Gshen, do you know where I can source sew-in collar interfacing for collars and cuffs? I bought some from Minerva Fabrics in eBay, but I believe they do not understand the product -- the canvas has horsehair in it, and I think it is for suit collars, not shirts.

Hwa Seng has cotton interlining for collars-have a look at their website

http://hst.com.sg/acatalog/Soft_Finished_N...nterlining.html - not cheap, but there you go.

Anyways, you can try self-lining (using the shirting material) your collars/cuffs with an additional layer or two, depending on the fabric weight. No extra cost involved and works just as well for me.

Swiss interlining tends to be a bit harder/stiffer if that is what you prefer. I like the softness and fluidity of my self-lined collars, so i'm sticking with that.

I received mix feedback on Lee Baron. The consistent tone was the need to pre-wash the fabrics too. They seem to be a notch above Jantzen but seem to be inconsistent in terms of quality.

The button threads on your shirt look similar to the ones I've seen in Italy. I hope you will share the source with us one day.

I dont know - I was introduced by an old customer of Lee Baron's and he mentioned that there are various sifu's doing the work for him. Maybe it was because of the introduction that I got the ex-AC guy? Not too sure about others, but all my 10 or so shirts from him are consistent in quality.

My MOP buttons are available for sale here - http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=174715

And I use cotton glace thread for my shirts, super strong and probably will never need replacement in my lifetime. I bought the wrong size (#16 is a bit too thick) unfortunately, but this is the right one - http://www.wardrobesupplies.com/store/m2_thread_hymark.html

BTW, the London bespoke shirt makers always insist that you wear & wash your initial test shirt for at least 3 months before returning with the same shirt for the second fitting before they make the balance of the initial order. Have a chat with my Singapore based friend when you next see him:-he's made shirts in London, HK, France, Italy & the US and can share his war stories.

ouch..its become so technical now...

I bought some Gueterman button thread with what was supposed to be collar canvas (but which really is hymo). They arrived this morning, and I inspected the goods at home just now and found the button thread to be excellent. I bought white, light blue and light pink. AL initially refused to hand-sew buttons for me because they are very labour-intensive, but when he found out I removed his buttons at home and sewed on MOPs by myself (poor me) he started doing them for me by hand.

I do not want to deal with HST. I am unimpressed with their business practices and their exaggerated pricing. Gshen and others, would you happen to know of yet another source for Swiss cotton interlining?

Here's a link to the thread I bought:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWNX:IT

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jul 23 2010, 02:23 PM

I am using this in white - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-GLACE-THREAD-HY-MA...=item4cebbe9a8a

The glace finish and 4ply makes the thread extremely durable. Try this stuff when you are done with your small spools. It's available in #24 and #16, but I have no idea which is the thinner one.. mine at 16 is already about 4x the thickness of your typical polyester threads.

Why do you say that about HST? Like most businesses, they sell their stuff to retail at a higher price than to the trade.. Their stuff is a bit more expensive than most, but I guess that's to do with their small volume and expensive freight costs since we are miles and miles away from manufacturers.

Maybe you can try these guys: http://www.steinlaufandstoller.com/Interfa...Non%20Woven.htm

Gshen, I bought 2 sets of buttons and paid RM30+ for postage. When the envelope arrived, it had a stamp value of about RM3. I asked them about the discrepancy, and they said "Oh, that's because our website assumes that the weight is 1kg at least." They offered no refund of the extra postage I paid.

On one set of buttons, the cuff buttons were one grade darker than larger ones. That's because they sell more cuff buttons than the large ones, and hence ran out of the lighter shade. They did not ask me beforehand if that was OK.

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Added on July 23, 2010, 2:51 pmAlso, everything is more expensive at HST. They are the highest-cost provider.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jul 23 2010, 02:51 PM

Ouch - understandable why you are not too happy with them I guess. If you are desperate to get hold of something from them in future, let me know and I'll try to help without ripping you off on postage.

Try Richard James Weldon in future. Their buttons are the nicest I've seen and cost a lot less than HST's. They supply Savile Row with trimmings, so they should probably be good enough for you. Shipping is also only about 2 GBP even when I ordered nearly 100 buttons in total.

Thanks gshen, I'l keep your offer in mind.

What were you doing ordering 100 buttons from RJW?! All for your own consumption? I didn't know their postage was that cheap.

About pre-laundering your shirting lengths, kabbaz says the problem is with the ironing later. It's apparently difficult to keep the stripes straight.

After my last pair of bespoke trousers shrunk considerably after the first dry clean, I plan to have to have even my suiting lengths dry cleaned prior to being tailored. At exactly the same dry cleaners who caused my trousers to shrink.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jul 23 2010, 04:37 PM

LOL - well yeah basically for my own consumption.. and for a coat my GF commissioned.

Hmm.. I think you will only notice if you are super OCD and scrutinize every inch of your shirt. I just washed a few lengths of striped seersucker and did not notice such an occurrence.

I would change a dry cleaner rather than pre-dryclean your suitings as that is obviously not supposed to happen! Dry clean as little as possible because the harsh chemicals used negatively affect the hand and performance of the natural fibres/oils in your suitings.

oooppps....they charged me abt 6 pound just for 27 horn buttons!!!

It seems very interesting. BUMP,BUMP,BUMP.

Just checked the invoice to be sure - my bad! More like 60 buttons, but still shipping was just GBP1.65...

The problem with the Tan Sri is he always uses his title.

That title was first quoted by King kotmj..... and I had no idea where it came from....

Hei...i was even clearly indicated that I only require the cheapest postage in my purchase inquiry e-mail...

Trust me, for postage to Malaysia, it's a default charge of Pound 6.04 for anything lower than:
WGT 100 GRMS
SENT INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR
AIRMAIL



This post has been edited by silencer: Jul 23 2010, 09:22 PM

Are the buttons any good?

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Added on July 23, 2010, 9:28 pmWhy didn't you go for the local source I mentioned to you?

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jul 23 2010, 09:28 PM

I made the purchase after reading a good review of RichardJamesWeldon by gshen...which is today....

will make the comparison with the ones from lining online company, once i receive it....

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Added on July 23, 2010, 9:36 pmonly brown color available at the local source....as next month...i might commission 2 more suits and a sport jacket .... and I'm sticking with the bemberg cupro lining instead of ermazine.....

This post has been edited by silencer: Jul 23 2010, 09:36 PM