Friday, February 25, 2011

China Bespoke

So I decided to try a new tailor in Beijing where I am now living. I contacted the concierge at my hotel who put me in touch with Brown Tailors. They have been suiting Chinese ambassadors for years and came highly recommended by the hotel. I was fairly skeptical because I've had stuff made in Shanghai before and it was not a sybaritic experience. Not like Hong Kong or Raja Tailors in Bangkok. But the hotel asked me to give it a try and try I did.

Within an hour, the tailor arrived at my hotel room with a bundle of swatches. Brown tailors has two stores in Beijing - Yashou and Pearl markets to be precise. I looked at the swatches and althought they were super 130S, tt was a local Chinese mill - Not Holland & Sherry or Loro Piana or Dormeiul. I reluctantly agreed to make a pair of trousers. The tailor quoted me $150 and I bargained down to 80 bucks. He told me the trousers would be delivered to my hotel room the next evening by 10 p.m.

The next day, at around 9 p.m., I received a text message from the tailor apologizing that the trousers were not ready. I told him I needed them urgently as I had a flight to catch the next morning. Around midnight, there was a knock at my door. The trousers had arrived.

I paid for them and put them on. I was highly impressed by the tailoring and quality. I will definitely be going back to Brown Tailor.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love fashion in China. I love to explore various types of fashion because they inspire me to make sketches about designer men's suits.

suit said...

some of my vested suits are actually made in China and I like the way they imitate the suit Orlando Bloom wearing in the Golden Globe Awards.