Sitting here, after a long day of shopping, I'm listening to Fred Astaire's "Dancing Cheek to Cheek." I felt it appropriate, not because I've been dancing or plan to, but because today, I was in Heaven, and I feel as though now I could dance across the floor.
I was told, before coming to China, that there existed such a place where you could take any item of clothing you had, or any photograph of something you wanted, and seamstresses would make it for you. Several weeks ago, after talking with friends, I heard of this magical place called Louhu. I had heard that this was the place to go for having clothing made, and I had also heard rumors that at this "mall," one could buy many knock off items...genuine fakes as I like to call them. Today, on the verge of my thirty-second birthday, I got to experience the magic.
Three of my friends and I left Dongguan this morning at 10 am and our driver took us the hour or so to Shenzhen, a neighboring city. With me, I had packed a Kate Spade dress, a JCrew top, and an Escapada skirt, along with a bra and a pillow case (random). My friends each had their items of clothing for copying and so we rode on, them sleeping, me taking in the scenery. It's not much for the eyes, but I almost feel bad sleeping in a car in a foreign country...I think I have Carol Poole to thank for that.
We arrived at LuoHu and headed into the madness. For a shopper, it is Heaven, but it is quite chaotic. Like in Turkey, as soon as the Westerners make an appearance, the locals come barreling towards you prompting you to buy their items, "Watch, watch," "Sunglasses, you like sunglasses," and so on. We went up to the sixth floor via escalator and through a corridor of many stalls selling bags, clothing, watches, etc. We made our way to the water closet for a quick bathroom break and my friend, Raedel, pulled out her roll of toilet tissue to share with us. In many places in China, the toilet is a hole in the ground and there is no tissue. I'm glad she was with us today and I'm glad my stomach decided to cooperate during this shopping trip.
We went on towards the seamstress that several of my colleagues had used before. We each pulled out our clothes and were then escorted with "personal shoppers" to the fabric stalls. Each of us chose what fabrics we wanted for our pieces, and of course you know I found the Lily Pulitzer section. I was done rather quickly and taken back to the seamstress's shop to get measurements for another Kate Spade dress I don't have but have worn (thanks Sarah) and to pay. As I sat there, an altercation took place between a man from another stall and a woman and her small son. It was heated, he pushed her several times and pushed the little boy. I got very nervous and clenched my fists tightly not to let anyone else's emotions get the better of me, but I got quite scared to be honest, and when I saw the man hit the child on the bum, I got very teary eyed. After 5-10 minutes of fighting, the argument died down and the woman and child left. Then my friends joined me and all seemed well again. It definitely shook me up though.
I was really excited to get two tops made from my JCrew example, two Kate Spade dresses, one skirt in Lily Pulitzer fabric, and two pillowcases all for the low, low price of 1000 RMB (that's about $167 USD). They said they're not so good at bras, so I thought I'd just get more when I go home in February. I've got plenty to hold me over until then. Five items of clothing and two pillowcases at roughly $23 a piece...not a bad deal.
Raedel had some tops made, Teryn got something like 11 pairs of shorts and pants made and Lisa had TWENTY items of clothing created. Amazing really. When the clothing is all sewn, they'll deliver it to us at school for just 20 RMB a piece.
When we finished at the seamstress's, we went to get lunch. We ate in a nice restaurant on the third floor of Luohu. It was full of Asians, but also many Westerners too. I swear I heard an Irish couple speaking.
We sat a lunch, freezing, and when the waiter saw how cold we were, and another friend complained, he brought us each pashminas to wear. I'm not sure why the restaurant keeps pashminas, and I was pretty weirded out by wearing it, but I was quite cold and the pashmina was quite warm.
We divided into groups of two for our last bit of shopping after lunch, and I'm lucky I had Lisa, the negotiator, with me. I really wanted a bag for my birthday and had my mind set on a Berkin or something similar. I am a school teacher and I can't afford the real deal people, but I like nice things. We went into a few stalls and saw that the quality of bags wasn't all that great. Then we found a shop where Amy, the shopgirl, was so sweet and the quality of items was so good. They had Tory Burch, Gucci, Michael Kors, Mulberry, Chloe, and more, but I had my eyes glued to the Hermes bag. She offered her first price...1800 RMB. Lisa said a flat out "No." Amy tried to get us to buy more items while we waited on the Hermes bag to be brought from the warehouse. Before it arrived, Lisa said, "Act cool. If you want it, tap the glass." HA! We were speaking in code. We looked over the bag and the girl said, "What's your final price?" Lisa put 800 RMB on the calculator, the way we all communicate cost here. The girl laughed and said, "No, final, final." Lisa and Amy went back and forth forever. Lisa started to walk out the door and my heart began to sink because I truly thought we were leaving without my Hermes. Amy grabbed my arm and begged, "Final Final?" We ended up settling on 850 RMB, about $140 USD, a steal. We walked out of the store and high fived, then I bought Lisa and myself celebratory walking beers. What a moment. I'm not a haggler by any means; I would have caved long before Lisa brought the price down. I'm ecstatic, to say the least. Happy Birthday to me!!
Lisa and I met with the other girls and showed off our purchases, then we met Luis, our driver, and headed on home. As soon as I got back to the apartment I did a little photo shoot with my new baby. Heaven, I'm in Heaven, and I can't wait to go back to LuoHu for more!
No comments:
Post a Comment