10 Best Stores to buy Dresses in the Philippines | Best of Lifestyle 2023

A dress is a staple piece of clothing you can find inside a woman’s closet. Over the centuries, a dress is worn to identify which tribe a woman came from, her status or her religious belief. It’s amazing how people in old age creatively handcrafted their dresses out of animal fur, shells, bones, or leaves. On the contrary, modern-day dresses now are made out of cotton, silk, and cashmere and, furthermore, are often used for occasions such as weddings, attending Sunday church services, or just for everyday use. With an extensive variety of dresses in the market, which then are the best stores to buy in the Philippines? In our Best of Lifestyle series, we introduce the 10 Best Stores to buy Dresses in the Philippines, providing quality recommendations based on your lifestyle and budget needs.

This article was last updated on 23 January 2023.

Best Stores to buy Dresses in the Philippines

1. Penshoppe

When entering one of Penshoppe’s stores, the first thing you’ll notice are teenagers, young adults, and adults. Those are the usual group of people the brand caters to. Founded in 1986 in Cebu, Philippines by Bernido Liu, this brand humbly started as a t-shirt store. Since then, it has become the country’s beloved go-to shop for casual wear. Penshoppe offers various products such as tops, bottoms, jackets, bags, shoes, caps and accessories which definitely makes it a one-stop shop for everyone. In addition, it’s one of the brands in the Philippines that are endorsed by the world’s famed models in the fashion and music industry. One of our favourite dresses from Penshoppe is its Puff Sleeve Casual Smock Dress. This dress is perfect for when visiting the grocery or your go-to mall.

2. Blacksheep

Persistent, independent, free-spirited, bold, aggressive, and vigorous. Those are the definition of our modern-day youth. For some, it can possibly make a positive impact, but to others, it may sound negative. However, Blacksheep positively uses those descriptions and weaves them into its brand personality. Blacksheep is a Filipino fashion brand founded in Manila and caters to youth and the young generation. They specialise in designing casual wear that projects a bold and adventurous youth. One example is Blacksheep’s Short Sleeve Surplice Dress with Ruffled Hem in White. Plain and simple, yet bold enough to try something new.

3. OXGN

This brand is owned by Golden ABC Inc. company, the home to some of the Philippines’ top and quality brands such as Penshoppe, ForMe, Regatta, MEMO and BOCU. You might ask if these brands are siblings then what differentiates OXGN from Penshoppe and the others? OXGN brand projects street fashion and a free-spirited style that encourages youth and its other consumers to authentically and confidently express themselves. The brand is well-known for its graphic tees, caps and hoodies that display the hip-hop culture. In addition, what we love about OXGN is its diverse product choices. From graphic printed tees, they also offer minimalistic designed clothing for consumers who wants a simple yet chic outfit like OXGN’s Basic Ribbed Dress. This is a perfect dress for everyday use and is undeniably comfortable.

4. Paperdolls

When you think about paper dolls, you’ll probably remember the thin paper-cut human figure with separate clothes made out of paper. Girls who used to play with paper dolls choose a dress from its countless choices of dresses, tees and pants. One thing I would remember as a kid who used to play with paper dolls is that each piece of paper clothing I attached to the paper dolls is chic and fashionable. This is what the brand Paperdolls aims to share with its consumers – a fresh, gentle and carefree young woman. Paperdolls have set a high emphasis on weaving each clothing design to represent the well-known phrase “dress to impress”. To add, you can choose from its countless product choices of dresses, tops, bottoms and accessories. One of our favourites is the Daphne Shift Dress in Lace Fabric, a type of dress ideal for evening and formal dinners.

5. Kamiseta

This brand is pretty easy to spot in malls because of its colourful blouses and dresses. Kamiseta means “shirt” in Filipino derived from the word “Camiseta” in Spanish. The brand mainly deals with blouses and dresses and it specialises in designing colourful tops and dresses with abstract designs. In addition, they also offer other products such as cardigans, pants, outwear and so much more. What we love about Kamiseta is that you can confidently look stylish and fashionable while playing with different tones of colours and designs. Like Kamiseta’s Persistent Dress, the design is simple yet undeniably elegant. Although they have several stores around the Philippines, Kamiseta prioritizes the comfort and convenience of its consumers thus consumers can purchase online with its wide variety of products from the comfort of their homes.

6. Marks & Spencer

This Marks & Spencer is a leading British retailer founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer and since then has become a multinational company. Its first store was in Leeds, United Kingdom and eventually expanded in the UK and around the world thus making it a powerful competitor to existing business opponents. Marks and Spencer specialise in selling professional wear for men and women, beauty products, household items, food and top-tasting wines from different countries.  What sets the brand apart from others is its capability to serve the needs of modern-day consumers while preserving the essence of a classic British company.

7. MUJI

Japan is the world’s top leader when it comes to minimalism. Its philosophy came from Zen Buddism which urges followers to not get overly attached to worldly possessions and focus on one’s happiness thus the birth of minimalism. Since then the country embraces the philosophy and applied it to its lifestyle. MUJI also known as Mujirushi Ryohin specialises in selling minimalistic designed clothing, household, beauty, electronics and stationery products. The brand’s full name Mujirushi Ryohin means “no brand quality goods in Japanese” remained true to its name description because of its product durability and top quality. MUJI has become a crowd favourite not only in Japan but around the world. Today, they have several stores in Europe, Asia Pacific and North America.

8. UNIQLO

Without a doubt, UNIQLO is the crowd’s go-to casual wear clothing retail store not only in the Philippines but around the world. Well, can’t blame them because who doesn’t love UNIQLO’s minimalistic and practical clothing designs? We are used to hearing the brand’s name but did you know the funny back story of how it became the world’s well-known and beloved UNIQLO? Ogori Shoji founded a retail company that mostly deals with men’s wear in UBE, Yamaguchi Japan on March 1949. Years later, the company opened another store in Fukuro Machi, Hiroshima however Shoji wanted to expand its market thus opening a clothing selection that caters for women and named it “Unique Clothing”. In 1988, while registering the brand in Hong Kong, a staff that was in charge misread the letter “C” as “Q” thus the birth of what we now love UNIQLO.

High-quality basic casual wear sold at a reasonable price

UNIQLO now deals with not only men and women but with kids and baby’s wear. Definitely making it a one-stop shop for everyone who wants to live a minimalistic lifestyle. Aside from that, the secret of what makes UNIQLO popular around the world is the brand’s high-quality and lasting basic casual wear sold at a reasonable price.

9. GAP

 Great American Products also known as GAP is one of the world’s top leading brands when it comes to selling a pair of jeans. Founded in 1969 in San Francisco USA by Donald and Doris Fisher, the brand’s simple motto started with “make it easier to find a pair of jeans that fit with a commitment to do more.” 50 years later the company grew and is now dealing with other clothing such as dresses, jumpsuits, activewear, and accessories. It has become a strong multinational company to its rival competitors. What makes GAP unique apart from its fellow rivals is the brand’s store discount strategy on almost every product which makes it a shopper’s magnet.

10. Lacoste

This multinational company’s little green alligator logo is effortlessly easy to spot and notice in the crowd. Lacoste is a well-known and honoured retail clothing brand around the world for producing cotton pique polo shirts. It was founded in Europe’s most ethnically diverse, most romantic country in the world named France in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste and entrepreneur André Gillier. Lacoste is definitely a favoured brand by the world’s exceptional and keen all-around sportsmen and women such as Novak Djokovic. Aside from selling sportswear, the brand also deals with casual clothing, footwear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume and so much more and is well-known for its top-quality products.

We hope that our guide on the 10 Best Stores to buy Dresses in the Philippines has helped you buy the best dress to have a stylish yet comfortable outfit for any occasion. Please share this with your family and friends if you have found it helpful.