Sun May (Shirt Review)

Exactly one week later (as promised) the shirt was collected. The condition in which it was delivered was so stiff it could have served as a frisbee. Hoping one round of washing and ironing would help the fabric look and feel a little better led to…just disappointment.

‘Drapes’ un-aesthetically. Creases running diagonally across the entire shirt with added prominence on the right side. Wrinkles on the sleeves are just from wearing.

Relatively clean from the side profile. Sleeve length and width are good. Creases from the front still visible.

Posterior shot shows no excessive fabric and no tugging/pulling near the armpits. Sleeves look tight which is likely due to the lack of measurement at upper arm. Not as uncomfortable as it may look.

Can’t help but criticize the poor quality of fabric and craftsmanship. Extreme puckering of the fabric at the placket and the back seam.

Irregular cuff shape show low level of care during cutting.

Collar is poorly defined and again shows inattention during cutting of the fabric. Lack of overall shape and finish is unsightly.

A comfortable fit could not make up for the fact that the fabric’s characteristics were lackluster. The price of the shirt was low and the value of the fabric and finished product matched it entirely. While comfortable, the shirt does not look pleasing due to the diagonal folds running down the front (any ideas why?). This shirtmaker is a difficult recommendation – for the same price range we’re going to try Lee Baron and see how they fare.

+ Fits comfortably

– Third-rate craftsmanship, crude fabric

Sun May (Store Visit)

Continuing our old-school Wan Chai adventure, we decided to try Sun May Shirts – our first dedicated shirtmaker review. A small corner recess in a relatively popular area of Wan Chai housed one (very) old tailor and not much else.

We’re not kidding when we say this place was a hole in the wall. This made Chiu Ah‘s space look like Buckingham Palace. This wasn’t a trendy place either, most likely nothing had changed at this location for the past half century.

The tailor didn’t speak fluent any English at all which made things slightly difficult in the ordering process. Our tip is to brush up on your Cantonese/miming skills or simply bring a translator. Good thing we only had the simple order of one shirt.

After choosing our desired fabric from a small selection available, he performed an obviously well rehearsed yet informal measurement process. We noticed that he missed some measuring points that previous tailors had recorded i.e. upper arm.

When asked about the shirt details we had the choice of deciding with some old photocopies and some very old collar samples. He inquired specifically about collar preference, plackets, cuffs and breast pockets but nothing else. If you’re looking for a shirt with multiple details such as darts and removable collar stays etc you better know the correct term in Cantonese. We left with a piece of torn out notebook paper as a hand written receipt and the promise of a one week delivery.

+ Fast ordering process

– Communication was difficult

More Info:

1. Turnover time 1 week
2. No button options
3. $290 for 2 ply cotton fabrics (fluctuates between $270-$290 based on ‘mood’)

Address: G/F, 1 Landale Street, Wan Chai