Hi all -
Just back from Beijing and happy to report we purchased a truck load full of excellent quality men's and ladies custom made clothes from J&H Tailors just around the corner from the Canadian Embassy. I did extensive research and settled on Jenny Zhaoss to do our work for a few reasons. One, she works solely with expats and speaks English very, very well. She has a long history of quality work from multiple credible sources, and she is a hip and classic dresser herself meaning she understands style and fit for the upper end Western markets. She is
not inexpensive by Beijing standards but she is very good and worth every penny we spent.
We arrived on Wednesday Nov 25th met with Jenny in the morning. She had everything done by Sunday November 30th. Jenny's husband is a custom fabric cutter so they work in partnership. She does send out the work to be sewn to others but she must manage quality control very carefully because the shirts and suits rival any $175 mens shirt we would buy here in the USA and the suits are comparable to $1800 - $3000 corneliani or zegna suits we can buy here in Chicago.
All shirts were the highest quality cotton fabric, suits were 120 wools and coats were wool and 50% cashmere fabrics. My ladies clothes were wool pants, 120 wool for suits and a special shiny wool for evening jacket. Here's what we spent for each item in RMB.
400 RMB for men's shirt
Mens
2 two piece suits - 2,600
2 sport jackets - 1,800
6 shirts (1) a tuxedo shirt - 400
2 pants - can't remember
1 black tuxedo - 2,600
2 wool and cashmere over coats - 2,600
Ladies
1 pant suit - 2,600
1 wide cuffed pant -
2 shirts - 400 RMB
1 shiny material evening jacket - 2,400
The total amount USD spent on all these clothes was $3,100. We estimated these purchases for the same items and same quality here in Chicago to be approximately $12,000 - $15,000 (with some of the items being purchased on sale).
All suits are lined with rayon not poly and buttons accessories of the highest quality like horn or the highest end synthetic materials. Button-holes are
not hand-sewn because there was not enough time but they look clean and straight. All suits have sweat guards and cuff guards for the trousers.
Here is Jenny's information:
[email protected]
+86 185 0008 6728
She works exclusively through a referral network. One day prior to our meeting with here a guy staying the Ritz had come in through another client of hers and was having a suite made. And, while we were there an Irish lawyer came in for a fitting for a custom made wool and cashmere coat. The lawyer, who lives in Beijing, asked me how I found Jenny because she is not well known by anyone outside the network. The lawyer told me she several "misses" with other tailors before finding Jenny and that now Jenny does all her work.
If anyone would like more information please feel free to PM me and I'll share pictures of the actual suits if wish.
I hope others find this helpful.