My apologies for my lengthy writing absence. I was traveling and blew my eardrum on the return flight but that will be a future Blog.
I love to shop in Asia. Yet for the first time it was tough to buy. To begin, there are no real bargains. It is not like shopping in China or Thailand.
But if you are tiny from head to toe, you may be in luck. But tiny does not have a universal definition.
The people of Seoul are some of the best dressed people in the world. Even the street people are somewhat fashionable.
The Korean fashion sense is exquisite but unfortunately it is not a shopping mecca for most Americans. Their large maybe the equivalent of our extra-small. The only safe purchase is a scarf. They are unique, gorgeous and fit everyone.
Since I couldn’t get my foot in a shoe, it was accessories only.
And the sizing is also true for men’s clothing. My son is a medium in most US brands. He has a slim but athletic build but even some of the extra-large t-shirts I bought him were too small.
The majority of stores will not allow you to try clothes on. The sales clerks only speak two words of English, “No try.”
But this is my favorite shopping experience:
We went into this very tiny jacket boutique, it was no larger than 14 by 8. The store had about 5 racks. I handed the sales clerk my jacket to try on a couple of their jackets. I was so excited as I stood in my cami. I had finally found someone who would let me try on. I proceeded to have a party trying on at least 6 jackets until I was convinced nothing would fit.
I don’t love traveling with a group (yet another future Blog) but as I was with a group and we had pre-arranged a time and place to meet, I had to leave. I asked the clerk for my jacket but she was clueless as to what I wanted. I couldn’t explain anything in Korean and she didn’t know a word of English. I began to pantomime.
She continued to have no idea what I was talking about. I began searching the racks for “My jacket.”. Now keep in mind, this store was so tiny you hardly could turn around in there.
Finally, she seemed to understand but was puzzeled as well. She couldn’t remember where she put my jacket. She hung it up somewhere and couldn’t find it.
Of course by now I had less than 5 minutes to meet our group- and had to be on time as we were on our way to a Korean play (which turned out to be similar to a Korean Blue Man Group) –
Half-naked and totally frustrated, I took the shop’s business card and ran several blocks to our bus. I told our tour guide what happened. She used her cell phone to call the clerk and they proceeded to speak back and forth in Korean. This Mensa-candidate clerk searched again and again. By now, the store owner had been called and arrived at the store. With his help, finally they found it.
Do ya think this is how they stock the joint?