Bangkok Appropriate Dress
 

Questions on appropriate dress standards in Bangkok.

From this forum we have learned not to wear shorts or tank tops while in temples. If you are just out and about Bangkok shopping are shorts okay?

My wife has never been to Asia so this question is mainly for the ladies; Kathie, Gloria, Laurie, etc. What exactly do you take in terms of clothing for your Thailand trips (dresses, skirts, slacks, type of shoes, etc.)?

Also, where are the good deal places for getting custom made clothes, jewelery pieces and objects d'art such as statues, wall hangings and just unique items?

Thanks as always for your time and suggestions.

i'll answer for us...karen wears mostly slacks or cropped slacks in bkk...she only took one dress for our 34 day trip this year...she takes blouses with a small sleeve and some sleeveless...everything is either cotton or linen...no man made materials...she wears cotton undergarments...she likes men's boxer shorts to prevent chaffing...she only took sandles this trip, although in the past she has taken one pair of flats...

you need comfy shoes, both of you...we never take sneakers...they are too hot...

we do not wear shorts around bkk except at the hotel occasionally...i occasionally wear a t shirt but not usually out anyplace..just around the hotel or to the internet...i wear chinos or lite weight jeans, cotton shirts, both polo style and camp style...i take one pair of sandles and one pair of walking leather shoes...i used my sandles most of the time this year...i wear ankle socks with the sandles out in town for cleanliness...
i only wear shorts at the pool or at resorts or resort towns...

both need a cotton hat

karen takes a lite weight long sleeve shirt to protect against the sun on boats, etc.. and so do i....i often take one or 2 starched long sleeve shirts to wear to nice restaurants in the evening...never a tie...

we use thai stone jewelry in the nana hotel, soi 4, sukhumvit rd

karen uses js thai silk on 1st floor of river city shopping center for silk items...she also uses cotton house on 1st floor of OP Place, in back of oriental hotel for cotton things and silk as well...

we both use jack at monet il sarto for tailoring in the marriott mini mall behind the marriott resort and spa, 2nd floor...

mbk is a great shopping place...so is the craft center in back of gaysorn plaza, plenochit road

Around Bkk shorts are ok for both men and women if they are the bermuda length types, hot pants or short shorts might attract attention. Another thing to factor in is the sun - it is deceptive and frankly if you are not used to the intensity of the rays it is better to be somewhat covered. Loose linen or cotton skirts and dresses, slacks work well.Heavy jeans not so well as they tend to cling uncomfortably, the lightweight variety are ok. I like Birkenstocks, sandals also work well. If you are used to walking in sneakers bring the light tennis shoe varieties rather than the heavy ones.

I like the Gaysorn Plaza home floor for objects d'art - they are not very cheap but are quite a unique selection. The Night Bazaar is IMO another good place to go to esp if you are not going to Chatuchak, the Weekend market.

I also wear loose cotton pants and tops during the day. I have walking sandals but also have light and airy walking shoes from Salomon (style is XAPro) with very light walking socks for days when I am doing a lot of walking or am in the countryside. For evenings I wear nice pant outfits and sometimes a cotton dress. I bring a pair of dress sandals for those nights that I'm going to fancy restaurants. I usually bring one dressy outfit but that's only because I'm always invited to some event/party at the Oriental that requires dressier clothes. Otherwise you won't need it. I also bring a small handbag for evenings so I don't have to carry my big sportsac that I use during the day.

I use Cotton House in Oriental Place when I am having clothes made. I use either their fabrics or fabric from Jim Thompson.

For unique items - check out the other shops in Oriental Place, the antique floors in River City. I also like Graysorn Plaza and the Thai craft floor at Emporium. Lin's Silver is great near Oriental Place -- that whole area has some interesting shops. I have not seen unique items at the night market or the weekend markets.Also Jim Thompson is a must stop for shoppping.

You can get other ideas of where to shop from Nancy Chandler's maps and Pleasures and Treasures of Thailand (although I am not as fond of this book as others for Bangkok -- I don't think it gets updated much as the tailors are the same as the ones the first time I bought the book 15 or so years ago. I think it's much better for Chiang Mai). Speaking of Chiang Mai -- are you going there? I personally think that is actually the best place and easiest place to find really unique items at great prices.

Definitely bring hats and if you are particularly sun sensitive (and I am) an umbrella made to protect from the sun is a great item to bring.

When I go to Thailand, I take several light pair of cotton pants, a few pair of shorts, but not short shorts, they are usually an inch or so above the knee and I'll wear these during the day for shopping, some T-shirts, cotton (or other light material) short sleeve tops, a skirt or two and one dress. Of course several bathing suits. I bring a light jacket or sweater for temples and extreme air-conditioning. I also bring a nice pair of light sort of nice sweat pants (not the heavy ugly ones) and these are great on the plane ride over because they are very comfortable and are good for lounging in the hotel room. On the plane I also wear slip on shoes so I can remove them when in my seat but are easy to slip on for getting up and walking around. These are also good for temples or anywhere you need to remove your shoes. For shoes, I bring one or two pair of sandals, (one of which can also be worn with a dress or skirt), sneakers, and a pair of flat shoes for dress or pants. I don't find sneakers too hot as long as I'm wearing a good pair of cushioned wicking socks (that absorb moisture). I try and coordinate all my clothes colorwise so I can mix and match tops and bottoms and shoes. For a purse, I wear a small pouch that can go on my shoulder or around my front (bandolier style) that has a few zipped compartments for money, credit and ATM cards, passport, and anything else that is important to get to easily but needs to be secure. I also carry a nylon backpack for cameras, guide books, sweater, and other junk I need to carry.

I always make my husband bring a jacket and tie just in case but you really don't need to and I think I'll stop bugging him about this. He always brings a couple of pair of jeans but I think he's nuts, it's way too hot, but he seems okay with them and wears them at night sometimes.

I've only had two suits made in BKK, the last one at the tailor at the Shangri-La shopping arcade. I think Gloria, Kathie,
Carol and Bob can answer this better, same with custom jewelry as I buy ready-made jewelry. I always see beautiful things that are in the shops and have never felt the need to have a piece custom made. For objects d'art, River City has some wonderful shops but they are expensive.

I like to pack several pairs of capris and lightweight tops that reach the elbow. Or I might put on a tank top and a lightweight linen or cotton long sleeved shirt, left open. It helps cover up in the intense sun of BKK while I'm out and about. Sandals and one pair of dressier flats for evening are all I need for shoes. I take one longish skirt and one shorter skirt and a pair of long slacks. We like to go to nicer restaurants in the evening and I feel more comfortable in something other than capris & tops. Getting your laundry done in BKK is so cheap, you can pack light and keep a supply of clean comfortable clothes on hand. Just turn in your laundry every day or two or three.

The best shopping (IMO) is in the area of Siam Discovery/Center, MBK, Central World Plaza, Central Chitlom dept store, and Nari Phand crafts. These are all within easy (but hot) walking distance of one another, or you could hop on and off the skytrain, just one to two stops apart.

Gaysorn and the Emporium are very nice upscale malls, if that is what you want. The prices are higher there than at the places where Thais like to shop.

If you are not a size 6, then your best bet for clothing will be at Central Chitlom Store or the department stores at Central World. Or pay the prices at Gaysorn and the Emporium for "western" brand names.

My tailor is located at the bottom of the stairs (#1) at National Stadium. Boss Apparels has made a number of things for my whole family, plus many of our friends who have decided to visit BKK after our prodding! They do good work, and prices are reasonable.

You can find a zillion jewelry stores at MBK mall, but you are probably better off taking Bob's advice and taking a look at Thai Stone at the Nana hotel. My son has had custom made pieces done for me, but always at the weekend market. They are gorgeous!!!! I always get compliments. Hubby has bought ready made pieces for me at Robinson store and they also are very beautiful!!! Many compliments. And my jeweler here at home always tells me that they are very nice quality pieces (nice to hear).

Enjoy planning. BKK is awesome for shopping.

Carol

Carol, I've always been wary about buying jewelry at the weekend market, not knowing if the stuff is real. You are much more an expert than I am at this. Do you have any suggestions on which places there are good? Laurie

i have never mentioned it but thai stone jewelry has a shop at the week-end market also...we have only been there once and i forget where it is...oh here it is:: sect 17, no 245-247...near to the bangkok bank

Thanks Bob. I've just cut and pasted that into my bkk reference file, along with all of your other suggestions for restaurants and shopping!

laurieco
I just asked my son what the name of the jeweler is at the weekend market, since he is the one who has ordered and had made a couple of pieces for me. I also designed a gold and onyx necklace there, for a particular elephant pin that serves as a pendant as well. Anyway, neither one of us could come up with a name. It may very well be Bob's jeweler. The work was really excellent.
Carol

Thanks for asking Carol. At least I now know that it is safe to buy jewelry at the market. I would nver have trusted it before.

Laurieco:
How do you cut and paste all of the wonderful snippets?
Just a technical question!!!!
Thanks

Philbill-- I just cut (actually copied) your name into this.

Cut is Ctrl x
Copy -- what I usually do-- is Ctrl c
Paste is Ctrl v

It's quite simple really but don't tell Bob, he thinks I'm a genius ;-)

If you are using a mouse, just highlight what you want to copy, right click the mouse, select copy. Then go to where ever you want to paste, right click mouse again and select paste.

lbrown7--good point, I forgot to say you have to highlight the text first! I guess when you've been doing these things for years, you forget to say the things you know. Right clicking is good too, I just like using the keyboard better, less stress on my wrist. I guess we had better get back to travel now!

Forgive my hopelessness, but where do you paste it?????
I tried to paste into a WordPerfect file but to no avail.
I am a complete novice but this sounds like a great tool.
Then we can get back to travel.
A million thanks.

I just open Notepad and paste into that. I have two files:

1. bkk reference, I use this for shopping, museums, directions, etc

2. bkk restaurants

It's really simple, it should work in wordperfect. Are you using windows or a mac? Maybe it's different for a mac, I don't know. Don't feel hopeless, when I got my first computer 10 years ago, it took me 6 months to figure out how to move a window!!

It should work in wordperfect. I paste into excel and word documents.

I'll try again. I have Windows ?XP??
Thanks for not getting upset about my lack of knowledge, but it would be great to just keep the salient parts of postings. It takes ages to go back through them!!!!!!!
Phil

Got it!!!!
No need to guide me any further. Thanks to all.