I began my journey in Hatyai home to very few english speakers and Thailand's second largest airport. Upon arrival in Thailand I found out two things. 1) Thailand doesn't accept "red money" aka Turkish currency. And 2) Wells Fargo, my american bank, closed my account because they forgot I was going to Asia. So I couldn't pay for my taxi from the airport, for food, or for my hostel for a few days. Luckily the hostel owner gave me money and let me stay for free. Thai hospitality. Hatyai is located right on the boarder of Thailand and Malasiya (if you need a visual). Finally, when my bank took the hold off my card, I started my shameless shopping! Having english word's on T-shirts is huge. Most of the time they won't make sense to those who can read it, other times they will be incredibly offensive without the consumer knowing. Here we have an adorable children's shirt with Mickey Mouse flipping you off. The words read rock you.. interesting. These brands clearly have no right to use the character's likeness (as Disney would never allow this shirt to be made). Regardless, Disney and Looney tunes characters are all over Thai clothing from infant to adult apparel. A lot of the fashion influence in Thailand comes from South Korea. Look at these precious, sophisticated little numbers I found when I was wandering around the mall. Horribly expensive for Thailand, but stylish beyond my expectation. Korean's are leading the way for the rest of Asia in Fashion, Music and in Film. They love sweet, girly and fun items as you can see. These fabrics are insane! I want this dress!! There are no typos in this collared tee. "I hate my clothes, can you help me undress?" Awesome. Not sure what the lightning bolt is doing there, but I'm impressed and curious to know who their target market is... because who in Hatyai can read english, has the boldness to wear this? I was very tempted to buy it. One of my favorite things to do in Thailand is to pretend I'm filthy rich (because I am so not back home). When I finally got my debit card working, I spent a lovely day getting massages, eating fine food and shopping. I didn't quite understand the exchange rate and, yes, spent too much on these outfits. But hey, where else in the world will I find these? The two purses were 350 Baht each. A little bit less than 40 dollars total. The checkered print called to me, making me feel like I was in Alice in Wonderland, the neon, see-through purse is one of my staples. I love specifically picking cute items that people can see inside my purse. Both purses broke within months when I tried to wear them out dancing, The light purple lace dress is my one true love! All these garments fit me flawlessly, which is so not the case with clothes I buy in america. Apparently I'm "asian sized" My silk, king cat suit is my favorite purchase, It's a pant suit with pockets and floating, framed, king kitty heads! It's a lovely conversation starter and I hope to wear it forever. The rose goddess dress was an incredible find. It has a collar made from fingers and the creativity melts me. I gave it to my friend back home for an early birthday gift. I literally went to the ATM in the middle of this purchase to get these items right away. The dresses were 800 Baht each. Which is over 8 times what I would spend on dresses today. Woops. This set me back about 90 US dollars. A good deal for westerners but you can find used dresses here for as low as 10 cents! Playboy is an enormous brand here. They have a wide array of products, playboy deodorant, playboy shampoo, playboy condoms. It's quite puzzling because porn is illegal in Thailand and even if you buy Playboy magazines here, all the women will consistently conceal their.... goods.
I'll leave you to ponder that paradox. Stay tuned because next week we will investigate the fashion of Thailand's infamous Full Moon Party!
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April 2020
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