HK Tailors: A-Man Hing Cheong and WW Chan

[JLibourel]

Originally Posted by jmath

This thread has inspired me take the plunge and get measure with WW Chan during their July visit to Washington DC. However, after having sent an email and having used their apointment setup form from their website a week back, I still have not heard from them. Is this common? Or should I just give them a call. If calling, which shop to call and who to ask for? Thanks.

Usually, they are pretty good about getting back within a couple of days. Maybe Mr. Wong, the sales manager, is on vacation. You might try e-mailing them again to see what gives.

 

[vc2000]

Whoopee

Great post - thanks for the extra effort in the post putting all the details together.

Question - I have somewhat similar build - I like the style/cut of the suit with the spread collar. Have you tried a larger knot? I am guessing from your comments that you prefer the smaller knot. I just wondered from a proportional prespective how it would look with a larger knot? I admit to using a smaller knot much of my life because I needed to preserve the tie length if I didn't buy an XL tie. I am now having some fun using a larger knot. Just wondered how a larger knot looked with the suit suppression and spread collar.

Again thanks.

 

[retronotmetro]

I emailed Arnold last week and it took about four days for me to hear back from him. I think he is the only one who handles email responses, so it sometimes takes a few days to hear back. I've always received a response in about three days, except around Lunar New Year.

 

[jmath]

Thanks. I'll try again and see what happens.

 

[whoopee]

The following is from memory, as the Kilgour clothes have been sitting untouched in the US for a while as I'm in abroad. So unfortunately I haven't updated pics. Here are a couple old ones I took for a fellow member a while back, slipped on over jeans and slapped-together accessories both times. the pink edge of that white pocket square scares me. I don't recall the rippling at the back being so evident in real life - there is a bit of excess over the blades to facilitate movement but not quite diagonal liek that. [URL='http://img480.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kilgourshoulder3fr.jpg']http://img480.imageshack.us/my.php?i...houlder3fr.jpg[/URL] [URL='http://img359.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kilgourfront8ud.jpg']http://img359.imageshack.us/my.php?i...urfront8ud.jpg[/URL] [URL='http://img359.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kilgourback1ud.jpg']http://img359.imageshack.us/my.php?i...ourback1ud.jpg[/URL] It's common knowledge that Kilgour are trying to go younger and hipper as can be seen with the tie-less, sleek one-button suits shown in their RTW collection and storefront. But those are details, the actual preferred cut is more conservative than Italian makers or my Chan suit. Structured, slightly pitched shoulders (the pic I posted exaggerates the effect), some roping, no or little extension, clean chest, some waist suppression, mid-high gorge, medium width lapels, coat length a bit long, high armholes, larger upper sleeve with some tapering down to the wrist, slightly open quarters, closer spaced front buttons, lapels beginning 1/2" or so above the butttoning point, some skirt flare, mid-rise trousers, a nice definition of the rear, relaxed through the upper leg, tapering to cover about 2/3 of the shoes. The mid-rise is specifically for the RTW and my suit - certainly, they would do something higher and alter some of the other details on request. I asked them to narrow the lapels and raise the gorge, for example, and the cutter just let me know what methods they use to determine what they usually do and then said no problem. He swelled the chest more than usual, probably to correct for the wider shoulder I have compared to my torso, and went with less waist suppression than I usually get. When we tried more, the silhouette was a caricature. Even now I think it is too much artifice for my body. I like my coats to adhere to me everywhere and not to be built out or made overly loose in places. But the fit was spot-on. Kilgour cutters enjoy a strong reputation, and I could see why on the first baste fitting. The armholes, shoulders, collar, waistband, rear all fit near-perfect and there was real artistry to the cut. Very little padding for me, except at the ends to pitch the shoulders. The silhouette does look great on other body types. I did entry-level (Shanghai) bespoke, measured and fitted in London. Polite, slightly aloof staff at first: very English. The inners are better than what the HK tailors use - they hold their shape and it's not just because they construction seems stiffer. There's some handwork on the trousers and the waistband is more comfortable and contours well. Thick MOP buttons used for the trousers - a nice touch. Good hand-stitching, lapel roll, finishing. None of that disappointed. Someone will probably ask me which is more "worth it". There's no straight answer. But I definitely see why Kilgour charge more. They make a polished, complete product that will undoubtedly stay classic and last a long time. My feelings toward them are similar to those described earlier regarding A-Man. They both have a certain cut and way of doing things and in the end I felt it wasn't right for me. I don't enjoy altering a specific look by asking for changes here and there to what is normally done. It's more fun for me (riskier, too) to partake in "making" and "completing" a suit and look as much as my untrained self can. But not everyone feels that way, and if you really like the look of and are comfortable with a tailor/house, use them.

 

[whoopee]

Originally Posted by vc2000

Whoopee Great post - thanks for the extra effort in the post putting all the details together. Question - I have somewhat similar build - I like the style/cut of the suit with the spread collar. Have you tried a larger knot? I am guessing from your comments that you prefer the smaller knot. I just wondered from a proportional prespective how it would look with a larger knot? I admit to using a smaller knot much of my life because I needed to preserve the tie length if I didn't buy an XL tie. I am now having some fun using a larger knot. Just wondered how a larger knot looked with the suit suppression and spread collar. Again thanks.
The pink tie is especially thin so the knot is necessarily small. I wish the silk was available via bespoke, but too often fashion designers really do have brilliant and exclusive products. Anyway my head isn't very big and I'm not a fan of the Italian or neo-English tennis ball knots. It looks especially stupid on me. On a bigger guy, it has more of a chance.

 

[dah328]

I've said it before, but it merits a repeat -- the shoulders on those Kilgour jackets are great. I may have to see if Chan can imitate that shoulder although I need a boxier silhouette to fit my torso.

dan

 

[Fishball]

A great post!

I am a happy customer of A-Man, the good thing is they do CMT.
I just ordered a suit last week, for my Holland & Sherry Super 100's Gabardine, and I think it is cheaper than ordered it thru the shop, the cloths is GBP70/m (I bought 3m, but the cutter said 2.9m is enough), and the CMT cost is just HKD5500 (USD700).

May be I will try to use Chan one day, just to see which one is better.

 

[kolecho]

Did you order your CMT suit from A-Man in Hong Kong?

 

[Fishball]

Kolecho,

Yes. This is my second CMT order from A-Man.
The collection of clothing in house is not too impressing, and I think tailors in Hong Kong most of the time charging too much for well named cloths.
My friend ordered one suit using the house collection no name cloth (also super's 100) at HKD9000 (USD1150).
My suit is just little bit cheaper than his, but with a better cloth.

 

[luk-cha]

any chance of a pic of the proud item, apart from whoopies i have not seen much of Aman stuff

 

[nspart]

Have a quick question re A Man Hing Cheong. Does anyone know if A Man still sends
a representative to the US anymore.I recall they used to come to San Francisco and Dallas several times a year. And do they have an email address. Thx.

 

[hughkim]

Would you have any thoughts of the following companies?

Macomber Inc.
Sam's Tailors
Maxwell's

I am curious on reputation.

 

[dah328]

Sam's, at least, has been discussed many times before. A search should turn up information on him.

 

[Fishball]

Originally Posted by luk-cha

any chance of a pic of the proud item, apart from whoopies i have not seen much of Aman stuff

my A-man sportcoat: