William Cheng & Son (Shirt Review)

As almost with most of our tailored shirts, one week later the shirt was ready for pick up. Upon inspection there were no major errors that needed changing so we proceeded to wash and iron the shirt for review. One factor we noticed immediately was that the fabric felt rather thin and insubstantial but we accepted that as a compromise for house fabric at a reasonable price.

From the frontal view the flaws were not too unsightly. The most obvious critique from the front would be the sleeve pitch and (minimally) longer length.

The right chest area has some bunching which can be seen at this view. Furthermore, the incorrect sleeve pitch creates some twisting at the upper arm. There isn’t any excess fabric or restricted movement though, which results in a good ‘slim’ fit.

The posterior view is clean showing no blousing. More evidence of incorrect sleeve pitch visible.

Correct shoulder width resulting in a harmonious fit. Twisting of the right sleeve fabric is ants at the picnic.

2mm plastic buttons were expected at this price range, but their 1mm MOP buttons at additional cost looked even worse.

Reasonably tidy buttonholes.

This shirt was a pleasant surprise. As our first shirt from this maker, the fit was unobjectionable. They come off as a strong contender to Lee Baron (a favorite) and they are similar in terms of construction, details, and house fabric quality (or lack thereof). Where Lee Baron tends to lean towards a ‘comfort’ fit, William Cheng delivered a ‘slim’ fit down to a tee. They are definitely a good entry-level option for bespoke shirts.

+ Well fitting shirt at decent price

– Incorrect sleeve pitch

 

 

William Cheng & Son (Store Visit)

William Cheng & Son is another well established tailor shop nestled in TST. When we made the visit, it was seemingly very popular amongst the expat/tourist crowd and people were streaming in and out of the door continuously. We decided on this tailor when we came across glowing reviews from a repeat customer.

A clean and bright space housed a number of staff, who were all hard at work but still attentive to our request of one single shirt. We were directed over to shelves that contained a significant number of shirting fabrics roughly organized into colors and patterns. Although the selection was sufficient, there was no mention of quality, specifications or source.

Although we were given ample time to decide our fabric choice, once chosen, the service instantly became a little rushed. He briefly showed two collar styles which he claimed were ‘common’ to let us pick from. Inquiring only further about whether or not we wanted a pocket, he moved onto the measure up.

Only after the swift measuring process and our insistence on asking more questions, he un-enthusiastically divulged more information. Begrudgingly and without elaboration. Finding out about button options and cuffs was like pulling teeth.

We jotted down our information on a contact form and a one week delivery time was given. So ended our very brief first visit with the staff at William Cheng & Son. While the service was curt and the staff were obviously uninterested, we still wouldn’t say they were rude or unprofessional. At this point, it was hard to say whether or not we were turned off to the idea of repeat business until we saw the finished product.

+ Efficient

– Presents fewer options than are actually available

 

More Info:

1. Turnover time 1 week, but most likely could be shorter if need be
2. MOP buttons at an additional $20 (1mm thick)
3. $340 for a shirt of house fabric

Address: 8/F, Han Hing Mansion, 38 Hankow Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

 

 

Lee Baron (Shirt Review)

We didn’t take them up on their three business day turnaround time and we picked it up one week later. The first noticeable detail on the shirt was that the collar didn’t appear to be the one we asked for. We had requested a semi-spread collar but instead received a spread collar – we let this one slide and decided to review the shirt anyways.

Our first impressions of the shirt fit were very good, especially when considering the price. The shirt was slim but not too snug. Exactly what we wanted. When looking at the shirt from the front there were still some diagonal rumples running down the shirt but this was not too unsightly.

The lateral view shows clean shoulder/sleeve transition. There is also no excess fabric at the shoulder blades. The sleeve length is good and the sleeves themselves are not too baggy or tight.

From the back we can see a nice shape born from the waist suppression. There’s no pulling at the armpit area which also means there’s sufficient room in the upper back for movement.

A decent shirt length allows for less un-tucking during movement. There’s clear tapering out from the hip area to account for the buttocks.

Pattern matching is satisfactory with only a slight mismatch from one shoulder area. Some loose stitches are visible which is similar to our shirt from Jantzen but nowhere near as extreme.

Satisfying pattern matching with the sleeve placket, an improvement from previous Lee Baron shirts.

We noticed they changed their button stitching from a parallel stitch to a cross stitch. Judging from this and the improved craftsmanship, we suspect that they may have changed workshops.

To put it simply, we liked this shirt. We liked it even more when we remembered how little we paid for it in comparison to some of the more expensive tailors. It satisfied all of our criteria when it comes to fit and craftsmanship – at least to our personal standards. If we had to nitpick, the only mistake was the collar style (which is still an easy fix). Starting at a mere $280, they beat the competition with quality, service and efficiency. Lee Baron may not be the Styleforum sweetheart anymore but it won us over with this shirt.

+ Value for money

– Prone to mistakes

Lee Baron (Store Visit)

Determined to find a good ‘value for money’ proposition, we knew we had to review Lee Baron – the (former) Styleforum darling known for its solid quality. A few years ago both of us had suits and shirts made here with satisfactory results but as we wanted to explore the tailoring scene we hadn’t been back in a long time. Did they still maintain their standard at competitive prices?

The messiness of the shop was just as we remembered it, with rolls of house fabric haphazardly stacked. Obviously Lee Baron had not built their reputation on glamour and fancy decorations.

The staff were friendly and casual, recognizing or at least pretending to recognize us. They pointed us towards the fabric choices but were not pushy in any way about what to order. There was plenty of variety with the house fabrics but for those who want more some nondescript fabric books had fabrics priced $500+. The house fabrics had two pricing ‘tiers’ of $280 or $380. We ended up choosing a $380 house fabric.

Peter Lee himself was at the shop and amicable as usual. Although we knew we could request his expertise for measurements,  one of his staff was able to confidently measure JL up and take the prescription for the shirt, familiar with shirting terms and preferences. After taking our order we were informed the shirt would take a mere 3 working days to be ready – a pretty amazing feat in itself.

+ Fast 3 day turnaround time

– Shop is cluttered and claustrophobic

More Info:

1. Turnaround time 3 days
2. MOP buttons offered for an additional $50 HKD
3. $280/$380 for house fabrics, more expensive options available
4. First time customers have a minimum order of two shirts

Address: 33 Ground Floor, Far East Mansion, 5-6 Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

Jantzen (Shirt Review)

After a week’s wait and one fruitless visit to the store, finally the shirt was received and tried following a washing and ironing. At the first visit we had specified a ‘moderately’ slim fit shirt and the result was close to our expectations.

Slim but pulling especially at the armpit. Good sleeve length. Clean shoulder lines.

High armhole placement with tugging seen from the front. Excess (?) fabric seen from the back.

Excess fabric in stark contrast to the frontal view. Enough fabric to cause blousing near the waist.

Distinct lines leading to the armpit.

Posterior shot of the fabric pulling near the high armholes.

Snug but comfortable collar.

Thin and unappealing buttons.

Loose and spaced stitches (low stitches per inch) .

Tight cut and pulling from the posterior leading to highly restricted (and uncomfortable) arm movements.

Very narrow cuffs means you can’t raise your arms without testing tensile strength of buttons.

Overall, a shirt showing a dichotomous fit which left us scratching our heads. The combination of the tightness at the armpit and the narrow cuffs meant you can’t raise your arms past the shoulder. The poor construction and fit is consistent with pricing which means not amazing value for money but acceptable. If you don’t need to raise your arms.

+ Collar and shoulders fit

– Inconsistent – excessively slim in areas but ‘blousey’ in the back and waist

Jantzen (Store Visit)

Hello, World. This marks our introductory post into what will hopefully turn into a resource for people interested in Hong Kong tailoring. As you can tell by our title, this site stems from a desire to find some order in the chaos that is the Hong Kong tailor scene – there are literally too many tailors. We aim to provide some insight to the quality, service, pricing and also to find the style that each tailor brings to the table. As our site grows we hope you can use it to have more predictable/successful visits with the tailor you have in mind.

Our first post is our visit to Jantzen, a Hong Kong tailor who are known mainly through their online reputation. We found our way to an older commercial building in Central where a very unassuming entrance stood. First impressions of the premises were confused – had we incorrectly stumbled into the Jantzen back-office? Hesitantly we entered and realized that this was indeed the right location, but instead of a typically decorated retail shop, a sea of samples and mannequins were haphazardly kept around the space all under the cold sterile lighting of low-cost energy efficient bulbs. We had joined the conveyor belt of the Jantzen tailoring machine.

The owner and a handful of staff were present but made no acknowledgement of us as we entered. Upon approaching we were quickly directed to a large number of swatch books to pick a fabric while they continued their own work. Customer service was apparently not their strong suit (no pun intended). Once a fabric had been decided on, the measurements quickly and efficiently followed. This was obviously where they excelled – they knew exactly how to measure you to gather the data necessary to get you into one of their products.

Using the measurements, the staff found an approximate ‘trial’ shirt and pinned until they were satisfied. Simply by including this unique service, the customer would definitely feel an extra step was taken to ensure a correct fitting of the final product. Once finished, a folder containing all the design details possible for a shirt were given (no samples) and again, you were free to decide all the customizable options for your shirt.

Overall, a lack of customer service was definitely felt during our time there. The owner was present but obviously disengaged from the entire process. Surprisingly enough, he even mentioned within earshot when we were leaving that we had only ordered one measly shirt. Jantzen’s online reputation was correct – “bang for buck” was where they stood, the more you ordered the better service you would receive. Also, the amount of options for fabric and shirt details might be overwhelming for your typical customer, but surely all the iGents out there would have no problem in this area.

+ Fast shirt ordering process

– Poor customer service

More Info:

1. Turnover time 1 week but no designation of time or AM/PM
2. No confirmation call to receive shirt
3. $350-400 HKD per shirt using house fabrics

Address: Room D-E, 5th floor, On Lok Yuen Building, 25-27 Des Voeux Road, Central, Hong Kong.

Edit: Idiots that we are, we forgot to mention we’ll review the finished product in a separate post

Edit 2: A style forum member informed us that Jantzen actually has samples of collars and cuffs you can request to see. Apparently, Jantzen staff just didn’t volunteer that information to us