Great Experience with Ascot Chang

[dempsy444]

I suspect that Ascot Chang is not considered artisan bespoke by members of LL given the firm's size, but I have to say that I had an exellent experience with them. I comissioned four shirts, which is the minimum for your first order. And now that they have my pattern, they will accept orders for one shirt at a time if I wish.

There are a few things I really liked. 1. They have a really good cloth selection - I was able to pick some fine fabric from DJA, Alumo and some of the finer Thomas Mason lines. 2. they allow you to receive and try on your first shirt before they make the rest, enabling you to make any further adjustments. 3. The firm is very efficient, it took them only six days to ship me the sample shirt and then only ten days from when I gave them the green light to receive the remaining shirts. yet, this didn't seem to come at the expense of quality.

The shirts turned out spot on. Very well fitted and comfortble, great sewing, and the pattern matching was exellent. The other thing about the firm that i found really nice is they can do just about anything you ask. They are very flexible tailors. It wasn't a rigid or formulaic program.

I read in the Rake magazine that the firm adheres to many bespoke aspects such as making an individual paper pattern for their clients and keeping it on file. Prices weren't cheep but reasonable considering the cloth and the workmanship.

I'm surprised other members haven't mentioned them on LL given the quality and value. I wonder if any members have had the benefit of commisioning from them as well as from an individual bespoke shirt maker, and been able to compare the two? Any significant difference?

[Simon A]

I have used them before. They are a reasonable mid-priced shirtmaker and quite accommodating; they won't let the shirts out the door unless you are happy. After a year of washing the Chang shirts, I will probably adjust my pattern to allow a slightly longer sleeve. If you are in Hong Kong, they are probably the best choice for shirts.

[DFR]

An excellent shirt maker that I have patronised for nigh twenty years both in Hong Kong and on their UK visits. There is no reason why those here should have consider them unacceptable.

[Merc]

are they mid-priced?
i thought they were $500 a shirt for mason silver or am i wrong on that?

[dempsy444]

I believe tm silver is cheaper than that, but shirts can quickly get to $500 and up with finer thread count. A DJA 200/2 runs about $600 and a TM 150/2 runs in the $400s.

[Merc]

i love royal oxfords which are 90s i think-although i generally wear them with jeans only.

and i dont think i have any shirts that go past 140

btw..its not thread count-everybody got that from sheets--
that number is the yarn number and the higher #, the finer the yarn

[tteplitzmd]

Tried them years ago, all shirts were way too tight, no service after the sale, prices were high I thought for a HK maker.
Nothing special about them beyond slick ads.

[hectorm]

I tried them in the late 80s during a trip to Hong Kong. They had a small store in my hotel. They were fast (delivered the order to my room by the end of the week) and inexpensive, but I wasn´t impressed with neither the fit nor the craftsmanship. That was why for years I didn´t reorder shirt from them.
I re-discover them in NYC a few years ago. They had a shop on 57th. and now a very nice store on CPS. Their service is much improved. It was a pleasure to deal with their staff and order their minimum of 4 shirts. Good fit and good craftsmanship this time. Unfortunately their prices had gone to the roof and it´s not a bargain any more. The shirts "start" at $200 but that is just the catch. If you are getting serious, you would be looking at $500 or 600 at a minimum and as Tteplitzmd said, these are shirts Made in China.
I believe that if I´m ready to get to that price range I could do better with Turnbull & Asser still on 57th.

[Merc]

i consider mid-price as $300 or $325-$400 or $425
low price as $225-$250
and expensive as $450 and up\


and i mean for high quality but not the priciest fabrics, say TM silver

[dempsy444]

btw..its not thread count-everybody got that from sheets--
that number is the yarn number and the higher #, the finer the yarn

Thanks for the correction.

Normally i avoid designer labels made in china, like RL, because I see it as an unfair shortcut at their high prices. But the fact that AC is in China doesn't really bother me because AC started there and they seem to adhere to a bespoke process with good results. It wouldnt make me feel any better if i paid $500 for the same shirt but made in Italy or England. I mean the Chang's and Rubinacci's both come from a long family tradition of tailoring, it's just one is Chinese and the other Italian.

[Simon A]

From memory, Chang's workshops are in Hong Kong, not the Mainland. Their labour costs are therefore similar to that of a European country. Their monthly rent on premises in the hotels and malls of Hong Kong would be enough to buy a small villa in southern Europe. So they have pretty hefty overheads.

[hectorm]

Normally i avoid designer labels made in china, like RL, because I see it as an unfair shortcut at their high prices. But the fact that AC is in China doesn't really bother me because AC started there and they seem to adhere to a bespoke process with good results.

Dear Dempsy,
you are fortunate in having gotten rid of all those prejudices about "Made in China" and basing your decisions on quality standards case by case. As I said above I recognize that Ascot Chang has come a long way since my first experience with them in the 80s but I must confess that in general I am still a bit attached to those old negative ideas (fast, inexpensive, sweat shops, etc) about garments ordered from any part of the world and then made in Hong Kong.
Given current pricing by Ascot Chang (plus the kind of overhead and cost structure which have been noted in this thread), then it´s obvious that they have done a good job competing on the basis of quality and service (the attendants at the CPS store are a true delight to deal with), and not on prices alone.

[Concordia]

I'd had a not-so-hot set of experiences about 20 years ago and then in '97 just before the handover. Last fall, however, I tried again and made sure to do it right. I wore one of my best shirts to the measurement, and scheduled a second appointment for a first fitting, not trusting to luck.

Shirt #1 looked awful at the fitting, but by delivery was nearly perfect. The rest of the order had no trace of the flaw remaining in #1.

To the initial measurement, I'd worn a demi-mesure from Charvet that is generally the best going for me right now. While their work isn't interchangeable with Charvet's, they got the style exactly right and (depending on the day) have exceeded the fit. And the quality of stitching, etc., is very high.

It's now the price of Jermyn Street-- maybe a bit higher when you get the more expensive cloth-- but very high quality nonetheless. When I next get to NY, I'll be bringing one of the shirts by for a modest tweak on the back measurement and a repeat order. We'll see if I just got lucky.

[BGE]

Ascot Chang:

I've had some experiences with their Central Park South shop:

I was initially hesitant to commit to their 4 shirt minimum order when they disclosed that they would be faxing my measurements to their workshop in Asia. The gentleman helping me (Alfred) however, seemed like he knew what he was doing and was quite good with asking about my preferences in detail, so I gave them a go.

Been happy with them since. I've been a repeat customer because of the fit, level of detail orientation, flexibility, the pretty good finish to their shirts, along with the good customer service. I certainly wouldn't look at them as an avenue for getting shirts at 'bargain' prices of any sort. I'll echo what some other Loungers have already mentioned; the nicer fabrics from the better mills (Alumo, Thomas Mason) escalate in price quite quickly. I do however, quite like their house flannel shirtings in various plaids and checks which are a blessing to wear during the cold, Canadian winters of where I live.

Funny enough, my best fitting shirts are actually made by Chang, despite me having shirts done with multiple fittings with another shirtmaker.

Would recommend. I used them for the dinner shirt I wore to my wedding. Will visit them again for more.

Cheers,

—B

[Simon A]

Prices in Chang's Hong Kong stores are a good deal cheaper than abroad I think. From memory I last paid USD$150 a shirt made with basic fabrics, about 18 months ago. Not far off good quality RTW price.