Question about chan

[retronotmetro]

Quote:

(johnnynorman3 @ 16 June 2004, 6:58) I've got my appointment on July 5. Â I am not sure what I'm gonna wear, mainly because my best fitting suit is actually quite unlike what I will be going for. Â My best fitting suit is a pretty classic American cut -- natural shoulders, center vent -- albeit with some waist suppression. Â But I really am desiring my Chan suit (suits) to be more in that English style -- a little more waist suppression, double vent, possibly a ticket pocket, maybe a dab shorter in length (though with a natural shoulder). Â It relieves me to hear that Kai describes that type of "hourglass" style as Chan's house style. Â
On the first appointment with Chan as you don't need to wear a suit. Â My first appointment was in Florida and I was wearing a pair of swim trunks...he had a couple of squeeze in appointments when I was supposed to go so I went to the beach as I was staying at the same hotel as Chan was and then he had me come up when he had a break. Â Thus I was on the beach and then he worked me in... Â And they were very accomodating. Â No snobbish attitude - I've had suits made at others that weren't so flexible. Â (Actually old English tailors normally require measurements from the boxers. Â Recall the line in the movie "Tailor from Panama" about which way he dresses...and he replies it is like a windsock...) What you may wish to do is take clippings or photos of what you want your suit to look like which might be more helpful. Â Chan will normally either take the clipping or they will take a digital photo. Relax and enjoy this rite of passage. Â I hope this helps.
VC2000, Good point about relaxing and letting the process go. No matter whom you choose as a tailor, there is a chance that your first suit won't come out the way you envision it. That's inevitable. Stressing out, or hammering the representative with questions or concerns, isn't going to help that. As far as what to wear to the measurement appointment, they recommend that you wear a suit, and I did so. Looking back, I wonder if that was actually a negative--instead of giving them a blank slate, did they use that suit too much as an exemplar? So you can probably argue the point either way, but I think it is probably more helpful than hurtful. At the very least they can nail down the trousers measurements from a good pair of slacks. And their total lack of snobbishness does make the process go very pleasantly.

 

[johnnynorman3]

I can't tell you how excited I am for my appointment on July 5 -- only 19 more days.

After dropping about $550 on a dozen Jantzen shirts, I can say with certainty that I feel a lot better about spending money on a quality MTM product. IMO, the value that having perfectly fitting clothing (meaning that it fits you well, and it has all the styling features YOU desired) makes the garmet 3 to 4 times more "valuable" to the wearer. I can't tell you how many times I've returned OTR suits because I just didn't like every detail of it and thus thought the expenditure wasn't justified.

 

[JohnMS]

I live only 700 miles from the nearest place Chan will be. What a shame.

 

[My View]

Has any of you guys ever thought of taking a short holiday to Asia - perhaps a few relaxing days in Bali, and stopping by Hong Kong for 4 or 5 days just shopping (it's really a shopping paradise), taking in the sights (it has a beautiful skyline) and feasting away (if you like Chinese food - especially Cantonese cuisine). You can visit WW Chan, A-man Hin Cheong (another reputable - and oldest - tailor in HK), Jantzen Tailor and Ascot Chang (Prince's Building, Central) all on the same trip. You should be able to make your orders, get personally measured up, get fitted, get fitted again, and collect the goods by the end of the trip. From the money you save from doing the same in the west, you can buy the airtickets, stay at a nice hotel, enjoy lots of good food, have lots of nice clothes and still have some leftover to get some souvenirs for family and friends back home. Sounds like a deal?

 

[marc237]

I would think you were with the Hong Kong Tourist Board were it not for the fact that I agree 100%. The only thing I would add is that you can make a fascinating side trip to Canton and other mainland cities.

 

[HRHAndrew]

Has any of you guys ever thought of taking a short holiday to Asia - perhaps a few relaxing days in Bali, and stopping by Hong Kong for 4 or 5 days just shopping (it's really a shopping paradise), taking in the sights (it has a beautiful skyline) and feasting away (if you like Chinese food - especially Cantonese cuisine).

You can visit WW Chan, A-man Hin Cheong (another reputable - and oldest - tailor in HK), Jantzen Tailor and Ascot Chang (Prince's Building, Central) all on the same trip.  You should be able to make your orders, get personally measured up, get fitted, get fitted again, and collect the goods by the end of the trip.  From the money you save from doing the same in the west, you can buy the airtickets, stay at a nice hotel, enjoy lots of good food, have lots of nice clothes and still have some leftover to get some souvenirs for family and friends back home.  Sounds like a deal?  

Are you suggesting that if I stopped in Jantzen on say a Monday got measured and ordered say 30 shirts that they would be ready to collect the following week.  That is worth planning another leg just to pull that off.

 

[gregory]

Does anyone know why do internet tailors deliver their goods in 3 - 4 weeks when they can deliver their goods to their local customers in 3 - 4 days?

 

[dah328]

Does anyone know why do internet tailors deliver their goods in 3 - 4 weeks when they can deliver their goods to their local customers in 3 - 4 days?

I don't know of any tailor who would deliver a bespoke jacket in 3-4 days.  One week, perhaps.  The extra time is probably partially due to shipping and the fact that they probably give walk-in customers priority over mail-order customers.  With advance appointments at WW Chan, I had a tuxedo made in about one week for an event in Hong Kong.  The rest of my order was shipped to me later, though.

dan

 

[gregory]

I don't know of any tailor who would deliver a bespoke jacket in 3-4 days.  

I am sorry, I was thinking about Jantzen. I believe someone mentioned that his walk-in customers get their shirts in a few days?

I would assume -- maybe this is silly -- that he would get much larger orders from rich Americans (read StyleForum members) and therefore would be most inclined to please them rather than walk-ins?

 

[Internyet]

Not unless he charges more for the suit. At that price point, I'm guessing walk-ins give him a fair bit of business.

 

[Kai]

Where the hell is Kai anyways?  He's gotta start dropping some tips here before our Chan appointments arrive.  

I've got my appointment on July 5.  I am not sure what I'm gonna wear, mainly because my best fitting suit is actually quite unlike what I will be going for.  My best fitting suit is a pretty classic American cut -- natural shoulders, center vent -- albeit with some waist suppression.  But I really am desiring my Chan suit (suits) to be more in that English style -- a little more waist suppression, double vent, possibly a ticket pocket, maybe a dab shorter in length (though with a natural shoulder).  It relieves me to hear that Kai describes that type of "hourglass" style as Chan's house style.  

Kai, if you are there and still have the pics of your Chan suit, can you repost them?  They are not available anymore here.

Sorry not to jump into this thread earlier.
I've been at scout camp with my son. A full week of rain, sleet, and hail. Glad to be back in my warm comfortable house now.

I'll wear one of my Chan suits to church tomorrow, and post some pictures (along with re-posting the pictures of my grey flannel suit posted earlier.)

I would wear a suit and dress shirt to the fitting. I would DEFINITELY wear a pair of dress shoes to the fitting.

They can do various styles of cut. They asked me about my suits I owned and initially assumed that I wanted an Italian, Neopolitan cut. I decided to go with a more British style, however. I've only had the British style jackets from them, so I can't comment on how the other styles would turn out.

I'm not entirely sure how the US process works. I bought my first suit from them in Hong Kong and went through several fittings for it. I've since just ordered suits from them via e-mail. I told them the type of cloth I wanted; they sent me a bunch of swatches; I picked the one I wanted, then told them to make me a suit from it. They made the suit from their extisting pattern.

Of the two suits I've purchased from them over the internet, both were just as well made as the one I had done in Hong Kong. One need very slight alterations from my local tailor, but now looks perfect.

As far as comparisons to Ready to Wear lines, I find that the custom fit means that they look better on me than my RTW suits costing three times as much. They might not have quite the same level of workmanship as a Kiton or Oxxford, but they look better on me than a Kiton or Oxxford (and I have both.) Once you go bespoke, I think you will find that it is just hard to be satisfied with RTW ever again. I doubt I will buy another RTW suit, as I am now fixed on the fit of bespoke.

 

[My View]

HRHAndrew> I am not sure if Jantzen will be able to do 30(&#33

shirts for you in a few days. A friend and I have personally placed orders for a few shirts each at the shop and they were ready to be collected in 3 or 4 working days. And the quality across was consistently good. I suppose it really depends on the workload they have. But it is not unresonable to assume that he can at least fulfill part of the order, perhaps with one first test shirt on the next day, with more done the next day or two. Another good thing about visiting the shop is of course to be able to have either Ricky or David (his business partner) measure you up instead of you providing your own measurements, which even if accurate, will not alone be able to commnunicate how you want exactly your shirt to fit. I suppose nothing beats face to face communication. Another advantage is to be able to see, feel and smell the fabrics for yourself instead of putting your faith in some scanned images accompanied by brief descriptions. Ricky told me that sometimes he would be so busy fulfilling orders that he had no time to update his web page with the tons of newly arrived fabric swatches. So doing a walk-in has it's advantages. WW Chan has also communicated to me that during non-peak season, they will be able to do a full bespoke suit within 4 or 5 working days with at least 2 fittings.

 

[gregory]

Dear MyView: Have you visited other shirtmakers in Hong  Kong which have an online presence? It appears that WWChan may be a more expensive alternative to Jantzen (www.wwchan.com) mainly because they have a database of fabrics (mainly Thomas Mason and Acorn) posted online (about $80 per shirt). Their fabrics are rather standard and boring however (very appropriate for work but certainly not for casual wear). I like Jantzen's diversity of fabrics. Has anyone tried WWChan online? How was the price, process and the quality compared to Jantzen? Thanks, gregory

 

[johnnynorman3]

Gregory, I would second you on Jantzen having a greater diversity of fabrics, and this is probably the result of buying closeout fabrics, as opposed to THomas Mason and Acorn exclusively (by the way, does anyone know who these fabric makers are? I honestly don't know anything about cotton cloth manufacturers). While $80 is still a great price for a MTM, that is twice as much as Jantzen, which can be a hefty sum if you are putting in a large order. I'd be interested in going with Chan as an alternative to Jantzen at some point, but I just really like the Jantzen order form a lot better. It seems to have a greater selection of fits, collars, etc. as well. I also like that my orders come almost exactly a month after I make them. Chan may be my suit maker of the future though.

 

[Kai]

Here are some pictures of a couple of my Chan suits. The khaki is a super 150s cashmere/wool blend summer suit, the grey is a grey flannel fall/winter suit. Lighting isn't great, but hopefully the pictures will give you an idea of the cut. http://www.larsonweb.com/chan1.jpg http://www.larsonweb.com/chan2.jpg http://www.larsonweb.com/grey.jpg