shopping in korea: Zara

I've passed this place dozens of times as I go about my life here in SK, but it took me until today to actually set foot inside the joint.  My friends have said good things about it, so I was curious to see what they had on the racks.

My general feeling is that Zara is very similar to H&M and Forever 21, but with higher price tags and less glitter.  The clothing is certainly just as cheaply made, if not more so, so if you're looking for good quality, avoid this place.  Sure, there are a few exceptions, but on the whole I was not impressed with material or make during by my admittedly brief observations.

Style-wise, things were fine.  I did see a few items that were relatively unique on the Korean scene, so that was refreshing (items of note being tailored just-below-the-knee length skirts of muted colors).  The clothing sale section also had a good amount of bigger skirt and dress sizes - I saw several things marked XL.  Might be useful for those of you who have more trouble shopping in stores designed with tiny people in mind.  Jeans run small if you're going by the US size listed below the European one on the tags.  I'm a 0 or 2 at home, but I'm a 6 in Zara and Mango.

The shoes especially were kind of cool, and that was a surprise.  Usually places that stock shoes below the clothing as a sort of afterthought don't carry things that wear that well.  I liked some of the matte colors they came in, and they felt bendy with the potential to be comfortable.  A few had that almost-vintage thick curvy heel, really much easier to walk in, and a much cuter look than the usual inexplicable stilettos that I see on the streets.  They were not, alas, in my size.  They did have smaller (7 and lower) and bigger (8-10), but unfortunately, no 7 1/2 in anything that I needed.

I already mentioned how Zara is like H&M and Forever 21.  You could go to those places and find similar items.  Mango would be an even better option, if you're okay with the slightly higher price tag and want more refined-looking clothing.  Mango tends to be good about not dousing everything in sight with sequins, and their jeans are much better than Zara's, in my opinion.

What I bought:

• "upholstery shirts" -- ridiculous, overpriced floral print shirts - 2 of them. when wearing them, i could either pretend to be a couch from the '70s or wallpaper from the '80s.  nice tea colored background to the florals.  the lack of glitter will help me retain my vision.  i'll post pictures when i wear them out.