Most of the locals in Shanghai have never been to this market or don't even know that it exists, which I found interesting, It definitely attracts foreigners. There are also some great street food carts around the perimeter of the building and some "real'' handmade jewelry made by Tibetans.
One of the most popular destinations in Shanghai among foreigners doesn't feature world famous gardens or cultural artifacts, but is instead a 4 story building of individual stalls stuffed with bolts of fabric and images pulled from fashion magazines. Known as the South Bund Fabric Market, this hectic center is mostly populated by foreigners who are hoping to get custom made clothing at lower prices than it would typically cost in their home country. The tailors and seamstresses inside speak English fluently and are very open to design suggestions. Most are able to duplicate an item from just looking at a picture. After seeing a blouse hung up in one of the stalls, I asked the seamstress if I could make some adjustments to the pattern to make a dress. She said that this was possible. I was very glad that she could understand English because I had a complicated idea. I also decided to be measured for a custom suit at a neighboring stall. After some price haggling, I settled on the dress for 300 yuan, or 50 dollars and the suit (including jacket, trousers, and cropped pants) at 600 yuan, or 100 dollars. If I were to have clothing custom made in the States from my own measurements, it would definitely be a lot more expensive. The tailors work very efficiently. Both my suit and dress were promised to be finished within a week. The seamstress said that the sewing was done through a combination of manual and machine sewing.
Most of the locals in Shanghai have never been to this market or don't even know that it exists, which I found interesting, It definitely attracts foreigners. There are also some great street food carts around the perimeter of the building and some "real'' handmade jewelry made by Tibetans. Comments are closed.
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CHINA 2013
I am visiting China for 3 months this summer to visit relatives in Wuhan and study abroad at Shanghai University. Archives
August 2013
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