The Hong Kong Tailors Thread

[Penfold]

I have a friend, let's be charitable and say he isn't over-fussy, who had a 4.5k suit (fused, off-brand material) from Lapel recently, and it wasn't all that badly cut. They used to advertise quite cheap 2 suits + 2 shirt deals in the window... But I can't believe they'd be up to snuff for making a proper suit out of expensive cloth.

 

[seferphier]

I have two suits from Lapel. I think they are not bad for the price. 3k for suits plus 2 shirts. At least they will do functional buttons as a default. I found that many well known tailors do not do functional buttons unless requested. As Penfold said, its off brand material. I wouldn't dare to make a suit from them for more than 4k. I wouldn't ever think of making a suit with expensive fabric.

 

[chobochobo]

Wow, 3k for a suit and two shirts?

 

[seferphier]

Yeah. It was 1-2 years. It's a good starting suit. The shirts are decent but not cut properly. They cut the length of the shirt short to save fabric. As a result, the shirt tended to come out of my pants when I move a bit.

 

[perfectstitch]

Have lurked for a while (read a ton about briefcases a few years back before settling on the classic Filson) and was hoping to tap into the community for some advice on suits and shirts. I've gone through a fair bit of this thread but not all 167 pages.

First, the short version: I'm headed to Southeast Asia (Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam) for about a month or so and was hoping to get a tuxedo and a few suits (lighter blue, charcoal, grey) as well as some shirts. I'm looking for any advice people might have, general and specific. Looking to spend $300 - $1000 per suit. I'll be travelling with my girlfriend who speaks fluent Mandarin and is American Born Chinese, and compared to SF I feel like a major suit novice. I don't want to full in an upward spiral of suit quality (which is happening as I peruse SF) and just want something that fits me well.

Longer Version: I've asked friends and also reviewed old posts I was able to find (unfortunately they all seemed to be from around 2009 - 2012) and seem to have the following takeaways:

- Jantzen is the most popular for shirts but Peter Lee of Lee Baron seems to be better. I've also through this thread stumbled upon Graly which appears to be a hidden-ish gem. Where would folks suggest getting shirts?

- For suits, I'm still not entirely sure where to go. I don't have to wear a suit for work, so I'm tempted to get one really nice suit, at least by my standards, for like $1,200+ from WW Chan (that is the only one I saw on the forum but those posts were old so I'm very open to other suggestions). However, upon more recent review it appears WW Chan's prices have sky rocketed since the 2010 posts I was initially reading. If I were to get one really nice suit for ~$1,200 and then a few less nice suits for $150 - $600 what should my strategy be? Nice suit in Hong Kong and other suits in Hoi An?

- Have had some friends recommend Hoi An and be extremely happy with what they got and the prices seemed great ($160 per suit from Bambou Silk near St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi (realize this isn't Hoi An). A few others also recommended Thailand Any thoughts?

- Any suggestions on where to get only trousers?

I also feel like I'm left with more questions than answers after having read the forums. I was lost in a see of terms I didn't understand, like fusing, canvasing, etc. Is there a primer I could read up on to get up to speed suits / shirts to understand what all this means. I did find this: http://www.styleforum.net/a/what-kind-of-suit-should-i-buy

Other questions:
- How does getting a suit in Asia compare to something like ProperSuit or one of these American firms?

If it matters, I am caucasian, 5'11", about 170, and have struggled to find off the rack stuff that fits me well (I think I might have a long torso and broader shoulder to waist ratio?). My job doesn't require a suit every day, but does require slacks and a button down.

Thanks so much for any help you might have!

Hi All,

So I wanted to follow up on my previous questions and see if anyone could offer any advice. I'll now be in Hong Kong from June 18 - June 24th and am flying out of NYC in 2 days.

The rest of our travel itinerary looks like this:

Hong Kong: June 18 - June 24th
India: June 24th - July 11th
Thailand: July 12th - July 18th
Cambodia: July 19th - July 20th
Vietnam: July 21st - July 30th
Hong Kong: July 31st (if necessary)

Thanks!

Jake

 

[GBR]



Lai sifu isn't too busy right now so my tweeds were finished pretty quickly. Anyone know where the nearest grouse moor is? I'm guessing somewhere in the New Territories, right?

Spoiler: More photos etc

Tweed from Schofield and Smith's St Andrews bunch at 50 quid a metre, tie dark red wool challis from Sam Hober, purple shorts model's own.

Indeed it is - near the McLehose trail.

 

[Penfold]



Hi All,

So I wanted to follow up on my previous questions and see if anyone could offer any advice. I'll now be in Hong Kong from June 18 - June 24th and am flying out of NYC in 2 days.

The rest of our travel itinerary looks like this: 

Hong Kong: June 18 - June 24th
India: June 24th - July 11th
Thailand: July 12th - July 18th
Cambodia: July 19th - July 20th
Vietnam: July 21st - July 30th
Hong Kong: July 31st (if necessary)

Thanks!

Jake

Sorry but you're not going to be in one place long enough to have anything really worthwhile made. You can try the places that do rush jobs in HK, Vietnam and Thailand but that's a huge gamble. High quality work takes time, even if it's a week, and you need to be available for fittings. And if someone offers to make for you without fittings then you should take that as a very bad sign and save your money.

 

[perfectstitch]

Sorry but you're not going to be in one place long enough to have anything really worthwhile made. You can try the places that do rush jobs in HK, Vietnam and Thailand but that's a huge gamble. High quality work takes time, even if it's a week, and you need to be available for fittings. And if someone offers to make for you without fittings then you should take that as a very bad sign and save your money.

Thanks Penfold. I'll be in Hong Kong for 5 days at the front end of my trip which I figured should be enough for 2 fittings and then I could stop there one the way back for a day for a final fitting. That won't be enough (even for just shirts?).

If I'm mistaken and indeed won't have time for a high end option, do you have any suggestions for what my best option would be within the confines of my itinerary?

Thanks again for everyone's advice.

 

[Kid Nickels]



Sorry but you're not going to be in one place long enough to have anything really worthwhile made. You can try the places that do rush jobs in HK, Vietnam and Thailand but that's a huge gamble. High quality work takes time, even if it's a week, and you need to be available for fittings. And if someone offers to make for you without fittings then you should take that as a very bad sign and save your money.

[@]perfectstitch[/@ ]Yeah this. The best quality would come from HKG but you won't be there long enough. There are a couple places in BKK I know you can get decent MTM shirts done just for some beaters at around $35/shirt but realistically you're SOL. Certainly not enough time for anything but shirts. And only one day in Cambodia is a travesty.

You need a couple weeks to get suits done properly. You're definitely not doing Chan on this timeframe. The only possibility that could possibly work would be to email Peter Lee ahead of time and tell him your situation. If you're rushed for time dealing with Ricky at Jantzen will be a ******* nightmare. You could (MAYBE) get to Peter the day you arrive, presuming you've told him all this **** ahead of time so he's ready for you, get measured, pick out everything you want, come back on the 21st and get 2nd fitting and then have possible time for tweaks on the 23rd if possible. If you're ok with everything they will send it to you or you have the backstop (if necessary as you've indicated) 31st to come back and pick it all up if it's good or make final tweaks and again have it sent to you.

That might work…. that's my long answer. My short answer is not enough time like Penfold said. Sorry bro.

 

[perfectstitch]

@perfectstitch Yeah this. The best quality would come from HKG but you won't be there long enough. There are a couple places in BKK I know you can get decent MTM shirts done just for some beaters at around $35/shirt but realistically you're SOL. Certainly not enough time for anything but shirts. And only one day in Cambodia is a travesty.

You need a couple weeks to get suits done properly. You're definitely not doing Chan on this timeframe. The only possibility that could possibly work would be to email Peter Lee ahead of time and tell him your situation. If you're rushed for time dealing with Ricky at Jantzen will be a ******* nightmare. You could (MAYBE) get to Peter the day you arrive, presuming you've told him all this **** ahead of time so he's ready for you, get measured, pick out everything you want, come back on the 21st and get 2nd fitting and then have possible time for tweaks on the 23rd if possible. If you're ok with everything they will send it to you or you have the backstop (if necessary as you've indicated) 31st to come back and pick it all up if it's good or make final tweaks and again have it sent to you.

That might work…. that's my long answer. My short answer is not enough time like Penfold said. Sorry bro.

Thanks! This is super helpful! From what I read, it seems like Chan has raised his prices and might be out of my range anyway. I'll email Peter Lee and see if we can work something out.

If not, might you have any suggestions for a next best option, even if it means some $200 - $300 suits made somewhere? I think something measured even just a couple times would fit me so much better than anything I can get Stateside since nothing off the rack tends to fit me, and to get one of my suits properly tailored in NYC cost me over $200. Perhaps a tailor in BKK or Vietnam you might know of?

Agreed, bummer to only spend a day in Cambodia but something had to give as I've only got 6 weeks between graduation and work starting.

 

[Kid Nickels]

@perfectstitch You won't want a $300 suit. Try to set it up with Peter as I've recommended. If you do that and do some preplanning it could work and his stuff is definitely going to be far nicer than some quick-fast, fly-by-night bullshit. Try to make it as easy for him as possible. If you show up disorganized and in a rush that 's not cool for him and you'll end up with a rushed product. If you inform him and give him notice and defer to his schedule he will work with you… he's a nice guy, but extremely busy and probably even more so since I've been there a few years ago now. I do know another guy who is an Indian fellow also named Peter coincidentally in BKK near Sukhumvit (yeah I know it sounds shady) at Robinsaon tailors who can make the decent beater shirts. They're like half of Jantzen quality but also half the price and to be honest under a jacket no one is going to know and they are no less than some regular shirt you'd get off the rack on sale except that it will fit well. Good luck. If you have any more questions send me a PM.

 

[TheTukker]



@perfectstitch You won't want a $300 suit. ....

This; +3

 

[Merino Bros]

Single Breasted Sports Jacket(3-roll-2, Neapolitian Shoulders)
Harrisons Icarus 97664

By Practical Tailor

 

[baromatic]

Lai sifu is a Hong Kong staple when it comes to the art of tailorship. I found this out after bumping into him today along with a few other of his tailor cohorts. I guess it makes a man proud when he see's his work on his customers. (Fresco trousers).

Anyhow, I have something in the works and should be at a basted within the week.

 

[Penfold]

More Lai sifu x Schofield & Smith tweed, hard three button and single vent hacking jacket, with a Graly shirt made from Acorn fabrics Kendal turf blue tattersall check wool-cotton blend shirting. Tie, jeans and shoes are all I have to hand.

If you look very closely you'll spot that I'm not actually in Hong Kong. The clues are: peaceful green countryside, 225 year old crumbling stone pillars and the fact that I'm wearing a 17 oz tweed jacket and wool-cotton blend shirt outside in June and not soaked in sweat. Also, the dog is free to run where he likes without a Filipino pouring water on his pee.





The jacket in Lai's Sham Shui Po workshop