Wholesale sourcing notes
Preparing a wholesale inquiry
A useful first wholesale conversation starts with a clear buying brief: a shortlist of dynasty silhouettes, a target retail price band, a size spread, a seasonal deadline and the fabric questions that matter for your customers. The inquiry you write is the brief our studio workshop partners work from.
The standard starting point for a new buyer is the sample pack: a paid set of swatches and one finished sample garment, refundable against a first order. Everything on this page exists to help you decide what to write alongside it.
Six things to gather before you write
Each of these changes the reply you receive. A message that includes all six can usually be answered with a concrete fabric recommendation, a size spread and a production window in one exchange; a message that includes none of them usually costs two or three rounds of clarification before the same ground is covered.
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Your dynasty silhouette shortlist
Name the two or three silhouettes you are considering — a Ming-style robe, a Jin-style crossed top, a Tang-style high-waist skirt — rather than asking for "Hanfu" as a single category. Silhouette determines the garment block, the yardage and the sewing sequence, so it is the first thing a workshop needs. Our dynasty collections page describes each family in plain retail language if you are still narrowing the list.
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Your target retail price band
Give a retail band per garment, not a wish for "the cheapest option". Price band decides fabric weight, lining, trim and finishing time. A mid-weight twill robe and a lightweight plain-weave robe can share a silhouette and still sit in different bands; knowing which band you sell into lets us recommend the fabric that will hold its margin.
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Your size spread
Tell us how many pieces you expect per size, and whether your customers skew toward one end of the range. A spread of S–L in even numbers behaves very differently in production from a spread weighted toward M and L. If you already sell a comparable garment, the size curve of that garment is the most useful number you can send.
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Your seasonal deadline
State the date the goods must be on your shelf, not the date you would like to order. Our production calendar runs in spring and autumn windows, and sample requests are best placed several weeks before a seasonal buying deadline. A deadline that falls outside a window is still workable, but it changes which fabrics and workshops are available.
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Your fabric and care questions
Write down what your customers will actually do to the garment: machine wash or hand wash, hang dry or flat dry, wear against skin or over a layer. Fabric behaviour in wear and care is the question buyers most often leave until after the order, and it is the one that most often forces a change of cloth. Ask it first.
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Whether you are testing one style or planning a range
Say plainly whether this is a single-style trial or the first step of a seasonal range. A trial order is evaluated on one garment and one fabric; a range order is evaluated on how silhouettes, fabrics and sizes sit together on a rail. The two conversations have different first questions, and knowing which one you are having saves a round of correspondence.
If you can answer four of the six, write anyway. The remaining two can be settled during sample evaluation, which is exactly what the sample pack is for.
The inquiry worksheet
Below is the worksheet we would ask you to fill in. The right-hand column is a display-only preview of how it looks as a form; it is not connected to any system, it does not send or store anything you type, and its controls are intentionally inactive. Copy the field list into your own notes and use it to draft your message.
Fields a real inquiry covers
- Business and market
- Where you retail, what kind of shop or event programme you run, and who your customer is.
- Silhouette shortlist
- Two or three dynasty families you are considering, with any reference styles you already sell.
- Retail price band
- The band you intend to sell at, per garment, in your own currency.
- Size spread
- Expected pieces per size, and the size curve of a comparable garment if you have one.
- Seasonal deadline
- The date goods must be on shelf, and the season the range belongs to.
- Fabric and care
- Wash method, drying method, layering, and any climate your customers buy for.
- Order shape
- Single-style trial or seasonal range, and the opening quantity you have in mind.
- Sample pack status
- Whether you have already requested the sample pack, or are asking about it now.
Display-only preview
Non-connected preview — nothing you type is sent or stored.
When you are ready to move forward, the sample pack is the route that starts the conversation with a garment in hand rather than a message in a queue.
Which route fits your question
Not every message belongs in the same place. The table below maps the three common situations to the route that answers them fastest, and notes what to include so the reply is useful on the first pass.
| Your situation | Route to take | What to include | What you get back |
|---|---|---|---|
| New buyer, no garment handled yet | Request the sample pack | Silhouette shortlist, retail price band, size spread, seasonal deadline | Swatches, one finished sample garment and a printed evaluation worksheet |
| Returning buyer with a known style | Direct order question | Style reference, fabric already approved, size spread, opening quantity | A tiered price indication and a production window for that style |
| Seasonal deadline or calendar question | Production calendar question | On-shelf date, season, silhouette count, whether samples are already approved | Whether the deadline falls inside a spring or autumn production window |
If your question spans two rows, lead with the sample pack. It is the route that produces the most information per exchange, and the other two routes become easier once a garment has been handled.
Next step
Start with the sample pack
If you have not yet handled a Hanfu Supplier garment, the sample pack is the recommended first step. It is a paid set of swatches and one finished sample garment, refundable against a first order, and it arrives with a printed evaluation worksheet so you can record what you think of the cloth, the fit and the finishing before you commit to a wholesale quantity.
Bring the worksheet back with your notes and the conversation moves quickly: silhouette, fabric and size spread are already settled, and what remains is the order sheet.
This page carries no mailbox, telephone number or address. The sample pack request is the working channel.