Fabric Market: Adventures in Shopping

Yesterday, TJ and I headed down to the fabric market.  My main objective of this trip wasn’t to capture photos or stories; it was to collect the clothes that I had commissioned for our upcoming Hawaiian vacation.  However, I did manage to snap a few pictures to share this experience with you.

The fabric market was not in its finest form yesterday, as both vendors and customers are already disappearing for the Chinese New Year holidays.  To give you a sense of the madness, though, I’ll share this little anecdote: I took my friend and super-shopper Sarah to the market, and 30 minutes later she was looking for the exit.  Knowing that I tend to develop heart palpitations after five minutes in a mall, Sarah was in disbelief that I enjoyed "shopping" here.  What can I say, I’m settling in I guess!

The market consists of six floors, each housing maybe one hundred little stalls arranged in an illogical maze-like pattern.  Stalls tend to specialize in a fabric or style.  Some simply sell bolts of fabric wholesale, supplying the tailors with a wider selection than each vendor could possibly carry independently.  Some sell premade scarves, belts, gloves, and other accessories.  Some are proper tailors who custom-sew men’s suits or shirts to order.  Some copy western fashions, from outerwear (leather or cashmere coats) to ladies’ fashions such as Mad Men inspired dresses, prom-like ensembles, and an array of blouses and cardigans.  It tends to run the gamut from current fashions to terribly ugly and out-of-date oddities, with some Chinese styles thrown in for good measure.  Generally, they can recreate their own samples, produce a nearly perfect replica of any item you bring in, or work from a photo you supply from the internet or a magazine.  On the upper floors there are specialty shops dedicated to zippers, buttons, and other detailing, so that you can theoretically pick out your trims, find your fabric, and then take it all to a third shop where the tailor will create your unique piece.  The prices are cheap (<$15 for custom fit men's dress shirt) and everything is negotiable, making the fabric market the perfect place for me to practice my haggling skills in Mandarin.  Mini-lesson of the day: tai gui le = “too expensive!”

endless fabric options

fabric for dress shirts

the scarf shops remind me of the street-corner stands in NYC

suits galore

hideous "western" fashions are instant time-travel

Chinese silks, Chinese styles

The whole experience sounds ridiculous for one simple piece of clothing: choose a stall, design an item, pick fabrics and closures, have measurements taken, negotiate the price, return a week later, check fit and quality, final measurements and negotiations, and walk away with your new clothes.  For a person who detests shopping, I’m really not sure how this has become appealing to me.  I think perhaps it’s because the fabric market makes shopping a big adventure, an exploration of a Chinese subculture that is both seedy and extravagant at the same time.  And the one-of-a-kind, perfectly fitting, and reasonably priced pieces I now have are little pearls harvested after much patience and persistence.  You can see my gray cashmere winter coat that has been keeping out the Shanghai chill here.  Stay tuned for a post-Hawaii blog post to witness more fabric market creations!