Peter Chan Interview

Among the varied friends I’ve been lucky enough to make over my years, some thankfully have an understanding of, and appreciation for, sartorial standards that match and exceed my own. One such friend, a resident of Hong Kong, has a yen for remaining classic whilst taking steps forward and has often raved of his switch from some of the brightest new(er) names on Savile Row to a bespoke operation a little closer to home. Having spent the past few years surrounded by City workers happier with the fact that they saved money by going with Far Eastern tailoring than the often inaccurate fit and cut of the results, I was a little sceptical, yet willing to be convinced. After a number of opportunities to see the increasingly interesting products of W.W. Chan swathing his frame, I’m sorry I ever doubted him – the canvassing was little short of intuitive; the lengths spot on; the fabrics well chosen and exquisite no matter which aspects of his life they were chosen for. The popularity of the house amongst the leading (and ever exacting) menswear fora added that extra touch of credibility.

Considered one of the very best tailoring houses in Hong Kong, Chan was opened by its namesake founder in 1949 and continues under Chan’s son Peter today, creating a range of suits, sportcoats, slacks, overcoats and shirts. This week marks the firm’s first ever visit to London – it tours the United States thrice-yearly – and I decided to cross time zones and the language barrier to interview Peter himself in order to learn a little more about this best kept secret:

Barima: W.W. Chan has a strong reputation for its classic cuts but is also developing one for less conservative tailoring. Do you find it more or less challenging to offer such versatility? Is it part of an ongoing learning process?

Peter Chan: It’s much easier to stick with our house style; the classic cuts that we offer to most of our clients. However, it’s our motto that our profession is an ongoing learning process and so we enjoy and accept the challenge of developing younger styles as well. In fashion, most jackets now are very short compared to the past and nipped in the waist. We recommend not going too extreme so as not to become “unfashionable.” I think that in future, things will swing back a little towards conservatism, somewhere in the middle, perhaps.

What does the average customer want from a W.W. Chan suit?

Very similar things! They want comfort and appearance from a perfect fit, a unique style, fabric choices, a competitive price and the ability to keep a pattern on file for future mail orders. They also appreciate the quality of our craftsmanship.

Some clients occasionally make extravagant demands of their tailor. As a bespoke house, how closely do you work with a client on realising his desires?

We welcome extravagant demands if they’re within our ability to accomplish. We don’t mind following them closely, but sometimes the client has to convince us that his requests can be realistically satisfied and also look good.

That seems fair. Given the oft-exacting demands on tailors and off-the-peg clothing for attention to detail and a lack of cutting corners, how much work goes into the average W.W. Chan creation?

Our typical suit will have a full floating canvas with handmade buttonholes. It takes around 40 hours of work to produce one. 90% of the jacket construction is done by hand. The machine stitching comes after the basting is completed.

You’re rather popular in certain online circles. How useful is the internet in developing your business?

Years ago, it was extremely difficult to know the quality of a tailor’s work without having things made by him first. In recent years, the internet has allowed people to chat and share their feelings on the clothing made by their tailors. People often write about their good experiences with us and so we have connected with a lot of new customers through our reputation on the internet. However, we have been in business for a very long time and we had a good reputation before as well.

Despite the general tendencies of men today to dress down and turn away from elegance, W.W. Chan appears to be thriving at home and growing internationally. Are you finding it at all challenging to clothe men appropriately?

Though it is sometimes difficult to be completely aware of all fashion trends, we try to keep up by reading articles on the internet, in magazines and talking to our customers. We use this knowledge to advise the customer in their choices. It seems to work well so far!

Yes, and in addition to this, W.W. Chan’s relative affordability is a unique selling point. Do you find this helpful in attracting customers who have a comparable budget for ready-to-wear?

Yes, it is. Customers like to compare our quality and price with the high quality handmade ready-to-wear suits as well as those very expensive bespoke tailors. It makes us feel honoured but we want to keep doing our best.

You offer a wide variety of fabric books, from classics such as Holland and Sherry and Loro Piana to newer productions such as Dashing Tweeds. How do your selections compare to other tailoring houses?

We have one of the largest fabric selections of any tailoring house because every customer has different preferences. Some customers prefer crisper fabrics while others prefer soft. Some prefer fancier jacketings while others prefer conservative worsteds. So we have to have as large a selection as possible to satisfy customers. Zegna Trofeo is one of my personal favourites for warmer weather. It keeps its shape well and has a nice finish. We also like Dashing Tweeds a lot. It tailors well and the colours and patterns are always interesting but beautiful.

Finally, what is the average turnover time for a commission, both at home and internationally?

W. W. Chan & Sons has our own workshop and doesn’t farm out. Turnover is usually around 2 to 3 months though if you call ahead and make an appointment, it can be much quicker than that depending on our workload.

We’re very excited about this visit to London – hopefully, the first of many to come!

Tour Details

The tour takes place on October 22nd & 23rd (Thursday & Friday) 2009. W.W. Chan’s cutter Patrick Chu will measure customers and offer fabric samples for perusal. Appointments can be made over e-mail to: sales@wwchan.com and will be on-site at:

London Hilton on Park Lane
22 Park Lane, London

Pricing starts at USD 1,100+ for a two-piece using entry-level cloth. To inaugurate the tour, W.W. Chan will also be offering for the first time Dashing Tweeds. The cloths shown on the DT’s website are only a sample of the full range. Pricing is USD 1,500 for a two piece and 1,100 for a sportcoat.

Once a customer’s pattern is on file, Chan can and will take orders via e-mail and will dispatch fabric swatches for a customer’s consideration. Such off-tour orders are generally accomplished in around 3 months.

www.wwchan.com

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This is guest post by Barima Owusu-Nyantekyi, a freelance copywriter, marketer and researcher living in London. He is also an observer of popular culture, popular music and personal style who always dresses for dancing. His musings may be found at Style Time (barimavox.blogspot.com)

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Observations From Milan

Milan has the most consistently, classicly elegant men in the world.

This is not necessarily a good thing. Many, in the fashion industry in particular, criticise Milanese men for a conservatism that is dull and impersonal. They all dress the same; they all dress like their fathers; they all wear the same goddamn blue tie.

A more balanced view comes from Michael Drake, of Drake’s ties in London: “Italy has a bigger, more consistent conservative establishment than most other places in the world. That is why our ties sell well there – men have similar views about classic style and investing in quality. It is an international style, that can go anywhere in the world and be recognised.”

Britain, for all its history, does not have this. The establishment is less conservative, less cohesive and less interested in clothes. Advocates praise British eccentricity and creativity – perhaps demonstrated by Paul Smith. And to a young man growing up in Milan it’s easy to see how that would be a breath of fresh air.

But to those of us outside Milan, and passionate about classic men’s style, the gentlemen of that city are an inspiration. Here are some observations from a few days spent there last week.

The strength of colours stands out immediately. Brighter light and darker skin make them easier to wear – but it is the strong dark colours that particularly inspire. An attendant in one store described their new range as containing “jackets with a Neapolitan shoulder in the classic colours – blue, brown, green”. Green as a standard jacket colour? But there it was, in several stores – as an odd jacket, unlined, in a deep forest green (sometimes with white buttons).

The combinations of colours were also strong. Every jacket displayed has a pocket handkerchief, with the pairings including brown/lilac, navy/mint and brown/sky blue. The handkerchief coming second in that list, of course.

As reflected in my previous observation The Italian Background, there are more navy ties in Milan than any other colour. They are silk, wool and linen, plain, striped and spotted; but they are all navy. This allows greater adventure in jackets and suits – several men wore great tan-gabardine suits; I saw two purple-cashmere odd jackets; linen was often navy but surprisingly common. Equally, the pocket handkerchief was probably more likely to be bright and patterned than the tie.

Other observations include fitted sweaters – even in old, conservative establishments the sweaters were short and slim at the waist (I recommend Red & Blue in particular). And the length of the rear blade of a tie is almost irrelevant compared to the length of the front, which must always finish at the top of the trousers – the back can be longer, tuck into the trousers or hang at the same length on its own.

There are, of course, many badly dressed men in Milan. If the proportion of British men that I consider well-dressed (in my very personal, subjective taste) is one in fifty, in Milan it is one in ten. But that’s still a lot more inspiration.

Look out for the next post, on recommended shops.

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Links: Small Wardrobe, Ivy League Look, Double Pocket…

• In praise of the small wardrobe: the fewer the worthier. (ivy-style.com)

• This blog is the answer to prayers of Ivy League Look admirers. (theivyleaguelook.blogspot.com)

• ‘Why do some suit jackets or sport coats have a double pocket on one side?’ (valetmag.com)

• A documentary on Italian tailors. (menoftheclothfilm.com)

• Classic grey combination. (gentlemanscorner.com)

• Cardigan as a sport coat. (wasp101.blogspot.com)

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Berluti Polishing Events

The shoe polishing events that Berluti holds for its loyal customers are legendary. Started by Olga Berluti and nicknamed the Swann Club, it involves gentlemen taking over their beloved shoes, sitting at a dinner table in their cotton socks and polishing the shoes with the greatest of attention. According to previous attendees, these events have something of the schoolyard atmosphere about them – all of a sudden the men become little boys, eager, earnest and more than a little competitive.

The events are also well known for the champagne that is used in the last stage of polishing. It is the acidity in the champagne that is key, removing the last vestiges of oil from the surface of the shoe to give it that extra shine. This, the firm admits, could be achieved with any wine. But champagne does add a certain romance to the whole enterprise.

These events are something that the new UK retail manager at Berluti in London, Lorenza Cavalli, is keen to build on. They foster loyalty to the brand and help Berluti keep in touch with its clientele. Indeed yesterday and today (September 25 and 26), Berluti is inviting its customers to drop by the shop for a drink (it is open until 7:30), let the staff take a look over their Berlutis to provide advice, and get a new pair of shoelaces for them.

It is amazing how many men are happy with old, frayed laces – even those that spend an inordinate amount of time polishing the shoes.

Berluti is also planning more polishing evenings at the London store, so look out for these in the coming months. Indeed, Permanent Style has already been invited to the first such evening – so watch this space for tales of debauchery, patina and polish.

Cavalli is new to menswear, her previous job being in the bespoke department at stationer Smythson and other jobs including watchmakers Ebel. But she still says she feels right at home with men’s shoes – something about the fascination that men who truly love their clothes bring to luxury houses like Berluti. “The customers are so interested in the products, in the technical side of them, in the history and the ethos of the company. It is a lot less flighty and trendy that womenswear,” she says.

In other Berluti news, the firm has just launched its new luggage. This is in the Venezia line, the same as the famous Un Jour bag (both pictured here). The design is similar in that it is a simple leather without much ornamentation, just a characteristic patina. The wheels, modelled after those of racing cars, also make it very manoeuvrable, while the thin leather makes it extremely light – lighter than a lot of other non-leather luggage.

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Links: Tim Little Shoe, Shirtless Look, NY Sale…

• A Little Gem from London’s Tim Little. (bespoke-me.blogspot.com)

• No shirt look. You probably won’t be able to pull it off though. (thesartorialist.blogspot.com)

• Domenico Vacca Sale in NY. It’s still not too late to part with your money. (thechoosybeggar.com)

• Gianluca Isaia’s 10 rules of style. There is at least one that all will agree with. (men.style.com)

• Benefits of using a steam cleaner. (styleontheritz.blogspot.com)

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