I've started my wardrobe revamp (only those that I wear out, of course) around October 2012. For that, I've been primarily visiting two places: A tailor (Dylan and Son Sartorial) and a alterations tailor (Meng Yee Alterations). Both are indeed very good at the services they ply. A little background information before I get back on track with the topic in the title.
Through Meng Yee, I have altered my Calvin Klein suit, Hugo Boss pants, several Feraud, JAG and Espirt shirts. I also commissioned a waistcoat from a heavy cashmere-wool blend. It turned out very very nice. A little traditional-looking but really fine fitting. I wore it between a shirt (100% cotton) and winter jacket (from Comme Ca Commune, 100% wool) and it came me pretty warm on most days in Switzerland where I was away for work). On the colder days, I would have a 100% cashmere sweater (from ColdWear) extra. Pretty good.
And so, all went well. Until I decided to commission a new shirt that is. This happened after a few shirts from Dylan actually. Wasn't that experienced then and didn't speak out. The collar was just wrong, sleeves too long, armhole too big (MAJOR issue to me as OTR shirts available here have this problem on me), sleeves a little too long and overall the fit wasn't quite as nice as Dylan. It was of course less than half-price of a regular shirt from Dylan's. The uncle is very accommodating but I don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to give instructions (then) to get what I wanted. C'est la vie. Went back a few times after that for some other shirts' alterations and was also quoted for a suit. I will... consider.
On to Dylan, I have commissioned 1 Soktas FastForward virgin white Indus shirt with black mother of pearl buttons, 2 basic Oxford button-downs (OCBD). one casual Inizio checked pale/bright pink shirt, wool-blend navy trousers for work, Inizio Egyptian cotton skyblue pair of pants and a pair of wool-blend grey/brown trousers. The very first piece came out in perfect size. No alteration was needed. Besides the last piece which I got them to change cos they got the length wrong, everything was made very nicely in Dylan's house-cut which is slim (my cuppa). BUT, as anyone who may have at least asked around would know, Dylan is by no means cheap. Of course you pay for the quality, but at Dylan's I feel that I am paying more for the rent (in Lau Pa Sat) and the "exclusiveness" that comes with marked up prices.
Now, this leads me to one of the reasons that eventually brought me to The Good Tailor (yes, it's really the name of a tailor shop). Why pay? Somewhat in the business of selling stuff myself (though, very different stuff), this isn't a very difficult question to answer. There are of course several things one could cite. However, how many of those are actually tangible? And how many of those tangible ones can actually be not repeated and to what degree? Being the choosy cost-cutting engineer that I am, I had to look for someone else besides Dylan.
This post is getting draggy so I'll try to list out the points in bulleted style.
First impressions of TGT online:
1. Nice fair range of good fabric
2. Not much to talk about with regards to showcasing (which Dylan is very good at) so I wasn't sure about their house-cut and styling
3. Friendly and helpful comments on local forum
4. Reasonable online prices
5. Promotion on VBC 110s and 120s (main attraction to me)
Impressions of TGT offline:
1. (Through the phone) Bright and welcoming
2. ULU (local term for out-of-the-way)
3. Shop space is LARGE compared to Dylan's
4. Spartan furnishing but accommodating and welcoming enough
5. Nice environment to sit down (can only stand at Dylan's) and look through the fabrics
6. Several commissioned pieces on display (most of which I didn't like)
7. Good business (it was Saturday)
8. Andy and Aldwin were very patient, open to listening and gave many suggestions
9. No house cut
10. Customer base seem to be a tad younger than Dylan's (perhaps with less money to throw around?)
11. Customization is aplenty
12. No credit card payment (yet). This might actually be a good thing for me
13. Andy thinks I look good in pink (wore the Inizio pink shirt from Dylan's and I agree but that's kinda off-topic
Anyways, I settled with a Grandi & Rubinelli patterned pale purple shirting from their Nobel range. I can't name the pattern unfortunately. It's a cross between checks and dots at a very minute level. Anything but the Gingham checks. Those things are everywhere...
For the pants, I went with a VBC 120s. Again, the pattern is difficult for me to describe. This set of clothes are more "new year clothes" anyways and I am making them in casual styling. As Andy commented, it's a "big step" for me. I'm a little worried about my choice but yet I'm quite assured as I had many a opinion from Andy to help. It will be 2 weeks before I get my clothes. I will update again when I do.
