Lingling Chinese Dress

A very rude salesperson quoted me $ 250 to rent a kwa/​qua for one week. When I told her that my sister rented it for $ 75 two years ago, she straight up told me that it was impossible and that I was lying. Um. I was THERE and it really was $ 75…(Guess we got the nice lady last time??) So she said, ok since you rented last time, i’ll give you $ 20 off. NO THANKS. I really wouldn’t have gone back to deal with their rude and poor customer service if it wasn’t for the decent price we received last time. Guess I’ll never go back again. $ 250?!? Stay away from this shady place.

Terrible customer service and salespeople extraordinarily rude. While there are mixed reviews on this store, my mom and I decided to check it out anyway to look for a cheongsam for my upcoming Chinese wedding banquet. When we asked if I could try on one of the dresses, the salesperson’s immediate response was «You can only try it on if you can afford it». Why would I ask to try something on if my intent wasn’t to purchase? The dress I tried on was in poor shape (had a hole in the lining) and the whole experience was extremely unpleasant. Even if I found the perfect dress here, I would never patronize a business that provides such awful customer service.
I ended up purchasing my cheongsam from Mei Mei Fashions around the corner — extremely professional and helpful.

I originally ordered my dress online but when that fell through I rushed to Chinatown to purchase a dress for my upcoming wedding I was planning to go with Dragon Seed but they were closed (on a Wednesday!) so I went to Lingling instead. I had visited both a few months back to see their selections and pricing.
I would say the Unilocal reviews are divided into two groups: service and quality and most of the bad ratings seems to be related to ‘service’. I personally did not have an issue with service but my when I go to Chinatown, I don’t expect great service (I’m Chinese and accept this). I smiled when I came in and the ladies there were helpful, even calling Lingling (who was at lunch) to clarify my questions. Instead Lingling asked me if I could wait 15 minutes so she could go over the request in person. I did so and I found her to be curt, but professional. We selected the design, the fabric, and negotiated the price. She took my measurements quickly and gave me a detailed quote and swatches of the fabric. On my fitting visit, she had mistakenly booked me the same day as the parade so they were technically not open. I called when I saw the doors closed and they were nice enough to let me in and do the fitting (I was on a very set deadline since my wedding is not in CA). The following week, I tried on the dress and it fit like a glove.
I’d say if you’re using this vendor for a custom dress I’d highly recommend it. In fact, while I was waiting on the final day, I saw the ladies cutting patterns and was so impressed by how freeform they were cutting the dresses out (they made the patterns from newspaper!) and yet how good the dresses fit their clients. For the off the rack options and renting, because of the language barrier, it makes the sale conversations quite frustrating so I didn’t find that part of the experience positive. Overall I had a good experience with getting the custom dress made. Just smile, talk slowly and don’t lose your patience. Yes the fitting room is small and the mirror is inconveniently located on the other side of the room. But again, it’s Chinatown, not Nordstroms.

Don’t be scared off by the negative reviews! I had read the Unilocal reviews, and wasn’t planning to go to LingLing’s, but my mom gave me directions to a qipao store in Chinatown that she liked, but had forgotten the name. Turns out that store was LingLing! Note: Sign outside says L & G Trading.
My experience was very pleasant from the get-​go. I was greeted and allowed to browse on my own. I selected a qipao and was directed to the fitting room to try it on. It was a perfectly fine fitting room, and I didn’t mind walking around the store to see the mirror.
I LOVED the dress. I’m tall (5’7) and I wasn’t expecting the dress to fit my Chinese American proportions, but it was super flattering. The qipao are made right at the store — I watched a woman sewing sequins on a dress, one by one.
My qipao was on the sale rack (yay!), so I paid $ 300 for a beautiful qipao that reminds me very much of my mom’s custom qipao she wore at her wedding (which I have absolutely no hope of fitting in since I’m 5 inches taller :) Simple alterations are free.
The staff, including the owner, were polite and friendly. It’s definitely worth having a look if you are looking for a special qipao. I’m thrilled with my dress!

Sorry to disappoint folks. I know there aren’t much options for Chinese wedding dresses here in the states but the reviews are true; the customer service is TERRIBLE here. This place is pathetically small and offers nothing even close to what Dragon Seed does down the block. The lady at this tiny shop surely has something much more giant up her A$$ saying «you can try it on only if you’re ok with the price». Woman, are you stupid? What’s it got to do with price? I’m spending for my Big day. It’s about what I like, not price you idiot. My rock alone is months of your rent.
Needless to say, I took my business to Dragon Seed where the service and options are AMAZING. Unlike this nasty LingLing place where you strip in front of everybody, Dragon Seed actually has private fitting rooms for you to try items on with mirrors and even lets you take pictures for you to think about at home.
Go to Dragon Seed. DON’T COME HERE unless you want to be treated like sh! t. If you must, don’t be nice by saying bye to her because she will just ignore you.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!
If there was an option to give zero stars that would be exactly what I would give this place.
Right when I walked in with my fiancé and two friends they ignored us with no greeting. One of the women finally acknowledged our presence (which can’t be too hard since it’s a tiny little place) but stood there and stared at us as if we were criminals. I was shopping for a traditional Chinese wedding dress. I asked to try on a dress and she said, «no, no fit.» I then pulled two other dresses and asked to try it on. I went into their fitting room which was horrible and dirty and had no mirrors. I had to go to the other side of the place to use the mirror. I decided they were limited and because I’m not a size zero with no figure whatsoever and that their dresses were not right for me. When I came out of the dressing room I gave the dress back to one of the women and she just grabbed it from my hands and threw it on a chair and walked away. She didn’t even ask me if I liked it or what else she could do for me.
Even if I absolutely LOVED the dress I wouldn’t have purchased it because I refuse to shop at places that decide when they want to be kind and give customer service to their customers.
The women were rude and should not be in an industry where customer service is key.
Save your time and go to Dragon Seed just about a block from there. I was hesitant about Dragon Seed due to the Unilocal reviews but they provided amazing customer service and the owner Thomas truly loves his customers and his job. Another plus was that he was cheaper too!
I appreciate the owner coming back on Unilocal to try to rectify the situation (looks like I’m not the only one with the rude complaint) but she was still disrespectful and unpleasant. My friends did not know of the no picture policy and we did not refuse to purchase because we simply couldn’t take a picture. We did not purchase because your service was horrendous to say the least!
I always support small local businesses but I think that everyone deserves to know that this place is not worth even entering.
I don’t think that grabbing the dress out of my hands and throwing it on the chair when I got out of the dressing room was very professional.
I hope this review is an eye opener and you attempt to be nicer to your future customers.
GO ELSEWHERE AND SAVE YOURSELF THE HEADACHE!

I needed a traditional chinese dress for my wedding. I had one custom made here for $ 300, which is a reasonable price for a master seamstress to make from scratch. I came here, chose the fabric I wanted, Ling Ling drew out the style I wanted on paper, and took measurements. My mom had one made as well. We came back in about a month for the final fitting and brought my other wedding dress for alterations. We picked up all the dresses later that day. Ling Ling is honest, does great work, and is sweet. The dresses fit well and looked great.

I found Lingling Chinese Dress on Unilocal.I had been searching everywhere for a more modernized qipao but to no avail. I finally decided to treat myself to the custom dress, so I went down the steps to meet Linda (you’ll see when you get there). Paid parking at Portsmouth Square Garage off of Clay and Kearny.
My cousin’s wedding was only 10 days away, definitely making this a time-​sensitive piece, but I thought I’d give it a shot anyway. I emailed and described to Linda exactly what I wanted, complete with pictures, and asked if she would take a new project on such short notice. And she did!
I don’t know a thing about dress making, so I met with her beforehand for measurements and a consultation. She has a wide array of materials in-​house, but I wanted a very specific color scheme, so she told me exactly what I needed to buy, and off I went to gather materials. Dropped them off, and four days later, I picked up my dress.
Here’s where I really appreciate Linda’s service.
After getting home, I took a long look at the dress. Like slept-​on-​it, long look at the dress… for 2 weeks. It just wasn’t right (for me). The shoulders were too big and hung low on my arm, and it just didn’t fit, as a custom dress should. I didn’t even wear it to the wedding. I emailed Linda back, and told her that I was sad that I had invested quite a bit on the dress to not have it exactly right. She said, in so many words, that she strives toward a quality product that the customer will truly enjoy. So I brought the dress back, she adjusted the shoulder length and sleeve (free of charge!), and I’m super happy with it now. Thanks, Linda!

I LOVE Ling Ling’s dresses whom provides dresses for various pageants like Miss Chinatown, Miss Teen Chinatown, etc. From my first pageant qipao to my current beautiful red qipao with golden dragons, I have been satisfied. This year, I decided to purchase a dress for my appearance in the Chinese Lunar New Year Parade and hit 2 birds with one stone as I’m also using this for my wedding reception in the future. I can definitely justify a $ 300 dress for that. Pricier than your average Chinese Tourist Market that sells cheap qipao’s with no shape and poor fabric quality, but well worth it.
Tips:
–Alterations are complimentary (although I have a personal seamstress I prefer, but it only took 10 minutes)
–Check-​in on Unilocal for 10% off (before you pay; I did it after but Ling Ling was kind enough to refund me)

There was a specific qipao I saw in the window of Dragonseed a year ago and knew that I wanted it for my tea ceremony. When I returned back to Dragonseed, they said that they didn’t have the style in stock anymore nor can they do it as a custom order since they didn’t have the fabric for it. So, I decided to look around other qipao shops around San Francisco and found Ling Ling Chinese Dress.
I e-​mailed in advance just to make an appointment to be courteous and to make sure that I wasn’t there to just browse around and wanted someone to help me out on some choices. But most importantly talk to them if they can make the qipao I saw a year ago. As stated in other reviews, the entrance to the shop is to walk downstairs and those stairs are pretty steep. As I descended down the stairs, I instantly saw the dress I wanted a year ago! My heart skipped a beat and knew I have came to right place. I was greeted by Linda who is the owner and she’s really nice and super honest. I asked her if I could try on the qipao I had my eyes set on, but unfortunately the display she had was too small for me. I was about to get discouraged since I assumed that they might not be able have anymore sizes or make it like Dragonseed told me, but she reasurred me that she can make the qipao custom to my size.
The turnout time in making the qipao took about 2 weeks which was still enough time for me since my wedding didn’t happen until 4 months later. When I went to get it fitted, I was truly amazed in the intricate detailing of the design and it fit just right. I was even able to witness on another custom qipao they were working on and saw that they were individually sewing per sequins to the dress. The attentiveness to detail and quality is beyond comprehension since you know that they really put in their work to it. For a custom dress, I was able to get it at an affordable price.
Thank you Linda and your amazing team of seamstresses!

Need not go anywhere else to get your cherng saam!
She’s the best in the business and she’s honest as all hell too. Yes, I’m not your typical petite asian girl.
The dress I fell in love with. my boobs didn’t fit into them. Actually, my boobs didn’t fit into ANY of the cherng saams. :(
So… the owner decided to do something different for me. She custom made me my cherng saam out of the fabric I fell for and only charged me the price of a regular cherng saam. SCORE!
I LOVE my cherng saam! Too bad I won’t be wearing it again. Sad.

This review is likely outdated, 6 years outdated. :D
I didn’t want to spend too much on a dress that I’d only wear once, but the $ 0.99 options on eBay were NOT appropriate for brides! Since I was already renting the white dress, my husband encouraged me to blow a little dough on the chinese dress.
I first went to Dragon Seed which wanted $ 300+ for the most basic dress with a single-​layer of their cheaper fabric and a single-​edged trim. I left not knowing where else to go. Feeling lost, I wandered the streets of Chinatown until I found these odd staircases leading down to a basement.
Without much expectation, I was surprised to see high quality chinese dresses. These are not your usual tourist fare! The lady discouraged me from ordering custom but offered to alter anything I could find off the rack. A week later, I picked up a beautiful dress in a luscious fabric with a second inside layer and an intricate double-​edged gold trim.
No complaints here.

Ling ling is great! I walked in, we both knew exactly what I needed. She picked out two dresses, tried them both on, and I was sold. Alterations were free and done in 10 minutes tops.
I parked by Dragon Seed and when there first, didn’t get greeted or anything. Ling ling’s place is much more discreet and I trust her much more than that other place.
Also, check in for 10% off on Unilocal,nice!

I looked around at various places in SF Ctown and Oakland Ctown. Custom made dresses are similarly priced as off the rack with exception of those ratty ones from those weird touristy places with the bizarre knick-​knacks. Quality of the dresses here are solid. A variety of designs from traditional to contemporary. She offers both custom and off the rack.
I managed to negotiate an off the rack dress to $ 300 – traditional red silk pattern with thick gold trim. Dragonseed wanted to charge me $ 500+ for a custom job. Alteration costs were included.
Hours are weird and inconsistent. I’ve shown up several times and found the place closed with no explanation. The owner is hard to get a hold of and gruff.

After reading reviews on places to go in Chinatown for a cherng saam for my wedding, I was prepared for terrible customer service. But wow this lady’s customer service gave me a whole new perspective on terrible customer service!
I went with my parents since their Chinese is much better than mine thinking that might help. We went in and she was working on something on her desk right next to the stairs we came down from and she didn’t even bother to greet us or look up. That’s fine. So we helped ourselves to browse the racks of dresses that were there. I saw the signs for dresses for rent, different sizes, and some prices which helped to narrow my search, but I didn’t see anything I really liked. So finally my mom walks over to her and she asks how she can help us. So my mom asked her if she has rentals and she says why would you do that, it’s worn and dirty after someone else has worn it. Uh, ok… you have signs up for rental, lady! What’s your problem?
Then we ask ok, so can we see any pictures or samples of your custom-​made dresses? She abruptly said no, they’re all custom-​designed and made, and that was that. Wow, if you don’t need any business, why don’t you just close your shop for the day? Obviously, we walked right up those stairs then and there and left. On the bright side, I purchased a cherng saam that SAME day, but ELSEWHERE in Chinatown. This place is ridiculous and I’ll be sure to tell that to all my friends.

Funny enough, my mom had bought my custom made, all-​silk, leaves-​no-​bump-​unseen qi pao in Shanghai ONE YEAR before my engagement (when my the-​boyfriend and I had only been dating a few months) and almost a full TWO YEARS before my wedding.
Don’t you love Asian moms? Haha.
Anyway, because my body changed in the last two years and my mom had the original tailored way too big… it needed massive alterations. Ling Ling took off about 2 inches all around and now it fits me like a glove. It was about a 4-​week turnaround and the handiwork was perfect. The in-​store time was minimal; about 20 minutes to measure the tailoring, and 20 minutes to pick up. Service was curt but professional, and certainly not as impolite as other Asian vendors I’ve used.
For reference, I’m 5’2″ and wear a size 2.
A few tips I found useful:
— Cash only.
— Location: behind the Chinatown square. I made sure to come on a Sunday when the street parking (metered) nearby was free.
— Speaking Mandarin or Cantonese is helpful but not necessary.
— Call before you come to make sure they’re open; their hours aren’t always what’s advertised (Mon-​Sun 930 – 6)
— Expect to come in once to twice for fittings; be sure to bring your undergarments and shoes…
— Those stairs are really steep!
— She’s pretty busy around the Miss Chinatown busy season (Oct-​end of Nov) so expect an even longer turnaround time during that time of year.
Also… I browsed the rentals and off-​the-​rack selections; I personally wasn’t awed. I would use this place more for alterations.

Look out Maggie Cheung, here I come!
Ling Ling was super helpful and very easy to work with. She does a lot of the Miss Chinatown dresses and has been a big part of the community for a long time.
I’m 5’9″ and wear a size 6, so renting really was not an option for me in terms of proper proportions aka I am not a tiny Asian.
I ended up buying two custom-​made qi paos for $ 600. I came in twice for fittings. The first time she had made it a little too tight (most assume that brides lose weight before their wedding… apparently I was a happy bride that ate like normal). She made the readjustments quickly and I had my dress a month before the wedding as planned.
Note: I do speak Mandarin (not well) and between my English/​Mandarin was able to communicate just fine.

If I could give less than one star, I would. I was looking to buy or rent a Chinese dress and saw this store with all the celebrity photos outside. I thought this would be «the one finally» since I was shopping many other stores. I was double disappointed-​no dress and bad service.
Go down the steep and narrow steps into a small basement and right away you feel coldness — poor attitude, lack of friendliness and service.
While browsing you feel her stare, ask questions and she’ll snap back, show interest and she shows no interest. What’s her problem?
I ask her to put a dress on hold and I would come back after lunch-​she said no. I look at a dress and she tells me I won’t fit it, I’m more of an American size not Chinese size. Show some effort lady. I ask for the price, she quotes normally $ 400 – 500, but now $ 100 off. Whatever.
Anyway, I never really experienced such terrible service in awhile.
Just wanted to warn others, don’t expect much here-​my opinion.

$ 300 for off-​the-​rack dress (the pricetag says $ 400 but she automatically dropped it to $ 300 but won’t budge beyond that).
$ 180+ up for rental. not much options for rental (there are about 6 dresses available in each size).
the owner has an «i can live without your business» attitude, which makes haggling difficult, and not exactly the best attitude for working in the wedding industry.

We got my wife’s cheongsam here. We picked out a pre-​made dress (as opposed to a custom one) and so got a reasonable price including alterations.
A few caveats:
— You basically need someone who speaks Cantonese with you.
— Watch your step going down into the store; the steps are pretty steep.