Brocade Apparel
Brocade Apparel
Helen Zhou's Qi Pao/Cheongsam Studio
Helen Zhou's Qi Pao/Cheongsam Studio
Testimonials
Testimonials
As many of you know, the nature of Yelp.com does not always guarantee its fairness. Unfortunately, Brocade Apparel has become one of the victims of fake Yelp reviews.
Many of our customers have simply asked us to post their real Yelp reviews on our website as reference. Therefore, we've chosen some and posted them below.
We sincerely thank all of our customers who have shown their support for us on Yelp.com.
Real Customers' Comments on Yelp:
Claire C. from Long Beach, CA commented on Yelp.com
Artistic Designs in Chinese Traditional Dress
"I came across Brocade Apparel by somewhat of an accident. Unlike other large wedding stores, this was a small store front with many beautiful colorful Chinese styled dresses at the window. If you drove too fast, you could easily miss it. I met the owner, Helen, and explained to her that I wanted to have a "Chinese flare" dress for my wedding, but not totally traditional. She was very creative and understanding of my needs. Let me be clear, by no means I have the perfect body to showcase a dress. But she picked out a fabric that I just never thought of. I was totally surprised at how well the color accentuates my skin and my hair.
The next few months, I have returned a few times to try out the dress and we even changed the design a little. She (unlike other big wedding stores where I had to select from their list of styles) totally worked with me on the design of the dress, and tailored it to accent my assets and hide my flaws without me reminding her.
I could say that my wedding dress is really one of the kind because we had designed it from ground up. It didn't cost me that much money either. Knowing I was driving from Long Beach and working full time, she also accommodated my schedules.
Every time I came in, her shop was fairly busy. The customers were all smiling with anticipations of their big days, whatever events it might be. There was a sense of cheerfulness in the shop all the time.
On my wedding day, all my friends and family were totally surprised at my dress. They all complimented on it.
I REALLY felt like a queen in the dress. Isn't it what a wedding dress is all about?!
I highly recommend Helen and her shop. She is definitely an artist in this field."
Julie L. from Burbank, CA commented on Yelp.com
"After feeling underwhelmed by many chi-pao stores I had visited in L.A., I finally found a chi-pao maker who knew what she was talking about.
Helen, the owner and the designer, was very professional and extremely experienced--she was able to sketch a dress based on my description on the spot! I was so impressed! I went back two weeks later for my first fitting and was even more impressed; my halter chi-pao fitted so well and was so flattering! I highly recommend Helen."
To read more of our filtered Yelp reviews, please go to Brocade Apparel on Yelp.com and find (9 Filtered) on the bottom left of regular reviews
To read more of our filtered Yelp reviews, please go to Brocade Apparel on Yelp.com and find (9 Filtered) on the bottom left of regular reviews
Connie from Rowland Heights, CA commented on Yelp.com
My mother, aunt and I had our custom-made qipao made at Brocade Apparel. We absolutely love our dresses --- the design, the fabric, and the quality of our dresses. Helen, the owner, is truly an expert in qipaos. She had a vision for each of us for our styles, colors, and fit, and her vision is perfect. The craftsmanship of our dresses is also excellent.
I agree with some of the previous reviews that weekends are not a good time to visit Brocade Apparel, as it can get very busy there. With only Helen running the entire place ---- with no sales assistants --- one may have to wait to get Helen's attention during a busy weekend. We visited Brocade without an appointment, not knowing that we needed one. We waited too. Helen did not give us much attention while we waited --- some may mistake the lack of attention as rudeness --- but we fully understood how many customers there were ahead of us and we respected that this is just her way of being focused on her customers on hand. It was our fault, after all, for not researching thoroughly before and not making an appointment. For our subsequent fitting appointments, we visited on weekdays, and we got undivided attention from Helen.
We have no complaints about the prices we received, as our prices were within the range of the prices of quality evening dresses, and the custom fit is well worth the price.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience with our purchases at Brocade Apparel and we highly recommend their custom-made qipaos."
Angela A. from Redondo Beach, CA commented on Yelp.com
"The store front has a sign that says "Brocade Apparel", so keep an eye out for that to help you find it easier. There is also parking in the back if you drive into the driveway by the store.
I was very impressed that Helen Zhou has been in this business for so long that she was able to look at a few pictures of me and have a custom-made chi pao that fit. My parents showed her a few pictures as I was not able to go into the store with them at the time. So Helen didn't have any measurements of me before production started, and when I went into the store to try it on, I was amazed that it only needed minimal alterations! The entire process from order to final pick up after alterations was about 2 weeks. My family and I were very happy with the dress!
If you need a custom made chi pao, I highly recommend her. There are swatches in the store so you can choose the fabric, and other samples so you can choose the color/style. It is much easier if you speak Chinese. Also, it is difficult to get someone on the phone, so going into the store is probably best. The store hours are 11am - 7pm."
( please note: our store hours have changed. please refer to Contact Us for new store hours)
FAQ and Answers from Yelp.com regarding Filtered Reviews on Yelp:
FAQ and Answers from Yelp.com regarding Filtered Reviews on Yelp:
"A review written by a real customer of mine was filtered — can you restore it?"
Yelp: The filter continually reevaluates its decisions based on the information at hand. As a result, it's fairly common to see reviews come and go as the filter picks up new information. Either way, business owners should probably focus less on any one review and more on their entire body of reviews. Reviewers, in turn, should contribute to the site and give the filter a chance to get to know them over the long-term.
"Is the filter ever wrong?"
Yelp: The filter sometimes affects perfectly legitimate reviews and misses some fake ones, too. After all, legitimate reviews sometimes look questionable, and questionable reviews sometimes look legitimate. We think the filter does a good job given the sheer volume of reviews and the difficulty of its task, but it doesn't really matter what we think — consumers will only use Yelp if we do a good job of showcasing the most helpful and reliable reviews.