This Singaporean owns over 500-pieces of vintage clothing, including cheongsams

Singaporean and 32-year-old Lin Tong shares why she has a penchant for vintage clothing, particularly cheongsams that reflect her identity and heritage.

Sewing, vintage clothing, and cheongsams – these are Lin Tong’s favorite things. Influenced by her mum, the 32-year-old public servant started sewing a decade ago.

“My mum taught me to sew, I think that enabled me to explore and go further in terms of the costume and design and the vintage collecting because that lets me work with a lot more pieces,” she reflected.

Image: Screenshot from CNA

While sewing is a hobby, she does the occasional commission job too. “A lot of my designs and construction methods are inspired by the vintage pieces I collect, especially mid-century construction styles.”

Her favourite materials to work with are silk charmeuse and silk organza as well as hand-drawn batik on cotton fine weave. Lin also pitches into her godmother’s tailoring business, Golden Scissor Cheongsam.

Her collection of vintage pieces now numbers over 500 pieces and her investment has exceeded S$20,000. Most of her pieces are purchased online and she likes brands like Jonathan Logan and R and K Originals. She describes her collection as “colorful, cheongsam-centric, and quite high maintenance.”

Aside from cheongsams, she favors mid-century styles, especially those from the 1950s and 1960s. She said, “Fashion is cyclical, but your taste is not. You should keep the clothes as long as you feel that you enjoy them, and you have a good purpose for them.”

Lin values the craftsmanship and construction of vintage clothing. She defines vintage fashion as clothing dated from the 1980s or older, highlighting that while vintage is usually second-hand, it is not always “thrift” as the rarity and quality of construction often drive higher prices for certain genres.

She believes that vintage has a place in the modern world for two reasons – firstly, sustainability when the lifetime of the piece is extended, and secondly, heritage, for the interesting story behind the piece.

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