Shirts: Hemrajani vs. Chan

Anybody here have experience with both Hemrajani and Chan shirts? (And I'm inquiring strictly about shirts here, not suits or jackets.) So far I have purchased five of the $78 shirts from Chan and been very satisfied with them. However, at least one correspondent on LL has stated to me that Chan shirts are farmed out and not on the same level of quality as their tailored menswear. Moreover, I noted on Chan's March tour the "bargain" shirts were $110, which is starting to get a tad pricey for me.

Hemrajani's offers tailored shirts for a good deal less. Moreover, they have a permanent office no great distance from mine, so presumably I could get measured professionally by them before testing the waters with a modest order. Anyway, I was wondering how they stacked up next to Chan in terms of quality, price and value.

I'd also be interesting in anybody's experience with Hemrajani's shirts in general. I've seen some mixed reports on them in these fora, but then that's true of many other garment makers.

No interest in Jantzen? Especially since you already have well fitting shirts tht he can just copy.

Not sure about those two, but if you ever make it out to Pattaya, Thailand.....there is a tailor there by the name of Canali (no affiliation, obviously) who makes shirts in an insane variety of materials/cuts, etc. who charges $20 a shirt; $25 for silk. It is quite the experience; it has a lavish interior for a Thai tailor and upon arrival you are instantly greeted with some Johnnie Walker scotch and an optional cigar......anyways, that was totally irrelevant, but I can't stress the place more.

Maybe I can take some pics for those interested, he will do international orders.

JLibourel> I cannot establish the fact if WW Chan farms out their shirtmaking. The several I own were ordered from Patrick Chu at the HK shop. I was given a careful fitting for the first shirt I ordered. The shirts all turned out very well. The stitching is excellent, the pattern matching is almost perfect and more importantly, the shirts fit me beautifully.

To be sure, I use Jantzen now for all my shirts because:
- the workmanship is comparable
- the fabric choices are more extensive (and exciting)
- the prices are much lower
- Ricky Ho is such a great guy to deal with (not that Patrick Chu is any less a great guy to deal with)

For my suits, I still prefer to use WW Chan although I may one day give Jantzen a shot.

Does Jantzen do U.S. tours in the manner of Chan? I couldn't find out anything on their website. It would be nice to be professionally measured by them and personally go over their fabrics, but I don't foresee a trip to HK anytime soon in my future.

No they don't. I seriously doubt they could make enough in a trip in addition to the business they'd normally have in the current system to cover the expenses. The local business is huge, anyway. I would guess that he sells over a hundred shirts a day.

Here's my recent post on Hemrajani vs. Jantzen:http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=13763&page=2

I have both hemrajani and chan shirts. For some reason, not really sure why, I like my hemrajani shirts better. I think the chan shirts have nice construction and a good fit, but I think the Hemrajani shirts have nicer feeling fabric and better patterns.

Also, I ordered through the website and Hemrajani seems to have more choices with regards to collars and stuff like that.

i have multiple shirt orders from both chan and hemrajani and one suit order from hemrajani

Hemrajani Pros:

• A plethora of fabrics. On each tour visit they have many new books of fabric in a wide variety of styles including less conservative fabrics... which is good for me

• Lots of visits. I don't know the exact time between visits, but in Detroit, I have probably 6 or 7 days to choose from when they stop by every 2 months in roughly 4 oe 5 different locations around metro detroit. Extremely convenient

• They will do whatever you want. Copy things, create things from scratch, modify to extremes

• Easy to make small tweaks since they come around often

• Customer service is top notch. I have received emails and phone calls from Joe Hemrajani and his people to ensure my satisfaction

• I've received 2 free shirts to my total order to date of 19 shirts and 1 suit.

• Very short lag time. Usually 4 weeks from my visit or 4 weeks from internet order.

• Shirts are of high quality.

Hemrajani Cons:

• I just had my first fitting for a suit, and I have to say, they did a good job, but its not perfect. But they are going to give it another shot and hopefully this time it comes out better

• Not as cheap as Jantzen (my shirts cost me about 95)

• Not up on trends or "fashiony" stuff. I push them for a trimmer cut.. and they babble on about european cuts and stuff thinking im crazy. But, they do what I ask.

Chan Pros:

• I really feel like Patrick Chu knows what he is doing. Very competant and listens to what you say. When I order from him, he draws pictures and writes lots of notes. I like that.

• Much like Hemrajani, they will do whatever you ask

• Shirts are of incredibly high quality, better than Hemrajani (better buttons and the construction "feels" better)

• Short lag time for internet orders

• When I describe that I want a slim cut, Patrick engages in a conversaion on what options would best fit my body.

Chan Cons:

• Customer service is good, but I have never received any followup communications

• Long lag time for tour orders

• Tours are infrequent and only to select cities. No stops in Detroit.

• Their prices are a bit higher than Hemrajani (except order tour specials), and definitely higher than Jantzen

I know thats a lot of qualitative opinion, but these are my experiences having ordered shirts off the internet and from the tours from each shop. In summary, Chan shirts are slightly better, but slightly more expensive and harder to get due to less touring. Overall, I'm happier with my purchases from Hemrajani because I know they will fit right and they will arrive quickly.