Tuesday 24 December 2013

My Big Fat Shopping Vacation

Best place to buy plus size clothes in Bangkok


I am officially calling this my big fat shopping vacation. No, didnt eat so much. In fact, did so much walking, I am sure I lost some calories. Day 3 in Bangkok turned out to be a great day. Chatuchak was a surprise. But Krung Thong Plaza was a bless. Before coming, we did research if this shopping haven had plus sizes clothes. Blogs, chats and websites had indicated that there was none. That it was limited due to how small Asians are. So, we were prepared to be further disappointed. But much to our surprise, Krung Thong and Platinum Mall left us feeling elated. Vintage dresses, blouses and even evening dresses were aplenty for curvy and big ladies. It was every where. It made us wonder how big those ladies were that wrote so negatively about shopping in Bangkok. I found so many things that we are now very worried about excess baggage. Here's a little sneak peek on my haul! This tie & dye dress is officially my favourite purchase from Bangkok. It is made of rayon and spandex and is so comfortable. It can be worn both casually and even for partying. In fact, with a jacket, I think I could easily wear this to work as well.


So, let me tell you about day 2 in Bangkok. We began our excursion to Krung Thong, which ended up with us lugging out 2 bags full of shopping. We had initially planned to just spend half a day in KT, and after lunch adjourn to Platinum Mall. That never happened until much later. In Krung Thong, we got lucky and found a great little vintage dress shop, Silaket on the 1st floor of the plaza. Mind you, they do not have ground floor, hence 1st floor to them is ground, and 2nd floor is 1st...weird much? Anyway, it catered specifically for plus-size women. However everything comes in only 1 size. I would imagine anyone above size US18 would not be happy here. The shop assistant did not allow us to try on the dresses and we weren't able to return them either, so that was the risk we had to take. But it was worth it. We came back the next day to purchase more dresses in fact. So, here we thought, that was it. This was the only shop in Bangkok for plus-size. Boy were we wrong! As we walked around, we found another shop. HaBiBi, also on the same floor that is not really meant for plus-sizes, but the dresses there free-size and hey, I could fit into them. Again, no trying. But the shop owner was nice and again, we came back the next day!

So, after filling up a bag full of items, we moved on. Realising it was already past lunch hour and we had not had anything since breakfast, we proceeded to the 5th floor where there was a food court. lo-and-behold, we found a whole floor of plus-sizes shops! Perhaps they knew fat chics would locate food court, they decided to place most of the plus-sizes shops here.



They are however, not my cuppatea. The clothes here were either too prom-like or very aunty-ish. But if that is what you seek, once in KT, go straight up to the 5th floor then.

After we had our quick bite, we decided to proceed to Platinum Mall. If we didn't, we know we'd regret it as we only had 1 full day left tomorrow to shop before heading back to KL. From KT, there is a bridge connecting the 2 malls. We went and got on the 3rd floor of Platinum Mall. Seriously we were both gawking like "jakuns" here. The place is huge and there were shops for plus-sizes everywhere. We couldn't help but wonder who are those people that blogged and said there were none. Our guess is these women are most likely sizes 22 and above.

My favourite shop in Platinum Mall is Panida. Located on the 3rd floor, this shop has muslimah clothing. Of course they did not have hijabs, but the dresses were long-sleeved and her mannequins had hijabs on.


I love the dresses here. They were not as cheap as KT's but it had quality. And best part is, she is super friendly. Again, we returned the next day for me to make more purchases, and she was even kind enough to allow me to "park" my shopping while I explore PM further.

Also in PM, we found accessories that are to die for. Of course, you need to really pick and choose as not everything is beautiful. In fact, you really need to spend some time here to mix and match items like earrings to necklaces.


All-in-all, day 3 in Bangkok was satisfying and made me a poor woman. But I think I found enough gems to share with everyone. Will update clothes and accessories for sale soon in this blog. 

So for now, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Shasha, thank you very much of your review of Krung Thong and Platinum Malls. It's a revelation. I see some of the shop names are unbelievably, politically incorrect to the point of plain RUDE like "Fatty", "Piggie", "Fit-Fat" (on the Krung Thong site). I'm a Singaporean who just moved to Bangkok. My daughter is 5'-nearly 9" and a UK size 16/18. The blessing is that she has an hour-glass figure with a near-perfect waist to hip ratio so I've mostly bought her things online or at the Forever21 shop in Siam Centre. It's getting expensive though and I would love a Go-To local place for basics like good quality tshirts, denim capris, shorts as well as travel gear that aren't large, shapeless, tent-like cover-alls. I'm probably heading to Krung Thong tomorrow as need some tunic blouses and leggings for a trip to north India. Happy shopping and thanks again!

Anonymous said...

PS: I enjoy your flair for dressing and flamboyant style. Well done! x

Dromomaniac said...

Thanks Shasha,
Great article and REALLY helpful. I'll be shopping in BKK next month and I was worried that I'd be hard pushed to find any plus size clothing, now I know I will have plenty to look at & choose from!
Cheers,
Sue (a Canadian in Australia)

pQa peYca said...

Hello.May i know, is it Krung Thong mall is opposite Platinum shopping mall? thankx!

Unknown said...

Glad I was of assistance...hope you gals had fun shopping as much as I did in BKK...been going back there again...lotsa choices still.

Unknown said...

Hey, glad I passed by your blog!
Does their sizes there go by US size or XL/XXL etc.?
I'm size 3XL plus size, worried that there might not be any sizes for me.. :(

Unknown said...

Hey Plus Muse, there are shops meant for XXL. In fact, last trip to BKK, they've even added more plus sizes shops in Platinum Mall itself. Where they allow you to try, pls do so...but bearing in mind, they have no fitting rooms. Hence, best to wear your lightest clothing so you'd be able to just slip it on over them.

Unknown said...

Hey shasha very beautifully explained.. would go BKK next week thanks for your input!!

Unknown said...

No worries Sanjay...Enjoy your trip there. Love BKK!

Janice Gwen said...

Dear Shasha,
I am visiting BKK in hot May and would love to get those plus size dresses too!
being a 16-18 myself I was not able to get cheap sources in SG, hoping to find good sources from BKK since i last visted 10 yrs ago! I hope Krung Thong plaza and PM will brighten up my week vacation :)

Unknown said...

Hi Janice...dont need to wait for May, it is already super hot now here in SEA! I am sure you will have a ball in KT and PM...be prepared to visit the ATM often becoz the clothes are just too cheap. Oh, and bring a super large empty bags. No point buying cheap luggages ever waiting outside of these malls. Do note that some stores have either changed names or moved locations within the malls. So just explore the 2 malls especially PM coz there are more plus size stores now compared to 2 years back. I'm now hvg to avoid trips to BKK - or I'd need to take a full time job as fashion consultant and start selling what I bought there! There's just too many nice ones. Oh, also, do bargain before purchasing! Happy Shopping!!!

aliciaaalvarez said...

Hello! Thanks so much for your blog! Super helpful. I'm headed to Bangkok in a couple days. I know this seems silly, but I really want to buy some of those elephant/fishermen pants as souvenirs. I'm a size 16-18 and don't think any of the "one size" pants at the market will fit. Any advice?

Unknown said...

Hi Alicia, specific shop for the fisherman pants I can say as they do move around. I am based in KL, not Bangkok. But you can try the Pratunam market. That's opposite Platinum Mall. Just cross over and walk opposite direction of traffic til you see McD and Starbucks at Glow hotel. Turn right into the alley behind this building. Good luck :)

Mila Canceriana said...

I love Platinum Mall.....came back twice for more plus size clothing at level 3.....good choice & good price. Will be back soon.....

Angie said...

Are there any plus size ladies dress shops in Pattaya?

Anonymous said...

A plus size lady here looking for plus size shopping info in BKK.. Glad that i found your useful blog! Thank you! :)

Unknown said...

I found this blog after a long time which is really helpful to let understand different approaches. I am going to adopt these new point to my career and thankful for this help.
Online I Phone

Unknown said...

This blog is truly useful to convey overhauled instructive undertakings over web which is truly examination. I discovered one fruitful case of this truth through this blog. I will utilize such data now.
รองเท้า เพื่อ สุขภาพ เท้า

Unknown said...

Your post is in 2013 n im only going to thailand in oct 2017. So hopefully all the dresses are stil there..coz i hardly buy any when i travel :-(

Orrapun said...

The very best selection for Plus Size women can only be found at Krong Thong Building 1 located at Pratunaum. Fat Girls Shop on the second floor has the largest selection all original designs from what I understand they have been around for 25 years... Fat Girls 2031

lostsky said...

Online Shopping for Man & Women Fashion at Best Prices in BD – Best CLOTHES SHOPS in BD