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The Hong Kong BaoTou Tailors and Fabric Shops for CMT Thread

Warrant_Buffet

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On another note: holiday season is coming and so is peak business season for sifus - spare extra time for your commissions
 

prof.contingency

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Thanks for the comments @prof.contingency and @PekingRoadHK . Is there any other tailor who offers unstructured jackets like Ng does? And how do you like his cut / fit?

I can't speak to unstructured items -- and I would think that they would be pretty easy for _anyone_.

About Ng sifu, honestly, his default is a bit more "classic" (if I *had* to describe it), which is fine for business and more formal suits. But Iam sure he is capable somewhat of adapting his cut (as he is still truly bespoke rather than MTM after all), but buyer beware: HK tailors are generally less flexible in that regard.
 

PekingRoadHK

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Thanks for the comments @prof.contingency and @PekingRoadHK . Is there any other tailor who offers unstructured jackets like Ng does? And how do you like his cut / fit?
Very few sifu in HK has this kind of skills. This is extra work for sifu, they don't take this kind of special order from new customers. You need to ask them if they have time to take your order:

active sifu:
10) A) 2) Ng, 5) Wong SY, 6) K Chan,

not active sifu:
10) A) 11) retired Keung, 17) retired Yeung, Red gang: semi-retired To and Yau.
 
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prof.contingency

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Very few sifu in HK has this kind of skills. This is extra work for sifu, they don't take this kind of special order from new customers. You need to ask them if they have time to take your order:

Interesting... extra work in which sense? Sure, it may deviate from the norm -- but I am pretty sure it's a LOT less work.
 

PekingRoadHK

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Interesting... extra work in which sense? Sure, it may deviate from the norm -- but I am pretty sure it's a LOT less work.
Ng sifu explained to me, this is extra work (need more time to cut and putting things together).
I am not a tailor, I just don't understand his tailor opinions.
 

Warrant_Buffet

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Interesting... extra work in which sense? Sure, it may deviate from the norm -- but I am pretty sure it's a LOT less work.
Def more work on the cutter's part.

With my super limited cutting knowledge (stopped after a few lessons) I'd imagine anything unlined means extra facing blocks and more careful handling of it. Without the lining, there'll be no hiding for any poorly cut facing pieces. Piping is another pain in the butt.

Just about any change to sleeveheads (with or without roping / padding, spalla camicia or not, etc), shoulder, structure and lots more means the cutter has to step out of their comfort zone (standard structured Egnlish cuts, probably) and create patterns different from what they once learned decades ago.
 

Warrant_Buffet

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Very few sifu in HK has this kind of skills. This is extra work for sifu, they don't take this kind of special order from new customers. You need to ask them if they have time to take your order:

active sifu:
10) A) 2) Ng, 5) Wong SY, 6) K Chan,

not active sifu:
10) A) 11) retired Keung, 17) retired Yeung, Red gang: semi-retired To and Yau.
Don't think Keung's retired but lemme send him a message or sth. I know his default style is rather British and structured so I'd be surprised if he can make unstructured jackets.
 

PekingRoadHK

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Don't think Keung's retired but lemme send him a message or sth. I know his default style is rather British and structured so I'd be surprised if he can make unstructured jackets.
it depends if he wants to take this kind of order.
 

Warrant_Buffet

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Eventually called Keung who said he doesn't make unstructured stuff.

So anyway, I decided to give Ng a try. I appreciated his honest advice against me getting something completely unstructured (it'll expose the flaws of my body ie my pudgy build). Will have my jacket made half-lined as my suiting fabric isn't long enough for inside facing (全單 in Chinese?)

Looking for sth retro this time with a higher waistline and steeper notched lapels -- will post updates later hopefully
 

PekingRoadHK

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Are you kidding?

You are making the same trick again and again. All other people telling about Shanghai workmanship are wrong. Only you know about Shanghai workmanship, and you will never tell what you know about Shanghai workmanship.

Are you kidding? Tell us what you know about Shanghai workmanship. Or, you are just turning around and around by saying other people wrong. Of course, you will never tell. This is your trick.

We are consumers, we can always ask Yau sifu and Du sifu about their Shanghai workmanship. We will never understand about their insight tailors definition. What's the point for your secret definition?
 
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Warrant_Buffet

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Ahem. Think we can at least *try* to strike a middle ground here.

For the record, I can't bring myself to call any sifu a bonafide red gang tailor (if they do exist in TST still). Ng even explicitly told me he himself was under the tutelage of a Guangdong-school tailor so I'd doubt he had the exact same set of qualities / insights that qualifies him as a Shanghai school-trained tailor. That's another story for another day.

My understanding is that the workshop supporting / hired by the sifu plays a pivotal role in workmanship (a factor being sewing); competent sifus alone (cutters mostly?) can't make magic if paired with a subpar sewing crew.

Then again, for people living on a rather stringent budget - for I'm unashamedly one - I salute sifus for providing me with an affordable alternative in their works.
 

dukenukem4ever

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Ahem. Think we can at least *try* to strike a middle ground here.

For the record, I can't bring myself to call any sifu a bonafide red gang tailor (if they do exist in TST still). Ng even explicitly told me he himself was under the tutelage of a Guangdong-school tailor so I'd doubt he had the exact same set of qualities / insights that qualifies him as a Shanghai school-trained tailor. That's another story for another day.

My understanding is that the workshop supporting / hired by the sifu plays a pivotal role in workmanship (a factor being sewing); competent sifus alone (cutters mostly?) can't make magic if paired with a subpar sewing crew.

Then again, for people living on a rather stringent budget - for I'm unashamedly one - I salute sifus for providing me with an affordable alternative in their works.
Is Ng the same one that offers you a cold beer from his mini fridge? When I spoke to him he talked about his time working at AMHC and he told me he was Shanghai tailoring trained...
 

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