At that time, with the import of silk from mainland China prohibited, most good ch'i-p'ao fabrics were brought in from Hong Kong and were very dear. "Silk cannot endure unstitching--if you made a mistake, you have to reimburse the customer," he says. At that time the monthly salary of a tailor was not enough to pay for the cloth of one ch'i-p'ao.
當時由於大陸絲、緞禁止進口，好的旗袍料子大多要從香港帶進來，十分珍貴；「絲緞又不耐拆，萬一做不好得賠人家」，楊成貴透露，那時候旗袍師傅一個月的薪水，還不夠賠一塊布料。