit (Compare using those materials to make elixirs (either for own buffs or to sell) or crafting furniture that results in an in-game item vs gaining some pearl slots back).

I did note above this is a short-term solution, as the problem cycles back when you craft & need too many apparel boxes. Realistically a proper permanent solution is needed to resolve the problem at hand, but I do not see that coming over the horizon in the near future. This suggestion at least alleviates the problem at hand until a proper solution is delivered.