Are you a fashion lover, but not quite able to afford the high prices in boutiques? Take heart! The Sungshan Railway Stations Wufenpu Commercial Area is the best way to solve your problem. There youll find not only every type of clothing you can imagine, but, more importantly, prices that you can live with. Its the best way to keep current on fashion without breaking the bank.

Inside Wufenpus trendy shops, most items are in the NT$300 to NT$700 range, with suits selling for around NT$1,000. Taipei City Councilman Hong Chian-yi, himself a longtime resident of the area with family members running a number of stores here, says that the hot seasons for shopping Wufenpu are August and September and then again February and March. After the New Year holiday is a great time to go shopping for bargains, with single items priced around NT$300. People can often buy items for about one-third the normal price, so if you want to pick up a great outfit for a song, now is the time to act.

Wufenpu is bordered by Yongji, Songshan and Songlong Streets and Zhongpo North Road, and crisscrossed by dozens of tiny alleyways making a complex warren of paths. Currently, over 1000 storefronts operate here. Clothing comes from Korea and Hong Kong for the most part, but you can also find Japanese fashion, punk style, and traditional clothing choices here. The offerings cater not only to the young and fashion-conscious; theres also a lot of items for older women, children, office workers and mothers, as well as virtually anyone else.

Since Wufenpu is upstream of the entire Taipei retail clothing sector, it has a nose for fashion. The shops, too, must keep abreast of the latest trends. If sales are bad this season, things are sure to be completely revamped next time, with an entirely new line on offer. More interestingly, to avoid having the same items as other shops, some owners take the hottest designs or motifs and work them into other products, such as the unique parts you need to pimp your ride.

Hong also reminded everyone that if you come to Wufenpu looking for bargains, its best not to do so on a Monday or Friday, because these two days are when the bulk of goods come into the shops, and the shopkeepers may not have time to really look after customers. Those who want to bargain may find it harder on those days, and should consider coming on a Tuesday instead, when there is the chance to snap up newly arrived goods.

There are a few pitfalls lurking to snag the unwary, though. If you see only one piece of clothing you like in a shop, youd better take a look around other shops to see if there isnt something you like in them as well. Buying things together gives you a bit more leverage in terms of bargaining. And its best to give the appearance that you know the cost price of the goods, and try your best to bargain when there are few people in the shop. Owners are more willing to give you a break at such times. If the boss insists on "no bargaining," remember that the same outfits often show up in many stores, so just take to your feet and look for another opportunity elsewhere.

The other point to remember is that there are no fitting rooms anywhere in the area, so if youre in the market for pants, youd better take a good measurement before leaving home, or bring a tape measure with you to get the numbers on anything that catches your eye.