Clothing Stores Guide for Expats
Main chains of foreign brand clothing stores:
- Zara: (https://www.zara.com/) Spanish brand selling clothing for men, women, and kids. Business casual clothing also on offer. Styles change constantly at this popular chain.
- Uniqlo (http://www.uniqlo.com) Japanese clothing brand sporting men and women’s basic and casual clothing. Prices can start from 100 RMB and up for casual shirts.
Shopping Where the Locals Shop
Established locals with spending money shop at the luxury malls, boutiques, and department stores throughout the city. Younger locals and students frequent the markets that are on the west side of town, such as Wudaokou Clothing Market and Xidan Shopping Center.
- Wudaokou Clothing Market, northeast corner of Xueyuan Lu and Beisihuan Lu, Haidian District (6239 6347). This funky market offers lots of trendy, Korean styles and imitation Diesel jeans at very low prices. Crowded and popular with teens, goods require hard bargaining.
- Xidan Shopping Center, 132 Xidan Beidajie, Xicheng District (6602 5016). Several floors of stalls selling retro clothing, trendy clothing, and other colorful finds attract hordes of young people every weekend. It’s best to visit during the weekday when you can take time looking around.
Tailors
Tailor stalls can be found at most of the markets in Beijing, such as Silk Street Market (see Shopping Areas for details) and Yashow Market. Just head towards the fabric section of any of these markets and find a myriad of stalls offering tailoring services as well as fabrics for sale. These tailors can usually turn around orders at an alarmingly short period of time, sometimes in as little as one or two days. If you need alterations made to clothing, they can complete it while you wait. Higher-end tailors are also available with services and handiwork that will match their significantly higher prices.
- Yashow Stall 3066, Yashow Market, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District (6413 2432). Sunny at Stall 3066 makes suits for about 800RMB and up and shirts for 80RMB and up. Most items can be made in 3-7 days time.
- Lisa Tailor (http://www.beijingtailor.com) 3.3 Fashion Plaza Stall No.3006, 3/F, Sanlitun Bar Street (1391 057 8826). This expat favorite in Sanlitun offers tailoring at a reasonable price. Their express service will get you into a new suit within 24 hours. Get anything from a qipao or a Mao suit made to your exact specifications.
- Dave’s Custom Tailoring, (http://www.tailordave.com/?p=Locations#Beijing) 104 Kerry Centre Shopping Mall, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District (8529 9433). Boasting suits and shirts made by hand in the Savile Row tradition starting from 4,000 RMB to 18,000 RMB.
- Senli and Frye (http://www.stylites.net) 1/F, Yaxing Building, 46A Liangmaqiao Lu, Sanyuanqiao, (139-1009-2410). Offers Beijing’s largest selection of imported English fabric and native English speaking service. Suits start at 3,000 RMB.
