Originally Posted by
Jamoldo
Good to know someone's backing me up here.
JKof, as for getting stuff made (I've got my guy here in HK), there is a tailor on Shao Xing Lu (almost across from the bookstore), something "stitches" (maybe royal?) is the name. Anyhow, its a nice looking shop with some great fabrics and of course HK prices to boot. I was thinking of getting a shirt made there but passed since I only had a day or so. Any experience with the place?
Sorry, don't know the shop. I recommend having a search of shanghaiexpat.com. It's a great community resource ... in English.
As for shirt/suit prices I've heard of shirts going for as low as RMB70 but 100 seems pretty standard for the foreigner who is willing to bargain. If one bargains the margin down further and further at some point the seller is likely to outsource the job to a cheaper tailor. This is purely hypothetical, but it is what I would do if it were me manning the stall. I'm happy to pay a few more quai and be assured of quality tailoring. As for suits, I've heard prices as low at RMB450, but again one has to wonder what one gets in terms of quality cloth and tailoring at that price. At the Fabric Market the standard starting offer to foreigners is 1200, the first response is 1000 but there is a lot of bargaining room still to go. Having said where I got my suit I'd rather not reveal the price I finally negotiated, but I will say it was under USD100. Even at USD100 I would consider the purchase to be of great value. I'm likely to get another one this Fall from the same stall.