The Hong Kong Tailors Thread

[add911_11]



I think Grand may be a better choice than Lai if you like "hard" bristish style.
Actually, the machine sewn canvas is harder than hand padded, so I don't think it is the cause of your suit problem.
I think it look more like the canvas and the front cut has a little "mismatch" it make the front can't stay flat.

A bit too general.

In fact, hand padded chest gives more flexibility to the structure. In other words, a hand padded chest can be both soft and hard based on the coat-maker's working.

 

[add911_11]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Hi everyone.  I am a newbie to this Forum.

I am a HK local and have spent the past two days reading from the beginning to the end of this thread.  Thank you for all the input.  While it is quite a regret to see that some of the old very knowledgable contributors stopped contributing in recent months, it is good to see some other experienced members joining in.

As most others, I join here to ask questions, to take advantage of the experience and knowledge of others.  I hope I can get some advice here.  I gather that some of the questions may be found in some other threads, but those threads are hundreds of pages long, and many of the pics are outdated.  In any case, I may be able to get some more Asian specific advice here.  If I have in any way violated any rules or my questions should not be asked in this thread, I do apologise.

I am now in my late 20s and am in the legal industry.  I haven't had any new suit for the past 2-3 years because I do not need to wear suit very often.  Most of my time is spent in office without seeing any client and I can wear jeans to work.  (At first I wanted to wear a suit, but I would look very out of place when everyone else is being casual.)

But the situation is starting to change, in that I need to see clients much more often and I have to go to Court more.  So it is time I start building up my wardrobe with new suits.  I am an Asian and have a slim body.  I have tried to go for RTW, but even the smallest slim cut suit seems two sizes too big.  So I started to have them tailor made.  I tried 4 tailors before.  I started knowing nothing and now I still know nothing.  I would just go by whatever the tailor suggests and if they say ok, I trust it's ok and will take that away.  At first, I was happy that I got something which isn't two sizes too big.  But soon I know that some are sub-standard, or even below sub-standard.  I shouldn't complain about the first two because I get what I paid for.  William Yu (not Y William Yu) disappointed me considering that they were charging me substantially more (nowhere near WW Chan of course).  I had much trust in them but I later discovered that the jacket doesn't fit well, and because of my poor suit care (in that I actually have the pants washed), the pants are not longer wearable (although I am not sure why the same didn't happen to other suit pants).

The last one I used was recommended to me by my colleague and I had one 3 pc suit made by him.  I was told that some big figure in the legal industry also use him as the tailor (but that does not necessarily mean that he is good).  He came up to my office to have me measured.  There was one or two fittings (I forgot) and it was also done in my office.  He brought the suit to my place and he told me no more alteration was needed and I took it.  I have no complaints but I really know nothing.  Some of the pictures looked fine to me when the experienced people here are telling the poster to BURN IT.

So my QUESTION 1 is about the last tailor.  He is known to me as Ah Sam Si Fu.  Has anyone heard of him?  I will in a few days post some pics of myself in that suit he made me and can I have some comments as to whether I should go to him again?

My QUESTION 2 is about other tailors.  I gather that it is better to have more than 1 tailors (or may be not? please advise).  So whom should I try next?  There are quite a number of names mentioned.  I am relatively young and I look even younger and I do want to look young (but not ridiculous) (I gather that a young face in an old-styled suit would be quite a mismatch?).  Which is better in making something slightly more modern and/or fashionable, particularly when I don't really know what I want beyond this?  I wouldn't be able to tell what sort of fabric, button hole I like, what sort of lapel width I like, etc etc.  Given I speak Cantonese, would there be more less famous local tailors I can go to?

QUESTION 3 is about fabric.  What type of fabric is suitable for Hong Kong weather?  Is it meaningful to have a winter suit and a summer one, given the winter in HK is not cold at all, except maybe for a week or so.  Where can I learn a bit more about choice of fabric?  (I know there is a cloth thread but should I be going through it cos as far as I can see the pics on the first page can't even be loaded?)

QUESTION 4 is not really that much about tailors themselves but what I should be looking for in terms of style.  I am totally clueless.  Where should I start if I want to be on a slightly modern side?  I am 172 cm, but with a very bad proportion.  My neck and head take up an unreasonably big proportion of my total height.  Then the torso took up much more than I wanted.  So I have some experience like this: I stand next to a person.  My waist level is quite a bit below his, my shoulder level is below his but less so, but I am actually taller than he is.  With such a body proportion, what areas should I be paying special attention.

QUESTION 5 is a stupid one.  It shows how the level of knowledge (if any) I have.  There are occasions which requires me to wear a 3 pc suit.  But when I do not need to, can I just take away the vest and pretend it's a 2 pc?

QUESTION 6 is a greedy (and still stupid) one and may be a little premature.  When I have picked the tailor and then I go for the first fitting, I really won't know what to change and what not.  Is there any way I can get comments in SF?  From my past experience, it seems I have to tell them my requests right away.

I would appreciate if someone can comment on these or some of these.  If you want to or need to be harsh, please be.  I firmly believe that people grow faster in criticisms.  I shall be posting pictures of the suit made by Ah Sam Si Fu later in the week.  When I have chosen the tailor later, I shall be posting pictures (unless it is not welcomed here) to share my experience with other as inexperienced as I am.  Thanks in advance.

As a lawyer one should know there is no "hard and fast" rule.

I suggest to you that you should read some men's magazine (e.g. Men's ex, the Rake, Leon) to get a general feel of what you are looking for.

Start from that point, you can probably answer a lot of your queries.

 

[Bloomsbury2k]

Just received my suit from GY, and I must say I'm quite disappointed, as it seemed they never used my top measurement -- the suit jacket was so small I could barely put it on! And, no I did not gain any weight since I returned. In fact the bottom half of the suit was too loose. It's as if he fitted a Pear, not me. It was a very expensive lesson. I asked GY to repair my suit when he gets to Chicago, so let's see what happens. I'm waiting for WW Chan and Baromon's still. We'll see. GY and his assistant (an older man) measured me. I'd show pictures, but I'm afraid if I put on the damned jacket again, I'll rip it. Cheers, Bloomsbury2k

 

[chobochobo]

@LearnerfromHK

It takes a while to get results. Getting the right fit should be fairly straightforward if you go to decent tailors - and there's plenty of them about, as long as you are not overly hung up on cost to quality ratios. Your preferred look/ style will take a while to develop, and will change, probably several times. Don't expect to nail things quickly. But If you stick to plain-ish fabrics and standard configurations, you'll be fine wearing them to work.

I've not had anything made by GY but the general consensus is that he's pretty good, but like any human still prone to the occasional 'off' result/ mistake. It's how they deal with mistakes that tells you whether you should stick with a certain tailor or not.

 

[Fishball]



A bit too general.

In fact, hand padded chest gives more flexibility to the structure. In other words, a hand padded chest can be both soft and hard based on the coat-maker's working.

Yea, may be too general.
Yes, if you are looking for softer structure, hand padded is much perferred. But if you are looking for the harder side, then machine and hand padded made not much difference.
I remeber Jeff has an article about that on his blog, and it also was my personal experience

 

[TheTukker]



In fact, hand padded chest gives more flexibility to the structure. In other words, a hand padded chest can be both soft and hard based on the coat-maker's working.

That makes sense.

Just received my suit from GY, and I must say I'm quite disappointed, as it seemed they never used my top measurement -- the suit jacket was so small I could barely put it on!  And, no I did not gain any weight since I returned.  In fact the bottom half of the suit was too loose.  It's as if he fitted a Pear, not me.   It was a very expensive lesson.  I asked GY to repair my suit when he gets to Chicago, so let's see what happens.  I'm waiting for WW Chan and Baromon's still.  We'll see.  GY and his assistant (an older man) measured me.  I'd show pictures, but I'm afraid if I put on the damned jacket again, I'll rip it.  Cheers, Bloomsbury2k

Wow.... that's (surprising and) disappointing. I hope he can make this right, one way or another. Please keep us updated, as this seems unusual for him.

 

[add911_11]



Yea, may be too general.
Yes, if you are looking for softer structure, hand padded is much perferred. But if you are looking for the harder side, then machine and hand padded made not much difference.
I remeber Jeff has an article about that on his blog, and it also was my personal experience

Just to add up...

There are various ways to machine padded the chest, there is a way to create the dynamic shape even with machines. However, some coatmakers use the 'standard' method and the coat often needs more wearing to give the chest your shape.

Jeff's blog nowadays focuses in CAD technology information and moved away from his previous dissection topics.

Actaully I met Penfold today, a nice chap. I want to say to him that in future lookout in the shoulder-chest area for flatness (i.e. lack of drape) and a firmer shoulders.

With that wish him all the best in his tailor finds.

 

[Penfold]

My pleasure to meet you as well @add911_11 - thank you for your help and advice. Today was a special day - collect morning suit trousers and waistcoat from WW Chan, hand over spare kidney as payment then discuss using the other kidney to pay for tweed sportscoat... oh hell, take the liver and make it a full three piece suit... why not, visit Grand Tailor to enquire about construction, pricing and for a general look-around, collect new shirt from Graly, visit Lai Sifu to make odd jacket and trousers and then forty-five minutes of button-hunting in SSP with another charming SF member. I barely have the energy to change into my evening wear...

@Bloomsbury2k that's very disappointing news and I am sorry for you. At least GY will be in Chicago before too long and I hope you get a full and through fix.

 

[add911_11]

Bloody hell @Penfold that's a lot of place to visit in one day.

Btw on WW Chan' fitting next round, better to ask for both sleeves for the baste fitting for a better look.

Also look for collars that sits too low on the neck, being loose to the collar and showing too much shirts.

 

[hippotamus]

My pleasure to meet you as well @add911_11 - thank you for your help and advice. Today was a special day - collect morning suit trousers and waistcoat from WW Chan, hand over spare kidney as payment then discuss using the other kidney to pay for tweed sportscoat... oh hell, take the liver and make it a full three piece suit... why not, visit Grand Tailor to enquire about construction, pricing and for a general look-around, collect new shirt from Graly, visit Lai Sifu to make odd jacket and trousers and then forty-five minutes of button-hunting in SSP with another charming SF member. I barely have the energy to change into my evening wear...

@Bloomsbury2k that's very disappointing news and I am sorry for you. At least GY will be in Chicago before too long and I hope you get a full and through fix.

Sounds like a busy but fruitful day.

Post some pic if you have the chance, keep us update no Grant and Lai sifu stuff ~

 

[hymo]

Very interesting thread, this one. Would just like to shed some light on hand padded canvas vs. machine sewn canvas. The best way to bring together the various layers of canvassing is by hand padding by someone who knows what he's doing/ has been properly trained. The pad stitches on the canvas are not in any way homogenous; over most of the area, the stitches should be lax, i.e. there is give in the thread. You do not pull it taut. In some areas, more limited in area, there should be tension in the thread, i.e. you pull it taut. The full potential for comfort and mouldablity of the canvas is lost when the person sewing the canvas is not sensitive to the nuances of canvas construction. A common rookie mistake is to have insufficient give in the stitches. It results in corrugation of the canvas, as seen in Penfold's YWY jacket and in this Thai submission to a tailoring competition in Singapore which I attended:

It is safe to say that anyone who makes a corrugated canvas has truly no idea what he's doing. There will be almost no intelligence or know how embodied in the canvas. The kind of nuanced stuff not generally known by people on this forum and poorly documented in the literature.

Because of the time involved with hand padding, it is common in the cheaper suits to have the canvas machine sewn. If done by someone with some experience, it normally results in a wearable jacket, but you lose the ability of the various canvas layers to subtly slide relative to each other over time to assume a shape more suited to your body. If done by a rookie, it results in corrugation, just like with a hand padded canvas with insufficient give in the thread.

 

[Penfold]

Thanks @hymo , very interesting and no doubt completely correct analysis. I think people come to HK and assume that when they say "fully canvassed" to a tailor they will get a better product, but my experience has been that it is much more technical than that. HK tailors don't make money by selling a high-quality product for a low-medium price, after all. I'm tempted to send you my first, unwearable YWY jacket to rip apart and demonstrate. The second one is better but only after I have been doing my own work on the incline bench press to add fullness to the upper chest

 

[chobochobo]

That's a new one, adjusting your body to fit your bespoke

 

[Penfold]

In tailoring terms the difference is maybe an 8th of an inch or even a hair. But, you know, perfectionism...

 

[hymo]

The other thing I would watch out for are canvasses which appear to have been permanently made up during the skeleton baste fitting stage (the first fitting). I would personally avoid machine sewn canvasses, but even if you do not mind, the canvas should nonetheless only be provisionally sewn (by hand) during the first fitting. Major changes to the forepart can take place during the first fitting, and the canvas often needs to be taken apart again and recomposed and re-sewn. The addition of a gorge dart, changes to neckpoint, change of button stance, change in width of front darts, shoulder slope adjustments, etc. all necessitate changes to the canvas. But if the canvas has already been permanently machine sewn during the first fitting, it will not be picked apart again. It will just be shoehorned into place.

But of course we are now talking about quite abominable tailors who have no regard for the craft. I don't think clothing enthusiasts should buy clothes at this level. I do not think Wiliam Yu should ever be considered as an option. Just too crude.