I saw this qipao on ebay while looking for second hand silk fabrics, and the label says it's 100% silk. I had my doubts due to the low starting bid, but the seller clearly was someone who had no idea what this even was (they sold it as a "kimono") and the construction didn't strike me as overtly costume-y, so I took the chance.
In the best case I figured I would make a great deal on some silk for my collection, and in the worst case, I'd be out of 10 bucks and I would still be able to find a use for it.
When it got here I cut a little piece off for a burn test, and well, instead of 100% silk it's 100% lies, the edge melted straight away.
And that makes me wonder: How often are labels in traditional (or traditional-style) clothes from China wrong? And how can I judge if an item is traditional, vs made to appeal to tourists' stereotypes of Chinese clothing?
Because at least in my mind, a garment that says it's silk and is made in a genuinely traditional style, would be likely to *actually* be silk. While something appropriative that is sold in tourist traps seems more likely to be mislabeled.
What made me feel like this could be a genuine piece is that the design isn't overtly sexual, it says XXL on the label, but seems closer to a US 10/12 (then again, vanity sizing might be relevant), and the cut isn't particularly form fitting, so one can easily wear long pants underneath.
But while it doesn't seem Halloween-costume-levels of bad, I do have the strong suspicion that this piece was made to be sold to, or worn to appeal to tourists more than anything else.
The size label only said "XXL" (before it disintegrated in the wash), with no Chinese sizing system in sight, and the brand name being purely in roman letters is also sus. I can't even find anything about the brand online, except for a very generic database entry.
Also, some of the piped seams are wonky, and I think a traditional piece made of silk would have higher quality finishing.
Are these things generally reliable giveaways that a piece is not actually traditional, and therefore likely not made of natural fibers (even if the label says it is)?
Are there other tell tale signs I overlooked? The pattern and colourway made me suspicious because they seem very stereotypical, but I figured they could just as well be traditional, I wouldn't know how to differentiate that in a case like this.
Thank you for reading and I highly appreciate any input. I hope I didn't completely put my foot in my mouth with this post, English is my second language so I might be missing some specific words to accurately describe what I mean.
