Following fashion in Cambodia

Pajamas

hahahaha...exactly

Fashion?  There is No Fashion here. They wear what they can .

play facebook?   - does that count? lol

oh, no , i don't follow fashion trends at all..

Aailyah01, ... That is obvious.. lol   

Just kidding!

lol, nah, not in that way.. even though muslim women do wear a scarf, there still exist fashion trends which are being followed, fashionable does not always mean to be as naked as possible.

by not following fashion I mean that I do not wear Mango and Zara, per example, which i normally wear back home, but rather I tend to wear the indian printed shalwars from toul toum poung, some cheap tshirts from sovanna mall and basically whatever fits , and slippers. .

i dress shabby and careless, because it's basically dirt, dust, heat, pouring all of a sudden, and crappy transportation..

oh, and yes, being well dressed attracts unnecessary attention, gets you mugged in the middle of the day, and overcharged mostly everywhere, so showing off is just stupid. .

fair enough..i was being sarcastic... You live in PP? what kind of work you do?

AS  i  am  Parisian, always  fashionable , Trendy, Shirt  Linen. Jacket Linen. shoes  English.
   That  always  me  . my style, any where  i go, their  remark or   remember me. .
  that  the  way    i am.

yes, I know, I've expanded my answer, though.

I've moved out in 2015.
I was a fashion design teacher at Raffles,  IT professor of Esthetics and typography at Zaman University and managing a fashion design training school.

you made me laugh! you follow no fashion trends at all yet you were a fashion designer? lol.. .. but anyway one's job doesn't define who they are.
Interesting

hahaha, yes lol, glad to bring a smile, It is my job simply because it is a hobby to create and I do need money to survive therefore I need a job, so luckily I can have both )
I design fashion items, yes,  however, I keep a low profile and prefer to not draw unwanted attention. I design prototypes and develop manufacturing techniques, in spite of all odds i'm not that sociable

PS** according to your observation, which would be some of the fashion trends going on around you ?

Priscilla wrote:

Hi everyone,

Do you follow fashion trends in Cambodia? Every country and every culture has its own dress code. As far as you are concerned, have you changed the way you dress?

Can one easily find fashion boutiques in Cambodia? Are clothes expensive there? Or cheap?

What do Cambodians usually wear or like to wear the most?

Share your experience!

Priscilla

Hi Pricilla,

1. Do you follow trends..
Ans: No I don't but I do see some patterns

2.Have I changed...
Ans: Yes, I took a liking of the Kroma because it comes in handy when I am driving my moto and I don't want to inhale the fumes and the dusts in PP. It can become a bag, a sun protector etc.

3.Can one easily....
Ans: There are fashion boutiques all right but most of the time they sell China knock offs. Lately known brands have opened stand alone stores in PP. Also better boutiques have sprouted in malls like AEON. The branded ones are expensive because of logistical problems. However you can opt for class A knock-offs which really looks like the original. I bought a fake  Dunhill satchel bag for 50 dollars but the material was real cow leather at the mall near Central Market. It's been 4 years and it's still with me. Now if you can wear cheap clothes from China, Thailand, Bangladesh and Cambodia, then they have tons of it. SUper cheap! You can find it everywhere, markets, night markets, fairs, malls. Oh BTW, there are times when they sell factory rejects of branded clothes. BTW, I am sure you know already that the kingdom has a lot of garment factories that supply globally popular cloth brands...

5. What do Cambodians usually wear or like to wear the most?
Ans: I noticed patterns in how people wear clothes in Cambodia.
1. Poor men who work in some form of authority like to use military clothes or military styled clothes, e.g., motorcycle parking attendant types.
2. Old rich men  who has business or has a high position in the government like to wear white long sleeved shirt that is lightly striped with thin blue lines, a gold pen tucked on his right shirt pocket. Wears a signature belt like Gucci (could be fake or original), a light khaki plaid pants and a good pair of black leather shoes.
3. Young women prefer Kpop style of clothing, some boys are following the trend too. Ditto with haircuts.
4. Men usually wear tailored shirts and pants. Clothes are cut and tailored to follow the body and then they pair it with sandals. This is very usual.
5.  Most people wear long sleeved clothes, probably because its dusty and the fear of people to become tanned. it think for most Khmers having a light skin is more fashionable.
6. The masses, both men and women still wear this traditional cloth worn by men and women as skirts.
7. The Kroma, that all purpose cloth that they usually hang around their necks (I don't know if its the right spelling), is still used by most of the masses.
8. There are fashion boutiques all right but most of the time they sell China knock offs. Lately known brands have opened stand alone stores in PP.
9.

AWESOME ! Lovely observation Jerby !! Do you have a blog maybe ?..i"d like to follow .

Aaliyah01 wrote:

hahaha, yes lol, glad to bring a smile, It is my job simply because it is a hobby to create and I do need money to survive therefore I need a job, so luckily I can have both )
I design fashion items, yes,  however, I keep a low profile and prefer to not draw unwanted attention. I design prototypes and develop manufacturing techniques, in spite of all odds i'm not that sociable

PS** according to your observation, which would be some of the fashion trends going on around you ?

That makes sense regarding unwanted attention. So i am confused. are you into fashion or not? lol
I live in Brooklyn,NY...  capital of the world!! But I suppose a NY'r would say that right?

Unsure about fashion trends.. .. This is NYC... it ranges.

Hi Girl!!
Thanks
I left the Kingdom already, but I plan to comeback soon.  Yes I do have a blog and I just started, but I have yet to write about my Cambodian sojourn. Actually I just started. My first blog...
https://jerbysanto.wordpress.com/2016/0 … e-putahes/

Anyway, there is something I'd like to raise. I feel like most of those who posted here seem ignorant as to how culture works and lack the understanding of the anthropological truth that no culture is better than another and that all things palpable in a culture arises because of a group of people's interaction with their environment. Every culture is unique, not one is superior over the other.

Those folks who posted pejoratively should try wearing layered clothing in PP and see what happens. So what if people in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos wear pajamas in public? It is light, it is cool, it is cheap and the prints reflect the tropical setting of these countries- sunshiny, colorful, cute, happy. For them, it works, who are we to underestimate their concept of fashion. Besides, we do know that there is so much poverty in Cambodia,  for the usual Khmers, catching up with the concept of contemporary "fashion" is the least of their concern, they need food on their table, education for their children and any sort of shelter for the family.

Just because these countries are poorer than where most of us came from does not mean that their concept of fashion/culture is inferior than ours. In short, that is how Cambodia rolls, you just have to respect it.

Just saying, Cambodia is rich in culture and its people, proud of who they are despite what happened to them. We all benefitted from that county (if indeed, you lived there and did not just passed through) , the last thing we can do is ridicule them because of our ignorance.

I might sound very emphatic, but I am not. I am just expressing my sentiment.

Thanks for the reply to my post Aaliyah . Are you wearing a hajib?

I second what Jerby says.  To each his own

And always remember, there's a difference between fashion and style. To each his own, indeed!

I am quite a lot into fashion.

With regret to your confusion, though I find it hilariously contagious, I am not following the masses, aka trends, when it comes to wearing fashionable items in Cambodia!

thank you! love your writing style!

Yes, it is hijab.

Thanks. I am not that confident with my writing, ha ha ha ha. Still, I'm grateful for the pat in the back, everybody needs that at some point. Cheers.

That's cool to know that you are wearing a hijab. When I was in Indonesia, I saw beautiful hijabs worn by the ladies there. The lady Chams in the kingdom also have fashionable hijabs. Have you seen them? I had a number of Cham friends in PP because I lived in the Chruy Chang Var area. I used to frequent a Bai Char/ Mi Char Halal restaurant there. The place faced the Tonle Sap boulevard. I loved how they made their  bai char moist and spicy. 

well lol, that's mostly what's wrong with the world today, the smart are full of doubt and the stupid are arrogant.
Your style iss light, informative and articulate, it has everything it takes to be great!

yes, some are pretty, but poverty is too loud and draws back consistently..

Does anyone have recommendations on shoes to bring there?  I live in the tropics and pretty much use sandals (flip flops) daily, tennis for sports, not running just exercise. Evenings out I use sandals with a small heel. As a seasoned traveler I bring all three but this time I am traveling with my daughter who is backpacking it and now I have to trim down my packing if I plan to keep up with her.  Are there decent tennis to purchase there for similar prices as in the US?

As far as I know, there is only one prominent brand there, which is Adidas. If adidas is passable for you, then you can go to one of thier stand alone stores in Phnom Penh. I don't know about Siem Rep or Sihanoukville.  You can find other brands like Nike, Puma, Converse, etc. but it is like looking for a needle in a haystack because the usual Khmer shoes stores mix originals with knock-offs from Thailand and China. Locals buy original A grade 2nd hand athletic shoes in an area at the Central Market.

With flipflops, you'd be blending-in with the locals and the backpackers, sandals too. Enjoy.

hello Judy,
it's as Jerby said, here , flip flops or sandals are the norm, and they can be easily found  if your shoe size is an average 36-37, larger sizes are difficult to find, or quite impossible for anywhere above 40.

Thanks so much. I really appreciate you taking time to answer.  You all make this a great forum. Really hope you don't mind me asking questions before heading over there with my daughter end of April.
Meanwhile, I am trying to figure out travel equipment such as backpack vs rolling carry-on and which vaccine shots to get, sure seems to be a variation of opinion. My friend traveled for a month last year through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar without any immunization shots while my two brothers did them all, except yellow fever. I am scared to get any.  And since I live in the tropics most of my clothing is for hot, humid climate but how easy is it to launder there or is it better to bring extra.

Backpack is easier to carry around I guess.
it is very easy to launder, there are many places who provide laundry cleaning services,
I personally didn't get any vaccine shots, and I do not know anyone who did either, I lived there for 3 years and a half, I was alright.

Hello everyone,

I would remind you that the initial topic here is "Following Fashion in Cambodia". If you have other questions, please start a new thread on the forum.

Thank you,
Christine
Expat.com

omg... can't you let it flow naturally? u know, how a conversation would normally go?

didn't realize we cannot go off topic..  what are we? 14 years old?? 
obv i am being sarcastic but you get my point no?

Hi Ruvanes > I created a new topic for "Judy expat in  Mexico" here : https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=652811 where she can ask all her questions on her own topic for better visibility.

deleted

..this thread made me smile for some obvious reasons ...

@reeiison--  what what you say as  Big Brother is watching!.. .if it veers off topic your in trouble... lol
ok.. i am being sarcastic... you will not be in trouble. your message will be moved to the "appropriate" thread
i still say Pajamas

I'm more interested in knowing where to buy the brand name overruns. As there are a few made in Cambodia. (Good quality).

Usually these vendors of rundowns set-up in night markets or regular markets. Probably it will help if you ask friends who work in the garments business. Try talking to night market textile vendors, I think they know where this is sold. Ask around the vendors at Oressey Market, they can converse in English which is enough for you to get details.

mud, dirt, raining, flooding... sandals and flip-flops are ideal... hiking i would use lightweight waterproof hiking boots. probably wont find that there though, at least not good ones.

blending in is a good idea, be comfortable too.

it is a bit difficult for someone like my self to blend in though. if i am in the provinces everyone will be staring at me. in PP i just look like another Ausie.

fashion would be a bad mistake for me, maybe better to look the opposite.

and yes... Pajamas.