lyricalisse

So my biggest “hurdle” right now with wedding planning is finding a cheongsam for our Vancouver banquet. (In Mandarin it’s called a qipao but I grew up speaking Cantonese, so to me, it’s a cheongsam.) Joe’s mom generously offered to make one for me, but given the long-distance, it’s not practical– plus it’d be a big project!

So I’m trying to figure out where to look. If I were in Seattle or New York City, this wouldn’t be such a challenge– but I’m in DC, where Chinese boutiques are almost non-existent. And I really have no idea how to go about finding quality information on cheongsam vendors. Can I trust the top results in Google? If I look in the Yellow Pages, what category do I look under? Should I roam around Chinablock and start networking with folks who are “in the know”?

What I really want is something like Yelp with reviews so that I can discern: 1) where this type of dress would be sold, and 2) of those choices, which would be accessible to me and make a high-quality, affordable product. I want to know pros and cons of ordering online vs. going to a boutique in person.

I need a cheongsam librarian!