https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Wed, 29 Apr 2026 06:51:55 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-815157 Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:41:04 +0000 Anonymous 815157@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thank you for the full report. I enjoyed it a great deal and wow, that shirt is perfect. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-815144 Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:09:54 +0000 ManidipaM 815144@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us, photos with chalked-up markings and all. This was not just instructive, it was heartwarming and nostalgic. Thanks again. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755752 Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:26:12 +0000 Angela 755752@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thank you for this post--it spoke to my heart. My dad ran his own high-end tailoring business in Hong Kong through the 70's and 80's, catering to traveling American businessmen. Celebrities and the owner of Macy's sought him for his work. My mother knew each customer by name and what their favourite patterns and fabrics were. He sold the businesses in the early 90's because he didn't agree with the incoming mainland government. When we returned in 2000 to visit, his tailoring buddies told him that their businesses had been ravaged by the influx of cheap mainland clothing and proximity to cheap mainland labour, not to mention the Walmart and chain store types changing the playing field altogether.</p> <p>Long after my parents stopped running their business, they continued to talk about that time as the highlight of their lives. We even developed lifelong friendships with former customers. All in all--find a good tailor! Find someone that isn't just doing it as a job, but who truly loves his craft. There is something very, very special about having a tailor make custom pieces for you that you just don't get with off the rack clothing. It's a much, much better experience than any big box store can offer. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755485 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:25:17 +0000 Lisa 755485@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Fabulous write up, if I ever go to HK I'm going to keep this in mind! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755472 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:57:20 +0000 Angie 755472@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hannah, I consider myself very privileged to have grown up in HK, to have worked there as a fashion buyer, and to go back regularly to see friends and soak up all its magic. HK is part of my soul. </p> <p>Yes! Fortunately we live very close to the International District here in Madrona so heading out there for a fab meal and little shop takes 5 minutes - just to get our little HK fix. Hope you get out there too :)</p> <p>And great shirt btw!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755461 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:48:32 +0000 Charmian 755461@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><strong>@shiny</strong>: what a coincidence! Both my husband and I think he looks better in a slim cut shirt, too, and he loaded up on several shirts while we were there. But it was the ladies who headed to the bespoke shops! So glad you got to experience it too.</p> <p><strong>@Angie</strong>: me too :(. I was thinking about heading to Chinatown for a bowl of noodles tonight, that's how much I missed HK while writing this. The city truly IS magical; I'm jealous you've had the opportunity to see it first-hand over its development!</p> <p><strong>@clearlyclaire</strong>: yup, you're absolutely right! Those are vertical darts, not princess seams. I'll go fix the original post.</p> <p><strong>@Sylvie</strong>: ooh, would you mind sharing your thoughts on <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/custom-made-tailored-clothing-in-your-city">Elle's thread</a>? She was asking about that exact thing, but I don't have any experience there. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755420 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:03:46 +0000 Sylvie 755420@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Charmian, this was a fantastic writeup! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. If I am ever so lucky as to visit HK, I will know exactly what to look for.</p> <p>My husband has had good luck getting shirts custom made by a tailor from Hong Kong who makes stops in the United States periodically to take orders. He won't buy off the rack shirts any more. I think men have it easier when it comes to custom made clothes. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755335 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:34:17 +0000 Anonymous 755335@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, what a detailed write up. My favorite kind! I can only hope that your bespoke shirt withstands the whims of fashion because of the conservative fit you were talked into. </p> <p>And tell me, are there really princess seams on it? I always though those seams started up at the shoulder and continued all the way down over the bust line. I can't see well enough to tell if yours do that. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755243 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:28:16 +0000 Angie 755243@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>LOVED this write up. Thanks, Hannah! You are so fab. </p> <p>(I've blogged about my bespoke tailor experiences in HK - which you also linked to - so no need to repeat them here). </p> <p>I feel that I can never do HK justice when I talk about it. You have to go there - my favourite city in the world - in order to get even the slightest appreciation for the magical place. </p> <p>I am feeling *very* homesick </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755229 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:17:37 +0000 shiny 755229@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>When we were in HK in 2008 we also did the bespoke experience; my story is written somewhere in the forums. I had a three piece suit made, and DH got several shirts. I agree with your assessment, especially the part about catering to a more conservative market. The suit I got is somehow still not quite right, and there were a couple of factors going on. 1) The heat and humidity made my middle aged body retain water like nobody's business; once I got home, I quickly returned to my normal size. The suit is now too big -- especially in the mid section. 2) In retrospect I wish I had chosen a place that specializes in women; then again maybe it's the "conservative" factor you mention. 3) Also it would have definitely helped if we'd had time for one more round of fittings. (I keep hoping I will find a good tailor here, and can have that last round of tailoring to make this suit be perfect). </p> <p>The EXPERIENCE was absolutely worth it, and I have no regrets. I would do it again in heartbeat, but allow more time to have it done right. And yes, I'd get a white shirt made up too. :-)</p> <p>Meanwhile, they succeeded (where I was failing) in talking DH into having a shirt made. It was ready on the second visit. When DH saw how well it fit -- better than any other shirt he's ever owned -- he gladly had them make three more. DH has worn those shirts to frays; they are his favorites. And, for that alone, it was worth every penny we spent, because it finally got DH to concede that yes he looks better in a slimmer cut shirt. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755210 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:02:01 +0000 Isis 755210@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks for writing this excellent missive! Your history of HK clothing was fascinating, and I loved how you wove in your personal tailoring experiences! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755132 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:48:46 +0000 MNsara 755132@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Charmain - your write up is fabulous and makes me wish to try the experience someday too! (Although I probably won't be in HK any time soon. . .)</p> <p>Funny how you look back and knew how you wanted certain details like cuffs, and fittedness, and when he talked you out of them, you later regretted it. He probably doesn't meet too many YLF types who have so thoroughly thought through the details that matter If you were his repeat customer, no doubt you'd work out all your differences! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755120 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:34:52 +0000 ruthe 755120@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is a most interesting piece. I enjoyed reading every line. Thank you. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755066 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:21:10 +0000 Ingunn 755066@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thank you so much for taking your time to write this down! I't very interesting, and the result aside, it sounds like a very meaningful experience. I would love to try this once. I've dabbled into sewing myself in my younger days, and proper fitting is an artform (which I never succeeded in). The knowledge that goes into such a process is formidable, and I regret that fact that we no longer appreciate it as much as we did, in this era of fast fashion. The shirt might err on the conservative side for you, but maybe in time you will be pleased with it as it is? Anyway, it must rise treasurable memories every time you look at it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tailoring-in-hong-kong-my-experiences#post-755054 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 07:27:33 +0000 Charmian 755054@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Elle's post on <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/custom-made-tailored-clothing-in-your-city">custom-made clothing</a> reminded me that <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/back-from-hong-kong-shopping">I'd promised to write up my experiences with Hong Kong tailoring</a> and never did; whoops. Hopefully you'll all forgive my tardiness.</p> <p><strong>Goals</strong><br /> Inevitably, someone is going to ask: "was bespoke tailoring worth it?", and to answer that question I need to start with the goals I'd set for the entire process.</p> <p>Hong Kong is a truly fascinating city: many of the world's international financial centers have long and prestigious histories as centers of trade, culture, or politics; for example, London, New York, or Tokyo. Hong Kong, in contrast, has none of that. Prior to the 1940s, it was a small trading port of 600,000 people on the edge of the British and Chinese Empires; by the 1960s, war refugees + their baby boom QUINTUPLED the population and over 50% of the population was under 25. HK's status as an international financial center is built by this single generation of young people (now approaching retirement) -- and what jumpstarted the entire thing was textiles manufacturing.</p> <p>Therefore, my goal with HK tailoring there wasn't to get the "perfect" suit or a "killer deal" but rather to poke around the aging/dying clothing industry and see what turned up.</p> <p><strong>Low-end</strong><br /> HK's low-end textile manufacturing was hollowed out by cheap labor from mainland China when they reopened to trade in the 1970s, and the businesses that remain are focused primarily towards alterations. With that in mind, I headed to one of the multi-story textile plazas in Central to get <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/wiw-2011108-dressing-updown-eliza-j-shift-dress">my purple dress</a> altered. I picked an alterations shop highly-rated on some English-speaking websites, but many of the shops in this plaza (and other plazas) seemed interchangeable to me: 4-6 seamstresses packed into ~200 square feet storefronts, with tagged-and-bagged clothing literally hanging from every wall and ceiling. The "changing room" was a shower curtain around a (let's be generous) 2' x 2' alcove.</p> <p>Because of proximity to mainland China, inexpensive clothing can be <em>very</em> inexpensive -- so basic alterations have to be cheap and fast to compete (if you're going for expensive alterations, you might consider purchasing bespoke). The alterations I was looking for were on the complex side of basic: based on some bad advice from a sales associate, I'd purchased my (lined) dress one size too small. The shoulders were ok, but the bust was very very tight; I asked them to let out the shoulder seams 1/4" on each side and to let <em>everything</em> out around my bust: bust darts, back seams, armholes. All told, we recovered 1 1/2" by dismantling the entire top half of the dress, moving armholes &amp; zippers, and putting it back together again. It took 2 fittings and 3 weeks (a lot, for HK alterations) and cost about $25 USD. The service was brisk (some might call it "brusque", but I'm pretty forgiving), and the quality better than anything I could have hoped for. The dress is still tight, there's some puckering around the back waist where they got sloppy reassembling the dress, but it's much more wearable than it ever will be.</p> <p><strong>High-end</strong><br /> High-end, bespoke-style tailoring also suffered when cheap mainland labor became widely available, but the high-end houses survived a bit better by focusing on service, their history/lineage, and curating a loyal clientele. Based on <a href="http://youlookfab.com/2008/10/22/tailor-made-in-hong-kong-part-2/">Angie's experience</a>, I picked a reputable tailor with a dedicated women's department. Unlike Angie, however, I didn't have a garment I wanted to copy; I had a horribly-fitting white button-down I'd bought off the rack years ago and wanted to see what a "properly fitting" button-down would feel like.</p> <p>It's recommended to allocate time for 3 visits when you're starting a relationship with a bespoke tailor. In the first visit, you establish preferences and have your measurements taken; in the second visit, you try on the unfinished garment and make last-minute adjustments; in the third visit, you try on the finalized garment and hopefully take it home with you.</p> <p>My experience with "Tony" (an alias) followed this pattern. I'd came in with a plan to do two shirts: a basic, flat white shirt and a second "fun" white shirt (I had some vague thought about going wild with contrast cuffs and placket). Tony talked me right out of this plan: "you're a local", he assured me, "let's take time to get to know each other first." He pulled out binder after binder of white cotton samples and encouraged me to try a patterned cotton: basically, to marry both visions during his "audition". With his incredibly patient help (I was on cloth overload by this point), I picked out a subtle herringbone in lightweight cotton. We then talked over how I wore my shirts: unbuttoned/buttoned/buttoned to the collar, alone/under a jacket, my deliberately messy cuffs, etc. Finally, he took a huge number of measurements, my deposit, and told me to return in 1 week. All told, I monopolized his time for over an hour during my first visit.</p> <p>On my return visit, the cloth had been cut and loosely sewn together into a shirt-like shape. Tony pulled it off a dressform and pointed out that the dressform had not one but TWO sets of shoulder pads in order to mimic the set of my IT shoulders. He walked me to their (full sized!!!) dressing room and had me try on the shirt. At the time, I was surprised how it was consistently 1/4" too large across all dimensions except my bust; looking back now, I wonder if the cutter deliberately cut everything too big in case of measurement error (which was fortunate, since the bust measurement was <em>just</em> right). Tony was particularly meticulous with the bust darts and vertical seams, since I'd told him earlier of my difficulties finding clothing that fit my bust. He pointed at the vertical seams he was re-pinning: "these rein in the extra cloth needed to fit over your chest. In a properly-fitting shirt, they should be placed directly under the widest part. In fact, in a properly-fitting shirt with bust darts <em>and</em> vertical seams, they should cross at your [noun that I didn't understand at the time, but which I've concluded means 'nipple']". At the time, I felt that the shirt was still too roomy/conservative and asked Tony to bring more cloth into the vertical seams, but he firmly replied no -- there was no more room to take in.</p> <p>The shirt was complete on my third visit. On the way to the dressing room for my final fitting (pointing out the double shoulder pads once more), Tony asked, "Do you swim?". "No", I replied. "Maybe as a child?", he asked hopefully. "Nope, my shoulders are this way naturally." I laughed, and he fussed over the fit of the shirt a little longer. When we were both satisfied, he wrapped it up in tissue and let me out of the store. All told, the full process took 4 weeks, 3 fittings (about 2 hours), and about $120 USD.</p> <p>The shirt is beautiful. Once, when I walked into our shared walk-in closet, I found my husband had pulled the shirt off its hanger specifically to admire the French seams. And obviously, it fits like it was made for me. On the negative side, I regret not being more decisive or firm with Tony. As mentioned previously, I was hoping for a more fitted, modern cut, whereas the company I chose skews more towards an affluent, conservative, business crowd -- and this is reflected in the cut of their shirts. I also followed Tony's suggestion of a single-buttoned cuff to avoid overwhelming my dainty wrists, and I regret that I allowed his suggestion to override my instinct that something was wrong: I <em>never</em> button my cuffs (they're always pushed up), and the smaller cuff's proportions don't look right on the turned/messy sleeve I prefer. I wear my new shirt with love, but to my surprise it never supplanted the awful off-the-rack shirt: the bulky cut means it doesn't layer as nicely, so I still keep around the off-the-rack shirt for spring/autumn layering.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion</strong><br /> Was bespoke tailoring worth it? For a white shirt, absolutely not. After a few months of shopping reconnaissance upon my return, I've concluded I can get a similarly well-fitting shirt for half the price -- and it'll have double-button cuffs in a tailored fit, too. The workmanship won't be as nice, but there's also the fact that I can afford to buy two if I wanted to.</p> <p>Was bespoke tailoring worth it for my goals? Probably yes. I learned quite a bit about garment fit from talking with Tony, from my alterations ladies, and from some of the reading I've done as a result of these experiences. And I've got some great memories from Hong Kong, as well as a deeper appreciation for modern (and personal) history. Not a bad souvenir, all in all.</p> <p>Lastly: if folks are heading to HK and would like specific recommendations for tailors (both bespoke and alterations), please PM me. In writing this up, I wanted to be able to share my impressions freely and in their proper context, which meant redacting the names of these businesses from a publically-searchable website. I would be happy to provide advice on your own HK adventures in a less-public medium. :)</p> <p><strong>Appendix</strong><br /> Photo 1: Sun Woo Trading Company (<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/jun/30/top-10-shops-hong-kong">credit</a>). Narrow the walkway a bit, replace the bric-a-brac with clothing, and that's how my alterations shop felt like.</p> <p>Photo 2: W. W. Chan &amp; Sons. What a high-end bespoke tailor's shop looks like. Totally different!</p> <p>Photo 3-4: Off-the-rack button-down. Note the bust gap, the awful placement of the bust dart (highlighted with blue tailor's chalk), and the placement of the waist -- this shirt is for a woman with a torso ~2" shorter than mine.</p> <p>Photo 5-6: Bespoke button-down. Buttons are spaced closer together to ensure there is a button at the height where I normally leave the collar open <em>and</em> one at the widest portion of my bust. Bust dart and vertical seam (highlighted with blue tailor's chalk) intersect at the widest portion of my bust. </p>