Tailor made

While Beijing is a great place to get a new dress made, the quality of many tailors can be hit and miss. We track down some of the best tailors in town

Best for shape: Wonderful Tailor

Head to the rather deserted top floor of 3.3, and Wonderful Tailor looks like your average cheap tailor with row upon row of striped shirt fabrics. However, although they don’t have a wide range of other fabrics on display, most of what you’re after is kept in the sacred books. Simple cuts and shapes are what they’re good at, and we’ve seen some fantastic asymmetric pieces a la Luella Bartley.

An evening dress will set you back 1,200RMB, including material and labour, but if you want to copy a simple summer dress, it will set you back around 200RMB, and take around a week with two fittings. Don’t expect cutting-edge design on their part – this isn’t the place for innovation – but they’re professional, reliable and good at following directions, so it helps to bring lots of images.

 

Best for budget: Wu Tai Long

Wu Tai Long’s services are not only very good, but also very cheap. Upon arriving at this tiny hole in the wall on Beiluoguxiang, you’ll be greeted by smiley Wu, who has been here for almost 17 years and really knows his stuff.

Word of warning: he can’t speak any English. Security men are continuously bounding through to have adjustments made to their uniforms, and the dressing room is actually a tiny curtain over a washing machine, but if you can cope with these minor discomforts you’ll be set.

Bring your own material, and he can supply all the extras such as buttons or zips. It often helps to bring clothes that are similar to what you want, or at least simple sketches, and he will draw up the final design to make sure it matches your requirements. He usually charges 80-100RMB for dresses, 60-70RMB for shirts and 50RMB for trousers or skirts, all of which take around a week to finish.

 

Best for fabrics: Yee

Jiang Yi has been designing for over six years and creates items for customers as well as selling his own designs in store. Although the pieces in the shop might not be too inspiring, he really commits to getting the style just right for the client, and is open to experimenting with a wide range of fabrics.

Minimal English is spoken here, but they suggest you return at least three times for separate fittings to ensure you are satisfied. A dress can range from 580-880RMB for cotton or linen, going up to 1,200RMB for silk.

 

Best for chic separates: Yue Yi Tailor Shop

For simple chic tailored dresses and separates, Yue Yi is your best bet, and is great for office wear that can be vamped up when the sun goes down.

The speediest of the bunch, they only need two days to crank out a bespoke item. They have their own factory, and a team of designers on hand to discuss your requirements. An evening dress costs around 1,000RMB, while simpler styles start from 200RMB.

 

Best for haute couture: Huang Yue

Designer Huang Yue (pictured) has been creating exquisitely structured pieces for over ten years. A graduate from the Central Academy, his studio Tian Shang is a lovely little refuge in Sanlitun. Having studied ballet, he really understands shape and form, and is a favourite of glossies and celebrities alike.

One of the limitations here is that you can’t bring your own fabric. However, all his fabric is of the highest quality. These really are statement pieces, and he will include his own artistic input. Be prepared to commit though, as an evening dress can take up to a month to produce.

High quality also means higher prices, ranging between 1,000-4,000RMB, and potentially more for embroidered items. The end result will be an investment piece to last a lifetime.

 

Best for copying: Fei Fei

Xiao Fei is really great at copying, and has produced fantastic identikit versions of designer frocks. It’s incredibly cost effective to get items made by her, but bring heaps of pictures, as the styles in her books haven’t been updated since about 1972.

She charges 160RMB for a dress with no lining, and 180RMB with lining, going up to 200-280RMB for more complicated styles or more expensive fabrics. Don’t expect her to create a design just for you – but her English is good enough to take direction.

 

Best for alterations: LinDa’s

LinDa’s on the corner of Dongdaqiao Lu and Guanghua Lu is the place to go for alterations. Lovely LinDa has also done extensive work for the surrounding embassies, including visiting ministers and their wives, and speaks phenomenal English.

All the material is sourced from Shanghai and Jiangsu, and she can knock up a frock in four days with only one sitting. An evening dress will usually be around 1,000RMB while a simpler day dress can range between 200 and 400RMB.

Alice McInerney