WW Chan in Palm Beach

[rabbimark]

I have an appointment with Patrick Chu, the traveling rep from WW Chan, on November 13th in Palm Beach. This is my first truly bespoke suit, so I'm very excited.

Any tips for the newbie?

Any other SFers going to be there that day?

Any word on the specials, if there are any?

Should I get a couple of shirts, too? I know the Forum regulars have gone back and forth on the price-value ratio, especially compared to Jantzen, but any new thoughts would be most welcome.

 

[Kent Wang]

As for the shirts, how much are they charging? I bought three at the 3-for-2 special in Shanghai, but I doubt they'll offer that price on tour. In that case, it'd probably be double Jantzen. The quality is about the same (Vintage Gent says Chan is slightly better) but maybe paying the higher price is worth not having to deal with the hassle of Jantzen and self-measuring.

My only gripe about Chan's shirts is that they won't do edge collar-stitching, so the collar stay can't go all the way to the edge.

 

[Vintage Gent]

Originally Posted by Kent Wang

As for the shirts, how much are they charging?

Around $120 U.S.

Originally Posted by Kent Wang

(Vintage Gent says Chan is slightly better)

Not me. I don't even own a Jantzen shirt. I'm too high strung for that.

 

[Renault78law]

Originally Posted by Kent Wang

My only gripe about Chan's shirts is that they won't do edge collar-stitching, so the collar stay can't go all the way to the edge.
Yes they will.

 

[Kent Wang]

I see now that the stores in Shanghai must operate very differently from the HK staff that goes on tour.

 

[Vintage Gent]

Now that I'm away from the frenzy of the office, a few words of wisdom: (1) Be clear about what you want. Before I took the Chan plunge, I made a checklist of all the details I wanted to see in my suit. And I'm glad I did, because it forced me to coalesce my expectations. (2) At the same time, be prepared to listen and ask questions. Patrick brings both experience and expertise to his work. Don't be afraid to let him help guide you. (3) Spend some time with the fabric books. A good part of your first visit will be spent taking measurements and pouring over your suit's particulars. But don't skimp on the chance to find a fabric that speaks to you. (4) Since this is your first time, downsize your expectations. No matter how much we may covet a perfect bespoke outcome from the traveling tailor, common sense suggests that the first go-around won't be the best. My first Chan suit arrvied with issues serious enough that I had to see Patrick on his next visit to the states--a de facto first fitting. It may be hard medicine to swallow, paying upwards of $1,000, but you'd do well to think of this first suit as something of a trial run. (5) Get yourself at least one shirt. While I've never tackled the Jantzen experience, I can say unequivocally that I've been more than satisfied with my nine Chan shirts. The fabric selection may not be as robust as Jantzen, but it's more than adequate and construction is first rate.

 

[raley]

120$? Wow, that is a bit expensive, I thought they were more like 80-100$. Vintage Gent or anyone else - do you know if there is a minimum order?

I am too poor to buy a suit right now, but I can't find any shirts that fit me so I would like to at least get a couple.

 

[Vintage Gent]

Originally Posted by raley

120$? Wow, that is a bit expensive, I thought they were more like 80-100$. Vintage Gent or anyone else - do you know if there is a minimum order?

No minimum.

 

[briancl]

BTW, Chan usually offers a single fabric line discounted on his tour. I don't recall seeing which line it is on the latest mailing, so maybe this practice is discontinued. Also, he offers a variety of fabrics which all range in price. I picked up 4 shirts on his tour last year for under 100 each.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by rabbimark

I have an appointment with Patrick Chu, the traveling rep from WW Chan, on November 13th in Palm Beach. This is my first truly bespoke suit, so I'm very excited.

Any tips for the newbie?

Any other SFers going to be there that day?

Any word on the specials, if there are any?

Should I get a couple of shirts, too? I know the Forum regulars have gone back and forth on the price-value ratio, especially compared to Jantzen, but any new thoughts would be most welcome.

If any members are going to be in the Boca Raton area at night (i.e. Delray Beach, Hillsborough Beach, etc...), we could meet up for a couple of drinks. PM me and we'll set something up.

Jon.

 

[raley]

Also, I emailed them and asked if they had any specials running - the answer was no.

 

[JLibourel]

The loss of the "specials" may not be cause for undue grief. Patrick seemed almost apologetic about the suiting fabric on special on the last tour, saying it was not up to LP's customary quality levels.

 

[rabbimark]

Just to update, and to share my rookie Chan experience --

Patrick was incredibly helpful, professional, efficient, good sense of humor. Things went very smoothly. He was wearing a very interesting grey-ish blue-ish striped fabric with a thin, sharp green pin stripe. Very sharp, but I chickened out and went with a basic black (in my own defense, I do a fair number of funerals in my line of work). A Zegna fabric, lightweight -- about 190 gm -- with a goodly portion of silk thrown in with the wool. We'll see how it comes out.

Flat front pants, no cuff, with the buckle adjustments. Two button with a somewhat high-ish gore, high arm holes, fairly narrow shoulders with a bit of roping to the sleeves. No ticket pocket, just two basic ones. Moderate waist suppression with a bit of structuring to the shoulders. Medium lapel, I think about 3.5" (I'm 6'3" so this width shouldn't be remarkable.)

I liked the suit he was wearing quite a bit and kept telling him to make it like that, with some adjustments. I think he got the picture.

I also got two shirts, one in white cotton (again, I'm a coward) and one f-off in a fire-engine-red gingham check. Both double-cuff, slightly form-fitting, no pocket. Medium spread collars with light interfacing.

The shirts were $120 and $140 respectively. The suit was about $1550. Delivery time was estimated at late January. He's back in the States at the beginning of March, so my plan is to hook back up and wear my first suit while specifying adjustments and modifications for suit number two (and if it's way off, I'll have them mark up suite #1 and rework it). Does that sound like a reasonable plan to you guys?

Some of the fabric choices were just beyond amazing. Made me wish for a few moments that I was back in New York and could get away with a 350 gram tweed with lots of cashmere. Some terrific shirtings in the $230 range, too, if memory serves on the price. Lots of textured weavings and subtle color variations. Very elegant.

Curiously, they seemed to prefer a check in USD drawn on an American bank. Putting it on my credit card would entail them charging it off in HKD at a fixed exchange rate (I think 7.75 to the USD) which of course would mean that MasterCard would then flip it back into USD minus the vig and I'd be pay net net another 5% or whatever.

So far, a very pleasant experience and I'm excited to get my first Chan suit in January!

 

[luk-cha]

looks like it will be a good new year for you enjoy the suit and please post some pics when it comes!

 

[raley]

Thanks for the update, do you have to pay there? I guess I will bring my checkbook this afternoon.

I still can't believe they are that expensive (the shirts). I guess I will just order one and see how much I like it and visit him again in March. Hopefully he doesn't feel like I'm wasting his time too much by ordering only one shirt.