Fabrics in China.

[Lorena B]

Hi, well, I dont know if there is already a thread in the FL with this theme, if so I ask for apologies if not, well, maybe I could get some light over this.

I am going for a short trip to Honk Kong and Shangaii in May.
I have already googled the possible markets i could visit for buying some fabrics with some nice printing as I happened to have turned into a sewing addicted.
I expect finding some kimono style fabric and plain colours but, do you know what else it possible to get there? vintage printing perhaps, novelty..?
Thank you for your help

 

[LaMedicine]

I expect finding some kimono style fabric

By kimono style fabric, do you mean true kimono fabric as in Japanese kimono, or something that has oriental themed print or brocade woven design, that the Westerners can't differentiate from Chinese designs and Japanese designs and South Asian designs and so on, so are lumped together as exotic or ethinic or whatever? I honestly don't think you will find true kimono fabrics in China, you will have to come to Japan for that.
However, I am sure you will be able to find many wonderful Chinese design fabrics that will make fetching cheongsams--Chinese dresses. I've never been to mainland China (well, had a stopover once in Hong Kong ages ago) but was in Taiwan/Formosa a couple of years ago, and when I went off to have a Chinese dress made, the tailor had many many beautiful brocades at a reasonable price.

fftopic: Incidentaly, the word "kimono" actually originally means "clothing" in Japanese, and until Western clothes came into Japan in the mid 19th C, it didn't specifically mean the traditional Japanese costume. Only after we started to wear both western clothes and traditional clothes, and needed to differentiate between the two, did the word "kimono" start pointing towards the traditional clothes so that nowadays, when we talk about kimonos, it does specifically mean our traditional costume.

 

[Lorena B]

Wow, thanks a lot for the explanation La Medicine.

I am a bit embarrassed to say yes, I am afraid i was meaning the latest one you mentioned, like satins and dragons printing ( i really like the later)

I know some japanese printing and is soo beautifull, but I have been told that I might not find it in China so I wondered what I could expect to find and what could be nice to get from there that you cant find over here in Europe.
I never have been there so all will be new for me.
Once again, thanks a lot

 

[crwritt]

Wow, thanks a lot for the explanation La Medicine.

I am a bit embarrassed to say yes, I am afraid i was meaning the latest one you mentioned, like satins and dragons printing ( i really like the later)

I know some japanese printing and is soo beautifull, but I have been told that I might not find it in China so I wondered what I could expect to find and what could be nice to get from there that you cant find over here in Europe.
I never have been there so all will be new for me.
Once again, thanks a lot

I'd expect you could find almost any fabric you are looking for in China, since nearly all of the fabrics I have seen in the past 10 years for sale here in the US are manufactured in China.

 

[Lorena B]

Thank you. wow, I cant wait to go and see what is in offer !!!

 

[Miss 1929]

Shopping in Shanghai

There was one store I saw on the fancy shopping street of Nanjing Dong Lu that sold silk and such, but that was the only one I saw. The biggest one, the Dongjiadu Lu Fabric Market, was in the process of changing locations so maybe you can find them now.

I couldn't find anything retro at all until I went to Yu Gardens Bazaar - the touristy part where they have a big complex of faux Ming buildings and a lot of shops selling souveneirs - everywhere else, everything was modern dreck. But worth the trip there because you also can go to the Temple of the City God, Chenghuang Miao, which is a wooden temple built in 1403. Right next door to it is the actual tea house from the blue willow china pattern, you can hang out there for a price of a pot of tea (and they give you snacks) and it's gorgeous. There is also the actual Yu Yuan Gardens that this complex is built around, these gardens were built in the 1700s. There is also the place with the very best dumplings there, you'll know it by the long line of hundreds of people.

If you want pretty embroidered Chinese slippers and can't find interesting enough ones in the Yu Yuan, go to Suzhou Cobblers, 17 Fuzhou Lu, right off the Bund - expensive but very beautiful shoes.

Stay the hell away from the Qipu Lu Market, two huge buildings full of nothing you want, with the world's most aggressive hawkers - they literally chased us around the building trying to get us to buy modern junk we did not want. I have nightmares about them.

And learn how to say "no I don't want it" in Chinese - there are horrid aggressive street vendors everywhere trying to sell you "bagwatchsunglass" everywhere you go, it gets tiring.

Do not give the "art students who want to practice English" the time of day, they are robbers.

Have fun! Try the BBQ baby octopus on a stick, it is great!

 

[LaMedicine]

Added to Miss1929's advice, keep in mind that there are lots of fake stuff out there--copies are blatantly sold as the *real* stuff, even when it's pretty easy to tell. Or, there used to be, as the Chinese government has take pains to alleviate the matter and crack down on the fake industry due to external pressure, I do hear from time to time that if the shopowners whisper in your ears that they have a great bargain in the back shelf or whatever, it usually is a ruse. It may not be good manners to say so out loud, but a lot of people seem to think, if you're not knowledgeable enough to be able to tell the difference and find out later that you have a fake on your hands, it's your fault, not theirs that you didn't have a discerning eye. I've never been to mainland China as I said before, but my brother's job takes him there often, and I have many friends who've been there, too.

As far as textiles go, China is the present day world's textile factory, so there will be stuff that runs the gamut, depending on where you go, from the best to the worst. They also produce the majority of silk but I believe their best quality silks are exported as raw silk threads to Japan, as well as brocade or satin fabrics or more lighter silk to other parts of the world.

Also keep in mind that China's economiy is still a controlled ecomony, and though they've opened up quite a bit, the government still has strong control over everything. The best qualities are exported, and what appears on the local market at low prices are those that did not pass the quality test for export, for the most part. The better products will be pricey by Chinese standards, but still inexpensive by most Western standards, and these probably are found in the high end stores that are basically oriented towards the foreigners, and the rich Chinese locals who know where to go and what to do to get the best cost performance for what they buy. The tourists who don't know their way around can become easy prey.

I have heard that Shanghai is a wonderful place, so I hope you have lots of fun there, even if you may not be able to find what you really fancy.

Oh, and one last word. If you find something you fancy, don't forget to haggle--barganing is part of the deal in most market places.

 

[Lorena B]

Girls, you are solid gold for giving me such a good tips and advices.
I really hope it to be as wonderful as you ladies say.
Yaay!!