So....

It turns out the FC sifu moved house this week and my DB will be finished Sunday afternoon earliest ... which is a major problem because I leave on Saturday night. So the jacket will be couriered to my hotel. I did take delivery of the trousers.

I saw the stack of pictures beau gave AL. "Your friend," he said. AL held up a pic of a front placket buttonhole. Then another of a sleeve placket. Then another of a collar.

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Added on September 3, 2010, 10:23 pmAlso, I've never seen so many jackets in his shop before. There were like a dozen hanging around and on the mannequins. During the early phak-woo-ying days there would be two at most. Sometimes none.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 3 2010, 10:23 PM

I have no trouble ordering & conversing in Cantonese but do not possess the same fluency or knowledge when it comes to tailoring terms . Pictures & samples make it easier to drive home the point to AL.

He has a tendency of first refusing your request -( Mm zhou tak !! ) before he accedes to the customer's request. The negotiation kicks in , a few points conceded , consensus reached etc. By way of an example , he told me that you cannot have a split yoke with matched patterns on the shoulders & sleeves when I showed him a picture until I took out an actual sample from a HK shirtmaker. By the time I graduate to commissioning a full suit , I might as well negotiate peace between the Palestinians & Isreal!!

We should thank you for softening him. When I first came in , he was extolling the evils of a fully canvassed soft suit ( Mm how, how fai chow !! Mm leng etc.. ). The DB he made might as well be his new born son the way he beams at it!!

The FC sifu hasn't upgraded to a Kenny Hills Bungalow on your account?

BTW , he used the wrong button on the sleeve placket ( 16 L instead of 14 L ) Having said that, the shirt is 75 to 80% there & I feel confident that we should come close to a good mix between an Italian shirt with the shank thicker buttons & an English Jermyn Street Shirt.

We'll torture him with an Ambrosi like pants next & remind him that most of us do not plan to use it as riding breeches & wish to retain our high sperm count when wearing our pants!!

How do you say "Curtain waist band " in Cantonese?

You may wish to obtain a quote directly from Jeeves for your "clean & press" . The quote I received was from RM$22 onwards, depending on the condition of your garment.

LOL, you sure can be funny. Kenny Hills? I negotiated a rather lean price, and when later I said I wanted "pin point stitch" (his terminology for pick stitching), he said he was making a loss on the suit. "Sik pun geh!" I then voluntarily added RM50 to the amount I was willing to pay.

My navy fishtail comes with a waistband curtain. It is not anywhere as well executed as on Zuperpent or Zuperpent+ (but then few trousers come close to these). His trousermaker lacks experience making them. I don't know the term in Cantonese -- I had Zuperpent+ with me at that time.

He used 3.5mm thick plastic buttons on one of my shirts. 16L on the front, 14L in the sleeve plackets. In fact, his brother came up from the galleys to show me the smaller buttons. "See, they are smaller." I said, "indeed they are" while nodding.

BTW you should ask them to soak the finished collar interlining before sewing. The collar interlining is a composite of cotton muslin bonded to a fusible then inserted into the collar, and they should soak the composite. I am planning to have him make enough composite for 10 shirts then bringing them home with me and laundering them several times before giving them back to him.

Also ask for the entire canvassing (in a jacket) to be soaked before making up. Ask him to perform the shrink test on your fabric before making up.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 4 2010, 03:31 AM

Quick poll ladies - which to get first?

1) Blue silk/linen/wool to be made as notch lapel ~8oz, 2B, 3 patch with side vents.



2) Sage/tan herringbone with burgundy/brown overcheck ~10oz to be made as notch lapel, 1B, hacking+ticket pockets, side vents.



Both will be quarter lined, soft and squishy.

FWIW I have the following odd jackets: a navy linen blazersuit, a brown with blue overcheck jacket (3patch), tan cotton jacket, and not that it matters, but also a tweed jacket.

TBH I am already 80% sure I have decided, but would like to hear some thoughts anyway!

Perhaps the downpayment on a Kenny Hills bungalow with the rest of us helping him finance the installments .

BTW you may wish to re consider sending the jacket . It may be subject to VAT & enrich Herr Taxmeister.

There is a specialist trouser maker in Singapore which did a reasonable copy of an Ambrosi ( sans the handwork ) at very reasonable prices for a friend of mine. ( SIN$40 for labor, $80 to $100 SIN for house cloth , VBC I think ). I'm due to collect something from him mid month & will report back if the results are satisfactory.

I'm toying with the idea of having him pick stitch the pockets & seams after he has machine sewed them for added strength.

AL claims to pre-soak the fabric . From the looks of the two shirts I've made , it would appear that the shirt was laundered . The collars & cuffs were not fused & AL made provisions for collar bones should I need to use the shirt for work.

The collars are fine & seems to be a close duplicate of the ones from Hilditch & Key with much softer lining.The issue is the availability of good lining locally. HST sells reasonably good ones at their usual premium prices .

Having recently dissected an old Italian made shirt, I realize the reason behind the structure behind the collars is not only in the superb cut & tailoring but the soft hemp lining they use.

I was informed that these items are available in Sham Shui Po ,Hong Kong along Tai Po/Cheung Sha Wan Road.
It may be good to have a look there when time permits.

Please do tell if you manage to find the lining. I'd definitely be interested in a good supply of that stuff.

Gshen,

Here's my two cents worth :-

1. Fabric 1 to be made into a suit
2. Fabric 2 to be made into a jacket, preferable a hacking or Norfolk style jacket.

Any details available on the manufacture? Let us know what you decide on & post pictures of the items in question.

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Added on September 4, 2010, 12:10 pmSure. The other source will be from a friend's factory in Shenzen. Their family does contract manufacturing for some of the high end house & much of the linings etc are often bought in from Italy in the initial stages until they are able to source it locally in China.

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Added on September 4, 2010, 12:13 pmGood point you made about the increase in the number of jackets in ALT.
1. They all seem to be in the same color & shade ( ie Navy )
2. Some commissions are more successful than other. There was even a SB 2 button jacket with a nice generous lapel roll made for a very large gentleman.

This post has been edited by beau: Sep 4 2010, 12:13 PM

Unfortunately there is only enough of fabric 1 for a jacket. If you felt the softness and limpness of this cloth, you'd surely agree it's jacketing rather than suiting too. The donegal-like flecks also add to the casual nature.

Fabric 1 is by Reid & Taylor, old stuff when they were still producing good stuff back in Scotland. I understand most of their shit is made in India these days. Weave is 50% silk, 35% wool, 15% linen. Or something like that.

Fabric 2 is by Dugdale Bros. I bought this stuff when i visited the factory in Huddersfield last year..unfortunately they had some production problems with this range and it did not even make it to be sent out as swatch books. Just a non-supers worsted wool, with a tweed-like pattern. Very nice drape though. Couldn't decide what to do with this, but I recently tried on my friend's hacking jacket in the same config mentioned, and I like it very much.

Did not want to post the manufacture as both are impossible to get hold of now. But since you asked..

#1 because it's more exotic.

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Added on September 4, 2010, 3:00 pmJesus, this DB story is getting impossible. I'll have to think of something within the next couple of hours.

Sure he pre-soaks the muslin, but the first non-fused shirt he made for me has no shrinkage while the others that followed did. He also used a stiffer fusing in the later shirts but I have given him immediate feedback that cardboard collars defeat the purpose of no fusing. "Soft and floppy" is the message you should get across each time till it is drummed in.

There are 3 avenues how he can improve his shirts still:

1) Reset buttonholing machine for shirts

He uses a middle setting that allows him to use it for both trouser buttonholes and shirt buttonholes. When I asked him to set it to the finest setting for my shirts, he sort of changed topic.

2) Use #220 thread

Like everyone else he uses #100 or #120, but I will try to source some #220 for my own shirts.

3) Further increase stitch density

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Added on September 4, 2010, 4:06 pmSince I'm not a national of the Fatherland, can I not ask for a refund of the VAT?

This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 4 2010, 04:06 PM

Good buy-Fabric 1 looks similar to Carlo Barbera . The new stuff coming out from their India factory is unimpressive but I'm sure they will overcome this in due course.

Holy Awesomeness i did not know of this thread...

Anyway i only have a prada suit, and have been wearing it for interviews, presentations, and even meetings, and damm it makes the managers go gob-smack-smirkel in the meetings.

Totally awesome, and btw Oct 13 is International Suit Up day.

There are several options available to you:-

1. Take the risk & have the item declared as a "sample" , "gift" or personal effects. In all likelihood , you may get away but on the off chance they open the package for inspection , you may either have to pay a hefty fine on top of the duties & VAT levied or risk having the item impounded.

2. Declare the full correct value & ask for a waiver by explaining that you purchase it for this trip etc.

The Fatherland follows a civil system so intent & purpose is irrelevant if you are in breach. By way of an example, we were caught for a traffic violation . Out came the Polizei with his hand held automatic summons book & fines were paid on the spot with a credit card & receipt issued. No discussions , no negotiations unlike Bolehland where "yau tak keng " & "kau thim" is the norm.


The collars AL makes for me is extremely soft so there's no complaints there. A little bit more structure would enable the collar to roll & sit better.

There seems to be finer stitching on the collars than the rest of the body. I'll probably need to work on the stitch density & threads on my next commission.

Unlike my previous commission where I gave him unfettered access to my buttons, I've limited the supply to precisely the amount he requires for the shirt & reminded him to use the 14L buttons on the sleeve gauntlet.

The plus point is the fabrics I have passed to him were purchased at a steep discount at an outlet so the pain threshold is still bearable.

Have a good trip to the Fatherland, warp up warm & have fun.

Apparently if the tailor declares it as a personal gift I pay nothing. But it's only valid if the country of origin is in SE Asia.

http://www.stilmagazin.com/forum/lounge/24...eutschland.html

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Added on September 4, 2010, 5:17 pmAre you one of those who carry your jacket in a suit bag into the conference room and remove it from the bag a few minutes before you are to present something?

This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 4 2010, 05:19 PM

VAT refund only works if you purchase from certain shops in the EC & bring the stuff out of the country.

Just make sure you keep receipts as evidence of proof of purchase , your return flight & inform them of your intent to bring the item out of the EC when you leave.

Nope, i wear it from the house, into the car, to the conference/training room, and into the bar after the training, but it pays to look good in front of people for the right occasion.
Also always thought the prada looked the best when compared to other brands, so i got it. and its the only suit i have to date.

This post has been edited by VinluV: Sep 4 2010, 06:29 PM

Who's the maker of your prada suit? Belvest or Cantarelli?

Oh, OK. Is it a black suit?

I'm not a big fan of designer products as I don't believe in paying high markups & marketing costs. However I am always open to new looks & designs . Please share pictures of the suit in question & we'll be happy to provide feedback

Thanks for sharing folks - I finally decided to go for #2 first to add a bit more variety to my wardrobe, but #1 will be the next project for sure.

Some vintage kimono fabric is going to be used by lining the shoulders and piping the exposed seams (quarter-lined) as well as under the pocket flaps.

Very eggciting.

Sounds like an interesting choice. We look forward to viewing the pictures in due course.