A (Very) Detailed Guide on Taobao Winter Shopping

Hi 🍋s!!

While researching what to buy and pack for my winter holiday last year, information on Lemon8 was so scarce. I’m so happy to see so many more posts now, and I’m happy to contribute mine!

It was my first time travelling during winter, and no less, a sub-zero winter. I am sooo afraid of the cold and damn kiasi that I kept researching things like what locals wear, etc etc. And the rule of thumb? Layering. Winter clothing isn’t cheap, and with all the layers, it can really add up. Thankful for Taobao, which allowed me to save so much on good-quality pieces!! Sharing with you guys everything I got, and tips on how to layer!

(For sizing matters, I’m a standard size S for blogshops and all pieces fit me well. On Taobao, I usually get M/L, and in this case, I got most pieces in L so that I’d have enough allowance for layering. Definitely size up if you wanna layer more!)

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𝟭. 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 🧊

The most important foundation! Your subsequent layers depend on how strong your base layer is. The weaker it is, the more layers you’ll need. With more clothes on, you’ll end up with heavier luggage 🙂‍↔️

Many recommended U’s Heattech, but I also heard reviews of it not working, one being from my husband hahaha. Hence, I decided not to risk it and got proper thermal layers instead. (Haha I actually managed to buy one that was on sale just to try, but I didn’t touch them after wearing it for 1 day 🤣) The Taobao ones definitely did not disappoint!! They were mad warm and comfy, I even wore them to sleep too HAHA (I’m bad with cold hotel rooms). The price is so cheap! I rotated these with another pair of thermal leggings that I got on Shopee. Lmk if you want the link to that!

𝟮. 𝗧𝗼𝗽 👚

For your top, it’s much simpler. Just bring any hoodie, sweater, or cardigan that you already have. It’s also important to pack something light and not too thick, since indoors, that’s what you’ll be wearing. You don’t want to feel too suffocated in it!

^ The above applies if you have a very solid coat, and I’m so happy that the one I purchased from TB checks all my boxes — looks super good and chic, sufficiently thick, and the material is just so good. My only gripe is that the sizing runs a little big, I would size down for this!

𝟯. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀 🩳

I love getting different variations of bottoms! Depending on your itinerary, different types will serve different functions. For example, in my itinerary, there were days when we headed out to snowier cities, and that’s when I wore the ski pants. (It looks just like regular pants haha trust me, it will not look weird!) It’s waterproof, best for snow activities, and kept me super warm too!

Lined jeans are great for city shopping days when you wanna look chic, and lined joggers for free-and-easy or tour days! With fleeced-lined pants, you can choose whether to wear your base pants or not. For me, since I was in sub-zero temperatures, I did!

𝟰. 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 🧣

Everyone also suggests accessorising with scarves, gloves, beanies, earmuffs, etc.

For me, my non-negotiables are:

• Scarf; get longer ones that you can extend up to your face area, or wear a mask

• Gloves (with finger openings, important!!); your fingers will be freezing off, and if you wanna use your phone, it’ll be a damn chore to keep taking your gloves off. You can standby two pairs of gloves because this is one thing that’s easy to go missing 🤭

• Socks; get good, thick pairs of socks. They not only help with cushioning against your thick winter boots but also keep your feet warm!

𝟱. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗲𝘀 🥾

My husband sourced the shoes for us, which turned out to be the best value-for-money item we got from Taobao!! This is an inspired CAT 🤣 and many people thought it was the real deal haha. This was really good hahaha true to size and not much breaking-in required. By Day 2, it was already quite comfy! For first-time wear, just wear higher socks as the high-cut part might rub a little, but it’s not bad at all since it’s also fur-lined. Waterproof and slip-proof too. Seriously the best. I even loaned this to a friend who used them well. Many people also got theirs from Decathlon, which we saw a lot of, and tbh that one isn’t bad either, but I prefer ours hehe 🤭

𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀:

• On Taobao, some items have an option to 加绒 or 加厚, which means adding extra fur or thickness. Since my destination was sub-zero, I did that for all items with only a minor top-up! If your destination is around 10 degrees, then I think there’s no need to.

• Go for items that falls under the ¥199 free shipping category. The weight can add up very quickly and the last thing you would want is fork out extra $$ for shipping!

• On heat packs, we thought these were essential and brought so many, but they ended up contributing unwanted weight to our luggage 😩 Yes, they’re good for heat generation, but we found them a chore to use because all the heat is concentrated in one spot, which can be too hot. Having too many packs also felt pretty redundant. As someone deadly afraid of the cold, I’d suggest bringing just 5–6 and using them only in extreme situations.

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And that’s it, hope this guide was comprehensive and useful for you! I enjoyed writing this so much and got to relive the dream winter holiday I had 🥰 Save this post if you find it useful for your next winter holiday! ❄️✨

#WinterOutfit #taobao #taobaohaul #Lemon8WinterGuide #winteressentials