Clothing

What clothing should I bring with me to Thailand?

• We recommend that you bring a reasonable amount of cool, comfortable, and presentable clothing and footwear to wear to work. (See TCIS FAQ for an explanation of the dress code) Cotton is almost always mixed with polyester here, so bring your favorite 'real' cotton socks and underwear.
• The clothing -- including underwear -- sold in Thailand is generally smaller than clothing available in North America. Typically, the Thai sizes (S/M/L) are shifted down at least once, ie: a Thai L is more like a M. Larger sizes are available but typically not on the street (cheap, silly, funky clothing) and may be harder to find. There is no need for winter clothing as the temperature is always warm.
• We suggest bringing at least one sweater and/or coat for trips up north or for air-conditioned buses. Malls and movie theaters are almost always super cold. Cardigans and light sweaters are nice to have and bring to these generally more cool and air conditioned places.
• It is easy and quite cheap to have clothing made here. A wide-variety of material such as silk is available in shops, stalls and malls throughout the city. Finding a seamstress or tailor is not difficult. They can generally duplicate an item that you have or work from a picture. Many of our male staff get dress shirts and pants made.
• Shoes are notoriously expensive (well, quality shoes are) so bring your favorite shoes, especially speciality shoes such as soccer cleats, hiking shoes, water shoes, etc. If you have any kind of crocs or waterproof shoe, this would be great to have during rainy season! Also, it is worth mentioning that humid Bangkok is not kind to shoes and sandals, many break down quickly after lots of walking here.
• Bring along your travel accessories! If you’re passionate about a specific type of activity (hiking, camping, scuba diving, soccer, tennis), you should bring along your favorite materials/clothes. Again, many items are available in Bangkok but may be more expensive.