The best places to buy cheap designer brand jeans in Bangkok
Designer jeans are a big fashion statement in Bangkok, Thailand. Worn by everyone from teeny tiny Thai kids to trendy teenagers, Thai rock musicians to middle-aged moms, ladyboys and beautiful Thai actresses, jeans range from supremely-expensive designer styles to $5 a pair, and everything in between.
Cheap designer jeans are en vogue for much of Thai society though and, with so many places to buy cheap designer jeans in Bangkok, these are just a few of my favorites.
Chatuchak Weekend Market – Just about the best place to buy cheap designer jeans in Bangkok is Chatuchak Weekend Market. Open on Friday evenings and all day Saturday and Sunday, Chatuchak Weekend Market has 15,000 stalls with about 250 of them selling cheap designer jeans.
For new jeans, you will find stalls scattered throughout the market selling skinny, low-rise, high-waist, overalls, boot cut, capris, baggies – any style of jeans you are looking for. Stalls range from western jeans stalls to punk, trendy to hundreds-of-pairs-thrown-in-a-pile jeans, but all at cheap prices.
Related: How to survive Chatuchak Weekend Market — it is so big, so crowded and so cool
If you are interested in vintage designer jeans, Chatuchak also has an amazing vintage section with vintage Levi’s, Lee and Wranglers for that urban chic look.
Get to Chatuchak Weekend Market for a cheap pair of jeans by taking the sky train to Mo Chit station and following the crowd. The market opens at 9am and closes around 6:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s also open Friday nights until around 11 pm.
Mahboonkrong (MBK) Mall – A popular mall with teenagers and fashion hunters, MBK has hundreds of stalls and shops selling clothing, with at least 30 jeans shops to choose from.
You will find two or three of the larger jeans shops on the cell phone floor (fourth floor), and many smaller jeans shops on the sixth floor.
Related: How to get to MBK, and what to buy when you do?
You will find jeans in brands you have never heard of, authentic and knock-off Levi’s, Lee, Wranglers, all styles, all colors, all sizes, and starting at only 200 baht ($6.75) for a pair of stylish, if not brand-name, designer jeans, you could end up like me with nine pairs at one go.
Platinum Fashion Mall – One of the most popular places in Bangkok to buy cheap clothing, Platinum Fashion Mall is also wonderful for buying designer jeans. With around 1,300 shops, Platinum is huge, but you will definitely find cheap designer jeans here.
Related: Where to buy the coolest designer bags, luggage and shoes in Bangkok, Thailand?
Just remember the Platinum system, as it’s mostly wholesale – if you buy one pair or one of anything, then the price isn’t that cheap, if you buy three or more of each item or at one shop (and you can mix and match), then the price comes down around 40-50% per piece.
Jeans can even be bought as cheap as 100 baht per pair ($3.30) if you buy a few pairs at the same shop.
Platinum Fashion Mall is on Phetchaburi Road near Pantip Plaza.
Pratunam Market – Around the same area as Platinum Fashion Mall is Pratunam Market, another wholesale market place.
This one is outside but also undercover, and can be very hot especially in the summer. But with tons of stalls selling trendy urban chic fashion, and many ultra fashionable jeans stalls (these jeans sell in western department stores for upwards of $50 a pair), you can buy an urban chic pair of jeans for $5-$10 and, again, the more pairs you buy the cheaper they are per pair.
You cannot beat shopping for designer brand jeans in Bangkok as markets, malls and shops sell them everywhere. These places are the cheapest four places in Bangkok though for good quality, or brand name jeans and are fun to shop at too.