The Hong Kong BaoTou Tailors and Fabric Shops for CMT Thread

[Warrant_Buffet]

Merry Chrismas

Does anyone know which Sifu can make outerwear jackets such as a peacoat or a shirt jacket?

For shirt jackets, what construction are you looking for? If you're just looking for essentially shirts in a thicker fabric, shirt sifus may entertain you. Jacket sifus mean you spend more than 2k hkd

 

[Warrant_Buffet]

@jyu1415 if I'm not mistaken, it'd take you to decide what you want in the shirt jacket.

Shirt-like without inner facing or pockets -- shirt sifus might entertain. Not all will. Bigger, extra pockets = pricier than your average shirt. Your shirt sifu will likely reject thick fabrics too because their sewing machines can only handle shirtings. Otherwise, you'd need a jacket sifu. Whichever the case, it boils down to whether your cutter can cut tge jacket and whether his workshop can sew it right.

What are you looking to make specifically?

 

[jyu1415]

@jyu1415 if I'm not mistaken, it'd take you to decide what you want in the shirt jacket.

Shirt-like without inner facing or pockets -- shirt sifus might entertain. Not all will. Bigger, extra pockets = pricier than your average shirt. Your shirt sifu will likely reject thick fabrics too because their sewing machines can only handle shirtings. Otherwise, you'd need a jacket sifu. Whichever the case, it boils down to whether your cutter can cut tge jacket and whether his workshop can sew it right.

What are you looking to make specifically?

@Warrant_Buffet Thank you for your input. I do have a few follow-up questions.

Regarding the shirt jacket:
I want to make something with a thicker material or even suede. I have attached a photo of the final product I am envisioning. I assume that is too thick for shirtmakers. Inner pockets will be nice but won't be a deal breaker. I recently made a plaid wool shirt with Wong MH using Thomas Mason Wool fabric from the seasonal collection ($1100 with two pockets similar to the photo). It was very well made with full pattern matching. The only drawback was the thickness of the material. The different swatches he showed me were all very thin. I guess if I want something closer to a jacket rather than a shirt, I should go to a jacket maker.

Regarding sourcing materials:
I understand coating fabrics are fundamentally different from suiting and shirting ones. Do the fabric shops detailed in the blog also sell coating materials?

Thanks in advance

 

[Warrant_Buffet]

@Warrant_Buffet Thank you for your input. I do have a few follow-up questions.

Regarding the shirt jacket:
I want to make something with a thicker material or even suede. I have attached a photo of the final product I am envisioning. I assume that is too thick for shirtmakers. Inner pockets will be nice but won't be a deal breaker. I recently made a plaid wool shirt with Wong MH using Thomas Mason Wool fabric from the seasonal collection ($1100 with two pockets similar to the photo). It was very well made with full pattern matching. The only drawback was the thickness of the material. The different swatches he showed me were all very thin. I guess if I want something closer to a jacket rather than a shirt, I should go to a jacket maker.

Regarding sourcing materials:
I understand coating fabrics are fundamentally different from suiting and shirting ones. Do the fabric shops detailed in the blog also sell coating materials?

Thanks in advance




View attachment 2100473 View attachment 2100479

I assume the price you listed covers the shirting too? If not, he's def charged a lot more than he used to...

As far as pockets -- shirtmakers can do pleated pockets (if their makers are willing to sew), not bellow pockets, but I digress.

I suppose Golden Circle is your best bet, but what do I know.

An alternative -- a risky one -- is look up workshops on Taobao or Insta yourself. I know, they likely won't nail the fit, but you might find good enough RTW/MTO options.

 

[jyu1415]

$1100 does cover the shirting. I remember the price for standard TM is 950 + 40 for MOP buttons.

I assume the jacket in the picture below will require the expertise of a jacket sifu?

 

[Warrant_Buffet]

Most likely, but whatever you do, no Kam Ma. In my 1st and only visit I was essentially grounded for an hour listening to the couple ramble about their accomplishments.

 

[PekingRoadHK]

$1100 does cover the shirting. I remember the price for standard TM is 950 + 40 for MOP buttons.

I assume the jacket in the picture below will require the expertise of a jacket sifu?

View attachment 2100653

@jyu1415

you didn't check photos of this thread, this is my Italian lamb suede safari jacket tailor made by Tang sifu #1,092 and #1,902:
1) Italian lamb suede + RiRi 2 way zipper and all materials: HK$1.6k
2) Tang sifu workmanship: HK$1k
total: leather and all raw materials + workmanship = HK$2.6k

Awhile ago, Tang showed me lots of his finished products of safari jacket in Irish linen after people seeing my suede safari jacket:

Kam Ma is good for those who don't want to shop for their fabrics someplace else. I don't like Kam Ma, one of the reasons is too much hard selling, and things described in the blog. My blog 10) C) shows 4 top casual jacket makers in HK, they have been making samples and tailor made casual jackets for European and US young fashion brands.

Check Kam Ma IG for their end products, the other 3 are making the same things:

Kam Ma Leather Garments (@kam.ma.leathergarments) • Instagram photos and videos

2,142 Followers, 3,013 Following, 1,758 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Kam Ma Leather Garments (@kam.ma.leathergarments)

www.instagram.com

For coating fabrics of different brands and no brands, check the blog:
11) A)
4) Kwong Hing, winter thick wool and cashmere wool
11) Linking Trading, winter thick wool
16) Golden Circle, winter thick wool

 

[PekingRoadHK]

Not only jacket sifu can make garments with thick fabrics, suit tailors can also make garments with thick fabrics.

a winter jacket and overcoat with thick fabric made by Wong SY sifu:

Wong SY sifu products, Mirador Baotou tailor,

• PekingRoadHK
• Jan 15, 2023
• mirador baotou tailor wong sy sifu products

Wong SY sifu products, Mirador Baotou tailor,

Wong SY sifu products, Mirador Baotou tailor,

• PekingRoadHK
• Jan 15, 2023
• mirador baotou tailor wong sy sifu products

Wong SY sifu products, Mirador Baotou tailor,

2 overcoats with thick fabric made by Ng sifu:

i.JPG

• PekingRoadHK
• Jan 15, 2023

MarlingEvansOvercoat..JPG

• PekingRoadHK
• Jan 14, 2023
• marling and evans overcoat

Marling and Evans, overcoat

 

[han-han]

Hi all. I'm a long time lurker on the forum, took the opportunity to leverage a family trip to Disneyland into a Mirador Mansion trip as well

Did three shirts with Sifu Wong Hoi Man, one iron-free affordable fabric, two in Thomas Mason. Both split yoke, one in Piquet 70 blue micro houndstooth, normal mitred cuffs; second in Tower 80/2 Cavallery, a white textured line weave. The white fabric is similar to a Kiton shirt that I have, one of my favourites.

Picked up the affordable fabric shirt today. Good fit. Thomas masons will take some more time due to additional customization requested.

Overall impression - Wong Sifu nice guy to work with. Good English, all the normal terms like gusset, split yoke, rolled seams, etc understood. Easy to communicate with him via chat apps. Pending the output of the Thomas Masons, have a feeling I will be bespeaking more from Wong Sifu in years to come.

Thanks for PekingRoadHK for the wealth of information and to Shirting fantasy for his IG posts which served as my guidance for this bespoke shirt process. Very different from an experience in west or AC, but so far more satisfying.

 

[PekingRoadHK]

I asked my baotou tailor a fitting date for my new suit in 2024, I insisted "no rush job", give me "perfect workmanship" from the best workers. My baotou explained, Chinese new year is the only holiday for mainland Chinese workers in their industry. As of today, most of them got about 2 weeks working before they go see families in their home towns. Highest season is between mid autumn festival and Chinese new year, this is the usual practice for garment industry (made in mainland China). I booked already, give me the "best workmanship" after the Chinese new year holiday.

@han-han
Wong Man Hoi sifu (Wong MH sifu) is one of the best baotou tailors in shirt making in HK, for made in HK.

 

[han-han]

I asked my baotou tailor a fitting date for my new suit in 2024, I insisted "no rush job", give me "perfect workmanship" from the best workers. My baotou explained, Chinese new year is the only holiday for mainland Chinese workers in their industry. As of today, most of them got about 2 weeks working before they go see families in their home towns. Highest season is between mid autumn festival and Chinese new year, this is the usual practice for garment industry (made in mainland China). I booked already, give me the "best workmanship" after the Chinese new year holiday.

@han-han
Wong Man Hoi sifu (Wong MH sifu) is one of the best baotou tailors in shirt making in HK, for made in HK.

Wong Sifu very flexible and also takes I put on customisation via WhatsApp. @PekingRoadHK your information on this forum and your blog was immensely valuable.

For readers with less HK experience looking to simplify your journey, I didn't have time to procure cloth separately. So I asked Wong Sifu what cloth books he had, and I was okay with picking from the current Thomas Mason books. In the future when we have the cut perfected I will probably go CMT.

 

[PekingRoadHK]

@han-han

2 different markets:
1) Tailor shops are one place shops for all, ie. picking the right fabric, measurement & fitting, services, convenient location. We expect "service", higher price.
2) Baotou are the tailors behind tailor shops. We buy our fabrics someplace else, baotou tailors manage measurment & fitting in their HK workshops.

1) & 2), the factories (or workshops) behind baotou located either in HK or mainland China are the production manufacturing plants.

Mirador Mansion is the center of baotou since 1970's. There are all kinds of baotou, good and bad. We can find retired in-house tailors from expensive bespoke tailor shops in this building. Tailor made garment we order in HK are usually made in mainland China. Most baotou usually don't carry fabric for consumers to choose. Very limited baotou manage their productions in HK, and very limited baotou carry fabric (very limited choice). We pick our fabrics from online shops or local shops, regular price or discount price, new lines or vintage fabrics, ie. we got alot more fabric choices from all different brands. We pick the right baotou instead of going tailor shops. This is "self-serve", lower price. This is the character of CMT in HK.

You are lucky you picked Wong MH sifu, he is well known in tailor made shirt making in HK, he manages his own production team in HK. He provides limited choice of Thomas Mason and he speaks English. This is character of most baotou (suit or shirt) in HK, they can manage whatsapp and wechat, they don't carry any fabric and they don't speak English. In most cases, we need to speak Chinese language (either Cantonese or Mardarin), or we need to bring our own translator.

Different fabrics suit for different occasions for different people. Different baotou has different skills, especially for suits. That's why it takes some effort to pick the right baotou and the right fabrics. This is what my CMT blog and what this thread are for.

 

[PekingRoadHK]

@cantdressnun92

1) For suit, my blog 10)A tells who is making Shanghai workmanship.

杜 To sifu at 16/F was the in-house tailor of an expensive bespoke tailor shop (Shanghai workmandhip) in HK. He is a real Shanghainese. He is retired, and he takes small orders from his old customers. I am not sure if he wants to take new customers, if you speak real Shanghaiese to him, he might be happy to take your order. He is good, but slow motion. Go 16/F, ask any old uncle, all uncles know him. He visits his 16/F workshop once awhile. Keep in mind, he is uncle, do expect "slow motion". Because he is retired, he might take orders for fused only, you need to talk to him directly.

If not To sifu, Ng sifu at 16/F was working with To sifu in the same bespoke tailor shop decades ago. Ng sifu was the only Guangdong guy among those Shanghaiese people, and he can speak Shanghaiese. Ng sifu makes full canvas only.

Both To sifu and Ng sifu are famous in traditional British cut, Shanghai workmanship.

If you want Italian cut, Shanghai workmanship, go 12/F Wong SY sifu. Wong SY sifu makes full canvas only.

I heard they cut their order for the Chinese new year. They are now taking new orders, and fitting will be after Chinese new year holiday.

There are a few young baotou from mainland China in this building, some are Shanghaiese, but they are not real tailors. They take orders and pass the job to their China factories. These young baotou in HK don't have sufficient cutting skills to make Shanghai workmanship.

2) For shirts, check 12)A Wong Man Hoi sifu. Wong MH sifu is famous for shirt making, Shanghai workmanship (made in HK). He was the in-house tailor of an expensive bespoke tailor shop (most famous for shirt making, made in HK). Price tells the differences, his Shanghai workmanship (made in HK) is different from other Shanghai workmanship (made in Shenzhen). Look at the details and workmanship, there are differences if you care about workmanship.

For lower cost, many pick other baotou Shanghai workmanship (made in Shenzhen) for ordinary daily shirts.

3) For fabric shops in mainland China, they always markup alot for import fabrics. Some buy from HK authorized dealers, and some buy from online shops at discount price. Bad fabric shops sell faked import brands, they look at the buyers to see if they can take more profit.

My blog 11)A tells a few HK local fabric shops with reputation, and 11)B tells a few online shops with reputation. You can check their price, and compare with each others before you make your purchase. Some local shops are authorized dealer with long history selling to bespoke tailor shops, they sell real things.

Different brands and different lines have different characters. You need to define what you need before you go. Otherwise, it might take long days to pick your fabrics.

 

[Sashidc]

@jyu1415

you didn't check photos of this thread, this is my Italian lamb suede safari jacket tailor made by Tang sifu #1,092 and #1,902:
1) Italian lamb suede + RiRi 2 way zipper and all materials: HK$1.6k
2) Tang sifu workmanship: HK$1k
total: leather and all raw materials + workmanship = HK$2.6k

Awhile ago, Tang showed me lots of his finished products of safari jacket in Irish linen after people seeing my suede safari jacket:
View attachment 2101019

Kam Ma is good for those who don't want to shop for their fabrics someplace else. I don't like Kam Ma, one of the reasons is too much hard selling, and things described in the blog. My blog 10) C) shows 4 top casual jacket makers in HK, they have been making samples and tailor made casual jackets for European and US young fashion brands.

Check Kam Ma IG for their end products, the other 3 are making the same things:

Kam Ma Leather Garments (@kam.ma.leathergarments) • Instagram photos and videos

2,142 Followers, 3,013 Following, 1,758 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Kam Ma Leather Garments (@kam.ma.leathergarments)

www.instagram.com

For coating fabrics of different brands and no brands, check the blog:
11) A)
4) Kwong Hing, winter thick wool and cashmere wool
11) Linking Trading, winter thick wool
16) Golden Circle, winter thick wool

Okay here is my version of filed jacket!

 

[PekingRoadHK]

@Sashidc

Both suede jackets look good.
I prefer the lighter color one.