If you’re looking to increase your specs appeal, purchase a tailor made suit or outfit, or just looking for a designer quality leather jacket, then stop by these top quality shops at the South Bund Fabric Market.
Shopping in China is hard. Everything seems affordable and there are knock-offs left and right, but how can you distinguish the good quality products from the bad that will only last you 2 weeks? When stepping into Shanghai’s South Bund Fabric Market, although you may be spoiled when it comes to choices, they are not all one and the same. There may be 5 leather jacket stalls, but only one has good quality. There may be 10 tailors, but only 2 do it right. Weeding out the best of the best can be hard and stressful, so I’ve done the work for you.
First things first, what is the South Bund Fabric Market? It is a four story building with over 100 tailors and seamstresses that make tailor made clothing for an affordable price. The building is packed with numbered shops featuring tailors, seamstresses, and retailers selling already made goods, cashmere sweaters, eyeglasses, gadgets, and more. What makes South Bund Fabric Market so special is that if you have more than 5-7 days in Shanghai you can have almost anything custom-made and duplicated for you. For example, you really want that dress you saw Loro Piana or Gucci strut down the runway? Easy. Just bring a picture of the designer clothing you want made and they’ll make it for you from scratch. It’s that easy, but you need time. If, like me, you don’t have more than 4 days at your disposal, the stores still sell a good amount of already made apparel and outerwear for you to buy.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE YOU GO:
I came to the South Bund Fabric Market looking for a new leather jacket, but left with a pair of gloves and eyeglasses as well! After doing my due diligence, these are some of the best quality shops at South Bund Fabric Market (and I’m Italian, so I know good quality when I feel it!).
Shop #165 — Jeanne & Peter Leather Jackets
Location: 1st Floor
Quality:
After making my rounds around South Bund Fabric Market, I came across a few stalls with leather jackets. But every time I felt the quality, it felt hard and cheap. This was not real leather. There was only one shop that offered soft and luscious real leather, worthy of an Italian’s penny, and that was Jeanne & Peter Leather Jackets. The quality was unlike anything at the South Bund Fabric Market, but so was the price. It was significantly more premium than the other stores, but still 1/5th of the price of a designer leather jacket.
Loyal Customer Base:
Jeanne & Peter, wife and husband, have been in business for 12 years and have a loyal following of locals and expats who religiously visit their store every year for new leather jackets. I ran into a few expat customers who couldn’t tell me enough how pleased they were with the jackets. They’ve invested in them every year and the jackets have lasted them over 7 years. The quality is the real deal. Jeanne & Peter can tailor and create a leather jacket for you from scratch or you can buy one of the already made jackets they have on hand.
Service:
Unlike other stalls that were a bit pushier when it came to selling, Shop #165 was more about explaining the production behind their product and its craftsmanship. Rather than push the sale, Jeanne explained to me how they made their product, where they bought the finest leather, and why her prices were so premium. Haggling, of course, was still very much apart of the experience. But don’t expect to leave with anything less than a 20-30% discount. As I explained, Jeanne & Peter’s quality is good so they stand pretty firm on their prices.
Price:
I ended up leaving with two leather jackets, one plain and one with ribbed with a wool collar for $450. That’s $225 each. It may sound like a lot, but consider that a designer leather jacket can cost you up to $1,000. It was quite a bargain!
Want to order your own personalized leather jacket? Reach out to Jeanne & Peter via email!
Shop #245 — William Optical
Location: 2nd Floor
Service:
Want to increase your specs appeal? Head to the second floor. William Optical is hard to miss as it’s the only prescription eyeglass and sunglass store in all of the South Bund Fabric Market. I could have gone to Shanghai Kaitai Glasses Wholesale Market, but since South Bund Fabric Market was just a short walk from my stay at The Waterhouse at South Bund, I chose to purchase my eyeglasses here.
William Optical offers any brand you can think of. I was in need of a new pair of prescription eyeglasses so I grabbed a pair of frames not knowing what the brand was until I got home. I asked William if he made lenses as well. He sure did. I felt like I was at a Warby Parker. William started taking out all the tools necessary for me to temporarily take out my contact lenses, measure my pupillary distance, and determine my new prescription. Within 5 minutes, I was off with a receipt and was asked to come back in 2 days to pick up my new eyeglasses. Only 2 days? That is even faster than Warby Parker. But how would the quality of the lenses be?
Quality:
I was a bit skeptical about the quality of the prescription lens. Luckily, William Optical doesn’t charge you until the day you pick up the eyeglasses. So if I didn’t like the quality once I was there, I didn’t have to pay for them. Two days later, I went to go pick up my eyeglasses. The glasses were perfect. The quality was identical if not better than a pair from Warby Parker and the prescription was perfect. I was so impressed I regretted not buying a second pair!
Price:
I was beyond pleased. I left Shop #245 with a new pair of MOSCOT prescription glasses for just $35—and that included the frame, the lens, AND the lens prescription examination. Crazy!!! Only later did I find out that MOSCOT eyewear is a NYC based eyewear brand (of course I would subconsciously purchase a NY brand) and that my frames were actually worth $280.
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