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

Chiu Ah (Shirt Review)

The tailor working the store was vague about the turnover time but indicated an approximation of just under one week. The result actually exceeded our expectations, especially considering the haphazard atmosphere of the store and the lack of communication between the tailor and ourselves.

Overall good fit. Slimming but not constraining. Billowing sleeves which don’t fit the slim nature of the shirt.

Clean from the sides. Sleeve length a touch too long, but satisfactory.

May be considered loose fitting at the posterior shoulders but this slight excess allows for good range of movement without pulling.

Tapered out from the waist and good shirt length accounting for large gluteus maximus ass.

Collar is spacious but nothing compared to the first collar Brown’s tried to make JL accept.

Visible lines that affect the aesthetic of the shirt but not the comfort.

Decent pattern matching on one side. Can be said for one side only.

Undeniably baggy sleeves.

A man of few words, but he let his work do the talking. He was able to deliver a shirt of good fit but the old-school tailoring shows, namely in the sleeves. If we went back to correct the sleeves, the shirt would score very highly in our books. All things considered, out of all the shirts we’ve tried so far this was the closest to a ‘perfect’ score without further alterations.

+ Comfortable and reasonably well fitted

– Sleeves are too ‘classic’ (read: blousey)

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.