[mjk]

Hi

I need to tailor a qi pao with a modern twist (cheong sam??) for my wedding party in mid July. Can anyone recommend a good tailor? I heard there are "sifu-s" here with good worksmanship, esp those fr Shanghai, as I prefer those who do embroidery. i already have some designs in mind and can show him pictures, which hopefully he is able to relate to.

As embroidery work is very time-consuming, I guess I do not have much time left. Please help!

Many many thanks!

[PhilE]

Probably at the very top end of the price range but you could try Shanghai Tang near Central MTR. They have what looks like a tailoring section at one end of the ground floor. To give an idea of prices though, we saw a beautiful silk and cashmere dressing gown there with a full length embroidered dragon on the back - c. 14000 HKD!

[KnowItAll]

www.chinesetailor.com -- hong kong based and has several ready made designs to choose from

His store is here - http://store.yahoo.com/ctailor/women-dress.html

[mjk]

For the benefit of those also looking for cheongsam tailor, I've managed to locate one. LINVA Tailor at 38 Cochrane Street, near Soho. Apparently, they have been around for quite sometime and was also mentioned in Lonely Planet...

[mjk]

i didn't bother to try Chinese Tailor again after waiting for more than 2weeks for a reply when they claim that they will get back to customers within 2 working days!

[alia]

Hi mjk,

if you are still looking try Margaret Court Tailoress. She did a fantastic job on my wedding dress (10 years ago). I drew sketches for her and she understood (it was qi pao like). I think she is in Lang kwai fong above Al's Diner now. You used to have to bring your own material. Great choice at China Products.

I had a qi pao made with LINVA. They are very good but not flexible if you want an original design, plus they are expensive.

[Grungerock]

I have got a friend and she went to a Shopping Centre in Shenzhen and bought a few qi pao, well she looks great in it, and plus it's cheap!

[mjk]

Thanks for your info but I have already ordered one from LINVA. Agree that they are expensive but due to the extensive embroidery, I guess it is worth paying a bit more to get it done properly and looking on the bright side, it is way cheaper than Shanghai Tang.

[pacman]

An interesting thread as my soon-to-be wife (we're going to HK for almost a month, and getting married there as well if everything works out OK, later this summer) wants a Qi-pao/Cheongsam for her wedding (and of course for later, as a nice memory from our trip to HK, which she can use for festive occasions back home).

Actually, we've read that in a traditional Chinese wedding, the bride changes several Qi-pao dresses during the wedding, so she got the idea that if the cost isn't that high she could get several styles/colours.

However, money is an issue and we'd like to see if we can find non-tailored dresses first, and not the very trendy, fashionable Shanghai-Tang types, tailor-made etc. but hopefully "regular" Qi-pao.
How much can we expect a regular Qi-Pao to cost, and do they come in different styles/colours, or is that only when you go to a tailor?

[mjk]

Hi Pacman

I saw a shop selling qipao and fabrics in Wanchai, along the way to the ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui. Think the street is Fleming Road. It is located directly below the HK exhibition centre (not the new HK Convention & exhibition centre), next to China Resources Building. Not too sure how much they charge though.

LINVA has ready made ones too but as mentioned, they are not any cheaper. A simple plain black one without any embroidery already costs about HK$2500.

Good luck!