http://www.styleforum.

net/t/248106/first-bespoke-but-what-to-ask-for/30
http://www.styleforum.net/t/90990/bespoke-from-singapore-pic-heavy/30
Get canvassed suits(rather than fused)
Ask for pickstitching rather than machine stiching
soft shoulders
big lapels
straight 9not keyhole) buttonholes
I always get 1 5/8" or 1 3/4" cuffs. Not tall enough to pull off the 2" cuffs -I don't think they would look proportionate.
13oz fabric or 8-11oz
2 vents
Buttons: 3 roll 2 (slightly lower 1-1.5 inch)
Pockets - I like straight bottom pockets, slanted top pocket and definitely only
2 bottom pockets (not 2 on the right and 1 on the left like I've seen on some..
). Is this unfashionable/too conservative? What's the difference in terms of st
yle (e.g. conservative or not) in regards to having the flaps over the bottom po
ckets?
Get 'boat shape' breast pocket, stylish.
5 pockets
lapels(collar design): get notched lapels
straight pants pockets, slanted jacket pockets
-Unfortunately, machine sewing makes a relatively lifeless coat. Hand sewn jacke
ts look better in an almost indescribeable way, moving as if they are part of th
e wearer.
-ask if a paper pattern is made before the cloth is cut. If the answer is yes, t
he jacket is bespoke and you can focus on the quality of construction knowing th
at the fit should be as good as it gets.
http://asuitablewardrobe.dynend.com/2007/05/bespoke-vs-made-to-measure.html
MTM vs Bespoke
http://finestitch.com.au/2010/06/bespoke-vs-made-to-measure-mtm/
Bespoke=canvassing and hand sewn
MTM=fused, machine sewn
http://www.styleforum.net/t/89702/bespoke-in-progress-critique-welcome
http://www.styleforum.net/t/280006/2011-clothing-insights-2012-clothing-plans/30
http://www.styleforum.net/t/280006/2011-clothing-insights-2012-clothing-plans
http://www.styleforum.net/t/244366/my-first-bespoke-suit-journey-advice-feedback
-please
http://bkarmstrong.blogspot.com/2010/11/bespoke-for-first-time-my-hong-kong.html
Custome made ties
http://www.styleforum.net/t/242269/bespoke-handmade-ties-by-sf-member-gshen/75
\
Iris tailors
304 Orchard Road 6732 9562
304 Orchard Rd #B1-105 Lucky Plaza 238863,
http://www.styleforum.net/t/90990/bespoke-from-singapore-pic-heavy/90
Suits
A guide to getting tailored clothes in HK having done this for several years in
HK now...and having grown up with tailored clothes.
It is a little more complicated than just finding a name as will become clear be
low:
1. Forget about it if saving money is your primary objective. You can get $180 s
uits and $20 shirts but they will be crap and not last but will be slightly bett

er than JC Penney store-brand clothes. It is not worth going to HK for this.

2. Finding a good tailor takes time. You will probably go through several of the
m before you find one you like. Frankly, the biggest problem for any neophytes i
n tailored clothing is figuring out what they want. There is very often a large
gap between what you want the tailor to do and what will look good on you and yo
u will like wearing.
3. An excellent tailor can also be your stylist and listen and suggest without a
ny ego or snobbishness and will be straight with you on what he thinks will look
good and what won't. There may be one or two tailors like this in HK but you ar
e better off in the UK or in Milan for such an experience and you will pay throu
gh your nose. So do not expect a tailor and stylist all in one.
4. Think of venturing into tailored clothing as a multi-step process where you t
ry out some tailors and you also learn quite a lot in the process.
5. The first thing to do before you set foot in any tailor in HK is find some cl
othes locally or in Europe that you think fits you very well as well as the fabr
ic type that you like. If your typical practice is to head for the bargain bins
in the depatrment stores and decide between plain and striped, then you can pret
ty much walk into any tailor in HK and come out looking better. Let us assume th
at you want to do better than that.
6. First thing is to find a training (i.e., for you) tailor. This will be a midlevel tailor such as Ash Samtani, Sam, WW Chang, etc in Kowloon. I would recomme
nd any of them. Not too expensive but not the cheap scams peddling on Nathan roa
d either. Don't expect you will come out looking better than someone wearing cus
tom tailored Armanis in these shops. Try two or three of them initially because
a good rapport is very useful.
7. The objective in this training step is to get an idea of what you like and wh
at fits and what doesn't. If you go to a very expensive tailor at this stage, yo
u will waste a lot of clothes that you will never wear even though it is of very
high quality because you were wrong about what you thought would look good on y
ou or wanted.
8. For the initial few clothes, don't overspecify what you need in terms of styl
e and fitting. Let these tailors suggest. It is actually very instructive if you
take a few of your off-the-rack clothes that you like and show them as examples
you like. Now be prepared for them to tell you 100 different things wrong with
it. They will point out every minute problem (where it doesn't fit right, where
it is too tight/long/bunched/pulling/etc). Their clothes will not be perfect eit
her but they are very good at finding problems with store-bought clothes. The pu
rpose of this is not to get into a debate with them or get defensive about your
choice but rather get knowledgeable about what is good and bad fitting.
9. The biggest problem with mid-level tailors in HK is that they are not very cr
eative. They have an expertise in some specific styles and as long as you like t
hem it is ok, otherwise you can expect bad to middling work in output. So the ob
jective at this stage is for you to get comfortable in some clothes that they ar
e comfortable creating. You can specify certain things like tight fit, narrow cu
t, loose cut, tapered cut, etc., as your preference but you could be wrong about
what actually fits you right so just humbly listen first.
10. Allow time for at least 2-3 fittings the first time around. Most of the midlevel tailors will want this although many of them can deliver with one fitting.
But this is not a good thing for starting out. Once they have your fittings in
their records, subsequent purchases can be done with one fitting unless you are
departing significantly in fabric or style.

11. Start with a shirt or two, a pair of trousers and perhaps a suit or may be e
ven just a sport jacket initially. be conservative about fabrics. Do not get the
ir thinnest ones (which tend to crumple very easily and wear badly or their indu
strial strength wrinkle-proof fabrics which feel like wearing canvas). If you re
ally want to get a feel for fabrics, visit some designer stores preferably in Mi
lan and feel the fabric and structure. Do not listen to the HK tailors for fabri
c advice. For them, everything they have is good. They will be very reluctant to
tell you the problem with certain fabrics. You will have to find out the hard w
ay.
12. In the fitting they will take care of the usual stuff like bunching, stretch
ing, etc., (which is why it is hard to believe that George Bush's suit was bunch
ed up at the back because of tailoring in that infamous shot in the debate, no s
elf-respecting tailor even a cheap one will let that happen). This does not mean
you will not have other problems but this is where you learn how to look for st
andard problems in fitting.
13. Once you have your initial set of clothes, wear them for a while and see how
they feel. You may be very disappointed in some of them but hopefully some will
feel good and wear well. Try to notice what is good about the ones you like. Af
ter a while, you will notice that your store bought stuff no longer feels as goo
d. They have a bit too long/short sleeves, have extra cloth where they shouldn't
, etc. Congratulations, you are getting acclimatized to tailored clothing.
14. It is worth going back to the tailor where you got the clothes you like best
and getting a few more in the same/similar fabric design. That will give you so
me basic wardrobe of reasonably fitting clothes. Based on your need for style an
d fashion, this may be all you need and you can be quite happy with that tailor
and continue to re-order.
15. But you will most likely start being even more pickier than you used to be.
You will notice some bunching near certain hems, pockets that are too deep or to
o shallow, etc. You may notice that your suits fits perfectly but doesn't necesa
rily make you look good in a way that will get noticed - there is lot more to a
good-looking suit than just good fitting. And this is where you have grown out o
f the mid-level HK tailors because unless you can find/select fabrics that you l
ike and work for you and know exactly which style suits you (assuming food fitti
ng) and can express this in detail to the tailor, you are not going to get much
better in your clothes with these tailors. You might even feel that the tailor t
hat has worked for you before is slipping in quality/workmanship. He isn't, you
are just getting pickier and more aware of what works and what doesn't.
16. This is when you need to graduate to the next level of tailors but this is g
oing to increase the cost roughly about 100%, so you need to decide whether you
want to go to that step or not or you are happy with what you have so far. Unfor
tunately, I cannot recommend any mid-level HK tailor if you have reached this st
age because they will not be able to saisfy you.
17. If anyone has reached this stage and has been able to find a tailor he can r
ecommend at the next level. do let me know because I have not found one yet in H
K.