Shopping in Koh Samui

01Central Samui - where we fell in love with Thai fashion

Central Samui, formerly called Central Festival Samui, is in the heart of Chaweng, Koh Samui's main tourist area.

It is a large, pleasant shopping centre, with fashion stores, cafes, restaurants, international brands and a department store where you can also find Thai brands.

We love markets and small shops, but there is a big advantage to shopping somewhere like Central. You can browse at your leisure, try clothes on, get a feel for the fabrics and the stitching and discover brands you do not know.

And when we found the LOLITA fashion section, we knew we were going to spend quite a while there.

02LOLITA - feminine, flattering cuts full of character

LOLITA was one of our best discoveries on Koh Samui.

It is a Thai women's fashion brand, but what drew us to it was not the fact that it is a local brand. It was the clothes themselves.

We simply liked the cuts.

We love clothes that show off the figure in a flattering way without looking as if they are trying too hard. Clothes with femininity, a little playfulness and, at the same time, a sense of careful design.

At LOLITA we found exactly that combination.

The denim dress - a simple piece with a perfect cut

One of our favourite buys was a short, sleeveless denim dress with a collar, a row of buttons all the way down and a tie belt at the waist.

On the face of it, a denim dress is a fairly basic piece.

But here the cut is what makes the difference. The top sits beautifully, the waist is defined and the short skirt gives it a youthful, feminine and flattering look.

It is a dress you can wear with flat sandals during the day, with trainers, and even with boots for a completely different look.

We especially love clothes whose character you can change with shoes and accessories, and this is exactly that kind of dress.

The pink jumpsuit - a colour you cannot ignore

The pink jumpsuit was another piece that thrilled us.

Its colour is simply gorgeous: a bright, happy pink that catches the eye immediately.

But it is not only beautiful because of the colour.

The puff sleeves, the belt with its round buckle, the defined waist and the fairly wide trousers create a feminine cut with presence.

We love the interplay between the soft, slightly romantic top and the long, clean line of the trousers.

It is a piece you can wear with almost nothing added. The jumpsuit creates the whole look by itself.

The floral dress - light, flattering femininity

Another dress we loved was a short dress with a floral print in soft shades of pale blue, cream and darker touches.

There is something romantic about it, but not too sweet.

The waist is defined, the skirt flares gently, and the small sleeves with their ruffled finish give it character.

This is exactly the cut we love in summer dresses: it defines the waist, gives the skirt movement and creates a feminine, light look.

We liked the colours too. Instead of an ordinary floral print, there is a subtle combination of several shades that work beautifully together.

The mini dress with gold buttons

Another special dress we found was a sleeveless mini dress with a tailored, tweed-like look and a row of gold buttons.

It is completely different from the light beach dresses.

The fabric looks more structured, the cut shows off the figure and the buttons give it an elegant look.

It is a dress you can wear to dinner, for a night out or even during the day with flat shoes.

And that is one of the things we loved so much about shopping at Central: we did not just find holiday clothes, but also pieces we can keep wearing in everyday life.

03The sales at Central - special clothes at surprising prices

What made the shopping even more successful was the prices.

During our visit there were particularly good sales, and we found some of the pieces at prices of about 1,100 THB (about $33 / €29).

When we find a piece of clothing we really love, with a flattering cut and an interesting design, at a price like that, for us it is a great buy.

We want to stress that these were the prices we found during the sale period when we visited. They are not necessarily LOLITA's regular prices.

But it is definitely one of the reasons we recommend not stopping at the shops at the front of the mall, and going into the department store as well to check the local fashion sections and the sale areas.

04Beach dresses in Thailand - light, feminine and just sexy enough

If at Central we fell in love with designer Thai fashion, in the beach shops we found a completely different world.

And it is a world we love.

The beach dresses we bought in Thailand were exactly the kind of clothes that make us want to dress up.

Feminine cuts, pretty necklines, defined waists, floaty skirts and light fabrics that are pleasant to wear even in the heat and humidity.

Some of the dresses are short and sexy, others long and more romantic, but in all of them we loved the feeling that the cut works with the body, not against it.

The blue dresses - the same colour, two different experiences

One of the dresses we bought was a short beach dress in bright turquoise, with a deep neckline, a halter tie and soft fabric gathered at the waist.

It is a sexy, flattering dress, but at the same time light and very comfortable.

We especially loved its colour. A vivid turquoise blue that goes so beautifully with the sea and sun of Thailand.

Another blue dress we bought was completely different: a crinkled, textured fabric with narrow patterns in dark and light shades, a fitted top and a short skirt with tiers and ruffles.

It is sweeter and more playful, with lots of movement in the fabric.

What we find lovely is that you can buy two dresses in the same colour family and still get two completely different looks.

The white dresses - a tropical holiday classic

You cannot talk about beachwear without white dresses.

We found several cuts we particularly loved.

One has a crochet top, a deep neckline and a soft, floaty skirt. The combination of decorative crochet and light fabric creates a bohemian, feminine and romantic look.

Another white dress is shorter, with a cowl neckline, light fabric and delicate lace at the hem.

We particularly love beach dresses that do not look like a cover-up you throw on on the way to the pool, but like a fashion piece in their own right.

You can wear them over a swimsuit during the day, but with the right sandals and accessories they also work for a day out, lunch or a relaxed evening.

And what about the cuts?

What made us happiest was the choice.

Dresses with high waists, wrap cuts, cowl necklines, flowing fabrics, flared skirts and special finishes.

For us, the beauty is that you do not need a particular body shape to enjoy this style.

There are so many options that every woman can find the cut that highlights what she loves about her body.

We are especially drawn to cuts that define the waist and create a feminine silhouette, but there are also looser dresses for anyone who prefers a soft, less fitted look.

And most importantly, these clothes do not need to be complicated. Sometimes a beautiful fabric, a good cut and exactly the right colour are all you need.

05Boutique Asia - scarves that felt like works of art

And if we thought the clothes were the highlight of our shopping, then came the scarves from Boutique Asia.

We love scarves, but these were something truly special.

What caught us straight away was the combination of fabrics, textures and colours.

We are not talking about a plain scarf with an ordinary floral print, but about sheer, delicate fabrics with rich embroidery, raised patterns and unusual colour combinations.

One of the scarves we bought combines a beautiful pink with smoky grey.

Across the fabric there is large floral embroidery, some in pale shades and some in a rich pink, blending into each other in a stunning way.

There is a lovely interplay between the sheerness of the fabric and the places where the embroidery is dense and bold.

When you hold it in your hand, you can see how the light passes through the sheer areas and how the embroidery creates a completely different texture.

This is exactly the kind of piece that excites us.

The fabric matters to us as much as the colour

As people who love fashion, we do not just look at the pattern.

We touch the fabric and check how it feels and how it falls.

Some fabrics look impressive on the shelf, but when you put them on they are stiff or have no movement.

Here we particularly loved how light and fluid the scarves were, with their mix of sheer fabric and embroidery.

The colours were exceptional to us too. Shades we might not have thought of combining ourselves, but together they create something beautiful.

They felt to us like luxurious, special pieces, the kind you do not see everywhere.

We do not know whether the designs were made in limited editions or whether they are exclusive pieces, but for us they were far more different and exciting than ordinary scarves.

One scarf can change a whole outfit

And that is what we love so much about good-quality fashion accessories.

You can take a simple white vest top and nicely cut trousers, add a scarf in stunning colours, and suddenly the whole look has a different character.

The pink and grey scarf we bought, for example, looks lovely both with neutral-coloured clothes and with soft dresses.

It adds colour, texture and femininity without overdoing it.

For us, these are the kind of purchases that stay with us long after the holiday.

06And then we realised we needed another suitcase

And here comes the funny part.

Between the clothes we found at LOLITA, the beach dresses, the scarves and the rest of our shopping, we discovered we had simply run out of room in the suitcase.

Every time, we found something else beautiful.

Another dress with a cut we loved. Another special fabric. Another piece we knew we would regret leaving in the shop.

At some point it was clear we were not going to manage to pack it all.

So we went back to Central and looked for a suitcase.

And luckily, there were good deals on suitcases too.

We found a pretty, colourful suitcase, which solved the space problem and meant we could take all our shopping back home.

There is something funny about flying to Thailand with one suitcase and coming back with two, but for us it was one of the most successful shopping experiences of the trip.

Just a small tip if you are planning to do a lot of shopping: check your airline's baggage policy in advance, so you do not discover that the extra suitcase costs you more than all the bargains you found.

07So where is the best place to shop in Koh Samui?

We actually like to mix it up.

In the beach shops and markets you can find light dresses, swimwear and accessories that suit the island's atmosphere.

And for beach dresses at the best prices and in the widest choice - Pai and Koh Tao, without a doubt.

At Central Samui, look for more designed Thai fashion, local brands, shoes, accessories and sales in the department store sections.

If you love fashion as much as we do, we would not recommend sticking only to the familiar international chains.

It is the local brands and small shops that are likely to offer the most interesting cuts, fabrics and colours.

And if you are looking for truly special pieces, take time to check the fabric, the stitching and how the garment sits on the body. Sometimes a piece that looks plain on the hanger becomes something wonderful the moment you try it on.

08What did we love most about shopping in Koh Samui?

It is hard for us to choose just one piece.

We loved LOLITA's flattering cuts, the denim dress, the gorgeous pink jumpsuit and the floral dress.

We loved the feminine, sexy beach dresses, the light fabrics and the colours that feel as if they were made especially for a tropical holiday.

But we think the Boutique Asia scarves were actually the most special discovery in terms of fabrics and textures. Something about the combination of sheerness, embroidery and colour felt exceptional to us.

Our bottom line: Koh Samui surprised us not only with its beaches and hotels, but also with its fashion. We discovered beautiful, feminine and flattering clothes, Thai brands we did not know and scarves we fell in love with at first sight.

And if you ask us what the best souvenir to bring back from Thailand is, for us it does not have to be a souvenir that sits on a shelf.

Sometimes it is a beautiful dress you wear again back home, a scarf that makes any outfit special, or a colourful suitcase that reminds you how much you enjoyed the shopping.