This guide serves as a handy guide to shopping for the stuff that we would consider to be “monoxious”. Of course there are probably other places that you could shop at that is not limited to the stuff that we are going to feature but if you want to shop for the stuff that we would shop for, this is probably the guide you will need.
Stuff you need to know:
- There are places that you can bargain and places you can’t. You can’t expect to bargain in a designer outlet but if they are places like Argyle Centre or random camera stores, PLEASE bargain or you will be ripped off horribly.
- Most of them speak Cantonese, Mandarin and English, try and go with a local friend or someone who speaks Cantonese if you intend to bargain.
This is were we would go to:
Argyle Centre: Take the MTR (the subway in Hong Kong) to Mongkok station, Exit D2. This mall is rather messy and you are encouraged to bargain here. The pieces are mostly cheap and they cater to the younger crowd. A pair of shorts costs about HKD39-60?
The type of clothes they carry here vary from season to season, they have quite a couple of shoe stores that sells reasonably priced heels and wedges. Right now it seems like a mish-mash of Liz Lisa-type clothes and lots of flatforms. Not exactly my type of stuff but I managed to get a decent number of stockings and also some accessories here.
H&M: Quite a number of branches here in Hong Kong but I went to the one near Central Station. I was in the San Francisco H&M right before I was in Hong Kong and I was surprised at how updated the Hong Kong one is when comparing the product timeline when I was in the H&M Singapore Showroom.
The store is always crowded. Tried to get help regarding the sizing on a certain piece that I was interested in to no avail. I don’t have a good impression of Hong Kong service staff, I am hoping someone can prove me wrong on this.
Bought the entire store (almost). Enough said.
Horizon Plaza: Outlet mall in Ap Lei Chau.( 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau, Aberdeen) It is pretty inaccessible cause there is no MTR stations there. I took a cab from Admiralty station and it costs about HKD90-100. It’s cheaper when you share it among a few people.
The warehouse exterior makes the whole place look pretty meh but I would suppose there are hidden gems that you have to look out for.
Most of the floor space is dedicated to furniture stores but most of the clothing outlet stores are concentrated on the 5th, 19th, 22nd, 25th and 27th floor.
You can expect cult stores that carry brands like Vivienne Westwood, Bluemarine, Moschino and the like. There is a Lane Crawford outlet store (which is the equivalent of Barney’s or Saks in Hong Kong) which carries designer labels. I managed to get myself pair of Rick Owens when I was there. I also spotted past season shoes like Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Lanvin and Alexander Wang (omg Constance boots and mummy boots from A/W’10) when I was there.
The key draw for me to go back is the I.T Outlet store on the 5th floor. They carry several avant garde designer labels like Ann Demeulemeester, Comme des garcons, Maison Martin Margiela, Gareth Pugh, Rick Owens and so on.
I spotted a pair of Jeffrey Campbell Ohne Titel Knockoffs at less than half the price I got it for. There were shoes. Many shoes. There was the MMM nail heel boots that I would’ve bought if not for my fat thighs.
You can also take a look at the shoes that I bought from Horizon Plaza ✚here✚.
There is also a Space (Prada, Miu miu) outlet nearby, if you take a cab, the cabbie would most likely know.
Other honorable mentions:
Ice House Street: I wasn’t able to make it there but there are plenty of awesome boutiques there like Gareth Pugh, Ann Demeulemeester and Rick Owens.
