"Where to buy..."
Taobao.
Taobao is the answer.
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For those of you that don't trust internet couriers, need something immediately, and / or crave the thrill of genuine human-merchant interaction, here're the (physical) locations you can get your football stuff all in anticipation of the .
Vintage-hipster-irl-shopping! Here goes...
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Where to Get National Flags
Easy answer is go to Fuzhou Lu near the Bund. Wander up and down Fuzhou Lu between Zhejiang Lu and Henan Zhong Lu, checking up and down the various crossroads a little, looking for the shops that have a Chinese flag furled up outside. Something like this;
They've all got roughly the same stock, ranging from little table flags to ones big enough to clothe your naked body in the tricolor, if your constitution allows that sort of thing. What they have in stock may vary, but they'll all help you order one in a few days. Prices range from 5rmb for the little hand-flags to like 300rmb for a 2x6 meter monster.
Here're three shops we checked out but there're probably another half-dozen more on that stretch of road, easy.
is a little shop tucked down Shanxi Nan Lu that'll help you do custom orders. Just walk in with the name of your country and maybe a picture of the flag, and if they don't have it, they'll call up their suppliers and find you one. They say within two days they'll have it ready, and they'll give you a call to come pick it up. Prices range from 90rmb if they have it in stock (they probably don't) to 120rmb if they have to order it.
is another small shop on Fuzhou Lu, this one has a fair amount of flags already in stock, including UK, France, Germany, United State--hah nevermind. As with the others, it's two days-ish to for a custom order, and prices range up to about 90rmb, more if it's a custom-order.
is located a bit further south at Henan Zhong Lu where it meets Yan'an Dong Lu, has a lot of bigger flags in stock. This is where you get your massive 6 meter ones to order for about 300rmb. As with the others, it'll take about 2 days to order.
Where to Get Football Shirts
Couple of options available out there for your football shirts, though expect high prices; on average, you're generally in the 600rmb range for a national football team's colors. Different stores might not have certain shirts available despite the manufacturer stocking them on the site. , for example, has mostly sold out of all of its shirts in the mainland. All of them, not just the super hot .
is, however, stocking Germany, France, Spain & Brazil. They didn't mention Argentina and England when we called the stores, but they are listed on their website.
has Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Sweden, including a series of cheap 169rmb ones, which are pretty nifty.
(and pretty much only Puma, it seems) has Switzerland, Uruguay and Italy-- hah nevermind, in stock, with discounts at the moment bringing prices down to 280-500rmb.
There's another option called at Hongkou Football Stadium. Mostly catering to fans of Shenhua FC, they've got the widest selection of football shirts in-store that we could find. It's around the corner from their cafe, which, incidentally, is also showing all the games.
They've got both Nike and Adidas shirts from Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, England, France, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden, in multiple variations. The regular shirts, intended for fans, are 599rmb, but if you want to get ones made from the same material as the players, it's 1,099rmb for Nike shirts or 999rmb for Adidas shirts.
Alternatively
If you're a supporter of the under-represented teams like Senegal, Denmark, Iceland, Tunisia or Serbia, you might have to go to or . They're full of talented people who could whip you up a shirt from a reference picture in a couple of days for a few hundred rmbs. Maybe get a Chinese friend to help you get Taobao set up-- I mean negotiate a decent price.
Facepaint and Misc
Your average costume store'll have face paint in a variety of colors. Hit up or for a selection of stuff. Plus, Viking hats. Looking at you, Sweden/Denmark/Iceland. It's the World Cup, you have a month-long reprieve from fixing common historical misconceptions.
You might also have some luck getting silly things like colored wigs, ushankas or whatever those kangaroo hats from Australia are called. Alternatively and .
If you're feeling vindictive (or your own team really disappoints you), Ruby's Party will make a pinata in the shape of any team's shirt for like 300rmb. Just saying.
Optional Hardcore
You a football fan? A real fan? , and . We dare you.
Or just get some temporary tattoos off Taobao.
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If you missed it, keep up with all the places you can catch the games .
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