Looking like James Bond

Rent "Die Another Day." Not because it's a particularly good Bond movie, nor because of the beautiful Halle Berry. No, rent it because I'd like you to forward to a scene where Bond shows up in Hong Kong, realizes he needs a new suit, and asks for "Sam."

That would be the real life Sam of "Sam's Tailors" in Hong Kong. You walk into his shop, and are inundated with pictures of rock stars, actors, celebrities, and past US Presidents, all of whom have come to Sam to get tailor made clothes. But it isn't just Sam who is famous. Hong Kong is full of great tailors, perhaps a leftover from the British occupation, perhaps due to the Asian tradition of getting clothes custom made. These master craftsmen will whip up suits, shirts, slacks, dresses, and even shoes, in a matter of days. In a true emergency, it is not hard to get a precisely fit suit ready for you the next day. Now that's what I call service.

So since I pretend to take care of my appearance, I didn't want to leave Hong Kong without having indulged myself in this regards. A few weeks ago I began looking around, occasionally visiting tailors here and there to get a better idea of what to expect. You have to learn to avoid the touts on the street - these guys walk around the main shopping thoroughfares and hunt out tourists. Aggressively, they ask if you're looking for tailor because surprise, surprise, they know of just the perfect one. No, the quality stores rely on word of mouth, and are not desperate for your business.

Based on my simple research, I selected two stores to get clothes made (diversifying my risk, just like a good MBA student.) One was Ash Samtani, a store I found by walking into several places and seeing how I was treated, and selecting a store where I felt most comfortable asking simple questions. Ash had the added advantage of being located right next to Sam's famous store. My MBA came to the rescue yet again - Ash would charge lower and work harder to keep up with the competition, which I feel turned out to be the case.

I put in an order of shirts with Ash last week, and picked things up today, and boy these babies look good. I had always been a little frustrated shopping for shirts in the US, given my height but lack of associated girth (as determined by some secret formula used by US retailers.) I usually end up with neck sizes that are too big, or shoulders that droop to my elbows. But sliding into the shirt that I had made at Ash's was pure joy - everything fit just right, and I was amazed at how flattering things can be when made to measure. Duh!

The other store I found was via a recommendation by Hong Kong lawyer friend of mine who gets all his suits made there. The proprietor is known simply as Uncle Paul, and is an old Chinese man who will fuss over you and claim to know what will look the best on you. The cool thing is that Uncle Paul doesn't write things down, and will memorize the numbers as he measures you. I had a simple black suit made here, because that was the one item missing from my wardrobe.

The results? Ecstasy. For HK $1300 (roughly US$160), I'm walking away with a US$1200+ suit from Uncle Paul's, and for HK $400 (roughly US$50), I'm walking away with the equivalent of $120 shirts. What's more, these tailors will pack their bags every six months and fly over to the US to visit various major cities, where they remeasure their clients, and bring along swatches of fabric for selection. You pick the fabric, discuss the latest styles, get the tailor to send the measurements back to Hong Kong, and within a week you receive an exquisitely tailored garment by mail.

Now that I'm going to be earning a salary again, I don't think I'm ever buying any business casual garment off the rack ever again. For me, it's all about looking like James Bond.