Saturday in Seomyeon


This weekend was gray and rainy.  I had planned on heading to the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival on Sunday, but the weather and my persistent cough didn't really make me want to do anything.  I managed to get a sweet pair of prescription glasses (frames, check up, and lenses for KRW 10,000 at Davich!) on Friday night, and Saturday we planned to do some shopping.  Checking out my closet I've noticed that I brought a lot of pairs of pants but have been rotating a few shirts.  I had planned on wearing tee-shirts or tank tops with cardigans or jackets over top, but with the weight-loss I've seen (a few pounds here and there but I think I've gained some muscle) they fall far too low to wear to school.  Being from Toronto, I wear a LOT of black which isn't exactly exciting for my students.  My goal, by heading to Seomyeon (the most crowded area in Busan, having a floating population of 165,300 a day), was to shop with B at H&M and to not buy anything black.

Having read some blogs of women I thought were slimmer than I, I assumed that H&M (and sometimes Zara) would be the only places I would be able to shop.  This was not the case at all.  I've managed to purchase a sweater from a local market (it cost KRW 10,000 and was one of those "one size fits all" which usually never ends up fitting anyone right), and this shopping trip was also very successful.  We stepped into the first cute store we saw upon emerging from the subway, which was called MIXXO.  Even in Canada I sometimes wonder if the cute new styles will fit me properly.  I don't have much going on upstairs (other than a big rib cage), and I have hips and a booty that don't quit so even buying clothes at home can be a bit of a struggle.  MIXXO describes its fit as: 

"abetter fit for you


The perfect fusion of Golobal fashion trendy design and tailor method that fit the Asia women’s figure ,
will let you find your just right patten ."

...that's right.  "The Asia women's figure".  Not the North American tall-girl figure that wears a 10-12 (I've got some size 6-8 in my closet here in Korea - let's hope I can fit back into the 6 by summer, shall we?).  I was nervous, but I picked up a few different styles (that were all between KRW 9,600 - 12,900, I might add), and headed to the fitting room.  Surprisingly they all fit quite nicely, and being that my rule was not to buy anything black I had avoided bringing dark colours into the fitting room.  







I purchased 3 tops that will be good for layering (sometimes it's freezing out and sometimes I'm a sweaty mess throughout the course of the same day), and that will brighten up my closet and outfits.  The yellow shirt (pictured above) was one that I liked but apparently looked weird from the back so I made sure to limit myself to 3.    The white one does, indeed, have palm trees and parrots as the pattern.  It makes me giggle.  A couple of the blouses are quite loose, but being that I do have a North American rib cage and let's face it - there's some "support" in all my bras, the medium would have just been too tight across the bust.  Oversize shirts are really popular in Korea.  Nothing is tight or low cut on top, but it is true that you'll see Korean ladies wear very, very short shorts and skirts.


























I noticed that my favourite J-brand black jeans were fraying a little on the right leg, so I did ultimately end up breaking my rule by purchasing a new pair of black high-waisted pants.  They're incredibly comfortable and were described by my friends (K joined us at H&M) as "second skin".  They're a little tight at the waist, but let's face it - there was a Subway Subs in Seomyeon and I was definitely a little bloated after my first real bread experience since departing for Korea.  I also managed to pick up shoes in Korea!  Yup - my size 9.5B feet are happy go lucky in my cute black peep-toe flats that will be great in the summer with the colourful skirts I brought along.

So there you have it - if you're 5'8" and not a stick figure there is hope for you in South Korea!  Go forth and fash-ion!
The Toronto Socialite
 
      
That Girl Cartier