Show us your Chan

i'm going to be in NY in November, and have set up a meeting with Patrick. many of you may find this sad - but i cannot remember the last time i've been so excited about anything. i cannot wait. i will try and head to HK in january to have a weeks worth of fittings and try and get a decent first try. i would then be lucky enough to see Chan during his UK visits, looks like he will do 2 a year now..

anyways, given that it is my first try at a bespoke suit - any advice? i was thinking to bring an Oflynn shirt and have Chan make a shirt, and have a suit made (was thinking grey flannel) and an odd jacket with patch pockets (perhaps something mid-blue) and an odd pair of flannel trousers in a mid grey..

any advice much appreciated. part of me thinks i should just get a suit and shirt made at first and have other piecs made up slowly...but i suppose i also though during the week i will have in HK Chan would have time to work with the pieces..
whereas later on i will not have the luxury of being in HK for fittings..

I'd probably just get the one suit or the jacket and pants. You could order the others after you've had some time to wear the first one. Although, the ability to have fittings for both in HK might tempt me to order everything at once...

Just be sure to wear your favorite stuff, including shoes, to the meetings.



emptym said:

I'd probably just get the one suit or the jacket and pants. You could order the others after you've had some time to wear the first one. Although, the ability to have fittings for both in HK might tempt me to order everything at once...
Just be sure to wear your favorite stuff, including shoes, to the meetings.

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originally i thought just to get a suit and a shirt. but i may only have one chance to be in HK and go through fittings, during which time they may be able to makea decent effort on whatever i get made..so thinking now to get a few pieces made. i will wear my best shoes and shirt, unfortunately, i only have ever had OTR suits so nothing really fits how it should!

PS: anyone have opinions on WW Chan for shirts? i have been using O'Flynn but i need to find a cheaper alternative as i cannot afford to keep dishing out 180ish pounds for shirts. Chan decent? or should i use Ascot Chang or Jentzen?
thanks!



lovelux2010 said:

originally i thought just to get a suit and a shirt. but i may only have one chance to be in HK and go through fittings, during which time they may be able to makea decent effort on whatever i get made..so thinking now to get a few pieces made. i will wear my best shoes and shirt, unfortunately, i only have ever had OTR suits so nothing really fits how it should!
PS: anyone have opinions on WW Chan for shirts? i have been using O'Flynn but i need to find a cheaper alternative as i cannot afford to keep dishing out 180ish pounds for shirts. Chan decent? or should i use Ascot Chang or Jentzen?
thanks!

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I have a bunch of Chan shirts. Fit is good and they've held up well. I like my Hemrajani shirts a little better, but not by much.



Mr. Pink said:

I have a bunch of Chan shirts. Fit is good and they've held up well. I like my Hemrajani shirts a little better, but not by much.

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thanks . i'll try the Chan shirts as well, and they can use my o'flynn as a starting point so hoping to get a good result..

By this time, I must have 15 to 20 shirts by Chan, in Thomas Mason and Acorn fabrics. The fit is, as expected, impeccable. They've held up well and, as is to be expected, feel comfortable, but that's partly due to the fabrics. I haven't used Ascot Chang (although before my last visit to Chan, I did consider giving AC a try) or Hemrajani, nor do I have the patience to try my luck with Jantzen.

Chan shirts are really good, well-made with great texture.



krakatoa said:

By this time, I must have 15 to 20 shirts by Chan, in Thomas Mason and Acorn fabrics. The fit is, as expected, impeccable. They've held up well and, as is to be expected, feel comfortable, but that's partly due to the fabrics. I haven't used Ascot Chang (although before my last visit to Chan, I did consider giving AC a try) or Hemrajani, nor do I have the patience to try my luck with Jantzen.

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i have read too many horror stories about jentzen, i'm hopeful chan can make a good shirt. i have half a dozen SO's at this point, but there is no progression or development in terms of fit..
he seems to feel he's nailed the fit on the first shirt and doesnt seem keen to make adjustments..so i'll definaly try Chan and may try another london maker

Lovelux2010,

Sorry for a brief diversion off the topic but you said in an earlier post "... O'Flynn but i need to find a cheaper alternative as i cannot afford to keep dishing out 180ish pounds for shirts." and also say in your most recent post ...

lovelux2010 said:

I have half a dozen SO's at this point, but there is no progression or development in terms of fit..
he seems to feel he's nailed the fit on the first shirt and doesnt seem keen to make adjustments..so i'll definaly try Chan and may try another london maker

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I assume that "SO" in the quote above also refers to Sean O'Flynn.

Maybe I'm mis-reading what you said about the fit and SO'F's attitude to it, but I read the above as maybe expressing some level of dissatisfaction with SO'F beyond just the price. Would I be correct?

I ask because I am looking for a shirtmaker in London (for casual shirts not business shirts) and Sean O'Flynn was on my shortlist to talk to. It sounds as if I should consider Chan as well but, living in London, local options are so convenient that I have some issues going with a visiting service especially when going for casual shirts where I might want to experiment with fabrics, collar shape, collar and cuff stiffness, etc.

Although I am prepared to pay £180 per shirt I certainly wouldn't be unhappy to find a cheaper quality option so I'd be very interested to hear what other london maker(s) you are considering.

- Julian



JulianL said:

Lovelux2010,

Sorry for a brief diversion off the topic but you said in an earlier post "... O'Flynn but i need to find a cheaper alternative as i cannot afford to keep dishing out 180ish pounds for shirts." and also say in your most recent post ...
I assume that "SO" in the quote above also refers to Sean O'Flynn.

Maybe I'm mis-reading what you said about the fit and SO'F's attitude to it, but I read the above as maybe expressing some level of dissatisfaction with SO'F beyond just the price. Would I be correct?

I ask because I am looking for a shirtmaker in London (for casual shirts not business shirts) and Sean O'Flynn was on my shortlist to talk to. It sounds as if I should consider Chan as well but, living in London, local options are so convenient that I have some issues going with a visiting service especially when going for casual shirts where I might want to experiment with fabrics, collar shape, collar and cuff stiffness, etc.

Although I am prepared to pay £180 per shirt I certainly wouldn't be unhappy to find a cheaper quality option so I'd be very interested to hear what other london maker(s) you are considering.

- Julian

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hello.. i do indeed wish to find a cheaper alternative for work shirts. i do not mind to pay 180pounds for some of my shirt wardrobe...but for day-to-day shirts a heaper alternative would be nice. as far as the O'Flynn experience, I think he has made me a well fitting shirt - certainly fits much better then any readty to wear shirt as you would expect. perhaps my shirt fits marvellously well and does not need any further adjustments – the truth is I do not have enough experience with bespoke to give an opinion. so, i am not dissatisfied with o'flynn..he is very nice to work with and I am pleased with my shirt. However, after reading through many posts on SF – I stumbled upon Vox’s experience with Dege and Skinner. It seems his shirts have evolved from the first shirt to subsequent shirts. Its seems Dege is always taking measurements and looking to improve upon the fit. With Sean, like I said, he thinks the shirt looks great and needs no further adjustments – he may be absolutely correct. Unfotunately the only way I can be sure is by trying other shirtmakers and by not remaining faithful to any 1 shirtmaker. I have seen threads of people having an A&S suit, Huntsman, etc and showing how they compare. I suppose that is the only way to judge who is the best tailor for an individuals body. I would like to try Charvet, Dege and Skinner, WW Chan, etc for ***** – but for now I will stay with O’Flynn and try Chan, and perhaps look to try another London maker down the road.. EDIT: TO BE CLEAR: I am happy with O’Flynns shirts, I am just curious to see if I could have better results with other makes (although it is possible my O’’Flynn will be the best shirt I will ever have). I do not have the experience of some of the others on LL and SF – so I would encourage you to try O’Flynn and many other makers and let us know whom you feel produces the best shirt for you. I know Sean produces shirts for Huntsman, some PS customers and others so he is very well regarded among the industry

Thank you Lovelux2010 for taking the time to give me that very clear and precise reply. I have zero experience of bespoke shirts and it is quite possible that, like you, I might want to see what else is out there after I have at least partially found my feet but it's good to hear that Sean isn't someone that I need to cross off my list for my first steps.

Since I am so new to this, and casual shirts and fabric selection probably require a bit more discussion and understanding between client and shirt maker than business stuff, I currently have Sean at the top of my list because (a) he is a one man band, (b) he is fairly local to me, (c) he seems to be highly thought of, (d) by many accounts (including yours just now) he is nice to work with, and (e) the fact that he also makes women's shirts implies to me that he isn't only capable and happy when cutting mens business and formal shirts. I see no reason to change my assessment at this time, now all I need to do is get on and do something about it.

Thanks again for the reply and good luck with your Chan and any other bespoke shirt adventures.

- Julian



JulianL said:

Thank you Lovelux2010 for taking the time to give me that very clear and precise reply. I have zero experience of bespoke shirts and it is quite possible that, like you, I might want to see what else is out there after I have at least partially found my feet but it's good to hear that Sean isn't someone that I need to cross off my list for my first steps.

Since I am so new to this, and casual shirts and fabric selection probably require a bit more discussion and understanding between client and shirt maker than business stuff, I currently have Sean at the top of my list because (a) he is a one man band, (b) he is fairly local to me, (c) he seems to be highly thought of, (d) by many accounts (including yours just now) he is nice to work with, and (e) the fact that he also makes women's shirts implies to me that he isn't only capable and happy when cutting mens business and formal shirts. I see no reason to change my assessment at this time, now all I need to do is get on and do something about it.

Thanks again for the reply and good luck with your Chan and any other bespoke shirt adventures.

- Julian

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Hi Julian – I do believe Sean is considered to be one of the top 3 London shirtmakers, and my understanding is he makes shirts for N&L, Huntsman, Paul Smith’s clients on occasion). The workshop is down below and he is more then happy to take you down there and show you the shirts being made. I did a lot of research on SF, AAAC and the LL before choosing Sean – and he is highly spoken of across the forums along with Dege and Skinner. Also, I have visited Mr. O’Flynn wearing an OTR suit. This may sound strange, but perhaps when I have some respectable bespoke suits made he may have some further adjustments to make on my shirts (or maybe not..). good luck with your shirts - do let us know how you get on!

This sport coat is by Chan, it's a green herringbone Donegal from the same W. Bill book as the tan one:



Edit: Lovelux2010, what'd you end up doing?



emptym said:

This sport coat is by Chan, it's a green herringbone Donegal from the same W. Bill book as the tan one:


Edit: Lovelux2010, what'd you end up doing?

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Looking Good, Mark.



comrade said:

Looking Good, Mark.

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Very nice!