Qun Kwa done. One more dress to go.

I tried to not have to go into Dragon Seed. Why? Because you have to be emotionally prepared when entering that store. You have to go into Dragon Seed knowing what type customer service to expect. It's the abrupt, Chinese "see lai" saleslady type service that can be difficult. I'm taller than the average Chinese girl (5'7"), and I'm a size 8. That means I am not a size 2 (maybe 0, who knows?) like Kelly Chen or Miss Chinatown. So I knew going in that the Chinese ladies were going to comment about my pear-shaped figure. I was prepared for the abrupt comments. Chinese ladies think being blunt is their way of "helping you." Being tactful for a sale is not in their blood. A girl before me though was trying on a cheong sam, and one of the seamstresses made a comment about her tummy sticking out (god, she was pretty skinny people), and the poor girl did not look happy.

Still, the saleslady, initially seemed unconvinced I could fit into the kwa. So she had me try on the jacket and the skirt while I was standing at the counter. So there I am, in my jeans and shirt wearing the kwa. Finally I convinced her that I needed to see the outfit in its appropriate fashion and I went into the dressing room. Then she started taking kwas from the counters to let me try. Kwas with beading (which were quite sparkly) and kwas with the gold and silver thread (which she said was more regal or whatever). I am pearshaped, so I kept telling her the dress was fitting on me a certain way because of my body, not because I was wearing the dress incorrectly. Sigh, it was like she wasn't listening, and she kept patting me and saying "well there's nothing she could do" and "it's because I have a big pet-pet" (if you're chinese you know what I'm talking about) and maybe i can lose some weight before the wedding. I fit the qun kwas just fine, it's a matter of how I wanted the skirt to drape.

Finally I just started ignoring them and was just consulting with my maid of honor and Tony about the different qun kwas I was trying on. And then finally, it got better. Then it was just the different saleslady/seamstresses going back and forth about whether they would do any alterations on the skirt (they decided it wasn't necessary).

In any event, I have now rented my qun kwa. I just have to purchase one more dress, and then I am good to go. Well, I still need to find 3 pairs of shoes.