There is no such thing as a agent in Hong Kong for high-end shirt materials, and entry throughout the area is tougher than it’s Europe or the US. In consequence, Ascot Chang has quite a lot of material.
We went to go to them in Hong Kong lately as a result of, whereas I’ve identified Justin and his father for a few years, we’ve solely ever visited the outlets, fairly than the manufacturing. We may have spent many hours in that material room.
Traditionally, it was widespread for tailors and shirtmakers to have massive rolls of fabric on website. However as prices have been lower over time, the inventory has dwindled and now the overwhelming majority of orders are comprised of swatches. It’s arduous to not really feel this has made prospects much less linked to material, and diminished the understanding of it.
Ascot Chang has virtually 6000 rolls on website, however even they will’t afford to have rolls of their outlets or at trunk reveals – so we had been lucky to have the ability to go to and flick through every little thing.
I ultimately requested to make use of a pink stripe for a brand new fee. Patterned materials like this are ones I more and more flip to – they provide some curiosity when worn with no tie, however aren’t daring sufficient to make carrying with a patterned tie that troublesome.
Ascot Chang make and promote their very own shirts in fact (and have had a store in New York for a very long time) however in addition they work with different manufacturers, together with The Armoury and Bryceland’s. Like their fellow Hongkonger WW Chan, this has pushed them in some new instructions when it comes to each fashion and material.
Sitting in the midst of the ground in Ascot’s material room, for instance, was a roll of heavy buffalo-check wool, which has been used for Bryceland’s previously. Different supplies like rayon and terry material are equally uncommon.
Many of the materials are twills and poplins although, and the important thing factor that catches your eye is color. After I visited I used to be really carrying a shirt in a lilac material from Thomas Mason, which I’d by no means have gone for that if I hadn’t seen one thing comparable made up at Ralph Lauren. Swatches wouldn’t have been sufficient.
Ascot could not have rolls of cloth in its shops, nevertheless it does at the very least have shirts made up – which makes it simpler to trust in new colors or patterns. Shopping the bolts on the manufacturing unit made me reassess stronger blues, ginghams, and a few fascinating stripes.
Ascot Chang makes an excellent machine-made garment. They don’t do hand-attached collars and sleeves just like the Italians we cowl, however their power is consistency and worth. The manufacturers I do know that work with them at all times reward these factors, and after I had some shirts made with them again in 2018, I discovered the identical.
Apparently, Ascot does nonetheless supply hand-sewn buttons and buttonholes, however prospects not often ask for them. “It was a little bit of a development I believe, maybe 10 years in the past,” says Justin (above). “As of late we discover folks care much less about these issues.”
For a manufactured shirt, the issues to be careful for are components like positive stitching and sample matching, and Ascot additionally do some very good hand embroidery.
One in all my different favorite issues we noticed within the workshop was the thread ‘bible’ – a e-book the workers have put collectively over time exhibiting which threads are used for which materials, in order that if a buyer makes use of the identical material a few years later, the identical thread is used with it (under).
Ascot has quite a lot of heritage in terms of shirtmaking – one thing it’s straightforward to imagine is just present in Europe. Justin’s grandfather educated as a shirtmaker in Shanghai within the Forties, earlier than shifting to Hong Kong in 1951 and opening his first retailer (in Tsim Sha Tsui, on the Kowloon aspect) in 1953.
His father opened the shop in New York in 1986, and so they now even have a second store in Hong Kong, one in Shanghai, a franchise within the Philippines and lots of trunk reveals all over the world. They provide a little bit tailoring, largely due to a historic friendship with a tailor in New York.
Regardless of the retail presence, 70% of the Ascot enterprise remains to be bespoke, all going by means of the one desk and supervisor right here in Hong Kong. The dimensions of that bespoke operation is evident from the sample room (under).
The workforce did handle to seek out my sample from again in 2018 amongst all these racks, and we appeared on the variations between that and the newest shirt Ascot made me, which had been by means of Bryceland’s (lined right here final 12 months).
They’d additionally made me a becoming shirt in a fundamental white material, which was considerate, so we had been in a position to conduct a fast becoming on the manufacturing unit and can make a shirt in that striped pink poplin.
I’ll attempt to cowl this new shirt when it’s prepared, as Ascot actually are choice for readers to think about, notably as folks have a tendency away from wanting a lot handwork.
The Ascot shops could be seen on their web site right here. Trunk reveals are presently in 10 completely different nations – particulars right here. A bespoke shirt in New York begins at $380, in Hong Kong H$2150 and in London $280 (taxes and duties included within the others, however not London).
The shirt pictured on me is by Luca Avitabile, a positive oxford weave from Thomas Mason – the Cambridge high quality, code FM33854. The go well with is from Assisi, lined right here.
