I'm among the happy customers who swear by Fei Fei's work - a friend recommended her, and they tailored a suit for my husband that far exceeded our expectations. However, I was biking past the other day and noticed that several shops have sprung up next to the original Fei Fei's, all with similar or identical names to her shop. They are totally unrelated to the original.
I spoke with Fei Fei herself for quite a while to figure out what was going on. She's been a tailor for 30 years, the majority of those in Beijing (after learning the trade in Shanghai). She was really concerned about the impact the new neighbors would have on her reputation, and said she'd already received complaints for shoddy work done by the neighboring stores, so it's a shame to see reviews like the one above. Shirts at Fei Fei's start at RMB200 (as of my chat with her in early April 2014), so for the reviewer who paid RMB1,000(!) for a shirt with terrible quality, I suspect that unfortunately, you may have gone to one of the faux Fei Fei stores.
To clarify, the original Fei Fei Tailor Shop has wooden doors and cursive script on the red-and-white sign over the entrance. The work is done in the shop in the back, or in a studio across the street; it's not outsourced to a factory. Fei Fei also has a little framed copy of an old Beijinger review of her tailor shop from many years ago; she's in the picture, which is a helpful way of making sure you've found the place that has such a good reputation among its loyal clients.
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