I'm afraid it might happen.

Who do you guys even suppose I am? I am always two steps ahead. AL has received instructions to cut their suits a certain way. They will be identifiable as the lalas they are from 2 miles away.

Monkey see, monkey do.

I'm sticking with the mass market....single breasted all the way... Henry Poole is already in my list...might be before Chritsmas

Bring one of your corporate slaves along and get him to videotape the whole process.

But would you not want to try just one DB?

My first 2 suits during my University years were all DBs....been reading a lot abt it...just scared that i don have the right height for it...

Well, your suits are different now. They actually make you look good, instead of bad.

Just get a navy blazer. No trousers. Brown or metal buttons. I suspect you might like it more than you think you would. Wear it with anything: chinos, grey trousers, jeans, anything.

1.7 meters of fabric is all you need for a jacket.

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Added on July 28, 2010, 12:07 amBTW you are right. It's Bali. This weekend.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jul 28 2010, 12:07 AM

Been thinking the same thing too...for Navy blazer...just I already have the fabric for sportcoat which is similar like the one u recommended in previous posts-worn by GunClub members

Bali- Spot On - a typical corporate gateway for Malaysian...

Here are pictures of me wearing the jacket. Please bear in mind that this fitted 8 years ago.


The fit initially felt tight as I was not used to having a jacket that fitted so closely to the body.

The small arm holes took some getting used to.

Getting it made is another story in itself, between the initial selection of materials etc & collecting the finished product it took 9 months,several fittings , many glasses of wine & grappa & trips to the less salubrious part of town in order to reach the workshop!!

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Added on July 28, 2010, 9:11 pmDB's are great if one is standing up but not so practical if one is constantly seated eg in meetings or at a dinner.

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Added on July 28, 2010, 9:35 pmGshen,

What is your opinion regarding Tailor Chan at Starhub Centre?

I was meeting some clients nearby & was introduced to this tailor as Singapore's answer to Savile Row Bespoke.

1. He quoted SIN$800 for labor excluding materials for a suit & SIN$80 for a shirt.
2. The shirts were not inspirational -he claims that it's not possible to tailor a shirt with non fused collar in Singapore
3. The jackets he made had a nice lapel roll with pick stitchings on the edges. He claims to only make non-fused fully canvas suits. The cut was fine but I would prefer the pick stitching to be more subtle & almost invisible.
4. When asked about matching patterns ( especially around the jettings etc,) he didn't seem very pleased.

Any thoughts you have on this tailor is appreciated

This post has been edited by beau: Jul 28 2010, 09:35 PM

I am certain the poor pictures are doing no justice to the jacket's fit.. or hope so at least.

Shirts as you mentioned - unimpressive & factory made like everyone else.. I dislike tailors who make sweeping statements about everyone else simply based on their incapability. There are a few -rare, but they exist - tailors that will make you a non-fused collar if you know where to look.

Apparently they are the only ones who do their suits in house from start to end, or used to anyway. Supposed to be amongst the best quality in town (buttonholes in particular), but I have yet to see one to judge for myself. I had a chat with them once, and their attitude was quite off putting - your typical old inflexible, know-it-all tailor who was reluctant to take instructions. I already had a good pattern with my current tailor at that point in time, so saw no point in spending time and energy to build another r/s.

Full canvas suits are the standard at my tailor FWIW..definitely not exceedingly rare like non-fused shirt collars by any chance.

Agreed. It takes time, effort & sometimes several suits to cultivate the relationship .

I'll probably need to have the jacket in the picture altered given my changed body shape.

I was put off by the tailor's attitude for the following reasons:-

1. He claimed that the lack of skilled labor made it virtually impossible to tailor non-fused collar shirts in HK or Singapore. This is clearly incorrect as my shirts from AC & David's from HK have non-fused collars.

2. Only one fitting was offered with the jacket closed to finish stage. The lack of labor in Singapore was cited as a reason . Your postings on Styleforum & the conversations I had with my other Singapore based friends indicate that this is not the case. I fail to understand how the perfect fit is going to be achieved when most high end tailors on the Row, Italy or HK require a minimum of 2 to 3 fittings. He didn't seem happy when I suggested an initial fitting at the basting stage. There was a Caucasian customer in his shop at the same time wearing one of their products , the lack of fitting was telling by the gape between the collar & the shirt.

3. The coup de grace' was the request to have patterns aligned at the lapels , shoulder and jettings. His response was no tailor matches patterns at the jettings & the most important matching is at the rear of the jacket with the collar & back. I had the sad duty to inform him that Andersen & Shepherd 's trademark is matching patterns at jettings.

I would probably give the place a miss despite his reputation .

BTW I have passed the unconstructed jacket to my friend who will probably make it his next project at Iris ( see my pictures on this several threads back ). He made a pair of cross over pants in Scabal cotton there too & seem relatively pleased.

My tailor even gives you a 'muslin' fitting where the jacket is first cut on scrap cloth and fitted first, to ensure there are no major errors before cutting your cloth. Very strange procedure these guys follow..perhaps because they are doing everything in house and want to cut down on extra work as much as possible.

Thanks for your report anyway - I am sure i do not want to try these guys now.

BTW - Iris' 'house style' so to speak is a structured cut with zero drape and very lean overall. The best I have got her to do is a quarter lined jacket for a friend, but because of the canvas weight she uses, it is still not extremely soft. She has done an unlined and uncanvassed heavy linen jacket for another friend though, and it turned out very nicely. More like a shirt jacket though, if that is what he is looking for.

In any case, your friend should bear in mind that he will be asking for something out of the norm from them and tweak his expectations accordingly..

Hi, I'm pretty new in the art of tailoring a suit but frankly I'm quite interested in getting tailor-made.
Firstly, do I have to bring my own material? lining etc? I've been reading links on gq, askmen and even forums here on lyn and some website say contrasting things. What i do know is the thread count, 120s, 130s, 150s correspond to the breathing/luxury/delicateness of the suit.
And so, does anyone recommend me a tailor/places i can get my material?
Tailors - Bespoke? ALT? Binwanis? As for the material, I'm pretty much clueless.
Could someone help me please? Or redirect me to the correct thread if I'm in the wrong one.

Thank you!

Yes it's similar to a shirt jacket. The sample I provided should provide your tailor with plenty of guidance on how to do one. The lack of structure means that the cut is critical .I may follow suit after my guinea pig successfully completes his jacket.

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Added on July 29, 2010, 11:53 amkotmj & gshen are the two sifus/gurus here. kotmj has kindly provided a short guideline in one of the above threads.
1. What is your purpose for tailoring the suit? Work, wedding , ?What sort of work?
2. What is your budget?
3. How fast do you need the suit?
4. What is your body shape & built? Height?
5. What type of suit/trousers do you like? Single breasted, double breasted, 3 piece?
6. What sort of fit/cut do you prefer?



It is generally cheaper to source your own fabrics as tailors tend to levy a mark up on the suits . Binwani's is currently having a sale & you may be able to pick up some bargains. Do think through some of the above before you shop for your fabrics.

This post has been edited by beau: Jul 29 2010, 11:53 AM

Sounds good. Recently there's been an influx of Big Timers bringing expensive jackets from A&S, Tom Ford etc for alterations at Iris. Great for small timers like me as my tailor picks up all the little tricks and applies them to future commissions!

The jacket certainly is very distinctive visually. The roped sleeveheads are something you will never find here; while I don't find myself actively lusting after them, I do find them very nice. Because of their rarity in these parts of the world, I can imagine most people noticing them.

The shoulders appear to be extended, something I want AL to do on my next jacket. However, I get the feeling they can only be extended if they are soft and droop a bit at the seam. AL's shoulders are still too stiff and built-up to allow any drooping.

The drape behind the armscye is generous, so arm mobility is guaranteed. The sleeves themselves are quite full, further aiding mobility. Few tailors understand the need for this over here.

The chest looks soft. The lapels have this typical Neapolitan concave belly.

I would say the jacket needs a good professional pressing.

Altogether a distinctive jacket will would make any good tailor here very curious.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jul 29 2010, 02:32 PM

Sounds positive. In the meantime I leave you with pictures of a shirt I made at Ascot Chang. It's a two ply 160's Alumo fabric and has a very nice & silky feel

1) Well, for functions. Balls, weddings, launchings, social events in general i'd say. The frequency of the functions, i'd say about once in a couple of months?
2) Mm, with the material and workmanship, assuming I purchase the material myself, 1.5k to 2k? Is that too much? The bottom line is that I dont want to stinge on the suit
3) I guess by the next event which is about in less than 60 days, give or take. Is that long enough?
4) haha, this part is tricky.. I'm about 173cm, pretty lanky if you ask me. 173cm @ 61kg so you can imagine.
5) Mm, probably a single breasted 3-piece as for the colour, i need some help w/ this. I'm not sure as to pick a brighter colour or to opt for a more traditional, dark colour
6) I went through some styles and I think british-type suits would fit me? not too bold yet chic.

Again, if there is further reading i could do cuz I'm honestly pretty interested in the topic. any redirection would be gladly appreciated.
If there is extra information I could supply please do ask! haha

Thanks again.

Buy yourself 3 meters of tropical wool/kid mohair/fresco in navy and have a tailor make a 2-piece suit.

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Added on July 29, 2010, 11:02 pmHave you read my article on the front page of the Men's Style & Fashion forum?

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jul 29 2010, 11:02 PM

I just reset the lapels of my suit. Now they have roll, baby.