Market Trip
Aug. 22nd, 2012 05:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterOh man, you guys. Oh man oh man oh man.
Yesterday was our day off, as I mentioned. So I went on an expedition to the Seomun Market in the afternoon. When I popped out of the subway, the very first street I walked along, towards the market, was Sock Alley. It rained quite a bit yesterday, and it's raining again today, so I didn't really feel like lingering. I also wasn't sure I really wanted to buy bulk packs of 20-gajillion socks...plus, I didn't know what would lie ahead. So I kept going.
The market was pretty mind-boggling. I really wish I had a Korean translator along with me, because I would be able to do so much more here. First of all, I would be able to figure out where I could go to eat vegetarian food. But secondly...at this market, there was stall after stall of places selling all sorts of clothing. Now, my very first job ever was at the dry cleaner's next to my house, where I worked for a Korean family, who owned the business. First and foremost, I have to say they ran an excellent business, and were fantastic about teaching a new worker how to do good work. Secondly, my boss there, K, was an excellent seamstress and handled all of the alteration work that came in. Seriously, she was amazing.
Anyway, the market. Not only were there hundreds of stalls selling all sorts of clothing, there were also hundreds upon hundreds of stalls carrying bolts of fabric. Good fabric, mind you, not the crappy stuff we often find in fabric shops in the US. I've also never heard so many sewing machines at work at the same time.
If I'd even known where to start, it would have been a more effective trip. I've been looking for shirts and skirts and dresses of a very particular style that I haven't ever been able to find in the US. Linen items, pretty simply tailored, but that fit well. If I'd had any drawings or photographs, plus additional time to carefully look through fabric options, plus a few days for someone to get to work on the job, I could have had these items made for me, and made extremely well (one of my major complaints about clothing shopping in the US is that on top of having to find things that look tasteful, I'm also picky about the quality of the sewing). I don't really care to have a large wardrobe, but it would be nice if the things I owned were a bit more professional, at least.
I wound up buying three pairs of argyle socks. I'll probably wind up regretting that I didn't buy more clothing, but you might imagine that I got a little overwhelmed by the whole experience. Things also started to shut down at around 5 pm, anyway, so I would have had to act fast.
Oh man. There were also knockoff-brand backpacks and such that were also well-made, and probably at a good price. Ah well.
And now, back to science.
Yesterday was our day off, as I mentioned. So I went on an expedition to the Seomun Market in the afternoon. When I popped out of the subway, the very first street I walked along, towards the market, was Sock Alley. It rained quite a bit yesterday, and it's raining again today, so I didn't really feel like lingering. I also wasn't sure I really wanted to buy bulk packs of 20-gajillion socks...plus, I didn't know what would lie ahead. So I kept going.
The market was pretty mind-boggling. I really wish I had a Korean translator along with me, because I would be able to do so much more here. First of all, I would be able to figure out where I could go to eat vegetarian food. But secondly...at this market, there was stall after stall of places selling all sorts of clothing. Now, my very first job ever was at the dry cleaner's next to my house, where I worked for a Korean family, who owned the business. First and foremost, I have to say they ran an excellent business, and were fantastic about teaching a new worker how to do good work. Secondly, my boss there, K, was an excellent seamstress and handled all of the alteration work that came in. Seriously, she was amazing.
Anyway, the market. Not only were there hundreds of stalls selling all sorts of clothing, there were also hundreds upon hundreds of stalls carrying bolts of fabric. Good fabric, mind you, not the crappy stuff we often find in fabric shops in the US. I've also never heard so many sewing machines at work at the same time.
If I'd even known where to start, it would have been a more effective trip. I've been looking for shirts and skirts and dresses of a very particular style that I haven't ever been able to find in the US. Linen items, pretty simply tailored, but that fit well. If I'd had any drawings or photographs, plus additional time to carefully look through fabric options, plus a few days for someone to get to work on the job, I could have had these items made for me, and made extremely well (one of my major complaints about clothing shopping in the US is that on top of having to find things that look tasteful, I'm also picky about the quality of the sewing). I don't really care to have a large wardrobe, but it would be nice if the things I owned were a bit more professional, at least.
I wound up buying three pairs of argyle socks. I'll probably wind up regretting that I didn't buy more clothing, but you might imagine that I got a little overwhelmed by the whole experience. Things also started to shut down at around 5 pm, anyway, so I would have had to act fast.
Oh man. There were also knockoff-brand backpacks and such that were also well-made, and probably at a good price. Ah well.
And now, back to science.
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no subject
Date: 2012-08-23 10:30 am (UTC)I remember my Grandparents said the same thing when they traveled through much of Asia. They always went hog wild.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-24 12:56 am (UTC)But good, skilled sewing and tailoring are things to be very proud of. I saw that in my boss at the dry cleaner's - she was good at what she did, and has had a great life as a small-business owner who sets her own agenda, hired her own people, and who will fire her customers if they get too ridiculous (you can imagine what this is like, having spent time working in the service industry).
Overall, yeah, I just wish I had a bit more time to get some stuff made. I really appreciate good clothing, stuff that's made to look good, wear well, and wear comfortably, but I get so frustrated by trying to find things that fit those criteria in the US that I hardly bother to clothing shop.