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Celebrating the perfect fit
By ROBERT N. JENKINS, Times Staff Writer
HONG KONG -- Behind Brett Woodland are shelves stocked with bolts of cloth ranging from black with a chalk stripe to pastels. In front of him, taped to a display case showing styles of shirt collars, are the business cards of several foreign diplomats. They are among the "80 to 90 percent of our customers, who are Westerners coming through Hong Kong, doing business here or elsewhere in Asia," says Woodland, manager of Pacific Custom Tailors. Woodland was in the clothing business before moving to Hong Kong nine years ago from Great Britain. As he speaks, two exceptions to his estimate are sitting in front of the display case, speaking Chinese. They are flipping through swatch books, selecting fabric for an order that will total two suits and nine shirts. Because the men have bought here previously, their measurements are on file, as are their preferences for the garments. For trousers, these customizing choices include the number of pockets, plain front or pleated, with or without cuffs, loose or narrow fit in the leg, even a small pocket within either or both front pockets to hold change and keys.
For a man's jacket, the latest option is an interior pocket for a cell phone. With their measurements and preferences in Pacific Custom's books, these two clients will not need a preliminary fitting of the garments. But for new customers, that fitting can be offered as soon as one hour after measurements are taken. "We could give a second fitting for a suit the next morning," after the initial visit, Woodland says. This sort of speed is an important element in the allure of ordering custom clothes from any of the fraternity known as "Hong Kong tailors." Because of time constraints for business travelers and vacationers, "the first visit (to the shop) and even the next one for a fitting can be considered fun" Woodland says, "but not the third or fourth trip." Two basic steps are taken to prevent that aggravation. First, the salesclerk circles on the order form the relevant line drawing to indicate any sag of the shoulder, as well as which of four silhouettes best represents the profile of the customer's chest and stomach. Then, the first fitting of the partly finished garment -- be it a dress or tuxedo -- is handled by the artiste of the business, the tailor, commonly referred to as the cutter. "It is most important to see the figure of the customer" to make the finished garment, says Tsang Sang, a cutter for 42 years. This is because no matter what the order form specifies, "each customer is (different): One might have a ridge over his shoulders, another is slightly hunched over," store co-owner Sam Melwani says. The back shopWhile Woodland and Melwani work in the shop in glitzy Pacific Place mall in Hong Kong, Sang works in a cluttered room behind an unmarked door four floors above the bustle of the discount stores and trinket shops on Kowloon's Nathan Road. Standing at a long, high table, Sang glances at a sales order on a clipboard in front of him, and then his hands become a blur. He whips tailor's chalk along a yardstick, and for the arc of a shoulder or the bulge of a stomach, he switches to a gently curved ruler. If he should mischalk, he slaps the ruler on the errant line, knocking most of the chalk away. Then he draws the line again. Sang says he can measure all the cloth for a suit in 15 minutes. When he is finished, he passes the various pieces to one of the men sitting at 10 sewing machines behind him, and "I tell them how to make it." These men are apprentices, following in Sang's footsteps. "I learn first to make a suit by the sewing machine," he says. "The trousers first (because they are easier to fashion), then the jacket. "Then I learn to cut (the cloth) to fit." Three shirts of Sea Island cotton will be about $143 U.S., trousers of a cashmere-wool blend about $90. Linen suits are about $363, and other fabrics boost a suit's price to about $454. The name's the sameMelwani has been in the family business for more than 15 years, with his brother. They are of Indian heritage, and each has adopted the English name of Sam, which is also the name of their original tailoring business, in Kowloon. Pacific Custom's Sam Melwani estimates that 75 percent of his first-time customers have been referred by other clients. The way to encourage those recommendations and repeat orders, Melwani says, is "to treat (customers) as friends." For instance, visitors to the shop are routinely offered something hot or cold to drink, a reminder that they are guests. If a customer brings in an earlier purchase "and says he has gained '2 inches of muscle' around his waist, we alter the clothes to fit -- no charge." Melwani is close with business details, saying only that the two tailor shops have "much more than 1,000" customers. Among them, according to the pictures that include Melwani, are former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and Dame Edna, a.k.a. Barry Humphries, who bought some men's ties. Most of the clients are less notable. Melwani opens a ledger to display a faxed letter from a London woman. She informs Pacific Custom which fabric sample she wants it to use to duplicate a dress it had fashioned for her. She enclosed a check for 192 pounds sterling (about $309 U.S.). She asks that the dress be delivered to her in four months to the cruise ship on which she will be arriving. "Once you get addicted to tailor-made," store manager Woodland says, smiling, "you never go back." -- Pacific Custom Tailors is on the third level of Pacific Place shopping center, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong. Call 2845 5377, e-mail to ptailor@netvigator.com; the Web site is www.pacifictailor.com.hk.
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