Sartorial Indulgences

Hong Kong Bespoke:
Tailoring is somewhat of an institution in Hong Kong. By my off the wall guess, there are over a thousand tailors here. They have recieved something of a cult-like following among visitors from the west. If you google "Hong Kong tailors" you will find Internet forums dedicated to bespoke suiting in Hong Kong. Patrons from Sussex to San Francisco vehemently debate who is the best tailor in Tsim Tsa Tsui, and whether the Indian Tailor's can match the Hong Kong Tailor's skills. Oddly, it is difficult to find any thorough explanation of how tailoring became the institution that it is. After a hasty search, I was able to find multiple explanations (with questionable origins) including that the Russian Jewish Tailors left Czarist Russia at the time of the revolution, going East, then South, finally making their way to Shanghai, where they taught the locals, who in turn provided services for the English, French and Germans who populated Shanghai at the time. Eventually, these tailors fled China during the communist revolution in China (I'm sensing a theme - Communists don't like nice clothes). Another explanation holds that the trade started in Shanghai at the turn of the century when the aforementioned foreign devils were inhabiting the Central Kingdom. They were taught by the British, and many of them left for Hong Kong in the tumultuous times in the 1930's and 1940's. I propose yet another version. Perhaps, Marco Polo, the Italian explorer and avante-garde fashion extraordinaire brought the trade over the Silk road.
Whatever the origin, tailors in Hong Kong have serviced the locals and the visiting westerners for generations. Their quality of work rivals that of the legendary tailors of London's Saville Row, and the (once) at a fraction of the cost. The tradition remains today, and tailors are a dime a dozen. I decided to indulge my sartorial desires and visit one of said tailors. Given that I will be here for some time still, I decided to start small and have a couple shirts made so I could give the experience a test run. Last week, after some research I visited Ricky of Jantzen Tailor. I walked into a busy shop on a Saturday afternoon, and passed by a rack of sample shirts, with a wide selection of collars and cuffs (detached from shirts) on the shelf. I quickly learned that service was not what I was paying for, as I was told "the fabric is over there." I was left to sift through hundreds of swaths of fabric. Fortunately for me, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted and I enjoyed the experience of picking through my options. After picking fabrics, I had the option to chose cuffs, collars, button styles etc. Once again, the staff who were "assisting" me were not of much help. I took the reigns and told them some of the small changes that I wanted: make the collar and cuffs a half inch smaller, put a special lining on the inside of the cuffs and collar etc. They will do anything you want, but they were not very forthcoming with what my options were. On Monday, I went back in to pick up my shirts and was pleased. For $40 (US) a piece, I got custom made shirts that fit well and have little personalized touches that make them my own.









I found out how french cuffs are supposed to fit. Every shirt I have with french cuffs is slightly uncomfortable because they are far two big. By having them fit the cuffs to my wrist and having them made slightly smaller, they fit great and are look much sharper. In the end I bought three shirts. There is a good chance I get a few more before I go home.