The first is in Sham Shui Po and the experience is unlike any I have ever experienced. To get to the fabric area you have to pass through the regular stalls of what looked like the home repair market - thing Home Depot with each aisle as a separate stall.
Once you exit that market you enter the fabric market and the stalls disappear. Instead there are blocks and blocks of shop fronts. Each shop represents an individual manufacturer and sells only those fabrics. There are separate shops for trims, lace, buttons, ribbons, etc.
The most unusual part is that very few of the shops actually have fabric in them. Instead the walls are lined with sample cards of each of the offerings. There are many cards of each kind on a hook. It took me a while to figure out the system, but I finally got it by watching some young girls making their selections. If you like a fabric you take one of the sample cards. You can order on the spot or you can call in your order at a later time after you have shopped all the stores. The goods are on the mainland so in a day or two you can come back to pick up your order.
The first time you experience this system it can be a bit overwhelming. I didn't order anything at the time but I do have a few cards sitting on my desk. That is not to say I went home empty handed. I did find a shop that sold lace trims and did some damage there. I also made a few purchases at a trim and bead shop. Perhaps my favorite was one of the many button shops. It was a bit larger than many of the others shops and the entire walls and center cabinets were filled with tiny drawers of buttons.
There were buttons of every shape, size and color. Many had beautiful designs on them. I checked with the shopkeeper as to price and he gave me a few general rules. In the end I decided to buy some sets of really unique buttons. I actually chose a lot of unique buttons. When I went to cash out I was a bit afraid of what my total would be. He counted up the bigger sized buttons (missed a few) and then threw them all in a bag and told me $120HK which is about $15US. Believe me when I say I bought a LOT of buttons. It was definitely the deal of the day.
As interesting as Sham Shui Po is, I still love to hold a bolt of fabric in my hand and feel its texture and see how it drapes. That is a bit difficult when looking at a small square sample. So with Ken in tow we went to Western Market for a different experience. Western Market is in Sheung Wan quite close to Central and we only needed to go a few stops on the tram to get there. The building is old and has been restored.
In this building the ground floor is filled with small shops selling scarves and jewelry and such. The second floor is wall to wall fabric stalls.
We wandered through looking at the selections. I may go back again without Ken (he hates this kind of shopping but was was a good enough sport to go, so I didn't want to torture him too much). We did choose a couple of chinese embroidered silks, but our best find was a very friendly gentleman who sold fine English wool. He had bolts of these wonderful fabrics but he also had pieces cut into shorter lengths. There would be enough for a vest or a skirt and some even for a dress. We chose several pieces. In US dollars the bolts started at about $75/yd. The precut pieces were $15/yd. Our shopkeeper was so nice he even made some suggestions for me for making a skirt.
It was a fun experience. Now if I only had my sewing machine...
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