The Hong Kong Tailors Thread

[chobochobo]



After a chat with clasaic car, I admit I truly underestimate the power of group buy in HK....

I can't keep up with the speed of the posts in that forum

 

[Isolation]

i start to like the idea of a burgundy or jockey red blazer.

Haha I picked that up ridiculously cheap on sale (as a suit) and had it altered, but I like the look enough that I might be tempted to get one similar made by a tailor. I liked the idea of using the color as a different way to play with brown/earth tones, it suddenly makes the entire outfit a bit more modern/urban and less country-esque, I think.

I can't wait to get back to HK and get a billion things made.

 

[borbor]

Filter out the shoes posts, it gets easier

 

[add911_11]



I can't keep up with the speed of the posts in that forum

I think the series of post over there tells you how to buy things cheap, but not how to enjoy things.

I must admit there are lots of bargain there.

 

[Classic Car]



I think the series of post over there tells you how to buy things cheap, but not how to enjoy things.

I must admit there are lots of bargain there.

Definitely for shoes. Attract many local people because of bargains when buying in groups.

 

[Isolation]

Anyone got info on custom shoes in Hong Kong? Price ranges, makers/locations, time it takes, styles/options? Are there quality notably better than I would get buying just online (been getting Loakes).

 

[Stiva]

Only know this one. Same arcade as Lee Baron.

http://www.styleforum.net/t/73365/zees-leatherware-shoe-co

 

[Alex-ModaR]

Stay away from Il Sarto in Central.

I just picked up my suit today and I haven't worn it out yet. I am not complaining about their quality since my suit has not been worn yet.

But I am really pissed off by the sales guy. There are three sales people there:
1) a lady in her 30's
2) a young man in his 30's
3) older guy in his 50's

I was served by the older guy. All I can say is that his attitude is absolutely terrible. Every time I made a request, he would ridicule me.

For example, I though the sleeve for the dress shirt was too long - and it was quite obvious it was way too long. He would say "What? No way. REally? That's the standard! Nobody wears it any shorter" And then he would say "it's no problem, we can shorten it...it's no big deal."

If it's a custom suit, should the tailor not adhere to our requests? Should we be ridiculed for every request we make?

During the last "fitting", I tried on the suit. Before he even looked at it, he said "It fits, get the bag ready." I was thinking to mysef "You didn't even look..."

Seriously, the guy is absolutely terrible. Stay away from this place!!!!!! What a horrible experience.

By the way, the jacket sleeves are too long. But he rushed me out of the store. Before I left, he said I can come back and shorten the sleeves.

I don't want to see the guy anymore....

Hi Originaljy881, could you post pics of your product for us to see?

 

[Alex-ModaR]

Thought I'd post about my experience at Moda Republic, although I really wish I could give more as I only got 4 shirts from them. This is me wearing one of them the other day. As you can see I haven't had the chance to iron it and it was an entire day of wear so it's quite wrinkly. I know the picture isn't saying much, I can only say that the fit is good and it feels nice to wear.




Here's another outfit from another day but the shirt doesn't actually show much, but whatever:





I got the waistcoat from Jantzen btw, which I really quite liked.

Here's another shirt, again you don't see much unfortunately:





Earlier I posted a bunch about Jantzen so I'll use them as benchmark. I will say that Moda's shirts is as good or better as them at a slightly higher pricepoint. I suspect that it's better, as some of my Jantzen shirts have small problems with loose strings and such, to a degree that is not a problem at all, but still noticeable (not a problem to just snip some loose bits off and usually they are on the inside, etc. I have not noticed this in Moda's shirts but I honestly have only worn them in a couple of occasions. The farbic possibly is better as they have told me. This is true for at least some of the materials, but this could be unfair as I'd be comparing the more expensive fabrics I got with Moda with the worse of the Jantzen offerings, and which are cheaper (350 as opposed to 500, both quite cheap really but when you compare it in % is something of a difference).

For those interested in my quick personal opinion on "which is better" and what not, I'd say that I'm likely to use both tailors for shirts in the future. I like having a larger array of fabrics to choose from, and if in the future I decide that I prefer one over the other I will mention it. I will say that the slightly price difference factors into this somewhat, so hey.

Also I'm interested enough that I want to see more of Moda's offerings, and I plan on getting a suit made by them and a wasitcoat next time I get the chance, and when I do I will post some pictures and thoughts.

Lastly I want to mention the customer service. I want to note that I've been invited specifically by their representatives on this site. On one hand I want to thank them a lot for their help/messages (more on that later) but on the other I want to say that it's somewhat unfair to compare the attitude they take with a customer whom they know will voice their opinions on the internet, with the attitude Jantzen took with me as a rando who walked in. Again I want to say again that my experience with Jantzen (despite some negatives experiences from other posters) was largely positive. While they were very busy and seemingly brusque, they've in where it counts, been pretty good with their service, willing, not rude (just rushed), and are willing to give useful input and help with styling choices. I enjoyed my relationship with them.

And it is with this in mind that I say that Modas has good service. Chris and Alex in particular were helpful with my questions via email, and after I had left HK I emailed them to ask for a somewhat less common fabric color (hot pink, duhhh) they were very willing to help me search for it, and when they were unable to find it from their usual sources, were willing to seek out less familiar sources, and even looked up some other OTR sources.

I will say however that on my FIRST trip here, a bit devious or just lazy, I went in without mention that I was contacted on the forums to see how they treat a normal customer walking in. They were polite and good, but admittedly not quite as forthcoming with help as later on, mostly because they were quite busy with several customers. I will add that the person attending me didn't have as good English as the others who helped me later (Alex/Chris), who spoke fluently and were very friendly.

Moda's price is I believe 400 or 450 and up (forgot which), whereas Jantzen is 350, and at the 350 point there are I think quite a few decent shirts I've had made and worn quite often, so it's not like it's just trash. Moda also charges 50 extra for thicker MoP buttons, and they used plastic ones as default. I like the plastic, it's nice, but I do prefer MoP, and when you put the price of the shirt in perspective an extra 50 HKD need to be accounted for. Their reasoning for the price is that they use better MoP than other companies, presumably Jantzen as a notable competitor. I'll be honest, I don't care too much about the thickess of the buttons. I actually like buttons even thinner than the Jantzen ones, which I quite like already, and I actually DO think the thick buttons make it a bit hard to button, but that's purely a personal preference I am sure most people prefer these ones.

But all in all I think it's possible to get nice shirts I want to wear often at a cheaper price at Jantzen than Moda, this is the fact. There are however, more than enough reasons for me to get some other shirts from Moda as well.

Hi Isolation, I just read your review. Thanks again for the kind words. I just wanted to mention that we do have basic shirts that start at HK$350 which is the same ones that Jantzen sells. Our $400 ones just include more customization options and better fabric. Thanks again for the favorable review and I look forward to having other members come visit us as well! Thanks

 

[s14roller]

Hi, guys. First off, what a great topic...I ended up reading through the whole thread in the last 3 days and I went from not knowing where to start, to a pretty good idea of where I want to go.

My first search on the internet told me to go to Sam's, which judging by this thread, is a pretty mixed bag at best.

I was wondering if you could help me hone in on the specs I'm looking for. I don't wear suits daily, just to weddings, banquets, and interviews. Currently the nicest fitting suit I have is from Hugo Boss (red label) from Bloomingdales which was a $800 suit that I got for $450.

The question is, would I be able to get a better fitting suit in nicer material than that HB baseline, from a tailor such as Peter Lee, Empire, Simpon Sin, or Dream bespoke? Those are the 4 that I have narrowed it down to in order to fit a reasonable budget. I will be in HK for a week, so assume I can go to 2-3 fittings, so I'm just trying to see if it's worth getting a suit while there.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Alex-ModaR]

Hi, guys. First off, what a great topic...I ended up reading through the whole thread in the last 3 days and I went from not knowing where to start, to a pretty good idea of where I want to go.

My first search on the internet told me to go to Sam's, which judging by this thread, is a pretty mixed bag at best.

I was wondering if you could help me hone in on the specs I'm looking for. I don't wear suits daily, just to weddings, banquets, and interviews. Currently the nicest fitting suit I have is from Hugo Boss (red label) from Bloomingdales which was a $800 suit that I got for $450.

The question is, would I be able to get a better fitting suit in nicer material than that HB baseline, from a tailor such as Peter Lee, Empire, Simpon Sin, or Dream bespoke? Those are the 4 that I have narrowed it down to in order to fit a reasonable budget. I will be in HK for a week, so assume I can go to 2-3 fittings, so I'm just trying to see if it's worth getting a suit while there.

Thanks a lot.

Hi S14roller just fyi most people will be on holiday for Chinese new year, if you're planning on coming in the next 1-2 weeks.

 

[Isolation]

Hi, guys. First off, what a great topic...I ended up reading through the whole thread in the last 3 days and I went from not knowing where to start, to a pretty good idea of where I want to go.

My first search on the internet told me to go to Sam's, which judging by this thread, is a pretty mixed bag at best.

I was wondering if you could help me hone in on the specs I'm looking for. I don't wear suits daily, just to weddings, banquets, and interviews. Currently the nicest fitting suit I have is from Hugo Boss (red label) from Bloomingdales which was a $800 suit that I got for $450.

The question is, would I be able to get a better fitting suit in nicer material than that HB baseline, from a tailor such as Peter Lee, Empire, Simpon Sin, or Dream bespoke? Those are the 4 that I have narrowed it down to in order to fit a reasonable budget. I will be in HK for a week, so assume I can go to 2-3 fittings, so I'm just trying to see if it's worth getting a suit while there.

Thanks a lot.

Mind the holidays, but yes. In general I think fit is more important than material at a certain point, anyway, but I think you can definitely get a better suit. Hugo Boss is kind of not liked here. I personally haven't owned an item from them ever, I just don't like Nazis, but you know.

 

[add911_11]

Hello everyone.

keep an eye for my two new projects.

4x1 db vintage brown multistripe fresco.

3r2 3pc midnight chalkstripe dugdale New Wool collection.

 

[s14roller]

Thanks, guys. I’ll be going after CNY.

I’ll get the tailor’s reco on what would be a step up in material compared to what I have. For my first bespoke, trying to keep it reasonable like many others starting out, so I’m hoping around $500-600 will be good. In terms of the tailors I mentioned, is there one that seems a bit better in tailoring a slim cut suit? I have an athletic frame (5’9, 150 lbs, single digit body fat) so I have a small waist but wider shoulders. Really looking for something that fit/look wise, people will be able to tell it’s a very well cut suit. I understand the Chan’s of the world may have better construction, but as long as my first custom suit is better than the Hugo Boss I have, I’ll be happy. Can’t quite get my head around close to $1K for one just yet!

 

[s14roller]

Thanks, guys. I’ll be going after CNY.

I’ll get the tailor’s reco on what would be a step up in material compared to what I have. For my first bespoke, trying to keep it reasonable like many others starting out, so I’m hoping around $500-600 will be good. In terms of the tailors I mentioned, is there one that seems a bit better in tailoring a slim cut suit? I have an athletic frame (5’9, 150 lbs, single digit body fat) so I have a small waist but wider shoulders. Really looking for something that fit/look wise, people will be able to tell it’s a very well cut suit. I understand the Chan’s of the world may have better construction, but as long as my first custom suit is better than the Hugo Boss I have, I’ll be happy. Can’t quite get my head around close to $1K for one just yet!