You want a custom-made suit in 3 days
before,” said Ji two days later.
His store is just the showroom. Ji hires around 15 tailors working at a studio, which is 10-minute-walk from the market. Starting at 10 in the morning and knocking off at midnight, the tailors are very hardworking.
“Fewer people are willing to learn making clothing as the job is very laborious. Poor eyesight, neck problems and lumbago, we often suffer from the occupational diseases,” said Ji.In recent years, many popular markets such as the Dongtai Road Antique Market and Tongchuan Road Seafood Market have been shut down for city construction.
How long will the South Bund Fabric Market survive? The answer is unknown but many vendors are pessimistic.
“The market will be closed sooner or later. Since 2012, there are fewer and fewer foreign customers. The business gets worse every year. Previously, when business was good, 10 pieces of clothing could be sold in one day, which is impossible nowadays,” said a shop assistant who preferred to be called Wendy, her English name.
She works at No. 270 stall which mainly sells leather clothes.
“I intend to open my own shop in a second-tier or third-tier city. The clothing market is saturated in Shanghai,” she said.
Among hundreds of stores, it is difficult for customers to decide where to order clothes.
For those who live in Shanghai, it’s better to try a pair of pants or a shirt first from different stores and compare the quality.
Be prepared to bargain but don’t haggle too much as customers get what they pay for.
Even in one shop, the abilities of tailors vary and the tasks are allocated to different tailors according to price. To save time, bring an old item or a picture of something you want copied.