I am heading to Istanbul in two weeks and will arrive a couple of days prior to tour departure. Does anyone know of a good place to buy a travel dress and/or skirt for my Tour in the Sultanamet area?
Is the Grand Bazaar the best shopping?
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
783 posts
The Grand Bazaar is on the pricey side. I have bought a lot of scarves there, but I have never looked for regular clothing. Stores tend to cluster in Istanbul, and it looks like most of the clothing stores are clustered about half a mile west of Beyazit and the Grand Bazaar. I noticed that there is an LC Waikiki, which is sort of a Turkish version of H&M, around Beyazit, just a little west of the Grand Bazaar. I bought a skirt that I have enjoyed at an LC Waikiki while I was stuck in the Istanbul airport in March 2020.
Posted by
New Zealand
496 posts
Honestly? I'd buy it before you go - there is nothing more stressful than HAVING to buy something in a foreign country. The exception would be something very distinctive to that cutlure e.g. a hijab in Turkey, hawaiian shirt in Hawaii
If you want a good travel skirt check out https://www.macabiskirt.com/
Posted by
USA
195 posts
In addition to the LC Waikiki recommendation, DeFacto is a great clothing store with reasonable prices. There is a DeFacto location near Beyazit in Istanbul.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5507 posts
I would go to İstiklal Street myself, but as others have said it makes more sense to buy the dress before you travel...
Posted by
Cape Ann, Massachusetts
3334 posts
It might be more fun to buy it in Istanbul!
Posted by
OP
Roseburg, OR
18 posts
Thanks for the input! I was thinking that a dress or skirt purchased in Istanbul would be a souvenir and that the fabric and style would be compatible with the weather in Turkey. I'm also thinking that a skirt or dress might be easier to manage when we get to the small villages with 'pit' toilets, rather than pants. So I don't NEED it for the trip. I found some very reasonably priced cotton pants & tops in SE Asia when touring there in 2019 and they were more comfortable in the hot & humid weather, than my clothes I brought with me, so just thinking the same might be true in Istanbul. I will certainly check out the places suggested and thank you for your responses!