Fashion Forward

After my charitable work at the NAIA when I left Manila, I was downgraded to a just a few clothes that would last me only a couple of weeks. So after three weeks, I found the urgent need to shop for some cheap clothes. I visited the famous Chatuchak market, the largest weekend market in the world, and was full of delight to see my beloved ukay-ukay sold near one of the market’s gates. Aba, sinundan ako ng ukay-ukay even in Bangkok! I swear I never felt more at home than in the presence of those musty second-hand clothes.

But then, it was not ukay-ukay that I was there for, right? I wanted to check the Thailand-made goods, or at least the ones I can afford. I eventually ended up with two flimsy draw-string Bermuda-shorts (which are the most comfortable things ever) and two shirts. The shorts cost me 100 baht each (around 140 pesos each) and the shirts were 80 baht (113 pesos). Within the next three hours, I allowed my self to get lost in the maze-like stalls of Chatuchak. Suffice to say, the place is one enormous shopping paradise.

... which can be said about the rest of Bangkok too.

I previously touched on the amazing posh malls in the more opulent areas of the city where the tourists shop. Those are famous international brands that would require me to sell my body just so I can buy a piece of scarf or a pair of socks.

But of course I don’t need to do that because Bangkok has endless choices for the thrifty shopper like me. Let me begin by saying that, second to food, clothes are sold on virtually every pavement of the city, which makes the items dirt cheap. So far though, I have avoided the street shops coz they don’t sell men’s clothes anyway. Or even if they do, they mostly sell the more touristy clothes (so hippy).

Popular among the regular Bangkok folks, from what I gathered, is the Prathunam area (one bus ride from the office), although quite a large number of tourists are also present there (like they’re all over Bangkok anyway). MBK is also popular, but from what I’ve seen the place is also tremendously touristy.

Let me talk about haggling. Because of the preponderance of haggling in Bangkok (at least maybe before), shopkeepers here are mostly obstinate about their price, making haggling a totally excruciating experience so I don’t bother with that at all. But you can always bring down the price lower if you buy wholesale, which to the terms of the shopkeepers is at least three items. Of course that can be a bit of a dilemma coz a particular shop usually has a homogeneous style, therefore you’d mostly end up with one style of different colours. While I’m not really into that thing, I was forced to buy three long sleeve shirts (for the office) of varying colours at the cost of 180 baht per piece or that’s about 250 pesos. Not bad na noh?

By the way, for thin people (ehem, like moi), shopping in Bangkok is a dream. This is most true for slim men who would rather wear tapered clothes, which is exactly my preference. Thais being mostly skinny (nah, make that rail thin), small sizes are all over the bloody markets.

Which should bring me to style now. Whoever those backyard clothes producers are, they obviously do a lot of research about the latest style, which gives me the impression that Bangkok fashion is very diverse and quite up to date. You might as well be walking inside Mango or Zara, I swear. I hardly saw counterfeit clothes anymore (but fake bags are overflowing). The clothes sold on the street have their own obscure labels.

The current style of clothing among women here is the loose kind. Oversized shirts and blouses in cobalt blue and black and white stripes are all the rage. Under the shirts are super skinny jeans or absolutely short denim shorts. I also see lots of oversize dresses accessorized with big bows on the chest or thick belts cinching their already tiny waists. Bell sleeves and enormous collars are also all over the place. Ballet slippers are very common, as well as thick-soled high heels (are they called platform shoes?).

All in all, I find the style here as pretty fashion forward. On my first week here, I stopped looking at men altogether. Oh that was my lesbian phase. I was focused on the mostly tall, skinny girls strutting in the malls or just about anywhere. Even the shopkeepers here are excellent mannequins for the clothes they sell.

I’m very impressed. The fashion and shopping scenes are very risky although homogeneous at times, which makes this facet of the city very exciting and worth closely observing.

Photo Credit: Tour by Me