Hong Kong Tailors - Request for Info

[subtle-t]

I would love any information you have on these Hong Kong tailors:

Taipan row
WW Chan
Sam's
Fletcher Jones
A Man Hing Cheong
Punjab House
Om Custom Tailors
Modell Fashions
Bobby's Fashions
Crazy Horse Tailor
La Elite Fashions
Express Custom Tailors

I'll be there this summer, and thus am not looking for someone to take my measurements in the US. I also realize that WW Chan gets good reviews here, but it seems that there have been one or two recent posts indicating that people were less than satisfied with the quality of work.

If there's a great tailor I've missed, please add it in.

Thank!

 

[dah328]

Sam's and A-Man have also been mentioned here. Remember that most forum members are not satisfied by anything less than world-class quality at cut-rate prices, so you should take the criticism of Chan in context. If they didn't provide pretty good value, none of us would be going there. Which is why you probably don't see any mention of most of the rest of the tailors you posted above.

dan

 

[Manton]

I have one suit from A-Man that I don't like. Most others who have posted about them have been satisfied. I have seen some Chan stuff that looks good, and some that looks not so good. One friend, who is very exacting, gave them a lengthy list of instructions which they followed to the letter. His coat came out great.

Baromen seemed to me to be the best tailor in HK of all those that I visited. But they are slow and said that they could not make me a suit in the timeframe that I needed it.

 

[whoopee]

Chan, A-Man, and Baroman are really the only ones worth going, because they (the first two, at least) are receptive to instructions, can do it, and won't try to fool you into thinking they have. I have severe doubts about the honesty of many tailors in HK who will send an unsuspecting client out with a truly terrible suit. Of course, that is always a risk with bespoke, but even a customer who doesn't really know what he wants, and ends up being dissatisfied with a Chan suit somehow, can't say it was a half-fused, 3 hour job.

I do have one Chan suit about which I only have minor complaints, mostly stemming from my stylistic choices and failure to get more than 1 fitting at the time. It was a mid-grey chalkstripe 6x2 DB with a high button stance - I wore it to the Collection on Sat afternoon, in case anyone remembers. The rest I am less satisfied with, but certainly not foundation to impugn the tailor, or even quit going. Just that sometimes first and second suits do not work well, and sometimes one really must instruct HK tailors to receive the best product they can make.

Manton, do you mind commenting further on the A-Man suit and why Baroman seemed the best to you?

 

[Manton]

Well, I gave A-Man a pretty decent suit to copy, and they did not do an accurate job, to say the least. Button point too low, lapel and pocket flap shapes different, etc. Also, they padded the hell out of the shoulders. And the sewing was not so great. It just looked and felt bad to me.

Baroman seemed really good. Mind you, this is based solely on a 30 minute or so examination of what they had in the shop. But the cut of the things on the dummies looked sharp. Also, they had the obligatory skeleton baste coat out for inspection (no facings) and the make appeared to be top-notch.

 

[JLibourel]

At risk of boring any forum regulars who may be catching this, I have so far acquired one suit, three jackets and five shirts from W.W. Chan and I have been extremely satisfied with their work. The suit, their first effort for me, could have stood a few minor improvements, but with everything else, my satisfaction has been total. I am planning to buy three more jackets and perhaps another suit from them over the next three years or so. I would, however, add the caveat that I certainly do not possess the knowledge of and experience with the finest tailoring that, say, a Manton possesses, and so I am probably a good deal easier to please.

Since posting the above, I remembered that Gordon Yao has not infrequently received favorable mention in these fora, sometimes mentioned as comparable to Chan.

I note from their website that Punjab House claims to have been in business since 1889. They have what seems to be an MTM operation in London called "Apsley Tailors," so perhaps some British members of the forum can give us some informed commentary.

 

[maxnharry]

I am a Chan customer, having purchased one suit, two pairs of trousers and a shirt from them and am happy with the level of service that they provide.

Most men have almost nonexistent knowledge about clothing and styling. They buy whatever the department stores offer. The tailors in HK that cater to tourists take advantage of that. They know that most don't know fusing from canvas and all the other details that we have come to understand through SF, AAAC and LL. The tourist tailors can crank out a suit in a very short time and make the tourist feel like he got something for nothing.

Patrick from Chan patiently works through the process and is happy to add any detail that you can come up with. If you don't have any details to add, they will produce a suit that is in the 95th percentile of suits.

For me, Chan occupies a price/value sweet spot that others can't match. Good price, great service and willing to let me work the process as I learn more about clothes.

The only criticism that I have or thing that I want to add to to my next suit is a little better cloth. I would like to source my own cloth for the next suit. My last suit was Charles Clayton and is great, just not amazing.

 

[JLibourel]

Originally Posted by maxnharry

For me, Chan occupies a price/value sweet spot that others can't match.

Agreed! Low-end bespoke for medium-high department store RTW prices!

 

[Girardian]

Is the bias toward Chan based on the ability of customers stateside to order from the shop? What about places you can *only* get at in Hong Kong? I'm going and am likely going to visit with Chan but would hate to miss a tailor you can only see there.

 

[whoopee]

I will be trying at least one of these three: A-Man, Baroman, and Y William Yu. YWY only came to my attention recently, as someone on AA implied that Kilgour's Shanghai suits are made by their workshops, and the work is significantly better than Chan's. Both on- and off-forum I have heard the A-Man is also nicer than Chan.

 

[Mighty Mike]

I have read this forum with interest and decided to do a little experiment: I ordered one suit from A-Man last week, at the same time also ordered a Brioni one from Ascot Chang. I know this sounds weird but I have some money to burn right now and want to see the difference. Will also have one made from WW Chan.

Sam has been a big disappointment to me 2 years ago. The first suit I got was very well cut given my XXL size, the next one he talked me into the fabric and did not listen to my requirements. I never wore this suit. Will not go back there.

 

[JLibourel]

Originally Posted by JLibourel

At risk of boring any forum regulars who may be catching this, I have so far acquired one suit, three jackets and five shirts from W.W. Chan and I have been extremely satisfied with their work....I am planning to buy three more jackets and perhaps another suit from them over the next three years or so.

HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!

"Three more jackets and perhaps another suit from them over the next three years or so." Not quite 18 months have elapsed since I made that post. I now have five more Chan jackets and plan to buy at minimum four more before I retire year after next. This shows you both how addictive good clothing is and also the high esteem in which I hold Chan!

 

[Mighty Mike]

My experience with Sam is really bad - tourist trap.

A Man did a good job on a suit for me. It took 4 fittings and they were very forthcoming towards my requests. The fabric is so so. I haved not found really first class stuff in their shop, so you mioght want to bring fabric if you really want something extra nice.

WW Chan made a nice blazer for me. 3 fittings, very well done. The slacks I had him make are too much Asia style - too wide legs and too big (deep) pockets. For these, he did not want to listen to me. Shirts are ok, but not cheap and not very first class. I guess one has to interact a lot with the guys, and insist on certain things one really wants to have done.

Very good experience with Ascot Chan for shirts (only sligtly more expensive than WW Chan, but better fabric, too). They did the measuring for my Brioni suit, came out very well, only the fabric is not very durable.

 

[Helga]

Hello, if it is still interesting for you....
I could recommend Fletcher and Jones. I had some taylor-made cloths 18 years ago.
(It means, they were on the market already at that time.)
They are excellent, punctual, willing and very reasonable.

Helga

 

[Jason Lloyd]

I visited HK last year and after some research I decided on using Punjab House to get 1 suit and 10 shirts made. Paid $8k (HK) for the lot which I thought was quite expensive but I was left with the impression that these guys were one of the best and so I thought I would pay extra.
To cut a long storey short I would NEVER use Punjab House or any of their spins offs ever again. I was in HK for 2 weeks, had 2 fittings, but by the time I left the shirts weren't ready so had to arrange for additional post charges to ship back to the UK. When they arrived 3 weeks later they were all skin tight! What was the point in the fitting if they cannot get this right?? It eventually took me 6 months to get the shirts delivered and even then they are slightly too small so when I sit down the material clings to my torso and stretches to reveal my stomach. I decided to give up in the end as I was fed up of telling them to adjust the size by a couple of inches only to receive samples made 1 cm larger. I also had to cover all the postage costs to return the shirts to HK and even though Punjab House said they would refund me - when I chased them for this all of a sudden they stopped responding to my emails!!! Shame on you Punjab House.

By the way the suit I had made was not impressive either as Punjab House have a tendency to 'over fit' their tailoring. So the trousers are almost like wearing skinny jeans and the jacket is too tight. The inside pocket is also under my armpit.

I have a wardrobe full of tailored suits and shirts as I only wear tailored (cause I'm tall/skinny and can't get anything off the shelf to work) and have purchased from other tailors in HK and Thailand before. Punjab House is THE MOST EXPENSIVE and THE WORST tailor I have yet to experience. I would definitely not recommend these guys to anyone.

Interestingly when I was in HK last year I also purchased a suit from a local chinese tailors J&J Arts. These are not indian guys that will try and squeeze every penny out of you as they can but local chinese guys - mainly serving the locals. I purchased a tailored suit from these for $1k (HK) and it is a top notch suit. I wear this suit on a weekly basis where as the one I got from Punjab I think I have worn twice!! I am going back to HK again soon and one of my first stops will be to go back to J&J Arts and order 4 suits for $4K. This is also based on their top range material. There is no bartering, they have fixed prices $1k (HK) for the better material and $800 for lower grade. The shop is constantly full with young locals getting business and graduation suits - this says a lot. Its located in MongKok on the first floor of a shopping centre - just adjacent to the entrance to MongKok market.

I will certainly not be visiting Punjab House again!