Seoul Suit Playoffs - Hahn & Saville Row & Segi [buncha pics]

[WorldTraveller]

Arrived in Korea this Friday for an extended work assignment. After reading all the posts here about the tailors to try (and not being able to just jet on down to HK for some WW Chan), I decided to try Segi, Hahn, and Saville Row. I'll make a call on the best one and go back for some more

I emailed Segi, it bounced. I called, some guy answered who spoke no English. Directions / location information on website was all in Korean, and in their infinite wisdom, all the Korean was images, not text, so I couldn't pop it into Google translate.

Loss for them; I gave up.

Went to Saville Row and got fitted for a suit, at first I looked at the bolts (550k won), but they didn't have the color & pattern I wanted (grey with chalk stripe), so I went to the 180s Cashmere/Wool blend which was recommended (750k won), but still no pattern I wanted. Finally found what I wanted in the Italian fabric book. A good bit more than I was expecting to pay, but I've heard a lot of good things about Saville so I (nervously) trust them to deliver. Decided to add a waistcoat; total was 1,650k won.

Went next door to Hahns. Got a plain navy suit (always needed one, never got one) picking the fabric from the bolts they have on the wall. Including waistcoat, was 650k won (but it was local wool). Loved the way it felt. They had a poly/wool blend for another 100k but only in the books so I decided not to try it. They told me the non-blend would wrinkle more, which sucks, but I think it's helpful to try one of each (ie the theoretical high end fabric from Saville, and the low end from Hahns).

Identical design to Saville Row, though Saville Row insisted on some minimal shoulder padding, and Hahns didn't. We'll see how that turns out. I usually don't have shoulder pads, but then again I only have had 2 suits MTM in my life so far.

Will update when I get the finished product.

 

[WorldTraveller]

Got the two and put on the other two suits I own (these were China made) for comparison. Will post front shots once I take my face out.

First to last they are:

A Chinese suit made before I knew anything about suits. 2 button, split back, flat front, no cuffs. Not what I like nowadays. Cost like $100 and looks like it. When I got it I had to take it to a tailor in the US and have to almost completely altered.

The suit from Hahns. Feels a little small and short in the sleeve, a little short in the coat length and a little too tapered at the ankles. Otherwise it seems good to me. I'm having the sleeve and pants altered as we speak. I like it the best of the Korean made suits. This was ~$550 but I added the vest and a second pair of pants, which brought it up to $900

The suit from Dave the Tailor in Shanghai - supposedly the second best guy around (other than WW Chan which I found out too late about). I really like this suit. The only thing I notice that I don't like is that there is a tightness in the upper arms. Not because I fatter there; it's been like that for a while. I'm losing a little weight now so it fits better. Also, I thought it was the proper suit length, but now that both Korean suits came back shorter I'm not so sure what's right... This suit was $1,200 with the extra pants (no vest).

The last suit is the one from Saville Row next door to Hahns. Where the Hahn's suit was too small in the jacket, this one feels too big. I hate how the front looks when it's buttoned too, and from behind, I think the suit doesn't hug my hips enough; it's like a flared out tent-looking effect. Yuck. Also, oddly, the pants aren't tapered at all at the bottom but they aren't as roomy as I'm used to in the seat, which is unfortunate. I'm ashamed to note how much I spent on this, given that I don't like it much (I wanted a very specific fabric and they were the only ones who had it, and it was imported Italian high end stuff. However, I'm sure I can have it altered to something good once I finalize my weightloss (down 10lbs in 3 weeks so far) and alterations.

Curious for your thoughts.

 

[WorldTraveller]

Cheap China:



Hahn's



Dave's



Saville Row

 

[mensimageconsultant]

All the jackets are too tight in the upper torso. The vest adds bulk that the body type is better without. The jacket sleeves and shirt sleeves look too long in most of the pictures. Two-button works better for you than three-button. The greater waist suppression on the older jackets looks better, agreed. Hahn's and Dave the Tailor gave the jackets the best flap pocket style, drawing the eye closer to the navel.

 

[impolyt_one]

Wow, huge outlay on the suits there, all things considered - well, an expensive experiment (to me, maybe not you). I wouldn't have gone import fabric, just too much to justify.

Those look to be fairly standard in terms of the kind of work you can expect from them if you go in and say 'i want a suit,' but the secret to success with any of those people is to ask them for a bunch of off-menu work. They can and will do it, and often for no upcharge. They are just used to pumping out the cheap stuff and have an economized way of working and so it's not really 'on the menu' if there were one.

Post some detail pics of the cuffs and the lapels and I can explain further. At $500, the suits as made the standard way are ok. Any more than that, they're not worth it. You can milk them for what they're worth, but if I lived in China I'd just work with Chan. Seoul lacks a good tailoring style, even if they get the technicals right.

 

[impolyt_one]

Here's a tip if you go into those places and are looking at the $500 bolts on the wall - many are blend, some are all wool, some are good, some are bad, some are marked on the selvedge correctly, some are just incorrect broken English, some don't even have a selvedge at all.
When you're talking midrange fabric like this (it's all Korean domestic textile, the bolts are often overrun and bought cheaply, though it's not dirt cheap), rather than the really obviously luxuriant stuff, take a cigarette lighter with you and do the burn test:

http://www.fiber-images.com/Free_Th...ree_reference_charts_fiber_content_guide.html

 

[WorldTraveller]

Quite a bit of non-standard stuff on here that I made them do:

4 button surgeon cuff
Jet / Flap convertible pockets
Fabric loops behind the upper button hole
Double vent
2" cuff
Single pleat
3 button

I imagine there's probably more.

 

[WorldTraveller]



Wow, huge outlay on the suits there, all things considered - well, an expensive experiment (to me, maybe not you). I wouldn't have gone import fabric, just too much to justify.

Same price as I pay in the US ($500 for an ok suit), if you subtract out the vest and the 2nd pair of pants. They always try to charge me a little more than normal because I use 25% more fabric than the average guy. Sometimes they back off, sometimes they don't....

Anyway, the goal was to get a bunch of suits for comparison in colors / patterns I'd wear. The only chalk stripe that I could find in 2 stores was the imported stuff so I went with it.

Still hurting a little from the cost though

 

[ryoneo]

Did you have chance to make it to the second fitting? Or did they just deliver them to you?

 

[WorldTraveller]



Did you have chance to make it to the second fitting? Or did they just deliver them to you?

Ouch! Gotta start somewhere man. These are 4 of the 5 suits I've owned in my entire life here, gimme some slack!

The imported fabric one (worst looking one imo) had 3 fittings total, plus a pick up. The $500 China and Korea suits had 1 fitting plus a double check/fitting at pick up, and the cheap suit was just a pickup.

Goes to show that the number of fittings (at least with someone with my suit education level) doesn't mean anything.

With a few exceptions (ie pants too tight) I generally can't tell much (and thus change much) from a fitting at all. The pickup when it's all sewn I can at least catch a few things (like the cuffs, pockets, sleeve length, etc...) so I've sent that back occasionally.

I'd also argue that the number of recommendations on this board for those two shops would indicate that I'm simply a hard body to fit. I'll grant that I'm still learning how to do things too, but my lack of a baseline might be a big part of the challenge. I'm still waiting for the moment I put on a suit and am like "yeah, that's it, that's what it should look and feel like, make another just like it", hence all the different tailors.

I'm beginning to feel like I need to fly to London and drop $10,000 on a suit before I get the right fit...

 

[ryoneo]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Ouch! Gotta start somewhere man. These are 4 of the 5 suits I've owned in my entire life here, gimme some slack!
The imported fabric one (worst looking one imo) had 3 fittings total, plus a pick up. The $500 China and Korea suits had 1 fitting plus a double check/fitting at pick up, and the cheap suit was just a pickup.
Goes to show that the number of fittings (at least with someone with my suit education level) doesn't mean anything.
With a few exceptions (ie pants too tight) I generally can't tell much (and thus change much) from a fitting at all. The pickup when it's all sewn I can at least catch a few things (like the cuffs, pockets, sleeve length, etc...) so I've sent that back occasionally.

I'd also argue that the number of recommendations on this board for those two shops would indicate that I'm simply a hard body to fit. I'll grant that I'm still learning how to do things too, but my lack of a baseline might be a big part of the challenge. I'm still waiting for the moment I put on a suit and am like "yeah, that's it, that's what it should look and feel like, make another just like it", hence all the different tailors.
I'm beginning to feel like I need to fly to London and drop $10,000 on a suit before I get the right fit...

I was serious about the question, because I didn't see it stated in your post. And it was in no way a jab at you. I just wanted to know, that's all.

 

[Maccimus]



I was serious about the question, because I didn't see it stated in your post. And it was in no way a jab at you. I just wanted to know, that's all.

The common practice in Shanghai is one basted fitting and pick-up...Of course you can ask a 2nd fitting but the tailors or the salespersons usually don't recommend because they think it is not necessary. 95% of their clients have very low expectations on the outcomes so it is not so necessary I have to say.