Chan vs. CEGO

[coachvu]

Since Chan will be visiting New York this summer, I was wondering if anyone has experience with both these tailors. I think Chan may be slightly cheaper, but what about fabric selection, attention to detail, etc.? Does Chan offer any specials when visiting the U.S.?

 

[odoreater]

I have shirts from both and I can tell you that in my experience CEGO is vastly superior (not even close). Carl is a master at fitting you so you will get a much better fit (though, I measured myself for my Chan shirts so I don't know how it would be if Chan actually measured me). Carl has a much greater selection of fabrics than Chan (I stopped using Chan a while ago for shirts because of lack of fabric selection). The fabrics of my Chan shirts are pretty crappy, even for the price of the shirt. Also, for me, Carl created a specific collar that he thought would go well with my face and build and the collars on my CEGO shirts are by far superior to the collars on any other shirt I own. I don't know what it is about the collars but they look and feel better than the collars on my shirts from Chan, Hemrajani, and even many high-quality RTW shirts.

The only things that Chan has on Carl is that they will put think MOP buttons on your shirt at no additional charge (I believe you can get MOP buttons from Carl, but he charges extra, though, the plastic buttons he uses are nice as far as plastic buttons go) and they do a better job at pattern matching. At the lower price points on Carl's shirts (which is what mine are, IIRC my CEGO shirts range in price from $100 - $150), which are MTM, there is no pattern matching (unless it just happens to work out that way accidentally), while Chan does a pretty good job at pattern matching.

I don't know, I would go to Carl over Chan just for the fabric selection, never mind the expertise you get from working with Carl.

 

[Tomasso]

Originally Posted by odoreater

Carl is a master at fitting you so you will get a much better fit

Case closed.

 

[odoreater]

Originally Posted by Tomasso

Case closed.

pretty much did it for me.

 

[Jameson]

Hello,

I can tell you that as far as Cego Shirts go, I have two. I have two white, one striped, and one herringbone. EVERY TIME I have worn either I get complements on the collar. I dunno why, but it must be the right proportions, spread amount e.t.c. but every single time I get complements on the collar.

JC

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Also, Carl is an intelligent person who really has tremendous passion for shirts. He will work with you, and for you especially if he senses you are agreeable. He also also turned me on to Mortimer Levitt's Executive Look which is a very fun book to read on shirts and I suggest people get one.

Whats awful is that that red shirt fabric he has on the mannequin busts in his shop which were horrible a few years ago are very Hip now and he can no longer find the fabric!

 

[coachvu]

Thanks. I was already 99% positive I was going to visit Carl this summer, but I thought I'd get a few final opinions.

 

[Jovan]

All this great talk about Carl's shirts is making me angry that Broderick had to get water all over his in The Producers.

 

[dah328]

Nothing against Carl who I'm sure does a great job, but comparing a self-measured Chan to one of Carl's shirts isn't exactly an apples to apples comparison.

 

[vc2000]

The difference I think is Carl CEGO is devoted to shirts as his business for ww Chan it is an aside service. ww Chan focuses on suits where Carl is a master of the shirt domain.

Full disclosure I have shirts from ww Chan, CEGO, Jantzen and Kabbaz.

ww Chan doesn't bring all the fabric samples on the road with them. In order to get a great shirt I think you have to do it in house. They have more fabric selection there. How can they carry all the fabric samples on the road? They can't so they bring a sample - suits make more $ so they bring more of those. Going to ww Chan means they will measure you in house. That said I don't think they can match Carl's devotion - his collar will come out better. Chan won't make a collar just for you. Carl's ability to guide in selection isn't matched by Chan either.

I am a devoted ww Chan suit customer but I would go with Carl for shirts. As I travel a lot it is a waste to order Alex Kabbaz shirts, I have a few but a couple trips to a hotel laundry is a crime, Alex's shirts are a religious experience. Finally Jantzen shirts I order for more casual wear. Ricky is great but his internet service is interesting - you really need to go to the store.

 

[raley]

Originally Posted by vc2000

The difference I think is Carl CEGO is devoted to shirts as his business for ww Chan it is an aside service. ww Chan focuses on suits where Carl is a master of the shirt domain.

Full disclosure I have shirts from ww Chan, CEGO, Jantzen and Kabbaz.

ww Chan doesn't bring all the fabric samples on the road with them. In order to get a great shirt I think you have to do it in house. They have more fabric selection there. How can they carry all the fabric samples on the road? They can't so they bring a sample - suits make more $ so they bring more of those. Going to ww Chan means they will measure you in house. That said I don't think they can match Carl's devotion - his collar will come out better. Chan won't make a collar just for you. Carl's ability to guide in selection isn't matched by Chan either.

I am a devoted ww Chan suit customer but I would go with Carl for shirts. As I travel a lot it is a waste to order Alex Kabbaz shirts, I have a few but a couple trips to a hotel laundry is a crime, Alex's shirts are a religious experience. Finally Jantzen shirts I order for more casual wear. Ricky is great but his internet service is interesting - you really need to go to the store.

I am curious about diminishing returns to scale for fit/quality in comparison to cost primarily with CEGO and Kabbaz.

How much better do your Kabbaz shirts fit? How much better is the quality of the Kabbaz shirts? Is it noticeable? If you had unlimited funds would you purchase strictly Kabbaz, or is the fit/quality close enough as to where you could definitely live with just CEGO, and when you throw in cost CEGO overwhelmingly wins?

 

[odoreater]

Originally Posted by vc2000

That said I don't think they can match Carl's devotion - his collar will come out better. Chan won't make a collar just for you.

Yes, this is what I was talking about. Carl designed a custom collar that would be perfect for me, while with Chan I have to pick one of their standard collars. I don't know if they'll design a collar for you if you meet them in person, but on the internet you just have to pick one of their standard collars.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Speaking of CEGO:

http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/article/...-and-well-made

 

[AAA]

I have never dealt with anyone from Chan, but I can vouch for Carl. In addition to being a great shirtmaker, he is also a pleasure to deal with.

 

[kolecho]

I have been using Jantzen for the past year. They are great value, and I now have more shirts than I need. I think my shirt's fit can be improved though.

I would like to try CEGO when I am next in NYC. What is CEGO's turnaround time for a first shirt?