Old rags, glad rags

When Wu Qiong first started buying vintage clothing from a Chinese shopping website, she had no idea where this would eventually lead - apart from adding a few quirky, "personality" pieces to her bulging closet.

Today, www.taobao.com has nearly 300 online shops selling everything from 80s' suits with padded shoulders to colorfully-rimmed sunglasses and hard leather bags. Wu's is one of them. "Dozens, if not hundreds, of shops dedicated to vintage clothes have sprung up in Taobao in the past three month," she says. "A new style is emerging - there's no mistaking that."