Best for Baby ?
Wed, 2003-12-17 16:25 — mrb
Mr Tall,
Some good advice in your recent article. A bunch of the outlet shops along Johnston Road in Wanchai also have baby clothes, so I head over to have a good rummage through the HK$15 bin every couple of weeks. Any downsides ? Baby B gets called a "leng-jai" if she's out in one of the bargain blue suits, but at that age blue outlet-shop clothes taste just as good as pink frilly stuff from Pacific Place, so who cares ?
Another reason for all the shopping that goes on is that a recent expat arrival is not plugged in to the hand-me-downs network they would be at home. I think we've only had to buy a baby carrier and a bouncy chair so far, plus I've bought around HK$100 worth of clothes in Wanchai. Everything else we've needed has come second-hand from MrsB's friends and colleagues.
Another delivery (the Imelda delivery) came from local friends who
- love to shop
- wouldn't be seen dead in second-hand anything
I think their daughter has had more shoes in her five years on the planet than I've managed in close to forty. Another set of clothes came from an expat Mum who'd obviously got a bit carried away - many of the clothes still had labels on.
Which got me wondering whether you should be posting the article at all - we should be encouraging new purchases to make sure the stream of hand-me-downs keeps flowing !
MrB
Re:Best for Baby ?
Baby stuff are so expensive nowadays, no matter where you are. The prices are shocking, but many parents are willing to part with their money. I wish we had hand-me-downs too, but being downunder (and family in SG), it is a little difficult to share, es. the bigger items. *sigh*
Don't forget Fa Yuen Gai & Wet markets
Don't forget Fa Yuen Gai in Mongkok - you can find some really great baby and toddler clothes there.
Also, wet markets often have a fine assortment of CHEAP t-shirts and shorts that wear out in about the amount of time it takes your kids to grow out of them. Also occassionally higher quality items that can be handed down to the younger siblings.
I also bought diaper covers for cloth diapers in wetmarkets in Sai Kung and Tai Wai in the past. I brought along a sample because I was afraid that my Cantonese wasn't up to the job.
Higher quality items can also be found at Uny, Wing On, Sincere, and other Dept. stores, try to look for the sales.
throwaways
Good advice, Saikungmama! We got a lot of Toddler Tall's undershirts, bibs, and pajamas in Mongkok. What you said about their wearing out just as they're grown out of is right on -- it is actually a relief when you can just throw out these ultra-cheap things instead of worrying about cleaning them up to 'hand down' to someone else.
On a related note, the Talls have just returned from a longish trip to North America, and have been reminded of just how good we have it here in HK in terms of buying baby stuff. We did quite a lot of shopping (who am I kidding? We went crazy!) in outlet malls in the Seattle area, and spent a LOT of time (not that I'm complaining, Mrs Tall) in kids' shops such as Carters, Osh Kosh B'Gosh, and so on -- some good deals on nice clothes, but Mrs Tall kept saying "I know I can find something just like this in HK in export stores for half this price". And there's no equivalent of Fa Yuen street to buy the really cheap stuff -- even Walmarts aren't in that league!
Re:Best for Baby ?
Don't forget to check out the market in Stanley. Lots of export quality clothes at ridiculous prices.
Fa Yuen Rules
I get almost everything in Fa Yuen Gai - baby/toddler clothes, clothings for myself (no fitting so I've devised a strategy to make sure what you buy can actually fit you - don't trust the labels, that's why they're there), home deco, kitchen utensils, fruits, bags and presents. I have a friend who dresses up his toddlers in designer clothings (D&G, Dior you name it). I didn't think it's right and asked him why - he said he only wants the best for his kids. Sigh! Some people just don't get it.