Best Shirtmaker Co. (Store Visit)

Nestled up an old walk-up building in Central, Best Shirtmaker Co. has been around since the 1960’s (although this was not their original location). Our first attempt to visit however, was a failure. Despite us calling ahead to check his business hours, he still closed up shop earlier than he stated.

First impressions are not impressive as there are stacks of fabric and shirting materials stuffed around the already cramped shop and the renovation is definitely more reminiscent of a workshop than a storefront.

The proprietor was up for a chat and obviously he is a man that takes pride in his work. Taking an apprenticeship in his teens and working his way up, he’s been in the Hong Kong tailoring scene far longer than most of us have been alive.

After a lengthy discussion with him, we were willing to try a softer collar not often seen on Hong Kong shirts. Always a gamble to try something new from just a reference photo, but we thought it would be worth a shot.

Our choices for fabric selection were considerably more comprehensive than most. They stock local, Japanese, and other European fabrics such as CISTES. An uneventful measure up later, we were on our way with a one week turnover time promised.

We liked that he was friendly and seemed knowledgable but the untidiness of the shop was off-putting. For a shop with so much history, they could do much better in displaying their heritage and presenting their products.

The owner mentioned that he had already downsized multiple times due to rent increases but we felt there was a lot of potential if a little TLC went into it. A definite shame as just from a quick glance at the shirts scattered around, their quality seemed high.

+ Knowledgable frontman

– Presentation

 

More Info:

1. Turnover time 1 week with phone call
2. MOP buttons at no additional cost, but no thickness options
3. $550 and up for 2 ply cotton fabrics

Address: 1/F, Fortuna Building, 63-69 Wellington Street, Central

British Textiles Tailoring Co. (Store Visit)

Going off a friend’s recommendation we decided to try British Textiles Tailoring Co. next. Confusingly enough there was another ‘British tailoring’ shop in the same building (Peter So British Tailors) and also another British Textile Company Limited located in Central. Hutchinson House itself seems to be a hotspot for tailors as well – on the same floor there are five shops.

The shop is cozy but tidy. Typical to most of the tailoring shops we’ve been to there were random sewing machines and fabrics strewn over the space.

The shop is lightly staffed and luckily there were no other customers when we went. They hold a large number of swatches from The Regent Silk Co. Ltd but also have the option of costlier shirting fabrics such as Thomas Mason. We decided to stick to the basics.

The staff gave JL a very very careful measure-up. Possibly the most detailed and careful measuring process we have experienced and ever will experience. We appreciated the time he took to confirm his measurements and hoped that this would mean a good fit for the finished product.

Aside from the measuring, he also went through the shirt detailing step by step to make sure we knew what options we had. We liked this much more than shops that assume you want their ‘default’ shirt.

We felt confident that they would be able to deliver a decent product at the end of the one week turnover. Given how detail orientated the staff was, we inferred this would translate to a high quality bespoke shirt. The entire experience was pleasant and enjoyable but we knew not to raise our expectations as good service does not always mean a good result.

+ Meticulous

– Limited shirting suppliers

More Info:

1. Turnover time 1 week
2. MOP buttons at an additional $50 (3mm thick)
3. $550 for Regent material, Thomas Mason available at additional cost

Address: Shop 113-A, Hutchison House, 10 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong.

 

 

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.

 

 

PYE (Store Visit)

Seeing as this new shirting store is already opening up their second branch in Central, we wanted to give them a whirl and see what the fuss was about. PYE burst onto the Hong Kong shirting scene in 2013 and has been steadily growing since. Although not a bespoke shirt maker, we thought we could still assess their process and quality (and EC had a gift card).

Every aspect of their store had obviously been designed and thoroughly thought out which cultivated quite a nice ambiance. The store was well staffed and they were attentive to our needs and very willing to answer any of our questions. Strangely enough, although this was a ‘dedicated’ shirting store they sold umbrellas and miscellaneous glassware too – a curious diversification strategy.

As far as we could understand it PYE offers three lines of shirts: ‘Casual’, ‘Classic’ and ‘Infinity’. The latter is their premium cotton with a 170’s thread count. They also offer three different fits: Slim, Tailored and Regular. We had a choice of buying ready-to-wear or made-to-order, MTO would give us the choice of picking the fabric, collar, cuffs, plackets, pockets and monogramming.

Since we had a gift card, we decided to splurge for the MTO. The staff gave EC different shirts to try to get an idea of which cut would be appropriate. We had originally wanted their Tailored fit but at the correct collar size the body of the shirt was too tight. There was no choice but to take their Regular fit, but in order to get the body of the shirt to fit adequately a larger collar size still had to be chosen.

We were given an approximate time of three weeks for the shirt to be ready and the staff told us to expect a phone call. We predicted that because of their vertical integration (all the way down to their own cotton plants and factories) that their fabric should be of high quality. Just from trying the shirts in the store during our visit, we knew the final fit would be a far reach in comparison to bespoke or even MTM products.

+ Good customer service

– Shirt fits are more for ‘Asian’ builds

More Info:

1. Turnover time 3 weeks
2. MOP buttons default
3. $1580 for a shirt of house fabric from their own cotton farms

Address: Shop 111, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong.

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

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

Chiu Ah (Store Visit)

We decided to venture off the beaten path and try a small tailor shop in Wan Chai, one that has yet to rear it’s head on Style Forum. Sitting opposite Star Street, this small and decidedly classic-looking shop was unimpressive at first glance. Surely though it must have a secret to surviving Hong Kong Island’s ground level rent since 1980 whilst running as a one-man band.

A small 70 square foot space contained stacks of fabrics, samples, and a small work bench for Mr. Fung (the proprietor). We talked to him briefly about shirting fabrics to which he gave us some swatch books originating from Cistes, Kuşak Tekstil, and another unknown European (?) fabric.

A quick measure up from the tailor and we were nearly finished. Obviously not a man of many words, but he conveyed a sense of purpose to his measurement and knew exactly what he was doing and what we were asking for.

One point to note would be that he failed to ask us which details we actually wanted on the shirt. If we did not specify he would have likely just given us a default prescription. Interestingly enough, Chiu Ah serves up quite a variety of button options but he didn’t offer the choices until asked.

When discussing the shirt details, i.e. collar, cuffs etc we were also left a little bewildered when instead of a checklist or even photos of options, he simply pulled out a Japanese men’s fashion magazine to point out certain features.

A short visit with a truly old-school tailor left us feeling quite…neutral. A no-frills experience but not necessarily in a bad way. After all, bells and whistles may not necessarily promise a better product at the end of the day. The only thing left to do was pick up the shirt one week later and take it from there.

+ Convenient location

– Need to be specific in shirt requirements or details will be overlooked

More Info:

1. Turnover time 1 week
2. MOP buttons offered for additional $30 HKD
3. $500 for 100% cotton fabrics, $400 for non-iron fabric

Address: G/F, 50 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai

Edit: Many thanks to 50cent for reminding us that we were also shown fabric from European shirting brand, Cistes.

Brown’s (Store Visit)

Brown’s is a new tailoring shop that’s only been open since 2013 but has quickly gained favor in Hong Kong’s online forums. Although it’s located in a rather rundown commercial building in Tsim Sha Tsui, the store was surprisingly well renovated and had a rather tasteful atmosphere to it.

We spoke to a staff member (not Felix the owner) about their two shirting brands and to test the waters we decided on the local house fabric instead of the higher quality Thomas Mason fabric. An ample selection of fabric swatches were given to us and we were left to our own devices.

Once a fabric was selected the staff together with the tailor proceeded to measure us. Chaotically. The two of them together couldn’t reach a consensus on certain measurements and seemed to question each other’s measuring points at each turn. After a number of eyebrow raises it was clear that they were not experienced in taking measurements and whether this suspected lack of experience extended only into shirting, we could not be sure. At this point even if the measurements were 100% accurate, our confidence in the fit of the final shirt was waning. The only extra step they took which stood out was to take reference photos of us.

A refreshingly varied selection of both collars and cuffs were available, but of course the staff tending to us had no suggestions or knowledge to impart onto us. Aside from the samples of collars and cuffs which we chose from there was also a checklist of options which he completed, mostly without our input. What items he checked off will remain a mystery. At this point communication seemed to be a clear issue, whether it be between staff or with customers.

Ending on a positive note, we were given mother of pearl buttons at no extra cost just by asking, although the default button is a plastic one. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, so make sure you ask.

+ Good selection of house fabrics

– Staff training falling short of expectations

More Info:

1. Turnover time close to 2 weeks
2. $500 HKD for a shirt in house fabric
3. $800 HKD for a shirt in Thomas Mason fabric

Address: Unit E, 2/F, Comfort Building,
88 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon,
Hong Kong

Simpson Sin (Store Visit)

Tucked away in Tsim Sha Tsui, Simpson Sin has been on the scene for decades. In the vicinity of the store it was hard to miss the numerous signage directing potential clients to the doors of Simpson Sin. Stepping through, it was also hard to miss the barrage of photographs hung on the wall of celebrities that previously attended the shop to get the ‘classic’ Hong Kong tailoring experience. Apparently the signage works then.

The ambiance inside was warm and comfortable, and upon entering we were quickly greeted by a staff (Tony, co-founder) and tended to. Once we briefed him on our needs – the rather extensive list of two shirts made with house fabrics, we were given the shirt fabric swatches, some water and allowed our time to decide. Their house fabric selection seemed to be oddly familiar, and checking back it appears that it was provided by the same company that provides house fabric for Jantzen.

Moving forward, an English speaking tailor measured us up efficiently and confidently, then walked us through the different shirt details that we could pick from. Not only was he able to explain all the different options but he also had different shirt examples on hand from different clients which he pulled out to show us when we were unclear. A selection of collar samples were also set up on the wall for clients to see the different selections – a nice touch in comparison to Jantzen where old poorly printed pictures of collars were all that was available.

Once satisfied with our selection and design, we were told the shirt would be ready in one week for a fitting. We walked out of the store happy and grateful that we had such a good first visit, especially contrasting to the cold service we received at Jantzen. Both Tony and the tailor were truly a pleasure to work with and being fluent in English was a huge positive in our eyes.

+ Excellent service with friendly staff

– Price for shirt in house fabric on the expensive end

More Info:

1. Turnover time 1 week
2. No confirmation call to receive shirt
3. $550 for a shirt in house fabrics

Address: Block B, 1/F, Lip Seng Mansion, 15-19 Carnarvon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

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