I’d long wanted to have some clothes tailored and I had long put it off. Finally, I decided to have it done. Hong Kong is a very popular place for tailored clothes, but after telling my wish to my Hong Kong friend, Jonathan, he suggested, in his usual fast-paced manner, “Oh, don’t go to Hong Kong; that is for tourists. Go to Luohu. It’s much cheaper and almost as good.” I decided I’d at least check it out and then maybe have some stuff ordered in Hong Kong too and then compare (our trusted tour guide from a couple of weeks ago had suggested a reputable tailor in Hong Kong). I found a recommendation of a tailor in Luohu, who spoke English, and I headed out Saturday (May 26th).

I am not a fan of the Luohu Commercial Center. It’s too aggressive, the bargaining gets old, and the endless “Hello! Hello! Cheap DVD for you!” and groping from the store owners gets old fast. So, I dove in and headed straight to the top floor, ignoring the salesmen and runners (the kids who run after you or who take orders and run off to get it for you). Here’s what the inside looks like:

Along the periphery of this central area, on each of the five floors, is a maze of small shops selling all sorts of junk and fake goods. The interesting thing is that this place is not popular with the locals, but with the foreigners and the Honkies (Hong Kong folks). After all, the train station is right there.

It took me a while to locate Judy’s, the tailor, shop on the 5th floor. There are many tailors on the top so it took some maze-wandering to hunt down number 5067. I finally found it (there was barely room for 3 people inside), but Judy wasn’t there. I asked the seamstress hunched over the sewing machine where Judy was and she replied something unintelligible in Chinese. So, I went outside where someone else asked me what I was looking for. I said, “Judy”, and they pointed me to a large room full of fabric. There were many people in here and it took a few minutes to hunt Judy down, who was busy picking out fabric supplies.

Here’s the shop (Xiao Gi is standing in the doorway; Judy can be seen inside):

We went back to the shop where I picked out fabrics and got measured. Another young American, from New York and visiting his father, was there getting measured for a suit. After they were done, I ordered 4 long-sleeved shirts and headed out. I had to come back a week later to pick them up. When I returned to get them, I ordered two additional short-sleeved shirts and picked them up a couple of days later along with Xiao Gi (today). All together, the bill was about $85.

Trying on the goods. That’s Judy next to me and the seamstress busy at work in the lower left: