csaller
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I recently used a vacation in Hong Kong and Vietnam to get some suits and shirts made, and thought it might be interesting for some other beginners like me to read about my experiences.
A little bit of background: I am mid-thirties and run an internet company in Germany, so I do not get to wear a suit as often as I would like to. However, I recently decided that it is time to upgrade my wardrobe and throw out the mediocre MTM suits from a German tailor that I was wearing before. My objective on this trip was to try out a couple of different tailors to learn what to look for in a tailor, find out more about my taste, etc. Here's my experience:
W.W.Chan (Hong Kong): A lot of good things have been said about Chan on this forum, so I decided to do my largest purchase here. I got a navy 2-piece suit in a Zegna Trofeo cloth, a 3-piece dinner jacket in a Scabal 130 Barathea, and a tuxedo shirt. The experience was great in every respect: It felt really good to go with Patrick through the fittings, as he both listened very well to find out what I was looking for, and steered me in the right direction when I was unsure. Great for someone like me with little experience at bespoke! Most important, I really like the outcome, all I got from Chan looks great. Chan is certainly not cheap (overall, I paid almost 3.000 Euro), but worth the price.
Ah-Man (Hong Kong): According to this forum, another one of the top three tailors in Hong Kong. As I only had time to use two, I decided (for no particular reason) to go here and skip Gordon Yao. From Ah-Man, I got a suit in a medium grey VBC fabric, paying about 850 Euro. The experience at Ah-Man was certainly amusing (having two or three older Chinese guys jumping around me, chatting away in Chinese), but left me a little insecure whether I was really getting what I wanted. And the outcome is mixed: The trousers are perfect, even better than the one from Chan. The jacket fits very nicely around the shoulders and in the back. It has, however, three major deficits: The arms are much too wide (something I am now getting changed back home), there is too much room in front (which apparently cannot be changed any more), and the jacket is a little too long (which also cannot be changed, as the pockets are fairly low and would be totally out of proportion if I would have it shortened). Someone with more experience than me would probably have been able to spot these problems during the fittings and steer the tailor in the right direction. I, unfortunately, noticed the problems only in the final product. So, I'm sure Ah-Man is a great tailor, but I would not necessarily recommend them for a "beginner".
Dung (Saigon): Recommended on this forum as the best tailor in Vietnam, and dirt cheap; basically, you pay for the cloth, bought in the store of Dung's wife next door, and then some nominal amount (80 dollars or so) for the tailoring. Using Dung was a stressful experience, but with a "happy ending": When I first entered the shop, only Dung's wife was there, who seems to be in charge of things anyway. In the beginning, she almost tried to discourage me from buying, pointing out that they are very busy and the suit would take 6 weeks and would have to be shipped. When I insisted and picked one of their most expensive fabrics, a blue Dormeuil pinstripe (their cloth collection is rather limited, with a lot of really cheap stuff), she got a little more friendly. She then took the measurements herself (her husband not being there), and we arranged two appointments for the fittings. In the first fitting, I finally got to see Dung himself, who changed most of the measurements of his wife. Unfortunately, only the jacket was prepared, not the trousers. However, at the end of the fitting he tried to convince me that a second fitting would not be necessary; he could finish the jacket and do the trousers without fitting. Fortunately, I insisted to do a second fitting, which was good, as he still did a lot of changes in it. The final product was then shipped to me 4 weeks later. It actually looks pretty good - while not being as perfect as the Chan suits, I definitely like it better than the one from Ah-Man. I am currently having my tailor here make some small alterations (tighten the trousers, add some more waist suppression), but in the end I think it will be a fairly good suit for a very low price. Still, you should know what you want and be firm when you use Dung!
To round things off, I also got some shirts at Ascot Chan and at Jantzen. Nothing new to add to what is already on this forum: The AC shirts are perfect, but also fairly expensive; the Jantzen shirts are rather good for a really low price. Only thing to mention here is that I had to go through one rework at AC and two reworks at Jantzen before they got things right.
I will try to post some pictures if I get around to taking some!
A little bit of background: I am mid-thirties and run an internet company in Germany, so I do not get to wear a suit as often as I would like to. However, I recently decided that it is time to upgrade my wardrobe and throw out the mediocre MTM suits from a German tailor that I was wearing before. My objective on this trip was to try out a couple of different tailors to learn what to look for in a tailor, find out more about my taste, etc. Here's my experience:
W.W.Chan (Hong Kong): A lot of good things have been said about Chan on this forum, so I decided to do my largest purchase here. I got a navy 2-piece suit in a Zegna Trofeo cloth, a 3-piece dinner jacket in a Scabal 130 Barathea, and a tuxedo shirt. The experience was great in every respect: It felt really good to go with Patrick through the fittings, as he both listened very well to find out what I was looking for, and steered me in the right direction when I was unsure. Great for someone like me with little experience at bespoke! Most important, I really like the outcome, all I got from Chan looks great. Chan is certainly not cheap (overall, I paid almost 3.000 Euro), but worth the price.
Ah-Man (Hong Kong): According to this forum, another one of the top three tailors in Hong Kong. As I only had time to use two, I decided (for no particular reason) to go here and skip Gordon Yao. From Ah-Man, I got a suit in a medium grey VBC fabric, paying about 850 Euro. The experience at Ah-Man was certainly amusing (having two or three older Chinese guys jumping around me, chatting away in Chinese), but left me a little insecure whether I was really getting what I wanted. And the outcome is mixed: The trousers are perfect, even better than the one from Chan. The jacket fits very nicely around the shoulders and in the back. It has, however, three major deficits: The arms are much too wide (something I am now getting changed back home), there is too much room in front (which apparently cannot be changed any more), and the jacket is a little too long (which also cannot be changed, as the pockets are fairly low and would be totally out of proportion if I would have it shortened). Someone with more experience than me would probably have been able to spot these problems during the fittings and steer the tailor in the right direction. I, unfortunately, noticed the problems only in the final product. So, I'm sure Ah-Man is a great tailor, but I would not necessarily recommend them for a "beginner".
Dung (Saigon): Recommended on this forum as the best tailor in Vietnam, and dirt cheap; basically, you pay for the cloth, bought in the store of Dung's wife next door, and then some nominal amount (80 dollars or so) for the tailoring. Using Dung was a stressful experience, but with a "happy ending": When I first entered the shop, only Dung's wife was there, who seems to be in charge of things anyway. In the beginning, she almost tried to discourage me from buying, pointing out that they are very busy and the suit would take 6 weeks and would have to be shipped. When I insisted and picked one of their most expensive fabrics, a blue Dormeuil pinstripe (their cloth collection is rather limited, with a lot of really cheap stuff), she got a little more friendly. She then took the measurements herself (her husband not being there), and we arranged two appointments for the fittings. In the first fitting, I finally got to see Dung himself, who changed most of the measurements of his wife. Unfortunately, only the jacket was prepared, not the trousers. However, at the end of the fitting he tried to convince me that a second fitting would not be necessary; he could finish the jacket and do the trousers without fitting. Fortunately, I insisted to do a second fitting, which was good, as he still did a lot of changes in it. The final product was then shipped to me 4 weeks later. It actually looks pretty good - while not being as perfect as the Chan suits, I definitely like it better than the one from Ah-Man. I am currently having my tailor here make some small alterations (tighten the trousers, add some more waist suppression), but in the end I think it will be a fairly good suit for a very low price. Still, you should know what you want and be firm when you use Dung!
To round things off, I also got some shirts at Ascot Chan and at Jantzen. Nothing new to add to what is already on this forum: The AC shirts are perfect, but also fairly expensive; the Jantzen shirts are rather good for a really low price. Only thing to mention here is that I had to go through one rework at AC and two reworks at Jantzen before they got things right.
I will try to post some pictures if I get around to taking some!
