Singapore Expats

I've had the most terrible time trying to shop for clothes here! You really need to be a carpenter's dream to fit into anything.

I've been told I'd have a better time if I shopped at Marks and Spencer. Any other suggestions from expats would be helpful! Thanks.

Hi, if you don't have the shape of a 12 year old girl, you may be most satisfied with the europoean / US-brands like Marks & Spencers, Esprit, Mango, Zara, Guess or GAP. But even this is a bit disappointing sometimes. 2 weeks ago I tried on a dress at Esprit, which didn't fit. The sales girl looked at me and told me: "Yes, I believe you it doesn't fit, as you have a very big body." I wear size 38, which isn't too big I think. She couldn't even understand why I lost the mood of trying on something else and left the shop. I won't go back there too soon....

The beauty of living out here you can get most things tailor made, find a good tailor/ seamstress take a picture of a dress you like and they will cobble it together in a week.

I just figured out that as and when I do manage to find a job and need a new wardrobe, it would actually work out cheaper for me to fly to India and pick up the best brands than to try and put it all together here! Not to mention that I'd be happier with the fit.

@Steff 77: Tell me about it-my birthday's coming up and I was like really excited about shopping here-but the shopping experience left me pissed to say the least and totally messed my day up. I'm not going back for sure. I think Singapore is a great place to buy electronics and other such, but when it comes to clothes I'd advise people to get their stuff from home.

intellectualsmuse wrote: I think Singapore is a great place to buy electronics and other such,

Not really just been doing some checks on the internet, you can get stuff alot cheaper in the US, even UK is cheap with the low pound its even better if you can get the UK VAT back.

intellectualsmuse wrote:I've had the most terrible time trying to shop for clothes here! You really need to be a carpenter's dream to fit into anything.

I've been told I'd have a better time if I shopped at Marks and Spencer. Any other suggestions from expats would be helpful! Thanks.

M&S is always a safe bet in any country, regardless of whether you're in the UK, Malta or Poland. Can't go wrong with them.

You might also want to give some of the other department stores a look, like John Little or Robinsons.

I know my lady also likes to dig through the stuff at This Fashion, presumably a local brand.

If you are looking for office wear you can try Iora, G2000, Mango.
Also dig through the small little boutique shops.
It's not easy to find clothes here but it's not so difficult either.

try online shopping

Monsoon at Metro in the Paragon has UK sizes up to 18 I believe. It is annoying though. Another thing is that a lot of brands (in particular sporty ones like Lacoste) cut their clothes to "Asian fit" (sic) - doesn't allow for the slightest curve.

missis wrote:Monsoon at Metro in the Paragon has UK sizes up to 18 I believe. It is annoying though. Another thing is that a lot of brands (in particular sporty ones like Lacoste) cut their clothes to "Asian fit" (sic) - doesn't allow for the slightest curve.

Good example of this is Levi's!

Almost all the Levi's in the Levi's shops here are made in China or the Philippines and they are cut for the Asian body build. They seem to forget that western & Indian girls at least have "butts" and the mens' Jeans are all cut like cheap hotels!

So, I buy all my 501 Levi's from American Jeans online for the equivalent SGD$67~$77 per pair (including shipping!) Here in Singers, they have limited sizes AND are cut too small. If you are a woman here and are over 5'7" you will also have a problem if you are one of the lucky girls with long legs that go from the floor all the way to heaven! And we won't even begin to talk about foundation garments......

With the number of non-Asians living here and being touted as a shopping country, I find it funny that shopping for clothes is the way it is right now. BTW, I'm Asian with a non-Asian build, so yeah.

sundaymorningstaple wrote:Almost all the Levi's in the Levi's shops here are made in China or the Philippines and they are cut for the Asian body build.

Yeah, I found that out when they had a good promo for polo shirts, I tried on the biggest size they carry and it was still way too tight. After that I didn't even bother trying on any jeans...

intellectualsmuse wrote:I've had the most terrible time trying to shop for clothes here! You really need to be a carpenter's dream to fit into anything.

I've been told I'd have a better time if I shopped at Marks and Spencer. Any other suggestions from expats would be helpful! Thanks.

I feel your pain m'dear. I'm a US size 10, and most of the ladies' clothes here are meant for a size 0 - size 6 lady. But you can't go wrong with M&S. My family and I are all Caucasian-built, so we have trouble finding clothes. M&S does the job though, ohne Zweifel.

I shop at M&S, Dorothy Perkins, Monsoon (when they've got a sale on!) and occasionally New Look if they've got anything in that's not made for a 15 year old

The Per Una range in M&S is OK, not as frumpy as some of the other stuff - if they've got a sale on they're worth checking out. Weelock Place and Centrepoint seem to be the stores which have the best sale clothes, but I reckon they ship them over here to sell because I've seen stuff here that was in the UK a few years ago.

If you're smaller than a UK 14 you should be able to shop at Warehouse too.

I'm not sure where big people here do their shopping because I've seen some women out in the heartlands with jeans that would fit two of me in (and I'm not a small person!)

Oh, and they've got Principals in Robinsons at Centrepoint too - a small range but their clothes are sometimes quite nice.

OG is worth having a look in too, loads of different collections in there, some frumpy, some not so bad and lots of their swimwear is cheaper than the Aussie specialist shops.

Hi, yes i agree M&S is great! actually shopping online for stuff like GAP and F21 are cheaper than stores in Singapore. But if you're looking for workwear, G200 has quite an affordable range too.or just tailor it! cheaper at chinatown or far east plaza! but nothing beats bangkok prices!