where to buy women's business casual clothing?

Posted in: Forums > Living in Chengdu • 14 posts • Newest

• • magentalisted
    August 27, 2010
    44 posts
  • i'm going to be attending some functions where the expected dress is business casual. i don't really have anything suitable. where can i find some in chengdu? i wear a size 8 u.s. i don't think i have time to visit the tailor. thanks.

• • pepper
    August 27, 2010
    36 posts
  • Uniqlo! Every Ito Yokado has it, and there is a large flagship store on Chunxi Road. You are in luck, they are doing a three day sale this weekend.

• • magentalisted
    August 28, 2010
    44 posts
  • well, that's what i was thinking. i just feel like the prices are somewhat high for the quality they deliver. but i guess i'm not exactly spoiled for choice here, so that's what it'll be. maybe i can find some good deals this weekend.

• • pepper
    August 28, 2010
    36 posts
  • Highly recommend learning how to buy on Taobao (chinese ebay/amazon) for anyone who is going to be here long term. Anything that is manufactured on the mainland, even foreign brands/sizes, can be found for very, very cheap. You need to figure out how to find items, how to evaluate a reliable seller, and how to pay but you can save thousands. I used the info from

    http://taobaofieldguide.com/[...]

    though the Taobao and Alipay directions on this guide apply to older versions of the site and the learning curve was still kind of a headache. Probably best to get someone with really good Chinese skills or a local to help.

    The payment area does not work well with firefox either, best to use internet explorer.

• • anjie
    September 1, 2010
    23 posts
  • If you have a day, around noon after on, you can try over by Yan Shi Kou (盐石口) down the street from Chunxi Lu. There's three places,some of the stores are trendy, but you can at least find some pieces that you can mix and match: the first is a giant kind of market with 4 or 5 floors on the inside. Go in and go straight up to 3, 4 and 5. There is definitely clothes in your size, and you can try stuff on. You just have to have patience to look around. The higher you go up, the more expensive the clothes get, but they're still cheaper and more fashionable than the crap in Chunxi Lu.

    Second is Xin Zhong Xin (新中心)which is right next to that. You past the Dico's and go left, there's a bunch of tattoo places. Sometimes there's stuff in there. Don't get discouraged by how trendy everything looks, you just have to look around.

    Third, there's a place called Ego, this Korean kind of department store in between Yan Shi Kou and Chunxi Lu (Chao Liu Guang Chang 潮流广场). The bottom floor of this has a huge mix of stuff, some prices are cheap some are expensive, but decent quality and you can try stuff on!

    Good luck!　

• • magentalisted
    September 1, 2010
    44 posts
  • well, i went to uniqlo and they did have a lot of sales, but most of the stuff was straight-up casual. i picked up a pair of olive colored dress pants for 99, which seemed like an ok deal although the inseam is an inch or two too short. such is life, even in the states sometimes! they also had nice cotton polo shirts for 39, but they just didn't fit right. the large was too large in the shoulders and waist, and the medium was too tight on my arms and stomach. too bad, or i would have bought a few. they also had blazers, but at 499, i didn't even bother trying them on. same for the dress shirts, which were 199.

    i'll take a look at yanshikou if i can find some time and willpower, but everything on that corner always looks so trendy, i don't know how much would be appropriate for this.

• • Cynde
    September 9, 2010
    2 posts
  • Does anyone know where I can find cloth that has similar style to Club Monaco in Chengdu? I went to few shopping malls and department stores, despite the sky high price of merchandize there, the style is somewhat very bizarre to me. Most of the cloth seemed ultra complex and redundant in details.

    Is there anything besides Uniqlo that is simple, clean, and well made?

    Thanks

• • jane_v
    September 9, 2010
    32 posts
  • in short, NO! stock up on your next trip home or to hong kong. you can also try the tailors, but the outcome is always a surprise.

• • jane_v
    September 9, 2010
    32 posts
  • that said, zara is opening up a shop on chunxi lu (attached to the ito yokado), and i've heard rumors of an h&m as well. not that either of those sell particularly 'well-made' clothes.

• • pepper
    September 10, 2010
    36 posts
  • We already have club monaco, actually. Maison Mode on the upper floor by Victoria's Secret.

    If you want something like a coat, pants, or a skirt in a very basic classic style there are tailors who do a good job. It takes some hunting to find one you can work with though and I've had far less luck getting them to make something trendy.

• • pepper
    September 10, 2010
    36 posts
  • Another option is ordering from websites like Gap and Lands' End that do international shipping. You should always pick a trackable shipping option.

    The first time I did this the courier company requested a copy of the last entry page on my passport before they would deliver - if I had been inside China for less than six months I would have had to pay quite a bit of duty on my order. However, since I had entered China more than six months previously I didn't have to pay any duty. So now I always wait until I have been in China for more than six months (and are really desperate for clothes) before I think about making one of those orders.

• • jane_v
    September 10, 2010
    32 posts
  • interesting, i did not know there was a victoria's secret here. does that mean limited and express will follow? i've never dared venture into that building, or the one opposite, for fear the guards would declare me unfit. even just walking past their glittery facades makes me nervous.

• • pepper
    September 10, 2010
    36 posts
  • Not sure. The goods at Maison Mode are still more expensive than the same brands would be at home, as is standard for brand names on the Mainland.

    Opposite, do you mean Yanlord Landmark? That place is starting to fill in. I did get the head to toe examining stare from other customers who seem to float around in an aura of wealth, but the staff were very good. You can get real Doc Martens there for reasonable. (Though a well made knockoff 马丁 boot here feels a LOT like the real thing and is about 1/10 the price)

    Brands you can find locally that do 欧美 (European-American, less embellished) style include Vero Moda, Basic House, Mango, and ONLY. You still need to fit into local sizes tho.

    There is also the outlets in Shuangliu (corrected, earlier said Shuangnan). I have never been down there since I couldn't figure out transit. I will probably give it another shot next week.

    And no shopping discussion is complete without mentioning the Lotus Market, though it is the most challenging place to find good quality stuff, or even the specific thing you are looking for. Scored deals there this week on shoes and tights. Nervously watched my wallet the whole day, and then on the way home some woman stole my two yuan bus fare by pretending to need change for the bus and then running off before we could get on. Still came out ahead : )

• • pepper
    September 17, 2010
    36 posts
  • Just an update, it turns out that there is a free shuttle bus to the clothing outlets in Shuangliu. Leaves from Nijia Qiao Rd and Shuangnan Ito Yokado.

    Here is the website with the bus schedule (in Chinese) http://www.timesoutlets.com/ts_servce.aspx

    Went out there and it was much bigger than I imagined, and had quite a few brands I had never run into here before. However a lot of the stuff was regular one to two thousand and was marked down to several hundred, so still quite $$. If you had a 2-300 yuan budget for something basic like a pair of shoes or Lee jeans you could go there and do well. They have men's and kids' clothes there too. Very pleasant place to shop; very well kept washrooms and a Starbucks. Def worth a half day to go and check out.

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