There are a lot of street vendors in Taipei (and I’m sure in Asia in general, but what would I know) that sell a variety of clothes, accessories and shoes. At first sight, it’s super exciting! There are stores with rows and rows and rows of shoes, and racks and racks of clothes with nothing costing more than $30.

After a bit of shopping, I noticed that although prices are really attractive (and exciting, so exciting it ignites a fire in your eyes), the quality is usually lacking… quite a bit. But what do you expect from a skirt for $6? You should expect it to be transparent. Which is what I’ve noticed with a lot of bottom garments and dresses. They. Are. Completely. Sheer. Woo hoo!

Inexpensive, but poorly made maxi skirt, as beautiful as it is. See the gap between the elastic and the actual skirt?

This is okay. Although the material is pretty thin. If it was toilet paper, it would be 1 ply.

The sewing of the trim is a bit off, but for $6 or so, it’s good to go.

I had to get this because of the peplum style and cotton candy colors. (Reminds me of last year’s Halloween costume.) With some ironing, I’m hoping that it won’t look too tacky.

This babydoll dress cost me $100NT which is about $3.35CAD. One of the straps broke off, but…. that’s okay I guess.

I really like this pink dress with navy accents and trim. Except that it’s sheer. I kind of knew that. So I wore black shorts underneath. But you could totally see my black shorts. And my black bra. I need a slip.

I didn’t buy this from the street. I got it from Accessorize. Being that it’s similar to Claires in my eyes, this store is expensive!

Other than street shopping, I wouldn’t say that shopping in general is cheap. Boutique shopping is similar to shopping in Vancouver — some inexpensive items, but mostly regular retail prices. Not completely unreasonable, but not the type of shopping I was hoping to splurge on.

One thing I’m super jealous of are the malls and department stores. They. Are. Amazing. And beautifully merchandised. There are so many luxury stores… (for me to window shop, boo) and designer brands wherever you go. They have Zara, where prices are generally the same. But Aldo.. Aldo is expensive. It’s about 50-100% more expensive (did that make sense?) than Vancouver. And it seems to be marketed more as a “higher-end” brand than it is back in North America. Department stores also carry it. Good job Aldo.

I’m leaving to Hong Kong in a few hours. I’ll continue my shopping expedition there. Wish me luck. I can barely contain myself! Ah, and Cantonese-English speaking people!

XO,

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