bestfiction Chapter 239 Silk Clothing
Chapter 239 Silk Clothing
Chapter 239 Silk Garments
The three bolts of silk produced by the Nangong family were eventually sold to Wen Yuxia. Following Wen Yuxia's instructions, the dye masters dyed the three bolts of silk purple, bright red, and light blue.
The dyed silk was delivered to the princess's residence. After a moment's thought, Wen Yuxia made a decision: "Bei Yi, have Madam Yu bring two skilled craftsmen over."
Upon hearing that she was to take the master to the princess's residence, Madam Yu immediately remembered the three bolts of silk that Wen Yuxia had acquired some time ago. She then called over the two most skilled tailors in the shop, and together with their cutting tools, followed Bei Yi to the princess's residence.
"Madam Yu, what do you plan to do with these silks?" Wen Yuxia had already figured out how to maximize profits, but she still wanted to test Madam Yu, the manager of the clothing store.
Lady Yu pondered carefully, "Things are valued for their rarity. If a bolt of silk is used to make two garments... Princess, the design of the finished garment will depend on you."
Her idea was to make the silk garments in six stages, using the silk fabric to attract the attention of noblewomen and young ladies in the capital, thus increasing foot traffic at "Yi Chang Ge" (逸裳阁).
One bolt of silk can make six sets of clothing, and hanging three sets of silk suits at once seems wasteful to Wen Yuxia. "Your thinking coincides with mine, but..."
Wen Yuxia suggested that only one set of silk garments should be displayed in the store at a time to attract attention. Simultaneously, ten sets of the same style should be made using fine cotton and regular cotton fabric.
Lady Yu said with a charming laugh, "Princess, when it comes to marketing skills, you're second to none."
Wen Yuxia's suggestion was clearly more reasonable than hers. If a garment could be produced in ten days, the second batch of silk should be almost finished after the three bolts of silk were used up.
Pointing to several blueprints on the table, Wen Yuxia said calmly, "Go and choose for yourself."
Madam Yu nodded slightly and slowly stepped forward to examine the drawings. She had a good eye, so Wen Yuxia handed over all the completed drawings at once, leaving it to Madam Yu to decide which drawing to use.
“This one is suitable for purple silk, this one is suitable for bright red, and the rest are suitable for light blue,” Madam Yu said softly.
After selecting the style, Madam Yu personally measured Wen Yuxia's figure and slightly loosened the size. Then, pointing to the purple silk, she instructed two tailors to cut out the fabric needed for a complete garment.
Wen Yuxia said calmly, "Cutting it directly will save fabric." Madam Yu smiled awkwardly, "I'll listen to the princess..."
She had originally planned to cut enough fabric to make a garment, and with the leftover scraps, she could sew two handkerchiefs. Well, with just one sentence from Wen Yuxia, all the scraps were gone.
Wen Yuxia's lips curled into a slight smile. These little items—silk handkerchiefs, silk hair ornaments, and silk hair ties—had to be kept for her two precious daughters.
After the clothes were cut, Madam Yu glanced longingly at the scraps hanging on the fabric, then pointed to the two small pieces of broken scrap on the table.
She said ingratiatingly, "Princess, could you please give this to me?" Two small scraps of fabric, if properly cut, could be sewn into two little chrysanthemums, which would surely look beautiful on her daughter's headband.
Wen Yuxia glanced at the scraps on the table and said in a low voice, "Take them." Madam Yu happily put away the scraps, then gave Wen Yuxia a curtsy and returned to Yishang Pavilion with the two craftsmen.
Ten days later was the time for "Yi Chang Ge" to launch its new collection. Madam Yu hung the purple silk dress she had made in the most prominent place in the shop.
The noble ladies and young women of the capital city arrived at the shop. The purple silk dresses caught everyone's eye. Watching the purple skirts flutter in the breeze, and listening to the shop assistant explain that the fabric of the dresses was a priceless silk...
The wealthy ladies, not lacking money, secretly calculated their options, while the cash-strapped young ladies forced themselves to shift their gaze to a fine cotton suit in the same style and color as the silk garment.
Before the ladies could even decide whether to buy or not, a haughty voice came from the shop entrance: "This outfit is mine, Princess!"
The waiter turned around, grinned, and saw that the patron had arrived. She trotted forward and gave the newcomer a curtsy, "Princess Wanyu, you've come at just the right time. This purple dress is the only one of its kind, made of silk..."
With a eloquent tongue, she described the characteristics of silk in great detail: its excellent breathability, ability to evaporate sweat and keep the body dry and comfortable, and its ability to reveal the texture of the garment under sunlight.
Wanyu was overjoyed. She didn't even bother asking the price, and simply told the saleswoman to take the clothes down so she could try them on.
In the entire clothing store, Wan Yu was the highest-ranking woman. The noblewomen surrounding the silk garments exchanged glances, each sensing the other's displeasure, but no one dared to utter a sound.
As the saleswoman carefully took the clothes off the hanger and handed them to Wanyu in a fawning manner, Wanyu's sister-in-law, Qiao Shi, couldn't help but say, "Wait, we were here first, why should she try them on first?"
Wan Yu glanced coldly at Qiao Shi, speaking in the gentlest voice the most hurtful words: "Ha, why? Because I'm a princess, and you're just a concubine's daughter from the prefect's family."
Although Qiao Shi was the illegitimate daughter of the prefect, she was extremely beautiful. Zhang Jinxuan's eldest brother fell in love with her at first sight and insisted on marrying her, despite being the eldest grandson of the legitimate wife.
Normally, with Zhang Jinxuan's elder brother protecting her at home, and under Zhang Jinxuan's nagging, Wanyu was also very kind to Qiao Shi. Furthermore, Qiao Shi really liked purple silk suits, so in a moment of impulse, Qiao Shi publicly rebuked Wanyu.
However, Qiao Shi forgot that Wan Yu was the most unruly of all the princesses. Her face flushed red, her eyes filled with tears, and she choked out, "You, you, I'm your sister-in-law, how could you say such a thing to me?"
"I respect you because you're the eldest sister-in-law; I don't respect you, you're nothing," Wan Yu's voice remained gentle, but the word "nobody" drew gasps of laughter from the women around her.
"It doesn't matter if you try it on first or later. Everyone has a chance to try it on before the clothes are sold," Madam Yu quickly stepped in to smooth things over, helping Wan Yu towards the fitting room.
Wanyu sneered inwardly. How could she allow you to try on the clothes that she, the princess, had taken a liking to? After trying them on, Wanyu was very satisfied and asked about the price of the suit. Madam Yu replied with a smile, "One thousand taels."
Wan Yu laughed. The "priceless silk" referred to a single bolt of silk, but Wen Yuxia, that unscrupulous merchant, was twisting the concept, claiming a complete outfit was worth a thousand gold pieces, adding, "VIP cards might offer a discount."
“Of course,” Madam Yu said with a faint smile.
The decision to offer a 20% discount on all ready-to-wear clothing at "Yi Shang Ge" with a VIP card was made by Wen Yuxia. Wen Yuxia stated that the VIP card was a marketing tactic.
Customers who spend over 5,000 taels of silver at "Yi Chang Ge" will receive a VIP card. Noble ladies and young ladies of the capital consider it an honor to own a "Yi Chang Ge" VIP card.