HK Tailor
 

Hi all,

I will be visiting Hong Kong for a couple of days next month. Just a query, how long does it generally take for custom garments made at a tailor to be finished. Who do you recommend?

Cheers

The days of a suit being made in 24-hours are gone, despite what the Indian guys handing out brochures at the Star Ferry will tell you. For suits, you need at least one fitting, much better with two. For shirts, you need at least one fitting. For ladies dresses, you need at least 2 fittings. So if you are visiting for only a few days, make sure your tailor is the first stop on your itinerary.

Some tailors will have a posted price list, but you can bargain, esp if you are ordering a large number of pieces. SARS really affected the economy and even established tailors with more "fixed" prices are willing to bargain. Custom work and copying from pictures or your existing clothing will cost you more than using one of their designs. Do some serious shopping before you leave so you know whether what you are being offered is a bargain. All things considered, I don't know how cheap Hong Kong tailors really are anymore. I think for men's shirts and maybe very simple women's shirts and skirts they are probably a good deal. Nothing is really cheap in Hong Kong anymore and you get what you pay for. To me the advantage of a tailor is be able to choose the fabric, using a good quality fabric or a luxury fabric like cashmere and getting a custom fit; none of which is cheap nor should it be. If you want seriously cheap tailoring, you need to go over the border to Guangzhou, but a warning: you will get what you pay for, i.e. cheap tailoring. If the following places are on your itinerary, you can probably find cheaper tailors there: Bangkok, Ho Chi Min City, possibly Beijing.

In Hong Kong, it would be advisable to make an appointment, eps with better tailors. You won't be rushed or pushed aside for other people coming in. In my experience, they all speak English; it would be most unusual to find a tailor catering to Western tourists who does not. The level of English in Hong Kong is generally excellent.

I can recco two tailors. The first are great for men's suits and suits and I think they are good for women's skirts and pants, the second are primarily for women's tailoring only, esp cocktail and formal dresses but they will do men I believe if you also order women's tailoring as well:

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

Margaret Court Tailoress
Flat G, 8th Floor
Block A Winner Building
27-37 D'Aguilar Street
Central Hong Kong
tel: 852-2525-5596
fax: 852-2537-0898
http://www.margaret-court.com.hk/
e-mail: [email protected]

Maxwell's is located in Kowloon, a few blocks away from the Star Ferry pier. Maxwell's has been in business for many years. Once they have your measurements you can order on-line and they will mail you finished garments. They have an astonishing array of fabrics. Margaret Court is located on Hong Kong island in the Lan Kwai Fong bar/restaurant area. I just stared using her this year based on reccos from friends, and I have been very happy with some cocktail dresses she has made for me, about $175 each for very nice duponi silk dresses. She and Maxwells can design from scratch, from a drawing and also have patterns. I would call or e-mail ahead and make an appointment for both tailors.

I'll add to this since I used two tailors in HK and one in Guangzhou just recently.

I had one tailor do a suit with two trousers and 3 shirts in under 24 hours. I had anotehr tailor do trousers and 3 shirts in about 15 hours (o/n). I do believe that you can get anyhting made within 24 hours and the cheaper it is the quicker they can make it for you.

Prices are not real keen anymore thats for sure and agree with the benefits of custom tailoring.

there are 2500 tailors in HK apparently which is easy to believe. Therefore bargain bargain bargain and don;t be afraid to walk out. In fact even do that a few times so you get a good feel for what you want to pay before you choose the tailor you want to use.

OH.. you need to understand this...
The "tailors" on the street will talk to you as if they are the tailor that will make your clothes eg "come and look at MY fabrics", "I am a very experienced tailor" etc etc, then they bring you to the shop and then introduce you to the "tailor" in the store who will talk as if he is going to make it for you. However, if you make the order and come back for the fitting then you'll see that the actual tailor is probably an old chinese guy who only speak cantonese so the tailor in the shop will probably translate any adjustments you want to him for you.

My assumption is that they probably pay the old man a flat rate of not too much and then they make a fair profit off the top because the prices are comparatively high. Therefore bargain, as much as you dare.

Having said that the advanatage of paying the higher prices compared to something about 1/3 of the price in Guangzhou is twofold 1) one stop shopping - these tailors provide all the materials and everything you need in their shop whereas in Guangzhou you buy each item separately and then find a tailor to put it all together (you can find the tailor first who will help you go from shop to shop). 2) style - my presumption is that even though its still a chinese man you may be more likely to get western styles instead of chinese styles.

This last benefit may be negated if you know exactly what you want, how you want it and there is a picture and/or a pattern to get it done that way.


OH, you can get a garment done in like less than 6 hours but there will be no time for a fitting. Get a tailor who will get you to come back for a fitting and expect anything up to 24hours.

Most tailors will be up to the job so i'm not sure that a recommendation is really beneficial rather check out a few and go with one you fee comfortable with.

Check out OM Custom Tailors www.omtailors.com I have all my suits & shirts made by them.
Takes them abt 2 days to complete including fitting.
Cheers!

I also agree 100% you'll need at least 1 fitting for men's suits or shirts, 2 for women's suits/dresses or if you have different body conteuring or dealing with expensive materials. Would take probably at least 2-3 days if you're after the perfect fit.

I've used David's Shirts (go to their store on Kimberly St in Kowloon for better fabric selections), and Mode Elegante (on the mezzanine floor of the Penninsula Hotel). It's been a while since I got suits tailored at ME but they do an excellent job on women's tailored suits, great fabric selections (though the partners split since then, I heard).

The cost depends greatly on materials used. My husband bargained a tad too much with a different tailor, got reasonable deal but the tailor must have used cheaper lining and buttons as the suit looked less pristine after 4-5 dry cleanings.

All the tailors should be able to come to your hotel for the fitting after store hours. They can also promise to send you the finished garment, though I won't recommend just in case the fit is not right, and also for potential custom taxes (esp for UK).