ladies, where to shop for american sized women's clothing in bj?

[iluvdofu]

hi there,

i'd appreciate any suggestions you can offer. when i say "average" size i'm thinking that's still appx 5'4", 140 lbs (?). preferably reasonably priced... ok, unsure as to what that translates to here in beijing - so any input is welcome! i'd like the clothing to be of decent material and not fall apart after a couple of washings. oh, and shoes! how could i forget? i'm a size 9 back at home.

thanks!

[stBLCU]

Maybe "Xiu4 Shui3 Jie1(silk street)" beside the Embassy of the United States.

[bjfall]

Is it hard to find "big" shoes in China! [i can't understand why since they have a lot of tall women -- wouldn't it mean that out of millions, at least a few thousands would have a demand for large size shoes? ]

Anyway, I personally didn't have luck finding shoes that fit at the Silk Market (Xiushui). I was more successful at Sogo Department Store (near the Xuanwumen Subway Station) -- sometimes you have no choice but to spend a bit more.

As for clothes, it has been a matter of luck -- in markets, boutiques by the roadside, stores along Wangfujing Avenue ... You will just have to keep on checking out different places, since there's also the matter of taste to consider. Good luck!

[heifeng]

Maybe this thread will help.

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/9517-lost-cause-ii-shoes&highlight=shoes

In summary I think size 9 might actually be manageable, beyond size 9 is more of a challenge. When searching for my huge shoes many places at least had 8 or 9's. Otherwise you could try to buy some on Taobao...

As far as clothing, I think that it is really hit or miss. I'm 1.85/62kg, still have major issues with clothing here! I did discover a place directly accross from BNU's east gate next to the bridge that has super discount clothing (some are only 5yuan) that apparently didn't make it to export. The quality is questionable (so inspect carefully), but some sizes are very big! I've never really gone to really touristy places to find clothing because it's a huge pain, but if you go to the area near the zoo, there so many clothes I am sure you could find something. Also you can spend most of your time actually looking for clothes not trying to haggle down to 1/5 or 1/10 of the original asking price.

[palindrome]

I'm a fan of the street-level market at xidan. There's a discount department store right next to it that has reasonable fixed prices. I'm a us size 8 and 175 cm and I can usually find something cute that fits. Shoes, on the other hand, are out of the question, since I'm a 10. It' all boy shoes for me.

[susie]

there are several markets there. Tons of clothes . But you need spend a whole day searching for the right ones. all the markets close early, at 5pm.

[aimei]

Finding western sized clothing is pretty tough in bj.....first I would suggest not to even bother with any mall or store carrying "non-western" brands , ie ones from Korea, Japan, China....you will only get frustrated. Yes they are cheap but if you are above a size two, literally, you will not fit into anything. If you are looking for a jacket, Xiushui Jie (Silk Street) is a huge market that caters largely to foreigners, although be very carefull to inspect the quality as some of the items are not the best, although some can be quite decent. Above all, bargain HARD. Prices quoted to foreigners are about eight times higher than they'll take. For pants shirts etc I would suggest Wangfujing.....Espirt and Benetton specifically as they are prolly the only affordable stores there that have Western sizing. Also last night I found a great place selling genunine western top brand clothing rejected for export, it's called Ri Tan Office Building. It's on Guanghua Lu I believe, a couple of blocks behind the friendship store. All the stuff there is pretty good quality and reasonably priced. Hope this helps!