Bigger lady looking for clothes

T

thanka2

Registered User
My dilemma is this:

I'm a big girl. :haha: Well, not really all that big but big by HK standards. Anyway, that's not the point as I'm increasingly more body positive.

After two children :pregnant::pregnant: my hips are even wider than before I have thick, strong legs and am packing some weight and stretched out skin around my mid-section.

It will probably take me another 12-18 months with my current body condition and routine :cheerlead::bounce::dance:to get down to a size where I can fit back into my regular clothes.

In the meantime, I need some decent clothes to wear but I don't have a big budget. And by that I mean, every time I walk into the "usual places" ladies my size are encouraged to shop in HK (H&M/M&S etc.) I nearly cry because 1) the sizes are still not big enough for me (or if they are they are super frumpy...) 2) It's still very expensive for me. And as I don't plan to be this size for very much longer I really can't justify the expense. In some cases, I simply can't afford the expense at all.

So, in the past I found a few little outlet stores that had decent-quality clothing for cheaper prices but I'm still looking for something new as it seems the places I was going don't have much in my size any more.

Have any of you ladies come across a good outlet store that has nice, bigger sizes (I think I'm a US size 14 right now)? Do tell...

Thanks. ::thanks
 
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thanka, i have given up shopping in hk. i now get everything made in sz. you can get as much or as little as you like...

i was there last week and ordered 6 pairs of long trousers (for winter) and 6 tops.... all mix'n'match stuff. it came to $3000HKD. while it is not dirt cheap, it is much cheaper than getting the stuff at h&m or m&s!

they have catalogues so you can go through and point out the styles that you like. if you aren't sure whether the style will suit you or not, then just get one pce made. you can always take it back and ask them for more... if you keep your receipt, you can even call them and they'll be able to look up what you had made and make you more....
 
I'm smaller than you and I do most of my shopping when I'm back home in Australia. I find that there's more choices, and the prices are generally better... If I DO need to get something here, I mainly do go to either H&M or M&S, or the Esprit outlet... I don't really have any better ideas, sorry!!
 
carang said:
thanka, i have given up shopping in hk. i now get everything made in sz. you can get as much or as little as you like...

i was there last week and ordered 6 pairs of long trousers (for winter) and 6 tops.... all mix'n'match stuff. it came to $3000HKD. while it is not dirt cheap, it is much cheaper than getting the stuff at h&m or m&s!

they have catalogues so you can go through and point out the styles that you like. if you aren't sure whether the style will suit you or not, then just get one pce made. you can always take it back and ask them for more... if you keep your receipt, you can even call them and they'll be able to look up what you had made and make you more....
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12 pieces made for $3000 is really good--then you KNOW the fit is good, right? Unfortunately, I simply don't have that much money to spend per piece :( I totally wish I could do that--that would be ideal for me. Maybe in the future... Thanks for the tips and I'll get the info. for the place in SZ from ya'. :)
 
nicolejoy said:
I'm smaller than you and I do most of my shopping when I'm back home in Australia. I find that there's more choices, and the prices are generally better... If I DO need to get something here, I mainly do go to either H&M or M&S, or the Esprit outlet... I don't really have any better ideas, sorry!!
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Yeah...of course this wouldn't be any issue if I was back in my home country. Plenty of choices and lots of choices for price too. But, it's been nearly 4 years since I've been able to make it back to my own country because of high ticket prices so that's not an option either. I totally wish I could just go back and have a big shopping trip and stock up on things. That would be amazing! Also, my shoe size is impossible to find in womens' shoes in HK--I've had some shoes made at Vicky shoes but I find that they don't fit well and wear out really quickly and aren't comfortable. I was able to buy one pair once at Geox but they actually are about 1/2-size too small for me so they don't fit well either and give me a backache. And the soles of my current shoes are literally falling off from all the walking I do so it's a tough life if you have a size 44 in womens shoes in HK. And I have strange proportions too (long torso, long rise, average leg length, wide hips, narrow waist, narrow shoulders) so I do have to try things on in order to find a suitable fit so shopping online for clothes especially trousers is not a good idea at all for me.

If I was your size, I think I wouldn't have any problem finding clothes to fit me in HK although, of course I would prefer to wear the styles and fit from my own country. Esprit...I have NEVER been able to find a single item of clothing in there that I can wear (although I've bought clothes for my husband there before--but he's thin)...H&M is the same story and yeah, you know the story about M&S.
 
If you go to Cheung Sha Wan, there are warehouse wholesalers that do sell good big cheap clothes. The other is to look at Kwai Fung, next to Metropolis there is actually an older mall in the same style as Yuen Long walk up malls. They sell larger Korean styled clothes. Or Sham Shui Po or Fa Yuen Street Market - behind the stalls, along the aisles closer to the Flower Market (on the right if you are walking in that direction) there are some shops for bigger ladies and they are cheaper - A colleague of mine shops there. Have you tried UNO? That Japanese budget shop?
 
my mother-in-law lives in cheung sha wan/sham shui po. i know the shops to which you are referring. but, i've never seen anything bigger than a medium... i even had a woman shout from the back of the shop "no fat sizes!" when i was 130lbs!

do you specifically where the shops with the larger clothes are? i'd love to check them out!

thanka: price for the tailored clothes depends on the fabric and on the style you choose. over the summer i got 7 capri pants and 7 tops made and it came to about $2300HKD....it is a little more, but you KNOW they will fit. if there are any problems, you can take them back and they'll fix the problem free of charge.
 
Would something like Marks and Spencer on-line be any good for you? The prices are the 'original' prices rather than the vastly overinflated prices they charge here, the choice is much wider, and I think M&S go up to a UK 24 (US 20?). Not sure of the styles though, but more than in store. They only charge ?15 for delivery to HK, so even if you get a couple of pieces the savings generally work out. If you do find something in store you like, you can try for fit, and then buy on-line?

ASOS.com also deliver for free to HK and go up to a UK 18 which I think is a US 14. But I know getting stuff on-line is risky is case it doesn't fit as you say (they do allow returns though, but a pain if you have to do so).

Just thought of this one too - Long Tall Sally - http://www.longtallsally.com/delivery - that does larger shoe sizes, and I guess long torso tops etc. Again ?15 delivery charge.

Good luck!
 
carang said:
do you specifically where the shops with the larger clothes are? i'd love to check them out!
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Cara, away from the main street in SSP, there are many out of fashion wear shops and really, they look like old lady's shops but I've gotten some decent wearable blouses/t-shirts. It's something you do when you have time.
Thanka, they are much like those shops in Yuen Long, bargain bin sort near the main market and along the parallel streets to Castle Peak Road. The one in Cheung Sha Wan ... I don't know it's English name! But it's an entire building. In fact, I was on my Yuen Long prowl and I saw Laura Ashley, M&S, Kenneth Cole for the bargain prices of between $29-$129 for their winter wear. All were in large sizes UK 16++.

carang said:
thanka: price for the tailored clothes depends on the fabric and on the style you choose. over the summer i got 7 capri pants and 7 tops made and it came to about $2300HKD....it is a little more, but you KNOW they will fit. if there are any problems, you can take them back and they'll fix the problem free of charge.
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Cara, could you send me the details of the shop please? I've tried Shenzhen and it's always come out like some teenager's home economics project. :-(
Thanks!
 
carang said:
i even had a woman shout from the back of the shop "no fat sizes!" when i was 130lbs!
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LOL! I feel your pain because that sort of thing has literally also happened to me! I've also had sales people in Hong Kong laugh me out of the store when I went looking for shoes that fit me.

If I get a windfall of cash sometime soon, I'll be asking you for more detailed directions to the place in Shenzhen but I don't have a visa right now so we'll see...would love to go over with you on a clothes run sometime. :)
 
TheQuasimother said:
Thanka, they are much like those shops in Yuen Long, bargain bin sort near the main market and along the parallel streets to Castle Peak Road. The one in Cheung Sha Wan ... I don't know it's English name! But it's an entire building. In fact, I was on my Yuen Long prowl and I saw Laura Ashley, M&S, Kenneth Cole for the bargain prices of between $29-$129 for their winter wear. All were in large sizes UK 16++.
Click to expand...

Wow! That's great. Mind letting me tag along the next time you go?
 
burrcl said:
Would something like Marks and Spencer on-line be any good for you? The prices are the 'original' prices rather than the vastly overinflated prices they charge here, the choice is much wider, and I think M&S go up to a UK 24 (US 20?). Not sure of the styles though, but more than in store. They only charge ?15 for delivery to HK, so even if you get a couple of pieces the savings generally work out. If you do find something in store you like, you can try for fit, and then buy on-line?

ASOS.com also deliver for free to HK and go up to a UK 18 which I think is a US 14. But I know getting stuff on-line is risky is case it doesn't fit as you say (they do allow returns though, but a pain if you have to do so).

Just thought of this one too - Long Tall Sally - http://www.longtallsally.com/delivery - that does larger shoe sizes, and I guess long torso tops etc. Again ?15 delivery charge.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you for the links. I will check into them.
 
Is it possible to send one of your family or friends shopping for you in the US? I've done that before - my mum usually buys me stuff that she knows I'll like (usually very plain, t-shirts etc) when I haven't been able to find them here. Even with shipping, it isn't bad...
 
nicolejoy said:
Is it possible to send one of your family or friends shopping for you in the US? I've done that before - my mum usually buys me stuff that she knows I'll like (usually very plain, t-shirts etc) when I haven't been able to find them here. Even with shipping, it isn't bad...
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I have done this in the past for some things--especially shoes and I always do it if someone we know is coming to HK and has room to bring me stuff in their luggage. The problem is with fit. I'm not easy to shop for for fit--especially for trousers. I literally have to try on every pair of trousers to see if they will fit regardless of size. My mom has tried in the past to buy things "in my size" but we've never had any success with that. I have several pairs of trousers I'll never be able to wear because the rise is too short. My proportions are a bit awkward, actually--especially because of my long rise (the length between crotch and waist) and rather wide hips. Often trousers will fit everywhere but the rise will be way too short which leaves me with two problems--1) "plumber crack" 2) "muffin top" :P That really isn't a pretty sight! Ha ha ha!

The other thing with having clothes shipped is that it is expensive. In the past we've shipped with the USPS and had hundreds of dollars worth of clothes lost! They were finally retrieved but it was about 6 months later and took a lot of effort. And even shipping with USPS isn't cheap in the first place. So, we usually have to ship with something like FedEx just to be sure. So, if one of my main issues is the cost of clothing it's hard to save money if you're doing it that way.

I do a bit envy women who can easily find their size here in HK. I've found that living here can have the tendency to make me have a very negative view toward my body.
 
shwetakhanna said:
Why don't you try stanley market. Was there last sunday and saw some clothes with labels in size XXXXL.....
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He he he...I think that those XXXXL stores are often an exaggeration. The stores I've seen there may carry men's clothes in large sizes but haven't seen much in the way of women's clothes. Will have to take a look there if I ever make it to Stanley. :) Thanks for the reminder.
 
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