What has brought me back you ask, well I just did some shopping on a new plus size clothing website here in Korea and really wanted to share and do a review. Shopping for plus size clothing can be a nightmare in Korea. They just don't have that much and a lot of what they do have is tailored towards much older women.
I tend to do most of my shopping from overseas. My favorite being Dorthy Perkins from the UK. I also have recently used ASOS. I do find I don't like a lot of the stuff on ASOS which is why I have never used it before but I recently got three nice pieces from there so it's one I have to keep an eye on for when something good pops up.
The problem with shopping from overseas is that you have to watch how much you spend. You can import up to 150,000 won worth of personal shopping without having to pay any duty on it. However if you go over this customs will hold your parcel and make you pay the duty + processing + the cost of them holding it in their warehouse (so it goes up everyday). It can be an expensive lesson and it can also be hard to sort out if you don't speak Korean.
I do a lot of my shopping online, I've slowly been expanding the sites that I use and am now pretty comfortable using most Korean sites. I mostly buy beauty items but I really wanted some new t-shirts the other day and so I decided to have a proper look on Naver for some plus size sites. There are a lot of options and I checked out many of them. Most of them just mean they go up to the L or and XL in Korean size or that they are Free sizing which does not help much.
I finally stumbled across this one called Anysize and it looked promising. It's been around since 2003 and they seem to make their own clothing. I quickly had a look at the sizing chart and low and behold they have sizes L and 1XL thought to 5XL and the measurements looked like they were actually big sizes too. The prices were quite reasonable so I went ahead and joined up. You get a 10,000 won coupon for signing up too and I used that discount off my order.
I selected a range of options and I decided based on the measurements I was about a 3XL as I am around a size 22 to 24 in British sizes. But being not quite sure what I would be getting and also just because I was curious I decided to get a few different sizes. So I got some 3XL, 4XL and even one 5XL. I figured if they were too big I can always wear them as PJs.
I ordered and paid by direct deposit on the 13th of May and I got immediate messages on my phone to say they had received my order and then after I paid to say that they had received that and my goods would be out to me shortly. I then had a message the next day to say it had been sent. It was a holiday on Saturday so I'm not sure if I would have gotten it any earlier but it arrived on the 16th of May so I was pretty happy with that.
It comes in a lovely pink parcel and I do like that the name is Anysize which sounds much better than some of the other plus size brands I have seen like 'She's Big' or some such variation.
I got a selection of T-shirts which is one of the main things that I wanted. Then I also grabbed a pair of long shorts, a lacy tunic and a hooded short-sleeved cardigan. I figured I should add at least one bottom to check out the sizing. I am really bad at guessing my size for bottoms.
One other thing to note is that some of the bigger sized items in 4XL and 5XL have an extra cost.
Moria Cardigan
26,900 won, Black, 3XL
This black knit cardigan was one of the first ones I saw and I love cardigans of all shapes and sizes. It also comes in Beige. This one is hooded with short sleeves so it looked great for the summer. It's quite stiff but hopefully it softens up after its washed a few times. The fit on this one is fine for the 3XL but there is not a lot of give. It's just a hanging one so I don't need to do it up or anything, if it was one that I wanted to do up at the front I might have liked to go up a size.
Paul Tee
15,900 won, Khaki 3XL, Charcoal 5XL(+5,000 won)
I got two of these as they were quite a good price and I wanted to see how big the 5XL was. The 3XL in this one is nice and roomy, it's bigger than the Animal Tee that I got which was also a 3XL. So the 5XL is very big on me and so it will be my new pajama top. They are quite soft and comfortable and have little holes all over them so will need something on underneath them for wearing out of the house.
Go Go Go Tee
7,900 won Orange, 4XL
There was not much choice on this one, It was mostly sold out. I actually wanted the black one but they only had large left and even for the orange there was only a choice of 4XL or 5XL. The 4XL is fine for size, it's roomy but not too big so I think the 3XL would have been another one that would be a little on the snug side.
Pattern Tee
8,900 won, White, 4XL
I'm not sure what the name of this one translates too so I just called it a Pattern Tee. It comes in either White or Charcoal. This has quite large sizing, I got the 4XL and I'm not sure if that was just to try it or if there were no 3XLs. I don't usually go for white as I am really messy but this one was really pretty. I think I could have gone with a 3XL in this one but it's fine.
Animal Tee
9,900 won, Ivory, 3XL
I could not find this one on the site again and I remember there were not many sizes or colors left when I got mine. It may have sold out now. I am glad I got mine however as it is very cute. This one is a 3XL but runs a lot smaller than the other 3XL I got. It still fits but just not as much room left over.
Pency Blouse
28,900, Black, 3XL
This is a pretty tunic type blouse that you can wear over a singlet or something. It's a sheer lace with rose patterns on it. I really like it and I have some bright colored singlets that I think it will look nice over top of. It's quite roomy and I would not have wanted to go up any sizes with this one.
Veneto Pants
24,900 won, black, 5XL(+5,000)
I got the biggest size in these as I was not sure what to get. They have an elastic waist band so I figured it would be fine. And they are, they fit well and are very lightweight. Holding them up the material is very fine so it looks a bit see through. I will have to remember to wear black underwear when wearing these. I think they will be nice and airy for teaching in the classroom over summer.
Overall Thoughts on the Shopping Experience:
Site - I liked the site a lot. It was easy to use and set out cleanly. Every thing was easy to find and they had size guides on all the items so you could check the measurements. They also had cleaning tips along with the sizing too. Even though it is in Korean I found it pretty easy to use and my Korean is limited. If you get your friend or co-teacher to sign you up then you should be able to shop easily on this site. If your Korean is a bit better and you have signed up for these type of sites before then it will be easy to sign up yourself. It took me about 10 minutes or so.
The site has easy navigation to different types of clothing via a bar across the top which is in English, they have the categories Tops, Outer, Shirt & Blouse, Knit & Cardigan, Ops & Skirt, Leggings, Training. They also seem to have sales and specials on a lot so be sure to check those out.
As far as I can see they only carry women's clothing.
Clothes - I was really impressed with the selection that they had. There are not just older mature styles but lots of younger stuff also. Maybe not really young but young enough for me. The clothing quality seems very good and the prices were very competitive. I will definitely be shopping here again and it seems like it will soon become my go-to place.
If you are looking to check out Anysize they do have physical stores too, I think they may also be available at Lotte Department Stores.
The also have a mini shop on Gmarket but it does not seem to have the whole range, the few I looked at only went up to 3XL. They do have a big selection just search for 애니시이즈.
These are the links to their social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anisize2003/
Instagram: @anysize_5xl
Blog Naver: http://blog.naver.com/hjdkt33
These are the links to their social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anisize2003/
Instagram: @anysize_5xl
Blog Naver: http://blog.naver.com/hjdkt33
