Hong Kong - tailors and fabric for cheongsam
 

Hello, can someone recommend good tailors for cheongsam/quipao in Hong Kong? I have seen some posts mention Shanghai Tang, has anyone had anything made there? I would also be interested in smaller and/or more traditional tailoring shops. I speak Cantonese, so recommendations for non-English-speaking tailors are also welcome. Any recommendations on fabric shops would be good too.

Thanks.

Shanghai Tang does have a good reputation for making cheongsam. A place called Linva tailor does as well. I have never had one made at either (I have hips), but there are certainly worth a look.

Linva
38 Cochrane Street
Central
Tel: 2544-2456
linvatailor.com

He has his own fabrics or will work with yours.

Some other tailors to try are below.

Margaret Court Tailoress
Flat G, 8th Floor
Block A Winner Building
27-37 D'Aguilar Street
Central Hong Kong
tel: 852-2525-5596
e-mail: [email protected]

Margaret Court is located on Hong Kong island in the Lan Kwai Fong bar/restaurant area. I have been very happy with her work, she has made some cocktail dresses and suits for me. She has her own selection of fabrics, not huge, and she will also happily make from fabric you bring in. She is closed on Sunday.

Fashion Altering Company
Shop 215
2nd Floor
Melbourne Plaza
33 Queen’s Road, Central
Tel: 2868-1713

Shop 330
World Wide Plaza
19 Des Veoux Road, Central
Tel: 2522-9657

I have used the Melbourne Plaza shop for about a decade to do basic tailoring like hemming pants, etc. She also makes clothes. She may be worth a try. I don’t think she has a lot of her own fabric, and I know she will work with fabric you bring in (many tailors will not). They are closed on Sundays.

Maxwell's Clothiers Ltd.
7A Han Hing Mansion
38-40 Hankow Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
tel 852-2366-6705
fax: 852-2366-6658
website: maxwellsclothiers.com

This is a very good traditional Hong Kong tailor, but I don’t know that I would use them for a cheongsam. They have an amazing array of fabrics. I believe they are open on Sundays.

For fabrics, IMO the best place to go are (i) Western Market and (ii) Chinese Arts and Crafts. Western Market is just west of Central on Hong Kong Island and is just chock a block with fabric stalls. I have the card at home of one I have used a few times and I will repost with it; I don’t know that they are any better or worse than others in the building. You could just wander around and compare fabrics and prices. Chinese Arts and Crafts has a lot of silk. They may also make cheongsam, I have never asked. There are various locations around town, one is near the Star Ferry pier on the Kowloon side, and one on Queens Road in Central. Go to http://www.chineseartsandcrafts.com.hk.
Another place which probably carries fabric is Yee Hwa Chinese Products Emporium, they are like a down-scale version of Chinese Arts and Crafts. They have various locations in town, their biggest shop is in Kowloon right on Nathan Road, go to http://www.yuehwa.com/yh/english/hkallstore/p2_2k4.html for locations.

You might also want to buy fabric at home and bring it to Hong Kong. Or if you are going someplace like Thailand you could buy it there.

Thanks Cicerone!

The URL for Linva doesn't seem to work... but you know they are still around, right?

I will definitely check out the fabric stalls at Western Market and the other places your recommend. There isn't really much variety in fabric stores where I live (Seattle) so I expect I will probably be struggling not to buy a suitcaseful of fabric in HK, since I also do some sewing myself. Unfortunately won't be making it to Thailand during this trip... maybe next time...

Yes, Linva is still there, I just walked by it about 3 days ago....I see that the link does not work either. They may not need any web advertising, they are in many guidebooks.

Here is the fabric shop I have gone to in Western Market a few times:

Yau Fat Textile Company
Shop 105&106 Western Market
323 Des Veoux Road Central
Tel: 2850-5169

They are open most every day I believe, but call ahead. This stall is about the first stall on the right as you come up the stairs/escalators. They have a lot of silk and Thai silk. As I have never priced fabric in the US, I really don’t know how it compares, you might want to do so before you leave just to get an idea what prices are.

For ribbons, buttons and other notions, you don’t find them in Western Market generally, try the little stalls on Pottinger Street between Queens Road and Lyndhurst Terrace in Central, or the shop below which is not too far from Western Market. (The stalls on Pottinger Street has a big selection of those frog closures used on cheongsam.)

Needlework Shop
Shop G17-18 Midland Plaza
328 Queens Road, Central
Tel: 2123-1327