Heard of these tailors HK? any good?
 

I apologise in advance that this is yet another tailors question.
We are staying at The Peninsula early Jan and the BF would like to have a dinner suit made. As we are short on time (flying in Wed afternoon leave sat morning) i thought it would be better to go to a tailors located near the hotel .The concierge have suggested these names (all in the pen arcade)
B Chemo, Jimmy Chen, Ascot Chang.
Has anyone any exeprience with these, would you recommend?

Appreciate you advice

Thanks
Smeagol

Ascot Chang has been around a long time and has a good reputation. I don't know the others, in general the shops in the Penn are of good quality. Make an appointment now (have the concierge do it) and go first thing for measurements. He really needs 2 fittings and if he could have 3 this may be better.

Have you done comparison shopping at home for prices, I am not at all sure that you will find these tailors to be cheaper than off the rack at home and may indeed find them to be more expensive. You will get some good tailoring, and may get better materials, but you won't get a bargain price IMO. There is nothing wrong with paying for good quality tailoring and good quality materials (that is the only reason I have things made here, otherwise I buy off the rack), but don't spend your limited time here thinking you can get a £2,500 Saville Row suit for £250. Not possible. For really good quality tailoring and materials, which is possible here, you won't pay that much less than you would at home, IMO, esp if you only have 3 days.

Anotyher tailor that is nearby and also has a good rep but is not bound to be much cheaper (but at least is not right IN the Penn) is below:

Maxwell's Clothiers Ltd.
7A Han Hing Mansion
38-40 Hankow Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
website: maxwellsclothiers.com
e-mail: [email protected]
tel 852-2366-6705
fax: 852-2366-6658

All of the tailors listed have good reputations. I can also attest to top quality suits from WW Chan, a 5-minute walk from the Peninsula.

However, time is a major issue. You must certainly contact a tailor before you leave and set up a schedule. The better tailors in HK will not take shortcuts in quality, and some of those on your list may not be able to meet your schedule demands. If you can't find a top-tier tailor, you could try one of the second-tier shops nearby (Sam's or Ash Samtani, for example). Their standards are not (nearly) as high as WW Chan or Ascot Chang, and they'd be much more likely to put together a suit in less time. Obviously, the quality (and price) will be lower.

nikki---my HK tailor is Alan Tom..i can't find his card but his shop is near to the renaissance hotel across and up the street from the Penn....

thanks for the replys
can anyone give me an indication of how much a made to measure suit will costs (i realise that it depends on material etc ) but just a ball park figure

its about as much as a new jag or porche---the non leather versions...

Cost depends on the quality of tailor and the quality of fabric.

2 years ago, a suit from a top-tier tailor (WW Chan, Ascot Chang) would run around $1000-1200, while a suit from a mid-tier tailor would be about 2/3 that price.

US$1,000 is about £500, and I think that Ascot Chan quote above is still currently accurate, based on an entirely unscientific poll I have taken of a few men friends and colleagues here. You can probably get suits made for about £300 at some other places outside the Penn, but quality will not be as good, and materials will not be either. (And it will only include one pari of trousers, not two as you may get at better tailors.) At Maxwell's, I believe the price will be about 10%-20% less than Ascot Chang depending on materials.

Ascot Chang is top of the line .Been around forever.Famous also for beautiful shirts . Others can be a lot cheaper but will not be true bespoke tailoring eg Sams but will make perfectly serviceable suit for half that price or less