LovePuXi

The Art of the Suit

When people come to Shanghai, they often wish to get a famous ‘Shanghai Suit’, but don’t really know what that means. Back in the old days, tailors from Hong Kong worked on suits in Shanghai for the masses of foreign wealth which was in the city, they brought western styling with Shanghai quality and prices.

Some will come and desire a bespoken suit or a custom-made suit. You can either have it custom made directly from fiber selection and style selection or you can rely upon someone to give you a selection of styles which you pick from. The costs of tailoring on this level is not really cost effective in modern times, when compared to buying a suit in North America. If you are in a rush, you will be unlikely to get a good quality suit in Shanghai. If you are looking for a cheap suit, it is totally possible to have it quickly made – but as one tailor told me, ‘If you want a cheap suit – I am here, if you want a good quality suit, go to Mao Ming’ (Mao Ming road). On Mao Ming, you will get decent quality suits, but they are made in factories and not really the bespoken experience of a single tailor hand cutting your suit and piecing it together. Really the bespoken of the past has long left Shanghai.

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Clothing Making: Suits

– If you bring a suit that you currently use, it can be either copied or the tailor can pick up ideas about your style and cut.

– Cost is about 3000 rmb (about 585 cdn) per suit

– Understanding what you like and don’t like will make process faster, such as weather conditions it will be used in, do you need it to have ‘drapes’ (cuts), tight fit, loose fit, style, how many front buttons, sleeve buttons and the type of fabric – such as wool:  worsted (fibres combed before spinning; smooth, lasting cloth) or woollen (fibres not combed).

-It is typically cheaper (500-800 rmb for a suit) to go to the fabric markets to find the material and than find a tailor to stitch it up, however it is time consuming, so going to a tailor that does this for you, is a good option for short term stays.

Shanghai Mart (Shmart)

Used to be only for factory showrooms, now it is possible to buy individual items here – lots of fashion items. Worth it to wander the halls at this massive complex.

Jack Xing

Shanghai Mart: 7A01 – Jack; custom suits: 3 fittings (1 with body scan; 30 measurements) from 5000+ rmb; 45 days; A bit eccentric, typically doesn’t deal with the public.

Atelier Fusari

This is pretty simple in terms of ‘bespoke tailoring’ in shanghai. The price is fixed. The tailor speaks french, italian and english. Takes some measurements, talk about your styles, based on their end of the roll material selections. Some loose threads on their garments. Claim stritched canvas stiffener, and are willing to do double stitching, despite never hearing of it before. Has ‘factory’ in shanghai with two tailors, so can do rush orders. Typically, fitting is done 4 days from initial order and is 24 hours afterwards to get suit.

Eleganza Uomo

I met with Raymond Kiang, the owner at his hong kong tailor street (Mao Ming South) location. Typically takes 3 fittings – 3 days – 3 days – 3 days, however able to do rush of 2 days – 2 days – 2 days and than ship out the garment. Your current suit can be useful to speed up the process, by understanding what you like.Various options from pure wool from outside of china, to chinese fabrics that are poly blends (wrinkle resistant). Canvas is full and stitched.

Mr. M Bespoke by Michael Z

For 1980 rmb (387.88 cdn) you can get a suit jacket, pants, 1 shirt and a tie made with local materials. It takes about two weeks, with one fitting at the start of the process. Additional fittings can be done, but need to be arranged ahead of time. They use coloured thread for the inside seams as their ‘trademark’. Their worked looked pretty clean.

Germain Tailors

Specializing in ‘Soft Tailoring’ (the design is less ridged, doesn’t use canvas or shoulder pads). 1 fitting at the time ordering and than 3-4 weeks to make. Factory 2 hours out of Shanghai, by Suzhou. Website: http://www.germain-tailors.com

Yu Hao Advanced Garment Customization

This tailor puts measurements into a pattern cuttng machine and makes a low cost model for fitting. The corrected version is sent to be manufactured to the style of your preference, either hand stitched or machine stitched. The quality appears to be good. The package offer is: 2 Suites, 2 shirts, 2 ties, 2 cuff links: 4600 rmb; 3 pure cotton shirts: 980 rmb – of course, varies with material choice. The Tailor can also do women’s clothing. He showed me some of his silk work which is hand stitched.

This location (DiNao) is behind the Ascott (south/east corner), however he primarily works out of another location on fuxing road. His company makes many different garments, and the factory has a main-stay of uniforms. Website: http://yuhaofz.com/

Other Tailors

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