The Hong Kong Tailors Thread

[Chowkin]

I will keep posting updates to this issue at the bottom.

View attachment 1148190 View attachment 1148191 Hi all!

This is my first post in SF.

I recently made a white shirt at Ascot Chang (Princes), the fabric is Thomas Mason Royal Twill 120 and I requested for a split yoke.

Got my shirt after a week, straight away I noticed there’s something wrong with the yoke, picture attached, basically the twill pattern doesn’t match on both side, the gradient on the left side is much steeper than the right. (Apologies if I’m using the wrong terminology, I’m still learning)

I asked them right away about this, he had a hard time looking at such fine pattern and told me he will get his tailor to look into it for me. After a few days, got a call from them and he told me his tailor tried his best to match the left yoke with the right yoke but failed. He said there is something wrong with the fabric itself and if he matches the left with the right, something else will not go wrong, made it super technical, too hard for me to understand with my shallow knowledge. So I said ok, and the shirt was given back to me without alteration.

But it doesn’t end there, I started asking around, asking knowledgeable friends about it, learning more about it. They all told me it is a basic thing for the tailor to match the left and the right yoke and that this is an amateur mistake which is hard to fix because it isn’t as easy as to take one piece out to replace with another, any excuses or explanations given are just to cover up the mistake.

Learning this, I have brought this up with Ascot Change again, this time with Ivan, telling him it shouldn’t be like this, asking him to fix. He told me to do whole piece yoke in the future to avoid this issue, he said split yoke always have alignment issues and that most people are ok with it, and not many people will look into details like I do. Seriously?

What do you all think about this?
Thanks everyone!!

**Update #1 They just called and said the split yoke was made this way purposely to avoid colour variation.

I am shocked to see this coming from the best shirtmaker in Hong Kong.

Even decent OTR shirts would have the pieces of the split yoke matched perfectly on the pattern so that one piece would be a perfect mirror image of the other.

Don’t listen to his BS. If his explanation of colour matching has any grain of truth, and that this hadn’t been a bloody mistake on their part, why wouldn’t they have flagged it to you BEFORE you commissioned the shirt? Surely this is not the first time they have come across this fabric.

Just demand a remake

 

[TVGD]

Has anybody been to Gordon Yao recently and can give me some insights?
Having done a couple of suits in HK (400-700 USD range) in the past years, I am looking for better quality (mainly better workmanship) and a better fit. My existing suits from HK seem to be pretty long and loose(style-wise more for overweight gentlemen) and I think a slimmer suit would be more flattering.
Do you guys think Gordon Yao 's would be a good place for that? As I'll be traveling alone I won't have the possibility to get a second opinion. Therefor, it is also important for me to have a tailor who helps out and gives good advice (pro-actively).
Also does anybody have info on how many fittings are generally needed and what the current price per suit is (I remember min. 1500 USD in 2015)?

Thanks

 

[benjamin831]

I am shocked to see this coming from the best shirtmaker in Hong Kong.

Even decent OTR shirts would have the pieces of the split yoke matched perfectly on the pattern so that one piece would be a perfect mirror image of the other.

Don’t listen to his BS. If his explanation of colour matching has any grain of truth, and that this hadn’t been a bloody mistake on their part, why wouldn’t they have flagged it to you BEFORE you commissioned the shirt? Surely this is not the first time they have come across this fabric.

Just demand a remake

That's typical HK tailor's attitude: "oh, its like that, nothing we can do about it, don't choose that next time."

 

[krakatoa]

Has anybody been to Gordon Yao recently and can give me some insights?
Having done a couple of suits in HK (400-700 USD range) in the past years, I am looking for better quality (mainly better workmanship) and a better fit. My existing suits from HK seem to be pretty long and loose(style-wise more for overweight gentlemen) and I think a slimmer suit would be more flattering.
Do you guys think Gordon Yao 's would be a good place for that? As I'll be traveling alone I won't have the possibility to get a second opinion. Therefor, it is also important for me to have a tailor who helps out and gives good advice (pro-actively).
Also does anybody have info on how many fittings are generally needed and what the current price per suit is (I remember min. 1500 USD in 2015)?

Thanks

He's made many, many suits and jackets for me over the years, well-fitting for my (hardly slim) physique but then again I've never asked for a slim fit. His house style strikes me as conventional, no extremes one way or the other. He'll give advice in this same (kind of, middle of the road) vein. For a truly slim or fitted style, I'm not sure he'd be the tailor I'd use. In my experience, Chan can have a slightly more contemporary style (shorter, slightly more fitted jackets). As for number of fittings, I usually have 3, but if you're satisfied with less, I can't imagine that he would object. Check with him on latest prices.

 

[dieworkwear]

I will keep posting updates to this issue at the bottom.

View attachment 1148190 View attachment 1148191 Hi all!

This is my first post in SF.

I recently made a white shirt at Ascot Chang (Princes), the fabric is Thomas Mason Royal Twill 120 and I requested for a split yoke.

Got my shirt after a week, straight away I noticed there’s something wrong with the yoke, picture attached, basically the twill pattern doesn’t match on both side, the gradient on the left side is much steeper than the right. (Apologies if I’m using the wrong terminology, I’m still learning)

I asked them right away about this, they had a hard time looking at such fine pattern and told me they will get their tailor to look into it for me. After a few days, got a call from them and they told me their tailor tried his best to match the left yoke with the right yoke but failed. They said there is something wrong with the fabric itself and if they match the left with the right, something else will not go wrong, colour will be different etc, made it super technical, too hard for me to understand with my shallow knowledge. So I said ok, and the shirt was given back to me without alteration.

But it doesn’t end there, I started asking around, asking knowledgeable friends about it, learning more about it. They all told me it is a basic thing for the tailor to match the left and the right yoke and that this is an amateur mistake which is hard to fix because it isn’t as easy as to take one piece out to replace with another, any excuses or explanations given are just to cover up the mistake. And, even if there are really problems with the fabric itself resulting in not being able to be made in accordance to my specifications, I should be told before hand about it, not for me to find out and ask.

Learning this, I have brought this up with Ascot Change again, telling them it shouldn’t be like this, asking them to fix. They told me to do whole piece yoke in the future to avoid this issue, they said split yoke always have alignment issues and that most people are ok with it, and not many people will look into details like I do. Seriously?

What do you all think about this?
Thanks everyone!!

**Update #1 They just called and said the split yoke was made this way purposely to avoid colour variation.

**Update #2 I went back to their store with the shirt, they have another piece of fabric cut out already which they say is a mirrored image of the right yoke and placed it on the left side to show me the colour variation. To my eye, in their lighting condition, I see no difference, no different then the current pictured configuration. So I have told them I want mirrored yoke despite whatever reason they throw at me for not doing it at the first place. So lets see the result later.

I think it may be time to re-evaluate your life if you're comparing the steep of a twill weave on the yoke of a shirt.

 

[cchen]

Esp when it's white.
Esp when a very experienced expert shirt tailor has a technical reason why it has to be that way.

 

[dieworkwear]

I think the internet has made guys really neurotic and anxious about clothes cause they've read all these rules on how you're supposed to dress and they've consumed all this information on bespoke and craft and seen all these images of perfectly tailored guys (who, by the way, look like that partly because the photographer took a billion photos and the photo editor found the one with the least wrinkles cause, you know, fabric moves). At some point, a tailor's job is to just make you look good. No one is going to look at the steep of the twill of your yoke, especially since you're probably wearing a jacket. Just put on the clothes and see if makes you look and feel good.

If you're this anxious about clothes, nothing is going to ever satisfy you, especially in bespoke since everything is handmade and people are imperfect. I think it helps to have realistic expectations. Maybe the twill should have been matched (I have no idea), but like ... relax a little.

Honestly, sometimes I see guys walk out of these tailoring shops and they're perfect in every little minute detail -- the perfect collar roll, the perfect sweeping quarter, and every internet-approved detail. But they look like dorks. They just look like they stepped out of an internet browser tab. To be sure, some guys look internet approved, but they also look relaxed and at ease. But if you don't have that natural sense of coolness and grace, none of these correct details are going to make you look good anyway.

The internet has been both great and awful for men's style. I've heard so many stories from shopkeepers and tailors who've had to work with these crazy uptight customers. Just absolutely bonkers stuff.

 

[dennistsang]

Any suggestion for a good trousers maker in Mirador Mansion?

 

[once a day]

I think the internet has made guys really neurotic and anxious about clothes cause they've read all these rules on how you're supposed to dress and they've consumed all this information on bespoke and craft and seen all these images of perfectly tailored guys (who, by the way, look like that partly because the photographer took a billion photos and the photo editor found the one with the least wrinkles cause, you know, fabric moves). At some point, a tailor's job is to just make you look good. No one is going to look at the steep of the twill of your yoke, especially since you're probably wearing a jacket. Just put on the clothes and see if makes you look and feel good.

If you're this anxious about clothes, nothing is going to ever satisfy you, especially in bespoke since everything is handmade and people are imperfect. I think it helps to have realistic expectations. Maybe the twill should have been matched (I have no idea), but like ... relax a little.

Honestly, sometimes I see guys walk out of these tailoring shops and they're perfect in every little minute detail -- the perfect collar roll, the perfect sweeping quarter, and every internet-approved detail. But they look like dorks. They just look like they stepped out of an internet browser tab. To be sure, some guys look internet approved, but they also look relaxed and at ease. But if you don't have that natural sense of coolness and grace, none of these correct details are going to make you look good anyway.

The internet has been both great and awful for men's style. I've heard so many stories from shopkeepers and tailors who've had to work with these crazy uptight customers. Just absolutely bonkers stuff.

Interesting read and I couldn't agree more. I'd there's a lot of anxiety surrounding menswear in general, as there's a lot of do's and don'ts out there, and plenty people to police it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that one cannot be opinionated but a lot of it seems to stem from group think and the Piti movement. Follow the itemized list, learning and the minute techniques, and one's in the "safe zone"... Although maybe not 100% comfortable as you elude to.

In this case, I'm a bit torn since I can totally see why clients would have high expectations considering the brand and the price paid. Ultimately facilitating a dialog is important. If the detail really bothers you, give them another chance and head back with the shirt, similar as one would have if the chest is too tight.

 

[PekingRoadHK]

Any suggestion for a good trousers maker in Mirador Mansion?

#493 answered
The Hong Kong BaoTou Tailors and Fabric Shops for CMT Thread
https://www.styleforum.net/threads/...nd-fabric-shops-for-cmt-thread.542082/page-33

 

[guitarcade]

Been a lurker in this forum. And on my recent HK trip, i commissioned a Prince of wales DB suit with Dream Bespoke (Dugdale Cape Breeze - 30% summer kid mohair).
Have tried WW Chan and also other mid range tailors in HK previously. The service that Ricky provides is excellent. The pics below are of the basted fitting (not the actual fabric).

The last photo is post-basted fitting. Ricky took away abit of the jacket length, shortened the pants slightly.

 

[dhp51]

Jacket looks a bit better longer in the first fitting

 

[HuggyBear]

Been a lurker in this forum. And on my recent HK trip, i commissioned a Prince of wales DB suit with Dream Bespoke (Dugdale Cape Breeze - 30% summer kid mohair).
Have tried WW Chan and also other mid range tailors in HK previously. The service that Ricky provides is excellent. The pics below are of the basted fitting (not the actual fabric).

The last photo is post-basted fitting. Ricky took away abit of the jacket length, shortened the pants slightly.

View attachment 1159027 View attachment 1159028
View attachment 1159029

Personally, I prefer the longer length.

 

[once a day]

Folks in Hong Kong,

Check out our pop-up shop this weekend in Sheung Wan (april 26-28). More info here on our Facebook event page.

We'll be showing our MTM Suits/shirts collection, along with all accessories (ties, leather goods and more). Come and have a drink, try some standard sizes and have a good conversation.

Hope to see you guys!

Karin, Anders & Shuta

Ps. If you want to book a consultation, you can do it here. We'll be launching our new designs (pardon the low quality images).



View attachment 1165176

 

[guitarcade]

Check out this new video on Ascot Chang