nologic

There are obviously 1,000 different opinions as there are 1,000 different tailors, but I have done this MANY times, and learned from experience. They all have access to the same fabrics: the difference is in the hours/workmanship making the clothing. MOST tailor shops are storefronts for a common, outsourced factory in Southern China. They do not have or use their own tailors, and the workmanship is nowhere near the same, which gets to fit, longevity/durability, and styling. I have made the mistake of buying on price from low and middle tier tailor shops, and have many items in my closet to show for it, that I will never wear. Conversely, I have learned that there are 3 or 4 top tailors, where the quality is outstanding. My preference is WW Chan on the Kowloon side. The prices are probably 1.5-2x the other shops, but the difference is huge -- like London quality for 1/3rd the price. I havebeen back 3 and 4 times for various items, and they come to the US 2-3 times per year, as well, so once they have your measurements, and your style preferences refined, re-orders are easy. Make sure you allow time for 3 fittings (3-5 days).

But don't just take my word for it, here's what others have to say:

"The only tailor of the Big 3 (H. Baroman and A-Man Cheong Co. are the others) who also makes women's clothing. Allow five to seven days for three fittings and finished garments. Fabric can be bought on premises. Men's suits
cost about $850 but compare to an exquisite Savile Row suit costing $4,000."

There are also many more press clippings on WW Chan on their website (www.wwchan.com)...see: http://www.wwchan.com/press.php#

Patrick is the manager.

Andrew14302

I took the advice and visited Jantzen to have some shirts made on my recent visit to HK. I originally ordered four shirts but when I went to pick them up, only three had been made. Apparently, one of the fabrics that I chose was out of stock. This was somewhat disappointing.

The shirt quality is pretty good for the price. Shirts were HK$300 each.

I visited the store on Saturday afternoon around 5pm and it was jammed. You could hardly move in the store. Not a lot of assistance provided because of the volume of customers, so I took the initiative of looking through the fabric books myself to locate what I wanted. My measurements were taken and I was advised that the shirts would be ready in two days. I picked up the shirts on Monday evening.

I was a little disappointed as I think the fit on the sleeves was a little tighter than what I would have wanted/expected from a custom fit shirt. There is no comparison to the other shirts that I had done at David's Shirts which I had used before. Then again, Jantzen was less than a third of the price of David's and with a little more attention on my part, I think my next visit will yield a very good custom made shirt for the price. All in all, I would probably visit again based on the quality to price ratio.

Andrew14302

[QUOTE=billiam;8780146] You can also check out www.styleforum.net and www.askandyaboutclothes.com for more info on HK tailors.

I had never had a custom pair of shoes before, but I can say that I was very happy with my results and what I found. I used Dophen at 52-54 Nathan Road TST in Mirador Mansion near the Holiday Inn and just up a couple of blocks from the Sheraton.

I was very impressed by the store. They made a pair of shoes in calf leather for me and a pair of lizard skin shoes for my wife. Ordered on Saturday morning, fitting late afternoon and picked up on Tuesday evening. Price was HK$1400 for each pair. The shoes were perfect from the start...didn't need to break them in at all. I would definitely do this again, and I am considering ordering at least another pair by mail. They have a wide selection of leathers and prices go up obviously depending on what you choose. Gator is obviously the most expensive available.

This store also does custom ladies' handbags and wallets. My wife was not prepared for this and decided against ordering a purse. I think that on our next visit, this will be prepared for and will bring pictures to have the ideal handbag made. Cost of a custom made purse would be HK$1400-HK$2000 in regular leather.

I also had a couple of suits made, each with a pair of extra pants. I was looking for a middle of the road tailor, and not one where suits go for $800-$1000 each. I was very satisfied with my fabric and paid HK$7000 for 2 suits. My wife had a business suit made with both a skirt and pants so it is interchangeable and paid about HK$3000. She brought a picture of what she wanted and it was reproduced exactly.

I liked the fact that this was not a hard sell kind of place. No touts on the street for this store and a very relaxed atmosphere. I would return here on my next visit.

Send me a PM if you plan on visiting/have visited the store.

billiam

Andrew,
I recommend going to Jantzen on weekdays, either right when they open around 11:30am or after the lunch break, around 2-3pm, to avoid the crowds.

What tailor did you use? I ended up at Takly in Central on the HK Island side. However, he's moving at the end of Dec. back to his workshop as rent has gone up too much for his store in the mall. He doesn't know where he will reopen a store yet. I got a suit made with a Holland & Sherry super 100 material, in a midnight navy color with blue stripes, for 5900HKD. I also got 3 shirts from Takly, 2 for about 900HKD and another for about 700HKD. I got 5 shirts from Jantzen as well, all 5 were 300HKD each. My wife also got 3 shirts from Jantzen.

I tried going to Zee's, but they said they needed a week to do a pair of shoes, which I didn't have time for by the time I had a chance to go check them out. Glad Dophen worked out for you, I may check them out next time I go.

Peregrine415

Has any non-Mandarin/non-Cantonese speakers had suits made from the Shanghai branch of WW Chan? In other words, does the cutter have a good command of English? I'm thinking of getting a suit at Chan's in Shanghai and wanted to know if the cutter understands the concept of slanted pocket, low gorge, slim silhouette, suppressed waist, etc. I read somewhere that Shanghai prices are lower than Kowloon's. Thanks.

lance1713

I was a customer of theirs for many years and no longer use them because of some of the reasons you stated. I got tired of the crowded shop and poor service. I think they have not been able to meet the increased needs of their clients. Good for them, bad for clientele. The store is almost always packed, dressing area too small, clothes always all over the place, and most importantly, the quality has suffered. Shirts not ready when promised, several details overlooked, and they have lost much of their customer service principles over the years, so after using them for about 7 years, I moved to Tai Pan Tailor in Queensway. The shop is night and day, the service far better as well as the experience. His shirts are a bit more costly, but I don't mind paying it for the better service, quality and experience.

Shesells

We are heading to HK next week and I have a ladies jacket I would like to have copied. Is there any particular place that does good copies? What kind of price would I be looking at? It's a short linen jacket.

I've had clothes made in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam all at a fraction of the prices I've seen mentioned for suits here. I've never paid more than $80 for a ladies suit and have got amazing quality garments.

lance1713

[QUOTE=Shesells;8983974]We are heading to HK next week and I have a ladies jacket I would like to have copied. Is there any particular place that does good copies? QUOTE]

I've had things copied at Tai Pan Tailor in Admiralty Centre (in Queensway)and find that he does a very good job. I don't know how much the jacket would cost. He's not the cheapest, but far from the most expensive.

Here's a link to his site and directions: http://taipantailor.com/contactus.html

Andrew14302

I have previously had stuff made in Bangkok and can honestly say that the prices in HK will not be close to what you've seen elsewhere. The quality is higher though, but if price is your main determining factor then Hong Kong might not be the place to do it.

Shesells

Thanks - I was beginning to think that myself! Looking at prices of $400USD for a mans suit I was starting to wonder if I was just making a mess of the exchange rate calculation!

Still have a week to do a little more research, really want to get this jacket copied...a friend whose sister lives in HK is supposed to come back to me with a recommendation so fingers crossed it's a little less shocking than prices I'm seeing so far!

Incidentally we were lucky to get amazing quality tailoring in both Thailand and Vietnam. Malaysia was another matter...nowhere near the quality and the most expensive so far.

livefromtuscany

Shesells - once you get the recommendation from your friend, would you be so kind to let me know? I am still looking for a tailor for women's clothes for mrs. vienna-resident and haven't found a suitable advice.

Thanks

v-r

nologic

WW Chan is the only one of Hong Kong's big 3 top tailors that specializes in woman's clothing as well as men's. See: www.wwchan.com)..

Pickles

Hate to say it but in HK 400 USD will only get you to the threshold of "decent". If you want Savile Row quality you'll pay at least twice as much (which is still a bargain relative for 4K USD in Savile Row...)

nologic

You get what you pay for. If you want to get a cheap suit, you can find cheap tailors. They all basically pay the same price for the fabircs, and the pirve of ths fabirc can vary greatly on suit, whether your talking basic, low level wool, super 120s, super 150s, super 180s, cashmere and/or cashmere blends, and/or branded fabrics, such as Loro Piana, or Zegna, etc.

That would determine a pirce difference within a tailor shop for various suits.

The difference betteen tailor quotes for comparble fabrics has to to with the hours invested in the workmanship of the suit, which relates to styling, fit, dealiing, and durability.

$400 gets you very low quality fabrics and minimal workmanship. $800 gets you decent quality fabrics and workmanship. $1,200 to $1,800 should get top qulaity fabrics and workmanship.

Frankly, while some shops may do some bargaining, in my experience there is widespread pricing uniformity among the beter tailors, such as the big three.

But also, I have bought from lesser tailors, and while I paid less, those items sit in my closet and are useless, whereas I regularly wear the high end items from the top tailors like WW Chan and TAKLY, which compare with $3-4,000 Saville Row suits, at a fraction of the UK price.

flyatlanta

Yes, WW Chan in Shanghai is ~30% less expensive than the HKG stores. The sales person was good, and understood his styling nicely, and I was happy with my suit and its styling. In the months after the purchase, though, some of the stitching came undone, and I have had three of the five pieces in for minor repairs; plus he only opened two of the four buttonholes on the cuff of the jacket when I asked for all of them to be opened. Nothing major, but this would not have happened on Jermyn St.