When we arrived in Hong Kong, most of us would think of delicious Cantonese food and shopping brand-name products in this “tax-free” island, which may make us forget that Hong Kong is actually a place for sartorial and classic menswear stores with extraordinary quality. MenDetails would like to recommend 5 interesting stores for all men who love to dress in the sartorial, classic menswear style.
Ascot Chang
Our MDs’ FAVORITES Ascot Chang is surely on the list. We recommended their Navy Linen Safari Jacket in our review earlier and we are very impressed with the quality and how great the jacket is. Ascot Chang is very famous among the stylish Hong Kong people. They have 4 branches in Hong Kong but we recommend the largest branch on the 1F floor of Prince’s Building in Central area
– Justin Chang who is the executive and the 3rd generation successor of Ascot Chang –
Ascot Chang is also internationally famous for tailoring ‘Bespoke’ men’s shirts, with details that can adjust to fit perfectly with every man’s body type. Apart from shirts, there are suits and sport coats including other accessories such as belts, neckties, pocket square and, certainly, safari jackets which are all high-quality at a reasonable price comparing to other luxury brand names. If you would like to have everything related to classic menswear done in one place, just head directly to Ascot Chang.
– Ascot white bespoke dress shirt –
The Anthology
The Anthology is an interesting bespoke suit tailor. From the collaboration of Andy Chong and Buzz Tang who are the new wave of classic menswear community that are becoming famous enough to be able to open their own trunk show in the heart of London.
The Anthology suit is Italian-styled. The combination of Neapolitan casualness and magnificent Florentine Cut along with attentive sewing details such as handmade Milanese buttonhole. The price of the Anthology suit starts at around 10,000 HKD with Italian VBC fabric (Vitale Barberis Conanico) which is a competitive price for bespoke suit. However, it takes time to cut and measure the body several times. Therefore, it is suitable for men who have the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong regularly
The Anthology is on the 7th floor of the commercial building called ‘On Wo Lane’. They recommend sending a message to make an appointment before arrival.
Prologue
Another new generation of tailor house that is worth visiting. Prologue was established by Chris Tang, Jerry Tong and Chiwang who are passionate about classic menswear and would like to change the culture of ‘Tourist Tailor’ in Hong Kong. Prologue has focused on the process called Semi-Bespoke which will add more details from Made to Measure but not as picky as a bespoke suit. The style is soft-tailoring, no unnecessary padding the shoulders, curvy lapel for elegance and also sleeves and sleeve head are wider for more comfort. Prologue’s semi-bespoke suit normally takes 6-8 weeks to make and the price starts at around 9,000 HKD with Dugdale fabric.
Furthermore, Chris Tong and Quinton have opened a website to sell Ready to Wear clothing called WearNotTear.com. The interesting product is a One-piece collar polo shirt, both spread and button down. The price starts at 1,299 HKD or around 5,200 baht. Prologue locates near The Anthology and has a storefront that allows you to reach more conveniently and have more ready-to-wear clothes and shoes to select.
Refinery
Refinery has an interesting idea from Curtis Ho, the Co-Founder who would like to change a Hong Kong people’s shopping habit from purchasing and following fashion trends tirelessly, to purchase more classic and timeless kind of garments. The Refinery has prioritized selling Ready to Wear clothes at a reasonable price. They aim to be “The First Door” for every man who would like to enter the world of classic menswear.
– The Refinery bar a relaxing area for customers rather than just buy and leave –
Refinery products are mainly jackets for men such as safari jacket and bomber jackets with prices starting at 1,880 HKD. The price is more affordable comparing to other stores on the list. Despite some comments about the quality and detail we experienced, we believe they are far better than many luxurious fashion brands in which you might be able to buy only a normal t-shirt at the same price. The Refinery has two branches. The first branch is located in the Central area. The larger second branch is at Tsim Sha Tsui, 7th floor of Taurus Building. It isn’t too far from the Tsim Sha Tsui subway station.
The Armoury
Complete the trip with one of the most famous shops in Hong Kong, The Armoury is different from all 4 mentioned shops where there is no in-house custom-tailoring. But The Armoury curated hi-quality from all over the world to present to customers. Another way is to co-design with famous brands, Baudoin & Lange, Ring Jacket and Ascot Chang, just to name a few.
Thanks to their sharp eyes and style, The Armoury products are well-curated with highly respectable brands in the world of classic menswear, for example, suits from Liverano & Liverano, Ciccio, Orazio Luciano, trousers from Ambrosi Napoli, shoes from Baudoin & Lange, Carmina Shoemaker, Saint Crispin. The Armoury has 2 branches in Hong Kong, yet they are quite close to each other. The first branch is on the 3rd floor of the Pedder Building. And when you just cross the Pedder Street to the Landmark Central building and go down to the lower floor. You will find another, bigger branch of The Armoury Hong Kong.
Hong Kong used to be like Thailand today. We have thousands of suit and clothing stores that mainly focus on “Cheapest and Fastest” or what we may call ‘Tourist Tailors’. But nowadays, the trend of attention to quality and craftsmanship is spreading wide in Hong Kong. Thanks to these high-quality sartorial shops and tailors. They play an important role to change the way Asian men look at sartorial menswear. We believe the idea will spread to surrounding countries soon, including Thailand. There surely are many more interesting Classic Menswear shops in Hong Kong. Next time we will introduce more of them, as well as some product reviews from these shops in the future. Please stay tuned!