Made in China

Mr. Rover · Apr 11, 2007

This is one of the two suits I had made in Shanghai for about $80 each.
The tailor did a pretty good job overall, but there are just a few things that are throwing it off from being perfect.

This is a medium-weight double breasted blue suit.

High armholes

This was originally intended to be a 6x2, but he placed the middle buttons so high I had him remove the top buttons.

It looks a little better fastened at the lower button ala POW.

My internet is a little screwy so I'll post more detailed pictures later.

DiabolicalAngel · Apr 11, 2007

Very sharp indeed! For eighty bucks you can't go wrong! Nice suit! I like your style!! Kinda reminds me of my family old pics when my Grandfather was in Shanghai in the 20's armed with a Mauser broomhandle pistol and a big cigar!

Mr. Rover · Apr 11, 2007

Thanks, DA! I wish I had lived in Shanghai in the 20s! It must've been boomin'!
You can't really get perfection on the first suit with most tailors...they all have their own little quirks. Atleast I have a suit that I can dirty up at parties or in the park now...the other tailored stuff is too expensive and vintage is too sentimentally valuable. :eusa_clap

WEEGEE · Apr 11, 2007

Fit

To my eye that is a great fit! Eighty Dollars of WOW!!!

Did the tailor include buttons for braces ?

Hemingway Jones · Apr 11, 2007

The best spent $80 ever! It looks amazing.

Good show, as always, Ray.

Feraud · Apr 11, 2007

I hope you have your excellent suits with you this summer in NYC. It would be great to see them in person!

scotrace · Apr 11, 2007

Awesome

Another amazing suit. Clearly, the place to get this stuff done is Asia. Looks fantastically sharp.

Do your tailors (Shanghai and Hong Kong) work online?

Speedster · Apr 11, 2007

Good looking suit. Was it a "mail-order tailor" in Shanghai or did you visit the tailor personally?

cookie · Apr 11, 2007

Shanghai

Is there any vintage stuff sold in SH? Like from the 1930s Euro period. Please advise.

Mr. Rover · Apr 11, 2007

Thanks for the compliments, everyone!
There is a large fabric market in Shanghai selling all sorts of worsted wools, tweeds, silks, cotton, and cashmere fabrics and many stalls have a tailor that will do the work for you within a week. As far as I know, they don't do any work on-line, and their English is usually quite limited. These aren't big shops...just little stalls.
You basically walk around, pick a fabric, cut a snippet off, and give it to the tailor. I should've spent more time selecting linings, as the stuff that they usually use isn't the best quality (which I found out the hard way). The best thing to do is bring something to copy or have lots of pictures (which I wasn't prepared for at all as I was originally going to Nanjing but due to complications and miscommunications, we stayed in Shanghai an extra two days. All of my pictures were with the tailor at Sam's Tailor in Hong Kong so I couldn't really show him stuff)
The tailors don't really have a sense of style or proportion themselves, so you have to be very specific with every detail, even things you would think are very standard (buttonhole on the lapel? cotton pocket lining?) If you don't tell them to make make it, they won't.
To tell the truth, this suit feels much more like a costume than a piece of real clothing, but for $80 I am not complaining!!!!
Detailed pictures to come!

Cookie, I haven't looked for a vintage in Shanghai, although I'm sure there is some to be found. You can find Golden Era-esque posters at the markets. I bought a half-dozen old cigarette, make up, and Chinese medicine posters for about $1.25 each. Honestly though, Shanghai is a dirty place and I'd be wary to wear most old stuff there. And labor is so cheap, I would imagine that any worn out clothes would be discarded.

Benny Holiday · Apr 13, 2007

Ray, even your 'imperfect' suit puts most people's best suits to shame! lol
It does look very 1920s or early 30s.

GBR · Apr 15, 2007

Looks to be quite good - especially at the money. Are your computer problems fixed - the detailing of these suits would be interesting to see to compare with those of Sam's linen suit.

Twitch · Apr 15, 2007

I used to get suits made from measurements alone from Hong Kong in the 60s-70s. They were probably about $20-30 then. I remember one was a medium blue silk sharkshin the made me look like a mafia hitman. The suits would arrive very tightly roll folded in a very small package in a few weeks.

Mr. Rover · Apr 15, 2007

Sorry- I have been busy finishing up work for the end of the school year. Pics soon!

Dinerman · Apr 15, 2007

I need a suit to go with the hats. I wish I had someone who would do work lie that for that price around me.
It's very nice.

The real Henry · Apr 15, 2007

Yeah, it's the same for me. Taylored clothes are simply too expensive. The only thing one can do is searching for suit on ebay and hoping to get one for a bargain.

Regards,
Henrik

Mr. Rover · May 6, 2007

Brown Striped Suit- Made in Shanghai

Hello- been a while since I've updated this thread.
I finally got around to wearing my brown 3-piece that I got made in Shanghai.
3-button, 3-piece, peak lapel. The pants are high and full, jacket has the waist suppression that I like, and the fabric has a 30s roughness but is too drapey. It's hard to keep a crease in the pants. Other nit picks: the buttons are obviously cheapo Chinese plastic, the tailor put in a buttonhole in the right lapel too (which I can probably get removed because he hadn't cut it open, thank God), the pleats in the pants aren't deep enough, and the fly is too short (even though the rise is the right length). Also, there's something funky going with the lapel- I think the top is too chunky or something but it looks wrong when unbuttoned.

Anyway, the pictures:

Stripe on stripe on stripe

Pardon the windswept hair- Royal Crown Hair Dressing doesn't exactly hold like Murray's.

Closeups:

neyus · May 6, 2007

Nothing costumey about those suits. They look at home in the late 20s early 30s as they do now.

Its all about fit and proportion and lastly style. You have mastered the timeless style, just in what you were wearing.

Hemingway Jones · May 6, 2007

Wow!

Ray,

It looks absolutely fantastic.

The fit is right, so all is but a detail.

That being said, the jacket looks better buttoned. I think it has to do with the angle of the split in the lapel.

StanleyVanBuren · May 6, 2007

Wow!

Apart from the minor (may I stress minor) imperfections you mentioned, that looks amazing.

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