My Butt is Too Big For Korea

Comparison Chart

The more research I do, the more I wonder...will I pass the Korean sales lady eye scan of shame? Meaning, am I entirely too big to shop in Korean stores? Don't get me wrong, I am not a large lady, but I am not small by anyone's standards, and especially not Korea. I had to do a bit of demystifying to find out about Korean clothing sizes. The standard size for women in Korea is a size "55" which would be the equivalent of  a U.S size 4-6.Anything over a "66" is rather hard to come by in "trendy stores." No problem, right? Wrong. The majority of women in the U.S fall somewhere around a size 10/12 and being from Wisconsin, that would be a very generous assumption. We have hips, we have butts...but most of all, we have thighs! Well, I know I do! I can wear anywhere between a 10-14 and sometimes 9 in stretchy pants, on a very good day, and I do mean VERY good day. The thighs always present themselves as a problem: fitting into rugby shorts, skirts and when I go jean shopping. Unfortunately I am a sucker for skinny(oh the irony) jeans and boots.

I would have to starve something stupid to fit in these...and I love cheese curds entirely too much

I love shoes that look like candy!

Shoes, it seems may be a bit easier to come by, assuming again that you wear something smaller than a size 9. Fortunately, there are plenty of custom order shoe stores and if you're willing to shell out a little bit of extra money you can find some really funky stuff!

Lastly, BRAS! Don't even get me started on bras. A word to the wise...if you are a "bustier" woman, stock up before you arrive, unless you want to fork over a fortune paying for imported, overpriced lingerie. So C-Cup or above... Stock up!

My ESL teacher told me she was going to give me the most important advice I would ever hear. And that is.. "If you can't find it anywhere else, Go to Itaewon, they like big butts"