A Hong Kong shopping nightmare: finding a dress in a ‘large’ size
- Struggling to find clothes in her size – a UK size 12 – a shopper has found a novel solution. She just flies to Britain
- The long-time Hong Kong resident says shopping in the city makes her feel Amazonian, even though she’s not
I’ve given up shopping for clothes in Hong Kong. It’s not just the massive void between fast fashion and designer labels – I feel too old for the former and lack the budget for the latter – it’s the sizing issue.
Buying a dress should be fun – browse the rails, pick out something you like and try it on. Not so if you’re a Western woman or larger than petite. Instead of asking for my size, I get straight down to it and address the, err, elephant in the room. “What’s your biggest size?” I ask.
For the record, I’m five foot eight inches tall and a UK size 12. In most Western countries, I’d be considered average-sized. In Britain, where the average dress size is UK 16, I’m on the small side.
Most shops in Hong Kong carry just one “large” size and that is usually snapped up fast. You’d think retailers would realise there are enough women around who aren’t XS to warrant stocking a few more frocks for the Amazonians, but they haven’t. The whole experience makes me tetchy.
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After confirming that the only UK size 12 has been sold, the sales assistant will often insist that I couldn’t possibly be a tent-sized 12 and should try a smaller size. When this happens, you have to stick to your guns or you’ll be packed off to the changing room to endure the demoralising horror of trying to fit into a dress two sizes too small.
Three years ago I had a shopping epiphany. The sales assistant followed me around the store as though I were a shoplifter. When I picked up a green dress, she told me it was available in pink. If I wanted a pink frock, why was I holding a green one? The will to ask “What’s your largest size?” was fading. I checked the price tag – the cost of a flight to London – and reached a blindingly obvious conclusion: fly to Britain and shop in a city where the stores are filled with affordable clothes in my size.
I know I’m not the only woman in town who struggles with this. There are enough of us that we might even warrant our own box on immigration forms. Are you coming to Britain for business, tourism or clothes that fit? And don’t get me started on finding shoes.
