Ji Xia turned around in surprise and looked at the woman, their eyes meeting.
The woman was tall and slender, around 27 or 28 years old. She wore a silk shirt with high-waisted black trousers and gold-rimmed glasses, exuding the air of a Hong Kong business elite.
Ji Xia guessed the woman's identity and gave her a slight smile.
"Comrade, you have good taste."
The tall woman, Rong Xiaorou, and her female companion walked to the counter and looked Liu Pianran up and down in her Xiuhe dress: "Was this dress custom-made by a tailor shop?"
"No, it's a new model from Shanghai."
Liu Pianran pointed to the fabric counter over there as she spoke: "A few new styles come in every day, and they're all snapped up in no time."
Rong Xiaorou glanced at the counter and saw two or three girls chattering around it, looking at Liu Pianran's Xiuhe dress while expressing their dissatisfaction with the dress in their hands.
She shook her head: "Impossible. I just came from Haishi and have never seen these styles before. These are definitely not from Haishi. Besides, it's impossible for goods from Haishi to be delivered here every day!"
Liu Pianran glanced at Rong Xiaorou in surprise. Although she didn't know her identity or background, she could tell that this girl was no ordinary person.
She subconsciously scanned Ji Xia's face and said, "Do you think we should wear a pair of high heels?"
"Wearing high heels will make your posture and demeanor look better, and you will also appear taller and slimmer, with a better overall presence. However, wearing high heels in the countryside may not be very suitable."
Ji Xia offered some constructive suggestions, and Liu Pianran was immediately intrigued. She whispered to Yang Zhiqing and they decided to buy another pair of high heels.
A decent pair of high-heeled leather shoes would cost at least twenty or thirty yuan.
Ji Xia chuckled inwardly, wondering what Lin Haodong thought when he found out that Liu Pianran had spent tens of yuan to match this outfit.
A short while later, Liu Pianran indeed came over wearing a pair of black leather shoes with mid-heel, making her figure and posture even more beautiful.
Wearing high heels and her new wedding dress, Liu Pianran strolled around the supply and marketing cooperative, attracting everyone's attention and admiration, which made her blush with joy.
After going around in circles, she returned to Ji Xia's side: "Isn't this perfect?"
"It's just a little bit short."
Ji Xia looked her up and down, noticing her slightly loose waist. She was surprised that her waist was so small, wondering if it was even 1.7 feet.
After a moment of hesitation, she whispered, "Actually, your waist could be made a little smaller, which would make you look better. Do you want it changed? If you want it changed, I can make a small adjustment for you, but people in the countryside might gossip."
Liu Pianran wasn't worried about gossip. She figured she wouldn't stay in the countryside for more than a few days before returning to the city with Lin Haodong. Hearing this, she was pleasantly surprised: "You can help me revise it?"
"Yes, just tuck in one centimeter on each side of the waist."
"Then please help me revise it."
Liu Pianran went back to the rest room, took off her clothes, and had them altered by Ji Xia.
There weren't many customers at the supply and marketing cooperative, so Ji Xia turned her inner garment inside out, drew an arc on the side of her waist with white thread, and then slowly modified it with needle and thread.
Twenty minutes later, he handed the altered jacket to Liu Pianran and asked her to go in and try it on.
As soon as Liu Pianran left, Rong Xiaorou chuckled softly, "You designed this wedding dress, didn't you?"
Ji Xia turned around and smiled slightly at her: "It's not really a design. This style is based on traditional clothing. I just cinched the waist a bit and changed the horse-face skirt into a half-cheongsam."
"You even know about the horse-face skirt?"
Rong Xiaorou looked at her with admiration, then looked around and asked, "Could you show me your design?"
"Design drawings? Just a few sketches."
Ji Xia was quite satisfied with her idea, so she handed her the sketches she usually scribbled.
"These are just random drawings, don't laugh if they're not good."
"How do you make this auspicious cloud?"
"I drew on the cloth with a pen, and then used strips of cloth to mark the lines on the fabric before nailing it on..."
"Where are the peonies on the cheongsam?"
"It was sewn on."
"It would look even better if it were embroidered."
"Of course, but embroidery takes a lot of time, and I don't know how to do it." Ji Xia chuckled awkwardly. Even if she did know how, she wouldn't embroider for Liu Pianran for two hundred yuan.
Rong Xiaorou flipped through the pages for a while. Some of the renderings were quite stunning, some were just average, and some had one or two elements that she really liked.
Some designs even have diagrams and dimensions drawn on the side, and upon inquiry, it turns out they've already been made and are being sold.
She asked curiously, "Have you studied this before?"
"No, they were just random drawings, but I can sew clothes."
There are many girls who sew, whether in the city or the countryside, but most of them only know the most basic styles and learned from their sisters or neighbors.
It's quite surprising to find someone like Ji Xia who can design and draw up clear design drafts, renderings, plate-making diagrams, and layout diagrams.
Moreover, some elements and color combinations in this design are quite stunning and show some interesting ideas.
She smiled slightly: "Have you ever thought about studying fashion design systematically?"
"Systematic learning of fashion design?"
Ji Xia frowned slightly and asked curiously, "How do you learn that? You should be able to learn that in college, right?"
“If you apply to an art academy and choose fashion design as your major, you will have the opportunity to learn it systematically.”
As Rong Xiaorou spoke, she wrote her name and address on her notebook.
“I’m a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts. I see you have a real talent for this. If you’re interested, you can participate in the Academy’s selection process next January. The requirements for academic subjects aren’t high, but you need to have a foundation in sketching.”
"If you're interested, write to me and I'll find some books on sketching and fashion design and send them to you."
Rong Xiaorou gave her some advice, and then she and her companion bought two packs of milk candy and left.
Ji Xia turned around and saw two pairs of jealous eyes.
Liu Pianran and Yang Zhiqing stood by and listened to their conversation for a while before asking enviously, "Is she a university teacher? Did she let you enroll in university?"
"I suggest applying to an art academy. However, while the academic requirements aren't high, a background in art is required."
Ji Xia frowned. In her previous life, she had taken a training course in sketching for a month or two, but whether it would be good enough was another matter. She wasn't sure.
Yang, the educated youth, asked in a low voice, "Comrade Ji Xia, did you really design and make this wedding dress?"
Ji Xia nodded, then thought for a moment and said to Liu Pianran, "We made it. To be honest, we lost a lot of money on this wedding dress for twenty yuan. Not to mention the fabric, just look at the effort and design. The three of us worked all night to make this dress. We could usually make five or six of them."
Liu Pianran thought of a set of clothes made at a tailor shop, which also cost twenty yuan. Compared to that, the set made by Ji Xia was indeed better.
They glanced at Ji Xia with complicated expressions, thanked her, and left with the wedding dress and new shoes.
After the two left, Ji Xia shook her head and said to Liu Hongju, "I'm going back to my hometown with my second brother tonight. I'll be working the afternoon shift tomorrow. You can come to my house in the morning to pick up your new clothes."
Liu Hongju responded, then leaned closer enviously and asked, "Is that really a teacher? She wants you to study design in the college entrance exam, are you planning to do it?"
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