Can a tall American find clothes in China?

[maike]

Hey all.

I'm wondering if a tall, thin fellow like me (75", 190.5 cm) can still find clothes that will fit in Beijing. This'll save me some trouble of having to buy a bunch of clothing here before I go (and it'll be a bit easier on the pocketbook too, I reckon).

[isela]

It's possible but not easy, especially if the quality of the clothes is concerned.

Generally things in China are cheap. You can probably consider dropping some of your other stuff and buy them here, and fill your suitcase with more clothes.

[imcgraw]

This sounds a little silly, but I'd consider getting your clothes tailored. I'm kinda tall and skinny and T-shirts never fit me right even in the US. In Beijing, I went out and bought 10 or so and then brought them to a tailor. Still much cheaper than anything you'd get here... and they fit perfectly. Pants/shorts might be a little harder, but if you have time, you can work up a relationship with a tailor and they'll try pretty much anything for you.

[kdavid]

Bring comfortable shoes with you. I find those are the most difficult to find.

It seems a bit ridiculous that most clothes that would fit us back home are made in China, yet taller, bigger people have difficulty finding suitable clothes here.

It can be a bit of a chore, but isn't impossible.

[imron]

I'm 1.90m and could find clothes that fit in Beijing without any difficulty. Go outside of bigger cities however and it might be another matter. When I lived in a smaller town I could never find any correctly sized long-sleeved tops. Tailors are a good solution and also reasonably cheap. Shoes were never a problem in either place. I wear a Chinese size 46.

[wushijiao]

I'm 1.90m and could find clothes that fit in Beijing without any difficulty. Go outside of bigger cities however and it might be another matter. When I lived in a smaller town I could never find any correctly sized long-sleeved tops. Tailors are a good solution and also reasonably cheap. Shoes were never a problem in either place. I wear a Chinese size 46.

That's what happened to me when I was in Henan: no luck finding shoes, pants, or a winter coat. Beijng or Dongei would be ok, though.

As others mentioned, you might want to buy shoes before coming, since often only one out of ten stores might have shoes that fit, and they might be more expensive than what you can find back in the US.

Getting tailored clothes can be a good option, as imcgraw said.

[xiexieniii]

Beijing is not as cheap as you might imagine -- some things like food, sponges, and soap are relatively cheap, but department store clothes will be the same price as clothes back home, even in open-stall markets like the Silk Market. You can bargain, but the first price they quote will be the same price you would pay in the US.

Edited July 29, 2009 at 09:25 AM by xiexieniii

[heifeng]

Imron, you need to point me to where you actually found large size shoes! I am still not convinced such a shoe store exists in China:mrgreen: (well, point me in the direction of one that sells ladies shoes next to the mens shoes you found, that is)

For good ol' 'off the shelf' clothing I would say as long as you are slim and tall, as opposed to big and tall, you're in luck. Lord knows when school lets out in Beijing there are always a few high school boys taller than me (and I'm 1.85). Assuming those guys own reasonably priced clothing other than their school jumpsuits, I would say yes, there is clothing for tall men~but you'll have to dig around a bit:wink:

For the ladies that may stumble upon this thread since the title doesn't specify men's clothing:

I never had a huge issue with length~(I actually own an obscene number of 40 yuan jeans from China~Sorry, let's specify bought in BEIJING, where people are indeed a bit taller.)

Now since the title does say 'American' in there, I will even venture to say that given American sizes are ^*&$*(#&*( so super inflated nowadays it's just may be even easier for a slim person to find clothing in China. (I could continue a very series rant here about these ballooning American sizes and how 8's have somehow morphed into being called 4's and women's sizes are completely illogical, I mean, why can't we have waist and length specified like men's clothing...or measure in 尺 like in China...but no, I'll stop..deep breaths...deep breaths...ok, that's better)

In conclusion, do not fear going naked, but do take the necessary measures to prevent yourself from wearing 拖鞋 all year round!

Edited July 29, 2009 at 01:42 PM by heifeng

[imron]

I guess it's a men's shoes vs. women's shoes thing. I've been able to buy size 46 shoes pretty much everywhere - both casual and formal.