TIMP

Hi Ladies,
My mum and I are planning a trip to the UK and Hong Kong next year in May/June. We have nearly 4 days in Hong Kong on the way back. Neither my mum nor myself have ever been to Hong Kong (my late father had, and it was the stories of his adventures that made us decide to go).
I am probably looking for some new clothes as I will be starting a job search for a post doc/real world job and would love some suggestions for good places to start my clothing adventure. I'll be 33 by then, so looking for something youngish but classically elegent. A custom suit is probably out of the budget at this point in time.
So I am looking for
1. clothing shop rec's
2. Different things to do that might be off the slightly beaten track (the tea museum is on my list)
3. suggestions of any tours etc which would be good for 2 ladies who dont mind walking and going slightly off the beaten track.

Thanks in advance.

vash

You'll probably get more responses posting this in the HK forum.

Katja

Please follow this in the Hong Kong forum.

Braindrain

Custom suits can be surprisingly inexpensive.

There's a thead on tailors in the Asia forum.

kevincrumbs

Can't help with the shopping, unfortunately, but I'd definitely recommend that you look through this thread for some less obvious things to do.

Personally, I'd recommend doing something outdoorsy, whether that's going for a nice long hike on the Dragon's Back and finishing up with a nice beer or two at Big Wave Bay (the waves are not big at all), or at least making it to one of the outlying islands, where life is very different than the usual hustle & bustle and skyscrapers of Central or Tsim Sha Tsui.

Rejuvenated

There are many greenery and spots throughout the SAR where one can escape the hectic city life, contrary to what many people believe.

As a local, my recommendation for off the beaten track (certainly one of our favourites) is to enjoy seafood and the relaxing pace at Sai Kung in the NT. After a stressful work week in the office, this is one of the places we would like to escape to during the weekend.

christep

If you are up for hiking then consider temporarily joining the Hong Kong Hiking Meetup Group and joining one of their hikes.

thursday

Me no lady.

Clothes, work clothes. G2000, Giordano Ladies, Esprit. Keep away from tailors. Waste of your precious time and they're crap.

If it's your first time in Hong Kong, you do not want "off the beaten track" you'll not have time to do the must dos.

There's a sticky must do thread hanging about somewhere.

TIMP

Thanks everyone. Will poke around some of those threads after next Tuesday when this Damned 5 year beomouth of a thesis is handed in. For those who were wondering about the ladies salutations, I originally posted this in the womens forum.
Walking sounds good, though I am VERY aware it will be hot and humid during June. While both mum and I are good walkers, I cant see her willingly wanting to do long hikes.
What are peoples recommendations for tour guides etc?

number_6

For shopping, the streets of Mong Kok are great for cheap and mostly counterfeit items (some of very high quality, some trash -- all good prices). Quality stylish clothes are not particularly cheap in HKG. Custom tailoring is not bad but a bit tricky. For the most part you can do better shopping in LA or NYC for mid-range clothing than in HKG, ime.

thursday

...???? This sounds like bollocks.

thursday

I mean for the better shopping in NYC and LA bollocks of course.

christep

I'm no expert on shopping in LA or NYC, but clothes shopping in HK is certainly not good if you are anything other than "Asian size". The selection of larger size clothing (where larger means anything over 5'6" or 36" chest for women, 36" waist or 40" chest for men) is very, very limited.

TIMP

Well I'm 5'5" so that fine, and last I checked my waist was around that. Bust MIGHT be the problem though. Its odd that HK tends towards more asian sizing, as I have always had very good luck clothes shopping in Singapore.

kevincrumbs

FWIW, shoe shopping for women who have larger feet (whatever you take that to mean) is not bad in HK, certainly better than other places in Asia. I'm sure it helps having a large number of foreigners in town, whether visiting or residing.