Shanghai dressed well for a hundred years, and a certain amount of that wardrobe is still in circulation. The vintage trade here is not organised into a district the way it is in some cities; instead it is a scatter of small shops, stalls and stalls-within-shops in the older central streets and in the markets on the edges of the centre, and the stock is a genuine mix of Chinese and imported clothing, most of it dating from the middle of the twentieth century onwards.
What to look for
The most interesting material is Chinese. Silk qipao and cheongsam from the 1930s to the 1960s turn up periodically, along with Mao jackets, padded cotton coats, hand-knitted woollen sweaters, embroidered children's clothing and cloth shoes. Alongside them the shops carry Western clothing - tweed coats, leather jackets, denim, dresses, hats and leather bags - much of it imported from Japan, Europe and the United States and resold. There are also watches, cameras, radios, record players, enamel mugs, old posters and household objects, which together give a good picture of what a middle-class Shanghai flat contained fifty years ago.
Where to look
The small shops concentrate in the streets north and west of the old concession centre, often on the upper floors of buildings above other businesses, with signs only in Chinese, and in the lanes behind the main shopping roads where rents are still low for independent traders. Weekend markets and the antique and curio halls near the centre add clothing and textiles sporadically. Because stock moves quickly and the best pieces leave the same week, the useful approach is to visit three or four shops rather than trying to find one particular place.
Practical notes
Sizes on old Chinese clothing are not the same as current international sizes, so measure rather than guess, and check seams, linings and closures carefully since silk and wool of that age are often fragile. Haggling is normal at markets and unusual in shops. Cash is still useful at stalls. For anything valuable - a good qipao, a watch, a camera - the smart move is to have it cleaned or serviced in the city rather than at home, since the workshops that understand this clothing are here.
