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September 2024 by Mei White
Support it! Saw it on the news. Does it have to be done in the third level? I am Chinese living in Miami, and there is no such custom-made cheongsam here. I'm not in California. Can you provide me with the measurements and mail one to me?
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May 2024 by Connie Sou
I do not recommend this business. Owners will tell you anything to get your money. If you do use this service, give them an early deadline when you need your product and pay by credit card in case any disputes need to be made.
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February 2024 by Quentin P.
Been coming here for about 5 years with my wife for custom qipao's. Many of the Ms Chinatown and Ms Qipao contestants come here for qipaos. Although old-school, they know their stuff and make a nice qipao. Both are from HK and you know that there are a lot of quality seamstress/tailors from there. I think that people born is Asia are more used to their service and way of doing things. Think of how your parents/grandparents might run a shop. Maybe the gentleman is having some memory issue now, so go easy on him. He means well. My wife is a super stickler on fashion and that things have to be just-so and I never heard her complain about the store, staff or dresses. We enjoy coming to visit. Highly suggested for custom qipao.
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February 2024 by Hannah Leigh
I have nothing but good things to say about Dragon Seed! I walked in and asked for a dress the day of - they worked so hard to find one in my price range and with the style I wanted. Definitely come here if you want high quality qipao/cheongsam.Also, I do not agree with people’s gripes with customer service. Being in Chinatown, you can expect experts to have strong opinions on clothes, but it comes from a place of care/respect. If you advocate for your style preferences and you are understanding of other people’s perspectives, you’ll be fine. For example: I am curvy and i like accentuating that (not what the tailor wanted for me). After I communicated how I did not want to hide my curves, I was able to get the tailored fit I wanted.
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September 2023 by M J
The Dragon Seed made my wedding dress, 32 years ago. We still receive complments…and now, they (husband and wife team) made a gorgeous dress - for me as mother of the bride.
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August 2023 by Sandra T.
I went to look for traditional Chinese gowns appropriate for Mother of the Groom and was reluctantly greeted by an older gentleman. He showed me one hideous purple gown and nothing else stating that's perfect for me and it's half off. I asked to be shown other dresses and he refused. I picked up another dress and he flat out stated that's cheap! I told him I liked the color better and he again told him to buy the purple one. First, I'm just looking; literally this was the first Chinese dress shop I walked into and second, when I was headed out the door, he then tried to stop me by saying they have other dresses! I don't know if he's the owner, if he is, how has he stayed in business? And if he's hired help, the owner needs to know this guy is driving away potential customers. I won't set foot in this shop again.
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July 2023 by Jac S.
0 stars. I will never come back to this store and will not ever recommend this place to anyone! The male owner made my mom and I feel uncomfortable. My mom tried on a few qi pao and when she asked me to unzip her, the owner said he will do it and put his hands on my mom's zipper. I insisted that I will do it but he watched us. Realizing what this situation was, I whispered to my mom to get back in the fitting room and not try on any dresses.
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July 2023 by Mason Zhang
We found this spot when searching for traditional Chinese wedding wear (cheongsum and qipao.) It's a small, family-owned business. The tailor has been there for over 40 years. Prices are reasonable and they tailor on the spot.
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July 2023 by Luce
This shop offers premade and bespoke cheongsam/qipao in traditional brocade as well as more modern lace, sequin fabric, or mesh applique. The female shopkeeper was incredibly knowledgeable about fit and styles, and she communicated well in English. Unfortunately the timeline didn't work for me as I was visiting from out of town, but really wish we had stores like this on the East Coast!
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March 2023 by P L.
Went to Chinatown with 1 goal in mind - Find a qipao for graduation pictures. I walked through several shops in chinatown, searching for a decent qipao. Most of the shops had the standard silk oriental dragon pattern with sizes that were either too small or too big for me (XXL in "chinese" size and S-M in american size). During my search, it was hard to purchase a dress because many of the shops didn't have fitting rooms. I even had a few businesses that said that the dress would for sure fit me by eyeing my size (it was raining and I was wearing a sweater and jacket). I was not convinced - especially most stores were final sale. With one last ditch effort on the way to the parking garage, I see Dragon Seed and decided to try it out. Walking in, I didn't think much of it because they mostly had bridal dresses/formal wear. The older gentleman asked what I needed and I told him, "I'm looking for a qipao for graduation." He picked out a dress that was super unique and one of a kind and pointed towards the fitting room. I tried it on and automatically fell in love. Out of all the dresses that I saw during the afternoon, this one was more expensive but because of the uniqueness and patience he showed. I didn't mind paying a little bit more to support local mom and pop business. I am super glad I stopped by Dragon Seed and able to support asian owned business. Don't let the negative reviews deter you from this business. It helps if you speak cantonese (or like others suggest - bring your aunty). If not, I believe the owners speak english as well.
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February 2023 by S. W.
Warning !!! Do not rent or Patronize from this shop. Ordered wedding clothes for which we paid down payment of $150. Went to location day prior to wedding to pickup and the store was closed with no information on opening hours and no phone pickup. We thought they went out of business. Luckily we were able to scout out another location to buy the Chinese wedding outfits to save the wedding. About a week later. Being back in Chinatown. This shop was magically opened. We went in to air our grievances and the owner did not budge. We didn't want to rent another outfit as they offered since the wedding was done and asked for our deposit back due to their lack of information and not fulfilling our date of pickup. They refused. And offered a credit slip. Which really wasn't an offer. Especially wondering when we would need to rent another wedding gown. Anyhow. We had friends that wanted to use the receipt recently. So. We pulled out the credit only to find out they time limited the credit to 2 months and so this has now expired. How tricky they are --so dishonest and so unethical. Do not go here. Do not patronize them. You have been warned.
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October 2021 by Nina C.
As San Jose State's homecoming week was approaching, I searched all over the Bay Area for a qipao for the ceremony. On the last weekend before homecoming week, I tirelessly drove to Newark, San Jose, and Oakland all day to find a dress. 1 hour before closing, I called Dragon Seed asking if they had any ready-to-wear qipaos, and the shop tailor answered yes!! By the time I reached the store, it was 30 minutes till closing- and I saw the store owner patiently waiting for me outside. Both the tailor and shop owner helped show me a variety of cheongsams to choose from, and I found the perfect dress. Due to the rise Anti-Asian hate and the COVID-19 pandemic, many shops that sell Chinese traditional clothing have closed down. Even before the pandemic, Asian immigrant owned shops continued to face criticisms of their accents or way of running their store. The couple that owns Dragon Seed have been an integral part of the Chinese American community, and well appreciated by American born Chinese (ABC)s like myself. Please take the time to support this historical shop and appreciate Chinese culture. Without shops like these, it would be a missing piece to the Chinese American community. This store continues to run despite the rampant violence and hate against older Asian community members to help serve and share their culture. Please support and stop by whenever you get the chance!
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July 2021 by Winnie H.
This review pertains to qun kwa rental for traditional dress for wedding. Some reviews mentioned that the owners are dishonest, there's definitely elements that can be perceived as dishonesty but I think it's a style of business dealing, kinda old school Chinese. They will try to talk you into getting a custom made cheongsam dress, if that's what you are looking for, great! They'll talk to you and getting to know you (so they can figure out your needs and formulate an attack, it's a business strategy), just know what you want and aim for, and ask questions! They might distract you but know what you want in your mind!! If you're just shopping around I'd say don't stop at this place, it'd be a place to come back to after comparing many (if you so decide that). I know it sounds like going to war but just have fun with it, just treat it as getting to know a distant relative auntie/uncle. I have set my mind on renting a qun kwa for my wedding. My only concern is they don't have my size. They looked at me and said they don't have my size and tried to talk me into the custom made route. But I don't want cheongsam I want qun kwa. So I insisted on trying their biggest sized qun kwa rentals. Turned out it fits just right and I had 2-3 styles to choose from! Rental price was reasonable as well. I really enjoyed my traditional dress for my special day and so did my family! They also have some service on wedding makeup and/or indoor/outdoor photography packages for wedding styled photos. I didn't have time because I planned a covid wedding with moving pieces but I would consider doing it maybe like special occasion for family photo sesh? Saw a couple came back from their outdoor photo sesh while i was shopping and the girl's makeup was pretty good, soft glam style. They definitely don't have long enough wedding dress for me (6'1") so I think I'd have to sit for the most part in those photos
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June 2021 by LJ O.
Purchased dress on June 23rd for a Sept 15th wedding. Fabric "stuck in customs" for 3 months. They would give me a date it would be ready and I would call, over and over, "stuck in customs". They had no other red fabric or black fabric. I called August 14th and they still didn't have the fabric. "We will have it done by the 15th" -- That is the wedding day. No one will be able to pick it up. Here it is the 13th and they just called "You come today and we will get it done by tomorrow." Unexceptable. Also guy body shamed and LIED saying that black was an unlucky color when I asked for the dress to be black. -- My Chinese mother-in-law right there who I checked with before asking for black. You don't want to stock black, I understand, but how do you not have enough red fabric? Waste of time. Waste of money. If you must use them, I highly suggesting giving the "event date" a week prior to when you need it....maybe two.
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May 2021 by Candace C.
Come with your auntie, friends who speak Mandarin and Canto! They're old school and I noticed a lot of other reviews saying things like their service is not good or their dishonest, but I didn't get that experience. The owners and people here are master seamstresses and sewers. They know their stuff and are very busy. They used to be big in Vietnamese pageants and making custom dresses. The man is aggressive and slightly off putting in my opinion, but he's doing his job and ensuring their business can continue to last through COVID and more. I came to get a custom made qipao for my wedding that got postponed due to COVID. For me I knew I had to plan since I travel from SoCal to SF Chinatown. So three total fittings where the first one was the longest cause I described what I wanted in English and Mandarin and then looked at different fabrics and what style, how traditional I wanted to keep it, etc. I just came back for my second fitting to try on the almost finished dress. They also recommended what shape wear to purchase and mentioned shoe height and how I want to wear it with my husband etc. Pricing was fair for a completely custom made dress, it's not cheap. You're paying for someone's meticulous labor and handiwork. My dress was just under $800. We paid in cash in full at the first fitting. Hope this helps those of you looking to do tea ceremonies and other wedding celebrations and more!
