Shopping for Clothes

This is a favorite activity for me, for it is so much more affordable than in the US!

In the States when shopping for clothes for myself I have two basic criteria aside from an agreeable style: good price (under $30) and XS in size. Both can easily be found in Taichung.  Of course quality is not always the best, but as a stay at home mom my clothes are casual anyway. What I am most happy about is how easy it is to find clothes that fit for a reasonable price.

There is a tiny shop next to the baby store down the street which is sort of an outlet. It sells clothing from all types of brands that are perhaps a little out of season. At first look it's like a store in the market which sells Taiwanese clothes which would look odd if I were to wear them in the States. But if you look closely you can find a few things that are basic and certainly wearable, cute even. The woman who owns the shop is very nice and very pressures me to buy things. So far I have found three shirts and one skirt, all for $190NT each (about $6). When I bought three items at one time, she rounded the figure down to $500NT from close to $600NT and did alterations for free. The other places I have shopped at are NET (I found many summer bargains for $200-$300 NT) and Giordano which are like Gap but cheaper and an online store called Lativ (which has really good quality clothes at Old Navy prices). For kids clothes we go to the market where there are many things for $100 NT or www.lativ.com.tw. Steve shops at Carrefour and Costco.  Our clothes are certainly not designer but we have more than we need.

With cooler weather approaching, I do need a pair of closed toe shoes....

--Tina