Seoul Travel Forum

Hi,

I feel the sudden urge for shopping - but I'm wondering whether I should rather wait until I am in Seoul. I'm planning to go there in a couple of weeks, visit my boyfriend, so I will have loads of time on hand - but is it easy to get suitable clothes for me? I heard that korean girls are tall, but pretty slim and slender. I'm 177cm tall, of normal weight - and in Europe I always have the problem that shirts are too short for me, both sleeves and around the waist. Plus I like the style of some korean girls - I also heard that longish shirts are quite en vouge? Is that true? I actually don't trust my bf's judgement too much, he does not really have an eye for that ;)
Ah, and do you have any idea about the price range? Let's say, compared to Europe or the US?
Thanks a lot :)

Cheers, ianchen

Ah, and I wish you a happy new lunar year ;)

177cm is 5'-8"... that would put you in a good spot for clothes here.
And yes, Korean women are typically very slender, with more straight figures than curvy ones (what Koreans call the "S-line"). All too often, the social and cultural pressure here dictates that straight and slender is the ideal form.

Slacks on women are not standard although you can find them, skirts are. Depending on the season, short or long skirts are just fine. But another fashion here is wearing really short shorts, even in the winter and having a pair of tights under them.

Shoes and clothes in Korea will be cheap, particularly by European standards. However, bear in mind that you get what you pay for in terms of quality. I would not have a lot of faith that those garments will last much more than a season. Most things that I have bought here last about one year before unraveling at the seams.

Hello Dave,

thank you very much for your detailed answer!

Yes, I heard that there is a lot of social pressure on being really slim, and for korean standards I am definitely not considered as being of normal weight anymore ;)

Okay, so I think I will focus on stuff that is in style for one season only anyway, like shirts and stuff. Yes, I saw this real short shorts! Well, some people wear it even here in Germany, but not to that extend I guess. I don't have to follow every trend, though ;)

Okay, thank you very much!
ianchen

It has been a long time since I have visited South Korea on several occasions. But I did not meet many Korean women who were that tall. In fact, normally most time I - 1.69m - was the tallest one. However, I found lots and lots of fitting clothes in Seoul (also "normal" figure, not thin), shoes was more difficult at times. But they would have custom-made Chanel shoes, so they fitted better than the real ones. The same with clothes. If something did not fit they made the adjustments on the spot, or you got the clothes (leather or fabric) tailored within a day or two. Nothing was extremely expensive. I know that prices might have changed in the meantime but still it will be cheaper than in Germany. Ha, and the average height of women might also have increased in the meantime ;-)

Aaaaahhh... that sounds good. Not that I needed any Chanel shoes... ;)
Yes, I heard a lot of people say that korean girls are quite tall - others say I would probably stand out. Maybe they are just tall for asian standards?

Anyway, I think I will just buy some basics now and wait till I am in Seoul :) - to me it seems as if korean fashion was a little bit more... experimental and daring. I like that.

@Sissi: you are posting in _every_ country forum, aren't you? That's amazing! :) Thank you!

About my forum posting: I look over the countries kind of fast forward and stop at the ones where I could possibly have to say something. This is faster than selecting each country about which I could answer a question. When I am short of time I only select New Zealand/Australia and Germany.

About Koreans: We have lots and lots of Koreans living here in New Zealand but really, I have never met a really tall woman, all shorter than I. They must all be playing basketball somewhere... ;-) But you could be right, they might be tall for Asian standards.

Anyway, you will always stand out. They call us "long noses" ;-)))

Regarding their height, I've been here for nearly two years. Yes, there are some very short girls here. But across the spectrum of average height, 177cm is on the high side, but is still common enough that clothes are easily available.

Shopping in Seoul, particularly in any area where foreigners visit, will have all sizes available. Now, if you were shopping in a town in the country, that would not be the case.

DSwede, this is absolutely right. You could not expect anything to fit somewhere in a country town.

Yeah.... I'm soooo looking forward :)))) (not only to the shopping of course ;) )

Thank you so much for your replies.

@sissi: Oh yes, I will definitely stand out as a 'long-nose' (that's probably one of my main features ^^). I'm so excited :)

You'll find plenty of clothes to fit.
Try the night-market in Dongdaemun for good prices, and quantity of stores. Or Itaewan in the daytime for more western sizes.

Yeah, I will need excess baggage at the end - I have not had the time for shopping in ages!!! :)) Thank you!