That's a real shame.. Would make for a most exerent DB as beau mentioned.

I'm going to go with the sew-on hook and eyes instead of the usual clamp-ons from now on. The benefits are never-ending.

This post has been edited by bloke1: Sep 2 2010, 04:18 PM

BTW beau - I would not rush Iris with work. They probably can give you 2 fittings in a week, but that would not result in perfection.

If i were you, I'd aim for 1-2 muslin fittings and 2 fittings after the cloth is cut. That'd be 4 fittings, and you can space them out whenever you take the short trip down.

I think you'll be about 80-85% satisfied with the first commission this way, and maybe 60-70% satisfied if you were to have only 2 fittings.

If you drop by, let me know and I will be happy to arrange a small meetup with the local SF community. Some of them have experiences with Graham Browne, Chan, A&S and should make for good discussions.

The prices are ridiculously cheap too.

Go on ... make me feel like an ass for passing up the opportunity. It shall not happen again!

Thanks -These visitors are from the US & have commission work with WW Chan etc. I have enquired at AL who have indicated that he needs 1 month for a fully canvassed job. Not sure if his button holes are up to scratch yet but I'll defer judgement until I see Kotmj's latest effort. I still have one or two more tweaks to be made to the shirt I am having him make before I start on the pants.

The visitors will be in Singapore for 5 to 7 days . Would you think your tailor could fit in 4 fittings in that time frame?

I will give Iris a go when time permits. I usually make day trips to Singapore every 7 to 10 days & having numerous fittings would not be an issue if the timing works out.

Thanks for the offer for me to meet with members of the local SF community -Perhaps you should extend that invitation to my friend as he lives there & probably is better placed to meet up when he is not traveling.


BTW I recently accompanied my friend to Sze Sze Tailor at Hong Lim Centre who spoke proudly of his suit factory . Your suspicions about him is not far from the truth.

Another friend took me to a specialist trouser maker near Lavander MRT. This person made a reasonable copy of a Ambrosi pants for SIN$45 excluding fabric. Comes with the 8 button fly as well. May give that a try when I am next in Singapore.

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Added on September 2, 2010, 4:48 pmIt will probably come your way again but you need to be quick with the mouse.

By way of comparison, a friend recently made a suit in Escorial for around USD$8,000 at his tailor in New York. His usual Zegna fabric suits from the same tailor goes for around USD$2000 to $3,000 . It's unusual to find Escorial in stripes or patterns too. Given the high prices it now commands , it's the plain cloths in solid colors that are usually the norm.

This post has been edited by beau: Sep 2 2010, 04:48 PM

4 fittings? No chance.. If they are used to Chan's work, might as well just reorder from them if the fit is well dialed-in?

Not recommended to do a rush job in 5-7 days, and I'm sure you don't want your american friends to be unhappy with the work. Also, unless they have their own fabrics, the only things cloths in stock on the island are VBC, some H&S, and some Zegna. The SF approved stuff is not stocked, as is the case with Chan.

Do not have your friend's contact, but we are always happy to meet up with like-minded people.

I think the beauty of Ambrosi's lies in the handwork, and if it is the same Lavender guy I'm thinking of, there is absolutely no handwork involved. Fit is another issue, and most competent tailors would be able to make you a reasonable copy anyways!

Talking about old Malaysian tailoring, here are some pics I've posted before of jackets made for my uncle who's about 60+ years old now. They were made by his wife's brother who left his small hometown for Singapore to learn the trade before returning to his small town to settle down. They were made in the 1980s. I call him GDT for Great Deceased Tailor for he died a few years back.

He had a few apprentices, and one of them has his own shop in that very town still. He is the most famous tailor in that town. I tried contacting him the last time I was there but he was closed.

The two suits now belong to me. One is a grey POW with sky blue overcheck and the other a brown Scabal 120s.







The waistcoat

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Added on September 2, 2010, 7:58 pmThe Scabal suit





Backward slanting shoulder seam




This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 2 2010, 07:58 PM

Got this pic from TOPMAN website. Planning on purchasing it.
Yes its a skinny fit blazer.
Planning to use it more on smart casual wear, with jeans on than to formal. Or its only meant for formal wear the design?
Cause theres grey pipings on the edge so i assume it goes well with casual.

I've actually packed the POW in my suitcase to bring with me on my month long business trip. It's the most comfortable suit I own, it's soft and roomy. I am trying to recreate the feel of this in my DB.

Properly made suits can be handed down and worn with much pleasure.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 2 2010, 08:12 PM

Thanks for the info.

I was trying to dispel the myth that Singapore is not bereft of good tailoring but it's probably best not to rush things .
Your mutual tailor has his contact details & he probably needs to visit soon for his initial baste fitting or muslin fittings.It's difficult for me unless I'm staying overnight as I need to catch a flight back to KL after my meetings.

It's interesting to see tailors still practicing this as many move straight to the baste stage.Indeed, the better tailors on the Row would only do a muslin fitting if the fabric is extremely expensive .

It appears that the choice of fabrics is extremely limited in Singapore as compared to KL which surprises me. I went to a shop in Arab street which stocks mainly designer fabrics . I am somewhat doubtful of the quality of these designer fabrics given the fact that Valentino & Gianfranco Ferre doesn't own mills & probably charge a substantial mark up for the use of their brand. There doesn't seem to be much choice apart from Hwa Seng in Singapore.

I agree that Ambrosi's handwork is great but I personally prefer the stress points of a suit or trousers to be machined first for strength with pick stitching over the joints.

The old man at Lavender did some handwork on the pocket seams & fly for another friend but the button holes were machined made-he didn't seem confident to be able to replicate the raised buttonholes in the same manner as Ambrosi.

There is a bit more than just copying an Ambrosi pants as there is a lot of internal parts such as curtained waist & extra fastenings which go into making the trousers comfortable as well as looking smart.

Another friend recommended Kevin Seah at Red Dot Building for shirts & a relative swears by Justmens in Tanglin shopping centre.

I am not able to comment on Kevin Seah as I have not seen any of his product but the jacket my relative made at Justman's seem to be well constructed, fully canvassed & has reasonably nice button holes & finish. However the price he quoted at several thousand SIN seems to be very high for a run of the mill basic wool fabric.

Any thoughts you have on this would be appreciated.

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Added on September 2, 2010, 9:56 pmIt really depends on how long you wish to wear this for. If you lose the grey piping & keep it classical & simple , you will probably get more wear out of it in both instances, formal & casual.

If you've looked at old wedding photos where the groom wears platform shoes & a 3 piece white suit versus those who are classically attired, you will note that the ones which are classically dress attract less mirth & looks of derision .

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Added on September 2, 2010, 10:02 pm[quote=kotmj,Sep 2 2010, 07:25 PM]
Talking about old Malaysian tailoring, here are some pics I've posted before of jackets made for my uncle who's about 60+ years old now. They were made by his wife's brother who left his small hometown for Singapore to learn the trade before returning to his small town to settle down. They were made in the 1980s. I call him GDT for Great Deceased Tailor for he died a few years back.

He had a few apprentices, and one of them has his own shop in that very town still. He is the most famous tailor in that town. I tried contacting him the last time I was there but he was closed.

The two suits now belong to me. One is a grey POW with sky blue overcheck and the other a brown Scabal 120s.

Yes I saw that in your earlier postings. Goes to prove the adage that they don't make things like they used to. My dad has an old fully canvassed 30 year old suit made in an English fabric which he is still wearing & has aged well. It was difficult to believe that we had the ability to create such works of art then .

This post has been edited by beau: Sep 2 2010, 10:02 PM

Yeah, I was quite surprised when I first went to them for my muslin fitting, but learnt later that this the old skool way they were taught to do things. Good on them for not taking every opportunity to cut costs and focus on getting things right IMO. From my understanding, very few tailors these days do a muslin fitting as it adds substantially to costs. You know, the fabric they use in the fittings are actually leftovers from 20+ years ago. My most muslin fitting was done in a Harrison's super 100s fabric! It was a greenish blue with turquoise stripes, which explains why it didnt sell very well.

Well yeah, I guess Malaysia has a stronger home-sewing market which means there is more retail opportunity. The same cannot be said of Singapore, so the suiting business is mostly B2B.

TBH I have yet to see a pair of Ambrosis, but my friend who owns one doesn't think it to be that big a deal. Quite interesting that the old man took up the task to copy it, actually.

Kevin Seah has loads of fabrics, but I have no comments on quality. Justmen's is one of the older names and they are the same family as Kingsmen and Rossi if I remember correctly. No idea what the quality is like, but likely factory made.

That used to be the case with many Row suits handed down from generation to generation ( thus giving the English gentry an old money look ) However , unless one specifically requests for extra allowances, today's tailors will not provide for this.

Further , the old vintage fabrics were sturdier & took time to soften out unlike today's consumer who wants an instantly soft suit which the Italians have cleverly pandered to.

Something has to give and in this case longevity is swept aside for progress!!

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Added on September 2, 2010, 10:20 pmMy friend was pleasantly surprised too. Very few tailors do this even on the Row and only upon special requests or where the fabric bespoken for is extremely expensive ( eg Vicuna )

I made a pair of Ambrosis sometime time back. They were not very expensive ( around USD$500 to $600 ) given the quality of the handwork. They are cut sleeker than most the the trousers on the Row but is not necessarily more comfortable. There are plus & minuses to having this much handwork. It needs to be sent to a good dry cleaner. Fortunately Jeeves has two outlets in KL that provides dry cleaning at a premium.

I thought that my relative should have used WW Chan given the costs Justmen charged him . The finish was good but not to the same standards as WW.

This post has been edited by beau: Sep 2 2010, 10:20 PM

How much does a dry clean cost at Jeeves? Do they do sponge and press as well?

Can't remember. Will have to revert to you after the weekend when I collect my cleaning from there. The good thing is the clothes come back with no strong chemical smell but at a substantial premium as compared to the generic ones .

Have you heard of this method of refreshing a coat called "sponge and press"?

I have used a generic DC and I asked for no fragrance. They obliged. I also asked them to use a pressing cloth while pressing to avoid the wool taking on a sheen. They too obliged, but the result was an underpressed garment that AL had to touch up for me.

Before dry-cleaning was invented every gentleman has a valet to do sponge and press on their suits. In fact, that is the only service ever needed.

This is the first time I've heard of this.

I use a garment steamer & send my suits in when they are soiled after a trip or from heavy use.

Holy guacamole, which amongst you have a jacket you can move like this in? (That's Mahon, BTW.)

No need to as most of us are not in the trade.

Thomas Mahon is an alumus of A & S.

A & S is not only famous for the drape look but made jackets with impossibly high arm holes which enable Fred Astaire to dance & move easily in formal attire.

Having said this , I don't like the way A & S does its back with rear gathered sleeves as compared to a clean back & the Italians who masterfully hide the excess materials in the lower part of the arm syce.

To Thomas Mahon's credit, the back of his jackets are cleaner than the A & S variety ( at least on the ones I have seen ) & easy to work with , down to earth & generally open to new ideas .

The only negative is the time it takes to get something made as he is constantly traveling . I have not used him & the feedback is based on information from colleagues & friends who have . I would be tempted to if I decide to return to something English.