The Hong Kong BaoTou Tailors and Fabric Shops for CMT Thread

[dukenukem4ever]

Since I haven't been able to travel to HK for suits, I've been keeping myself busy by purchasing shoes instead... since the pandemic started I must have purchased at least 10 pairs of shoes...

 

[dygital]

So after 2 successful dealings with Lok, my 3rd dealing is starting to be disappointing...
I had a fresco suit made and the jacket was cut too short and too tight. Currently being adjusted by Lok for the tightness in the waist but nothing can be done about the length...

Alternatively, the pants he's made me for the first time came out quite nice. Not as nice as Wong SY, but still quite nice. May try Lok for his pleated pants since I don't think Wong SY does a great job with pleated plants.

Also started an uncanvased unlined suit from Ng. He is charging me 2.4K and says it will take extra long due to the difficulty in making something like that. I asked him to make sure there won't be any glue used and he assured me there wouldn't be. Will post pics of Lok and Ng's suits once I get them.

 

[dukenukem4ever]

So after 2 successful dealings with Lok, my 3rd dealing is starting to be disappointing...
I had a fresco suit made and the jacket was cut too short and too tight. Currently being adjusted by Lok for the tightness in the waist but nothing can be done about the length...

Alternatively, the pants he's made me for the first time came out quite nice. Not as nice as Wong SY, but still quite nice. May try Lok for his pleated pants since I don't think Wong SY does a great job with pleated plants.

Also started an uncanvased unlined suit from Ng. He is charging me 2.4K and says it will take extra long due to the difficulty in making something like that. I asked him to make sure there won't be any glue used and he assured me there wouldn't be. Will post pics of Lok and Ng's suits once I get them.

Awesome, would love to see some pics!

 

[Stanacle]

Since I haven't been able to travel to HK for suits, I've been keeping myself busy by purchasing shoes instead... since the pandemic started I must have purchased at least 10 pairs of shoes...

What shoes did you get? Would love to see some pictures and your review on them

 

[dukenukem4ever]

What shoes did you get? Would love to see some pictures and your review on them

some john lobbs, edward greens, crockett and jones, carmina and Herring shoes. I definitely will get a review on them with photos on feet with my CMT suits.

need to stop buying shoes though or my wife will divorce me.

 

[dygital]

Awesome, would love to see some pics!

The fitting is the linen suit (Ng). Excited to see how my experiment will come along in a months time.

As you can see from the full suit (Lok) , the jacket is way too small. Pants are fine though.

Shirt is made by Wong MH in alumo voyage.

 

[Nara_Deer]

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The fitting is the linen suit (Ng). Excited to see how my experiment will come along in a months time.

As you can see from the full suit (Lok) , the jacket is way too small. Pants are fine though.

Shirt is made by Wong MH in alumo voyage.

Thanks for the sharing.

Would you mind to share more of your thoughts on the materials? For example the drape/weight, hand feeling, breathability and the costs etc.

I have been thinking about high twist wools or heavy Irish linens for upcoming commissions because of the climate of HK. As these two materials would end up in very different styles, it isn't an easy decision. Say for example, high twists look neat and clean but linens is all about the wrinkles.

Regarding the length, did you specify to the Sifu that you want most of your seat covered? I found the jacket length a very tricky item to consider.

 

[dygital]

Thanks for the sharing.

Would you mind to share more of your thoughts on the materials? For example the drape/weight, hand feeling, breathability and the costs etc.

I have been thinking about high twist wools or heavy Irish linens for upcoming commissions because of the climate of HK. As these two materials would end up in very different styles, it isn't an easy decision. Say for example, high twists look neat and clean but linens is all about the wrinkles.

Regarding the length, did you specify to the Sifu that you want most of your seat covered? I found the jacket length a very tricky item to consider.

I wanted to make an unstructured uncanvased jacket after seeing one in Alan See's instagram, and seeing that I already had a pair of blue linen pants made by SY Wong, I thought I would make a matching jacket from Ng. To be honest, there was no real thought going into the material choice, since it's an irish linen from Samuel Chen that shirtingfantasy turned me onto when I was originally having the pants made about a year ago. Main concern was just about coolness, since all my pants are high twist as I hate being warm, and even the coldest winters in HK aren't very cold. It's a 330gram moygashel irish linen, although it is being discontinued in favor of a 380gram.

For the suit from Lok, I picked a fresco since it's very hot in HK and just wanted another summer jacket and pants. Price was reasonable too at $500/yard. I usually don't focus very much on the cost of cloth as long as its under $6-700/yard since the net effect is barely material when we're talking about a $3-400 difference in total for a full suit. I've always known that Lok likes to cut his jackets short so I've told him since my first jacket that I wanted a longer jacket, but I guess he forgot.

Something else about Lok for future customers, make sure he writes everything down. If you read back in the old posts, someone earlier had a ton of problems with Lok before. I asked for no pant loop on the fastening, but it was there. Quick and easy to remove though.

The above being said, these will probably be my last baotou suits. The main interest for me is to find out what I like and dislike, and the pricepoint of baotous give it a great entry point for someone like me who is not familiar with tailoring to play around with things at a cost that would've otherwise been prohibitive. I do have to say though, pants from SY Wong and shirts from MH Wong can't be beat!

 

[Nara_Deer]

I've always known that Lok likes to cut his jackets short so I've told him since my first jacket that I wanted a longer jacket, but I guess he forgot.

The above being said, these will probably be my last baotou suits. The main interest for me is to find out what I like and dislike, and the pricepoint of baotous give it a great entry point for someone like me who is not familiar with tailoring to play around with things at a cost that would've otherwise been prohibitive. I do have to say though, pants from SY Wong and shirts from MH Wong can't be beat!

Thanks for the insight. Just want to share my recent (failed) attempt. The back length is 28 inches, which should just covers my entire seat. Looks quite long in the photo but when look from the front I personally think it is ok. The failed point is the waist. I did ask for more waist suppression during fitting, but ended up too extreme. My back is extremely concave shaped "浪腰", which caused the fabrics to pull towards my body and created all the wrinkles at the back. I personally think it is difficult to find the equilibrium jacket length, and one can hardly lengthen a short jacket.

PS. Suit came from budget Guangdong workmanship Baotou. Half Canvas, 290gsm VBC mohair blend.

Just out of curiosity, you mentioned you might be done with Baotous, so the next commission would be at a shop?

 

[dygital]

Thanks for the insight. Just want to share my recent (failed) attempt. The back length is 28 inches, which should just covers my entire seat. Looks quite long in the photo but when look from the front I personally think it is ok. The failed point is the waist. I did ask for more waist suppression during fitting, but ended up too extreme. My back is extremely concave shaped "浪腰", which caused the fabrics to pull towards my body and created all the wrinkles at the back. I personally think it is difficult to find the equilibrium jacket length, and one can hardly lengthen a short jacket.

PS. Suit came from budget Guangdong workmanship Baotou. Half Canvas, 290gsm VBC mohair blend.

Just out of curiosity, you mentioned you might be done with Baotous, so the next commission would be at a shop?

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I always tend to ask for a roomier cut now, but it always still ends up being very slim. To my unexperienced eye, that looks a bit overdone. As a point of reference, I've asked a few sifus before and they've all told me that paying less for a half canvas suit isn't just the decreased cost of canvas, but you're getting a different sifu at the workshop who does the stitching. A half canvas sifu only does half canvassed suits, whereas a full canvas sifu only does full canvassed suits. Paying the extra $1000 may be worthwhile just to get a more experienced sifu, and in the grand scheme of things isn't much more.

I will probably be going to a shop such as Dream Bespoke since I've had friends with great experiences, and I've always wanted to try WWC. The value of going to a baotou begins to completely disappear with certain fabrics. Some things like Spring Ram or Finmeresco is outrageously expensive if you buy it yourself since you can't get shop discounts, so the price difference of getting something made in Finmeresco at a shop and a baotou is almost nothing. And also after playing around with baotous for a bit, it gets a bit old trying on a suit in a dimly lit room without enough mirrors trying to spot what may be wrong. I think it's also good to try a bit of everything though!

 

[Nara_Deer]

A half canvas sifu only does half canvassed suits, whereas a full canvas sifu only does full canvassed suits. Paying the extra $1000 may be worthwhile just to get a more experienced sifu, and in the grand scheme of things isn't much more.

The value of going to a baotou begins to completely disappear with certain fabrics.

That's a new knowledge to me. I am new to bespoke and I think I will gradually upgrade to better Sifus and eventually go for full canvas, especially when commissioning a formal suit.

Feel the same about the point on fabrics. After all the value chain of this industry is still protected in certain ways - some fabric sellers are just not bothered to serve walk-in customers. I tend to avoid those and for now I am only going for fabrics below $500/yard.

 

[Nara_Deer]

AnK Menswear, HK agent of Barrington and Baird McNutt (Irish Linen, 320gsm, <$300/yard).

 

[dygital]

AnK Menswear, HK agent of Barrington and Baird McNutt (Irish Linen, 320gsm, <$300/yard).

Is that website current? Or a side business? Anthony Chan is the owner of dashing house...https://www.dashinghousehk.com/

 

[Nara_Deer]

Is that website current? Or a side business? Anthony Chan is the owner of dashing house...https://www.dashinghousehk.com/

I think it's active. I contacted them and they said they welcome non shop customers. Not surprised if it's a side business of the tailor shop.

 

[Lucapoli]

Does anyone know how to contact Samuel Chen Co Ltd internationally? Am not sure if they're well-versed in English too...planning to get some cloths from them.