Well, in Singapore, it does. Especially if you find yourself being "larger-than-the-average-Asian-sized", also known as being a "normal-sized-American".
On my first travels through Asia after my first year of law school I quickly learned that clothing shopping as a westerner in Tokyo was required thick-skin if you were, well, thick. My friend J. and I went in search of jeans in a department store, only to realize that the biggest size they carried was a 25 and we were directed to shop in the "Big and Foreign" section, where they had a dazzling array of mu-mus, which is apparently the only thing appropriate for us American folks. (We were both by the way quite fit!) We moved on to more western-friendly stores (thank god for Zara and the Gap) and eventually had some successful shopping adventures in the orient.
I have had my fair share of shopping troubles here in Singapore as well, like how every time I get a running tank for the road races I run- they end up looking like they were meant for a toddler. But for the most part, there are so many foreigners here (and a fair amount of large sized Asians)- that its not totally impossible to find normal sized clothes if you really need them and are willing to pay exorbitant prices. Generally my style doesn't mesh too well with the Singapore aesthetics, so there hasn't been too much desire to indulge in any fashion oriented shopping sprees.
But this week I needed golf shoes. Yes, I, the budding golf enthusiast have graduated to being able to hit on a real golf course instead of exclusively from the comfort of the driving range bays. Of course this privilege and honor comes along with the burden of no longer being able to wear my normal trainers to golf...my first adventure on the links demands actual golf shoes be donned.
So, not even imagining that buying sized 8.5 golf shoes in Asia might prove to be a herculean task, David and I headed to the mall.
At the first shop I oggled some nice normal looking golf shoes (it was critical to me that my shoes not be "too dorky" because all the cool kids have golf shoes that look like real shoes) only to be told, somewhat snarkily, that the biggest size they carry in the store was a 7! No matter, there were 2 more stores to check out.
Next store- same story. This time though, when asked about size 8.5 shoes, the man seemed almost incredulous that we would assume his fine store would carry such elephant sized shoes for ladies! Would I care to try men's shoes?
With my self esteem badly damaged (I've always thought 8.5 was a perfectly normal size foot!) we headed to the final store, which, being partially a Nike-brand store, I was sure would carry shoes for western sized feet. But surprise- no Nikes for these boats. Seriously- what does a girl have to do to get some freaking shoes in this country!? After a rather infuriating conversation with the man about trying shoes that fit "bigger" for "bigger people"- and me explaining that I didn't need "bigger" size 7 shoes, I needed a size 8, which forhisinformation was a perfectly respectable size of shoe!.... Dave finally convinced the salesman to check in back for any shoes that might fit me. He begrudgingly pulled out a few contenders- none of which were going to win any awards in a golf shoes fashion show... Dave jokingly asked if they might have any size 13 men's shoes and the man just laughed. Needless to say, its a good thing that Dave already has shoes from the USA.
Thankfully I ended up with a fine pair of golf shoes, they even have pink details, but it was a good thing I liked them, since they were the ONLY ones that fit! Dave assures me that all that matters is that they are comfortable. Ugh.
While I was feeling a bit out of sorts about the degradation of my footsize, we had one final reminder from Singapore that this country is not made for us giants....
On my first travels through Asia after my first year of law school I quickly learned that clothing shopping as a westerner in Tokyo was required thick-skin if you were, well, thick. My friend J. and I went in search of jeans in a department store, only to realize that the biggest size they carried was a 25 and we were directed to shop in the "Big and Foreign" section, where they had a dazzling array of mu-mus, which is apparently the only thing appropriate for us American folks. (We were both by the way quite fit!) We moved on to more western-friendly stores (thank god for Zara and the Gap) and eventually had some successful shopping adventures in the orient.
I have had my fair share of shopping troubles here in Singapore as well, like how every time I get a running tank for the road races I run- they end up looking like they were meant for a toddler. But for the most part, there are so many foreigners here (and a fair amount of large sized Asians)- that its not totally impossible to find normal sized clothes if you really need them and are willing to pay exorbitant prices. Generally my style doesn't mesh too well with the Singapore aesthetics, so there hasn't been too much desire to indulge in any fashion oriented shopping sprees.
But this week I needed golf shoes. Yes, I, the budding golf enthusiast have graduated to being able to hit on a real golf course instead of exclusively from the comfort of the driving range bays. Of course this privilege and honor comes along with the burden of no longer being able to wear my normal trainers to golf...my first adventure on the links demands actual golf shoes be donned.
So, not even imagining that buying sized 8.5 golf shoes in Asia might prove to be a herculean task, David and I headed to the mall.
At the first shop I oggled some nice normal looking golf shoes (it was critical to me that my shoes not be "too dorky" because all the cool kids have golf shoes that look like real shoes) only to be told, somewhat snarkily, that the biggest size they carry in the store was a 7! No matter, there were 2 more stores to check out.
Next store- same story. This time though, when asked about size 8.5 shoes, the man seemed almost incredulous that we would assume his fine store would carry such elephant sized shoes for ladies! Would I care to try men's shoes?
With my self esteem badly damaged (I've always thought 8.5 was a perfectly normal size foot!) we headed to the final store, which, being partially a Nike-brand store, I was sure would carry shoes for western sized feet. But surprise- no Nikes for these boats. Seriously- what does a girl have to do to get some freaking shoes in this country!? After a rather infuriating conversation with the man about trying shoes that fit "bigger" for "bigger people"- and me explaining that I didn't need "bigger" size 7 shoes, I needed a size 8, which forhisinformation was a perfectly respectable size of shoe!.... Dave finally convinced the salesman to check in back for any shoes that might fit me. He begrudgingly pulled out a few contenders- none of which were going to win any awards in a golf shoes fashion show... Dave jokingly asked if they might have any size 13 men's shoes and the man just laughed. Needless to say, its a good thing that Dave already has shoes from the USA.
Thankfully I ended up with a fine pair of golf shoes, they even have pink details, but it was a good thing I liked them, since they were the ONLY ones that fit! Dave assures me that all that matters is that they are comfortable. Ugh.
While I was feeling a bit out of sorts about the degradation of my footsize, we had one final reminder from Singapore that this country is not made for us giants....
Caution- anyone over 6ft tall is risking decapitation at the grocery store.
That's all the news on this side of the world.
Love,
Your friendly Giants
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