Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Place an Order for a Piece of Clothing?
Contact me via email or by using the “Place an Order” form on my Clothing Shop page with the name of the piece you’d like to purchase. Since each piece is one-of-a-kind, if multiple people request the same piece, purchase will be first come, first serve. Please provide your mailing address so I can calculate shipping fees. I will email you with a Paypal invoice including the item price, any applicable tax, and shipping which you can pay via Paypal, Venmo, or Credit Card. Due to the one-of-a-kind nature of my pieces, all sales are final. Please note that I only use insured shipping options. I can ship internationally, however there may be additional tax, customs fees, and higher shipping costs, to be paid by the customer. I will ship your purchase within the week, excluding holidays. If you will be at a makers market I will be attending soon, pickup may be possible to avoid shipping fees.
How Do I Place an Order for a Sewing Pattern?
On the sewing pattern page click “Add to Cart” and then check out from my website’s cart page. You will receive an email containing a link to download a zip file. Unzip the zip file to access the pattern & instruction PDFs, which you can then print out to use. The link will last 24 hours, so make sure to download the zip file before the link expires. Digital downloads are not eligible for refunds.
How Do I Clean my Clothing Piece?
To maximize the lifespan of your piece, wash it by hand in cold water with a gentle soap. After washing, rather than wringing excess water out, lay your piece flat on a towel and roll the towel up (like a Swiss roll cake). Hang or lay your piece flat to finish air drying.
Do not dry clean my pieces, since I frequently use gutta and resist which will be removed by the dry cleaning process.
If your piece contains cyanotype dye or silk painting, the dyes are sensitive to pH and phosphates, so in order to avoid discoloration wash it using a pH-neutral and phosphate-free soap. I recommend soaps designed for silk, as they are typically pH balanced, phosphate-free, and very gentle on both fabric and skin. Some good options are Heritage Park Silk & Wool Laundry Detergent and Dove Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar.
You may iron your piece at the lowest temperature appropriate for the fabric types it contains. For instance, if your piece contains cotton and silk, iron it on the silk setting which is a lower temperature than the cotton setting.
Your piece will come with a care card indicating the types of fabric and dyes it contains.
What Size Should I Buy?
All of my pieces are designed to be loose fitting and drape across the body. If you typically wear a size XS or S in USA sizing, I recommend buying an S. If you typically wear a size M in USA sizing, I recommend buying a M. If you typically wear a size L or XL in USA sizing, I recommend buying an L. I do plan to offer a greater range of sizes in the future as my business grows. For a more detailed breakdown of my sizing recommendations, please see below:
Tops Size Chart (for cropped tops ignore hip measurement)
Bottoms Size Chart
Why is Nothing in Stock?
If nothing is in stock, it’s because I am between drops. I’m a one-person business and I design and make everything myself, so it takes me several weeks to prepare each drop. I release pieces in drops of about 9-16 pieces, and announce my drops on my social media, email list, and website.
What is Hanfu?
Hanfu refers to the traditional styles of Han Chinese clothing. There are many styles that developed across the Chinese dynasties, but some popular styles of hanfu include a top with flowing sleeves paired with a long underskirt (such as qixiong ruqun) or a long loose robe (such as beizi or shenyi). To learn more about hanfu, I strongly recommend the book Chinese Clothing by Hua Mei and the illustrations of Gao Chunming.
I seek to incorporate the elegant silhouettes and classical motifs of hanfu in my clothing design. Growing up as a Chinese-adoptee in America, making historical Chinese clothing was a poignant way to connect with my heritage, so now I hope to share the beauty of Chinese clothing with a broad audience. My parents are both potters and I spent time in Jingdezhen, the largest producer of Chinese porcelain pottery, with my mother while she studied porcelain pottery when I was young. That time was deeply formative and I love to incorporate the motifs of Chinese blue and white porcelain pottery in my clothing designs.
What is Sensory-Friendly Clothing?
Sensory friendly clothing is clothing without obtrusive seams and with soft fabric. Due to my sensory issues as a neurodivergent individual, I’ve always had issues wearing scratchy clothing with itchy seams a labels, so I take care to not include these in my clothing designs.
What Sustainability Practices do you Incorporate in Your Business?
Whenever possible, I like to use upcycled fabric and deadstock fabrics to save these fabrics from going to waste. If I have used upcycled or deadstock fabric in a piece, I will list it in the product description. Note that if I am using upcycled or deadstock fabrics, I cannot 100% guarantee that the fiber content is accurate because I’m not in contact with the manufacturer in those cases.
Can I Order Clothes if I have a Life-Threatening Dog Allergy?
I make everything in a home atelier, and do have a dog. The dog does not spend time in my atelier and I make sure all pieces are clean before they are shipped out. However, I cannot 100% guarantee an errant hair will not fall into your package, so if you have a life-threatening dog allergy I do not recommend that you buy from me.
Can I Commission You to Make _____?
Commissions currently: CLOSED
If you are interested in commissioning a custom piece, please email me. We can work together to discuss colors and central motifs, but the final design must fall within my style. I have very few commission slots. For wedding commissions, please reach out to me 6 months - 1 year in advance. I do not take character cosplay commissions, but am open to clothing, historical, and historical fantasy commissions. Pricing may be significantly higher than my non-commission pieces, as custom sizing and designs require extra development time, but I will provide a quote and a contract before we move forward with the commission process. A non-refundable retainer fee is required upfront to hold the commission slot and cover consulting/design time. The commission itself will be due in two parts, 50% before I begin your commission and the remaining 50%, shipping, and any taxes when I finish your commission.
Can I Request a Size/Colorway/Motif for Your Next Drop?
Yes! Due to the one-of-a-kind nature of my work, if there is a colorway, motif, or size you would like to request, please fill out the request form below. I cannot guarantee I will make a garment matching your request, but I will make an effort to include something inspired by your request in my next drop.