By Jonathan Lai
Hong Kong's H. Baromon has a small and unassuming storefront in The Galleria at 9 Queen’s Road Central. They do not tour; that is, the company does not send its cutters or tailors out to other cities to accommodate foreign clientele. Clients must visit the shop for measurements and all fittings, which include the basted, forward, and finished bar finish. The entire process takes between 5-7 days from the selection of fabric and preliminary measurements to the delivery of the final garment. This is standard with most Hong Kong tailors, providing one is present for each fitting as soon as the garment arrives at the next stage of development.
The Baromon silhouette is trim and structured, but the jacket still allows room to breathe, with moderate waist suppression and little drape. The round sleeve head that is characteristic of Hong Kong tailoring comes with minimal extension over the shoulder, which is heavily-padded and straight. Armscyes are large. The sleeves have a gentle curve and are neither very narrow nor full. The trousers sit around the natural waist and continue full and straight over some break at the bottom. Lapels have a relatively low, but not anachronistically low gorge.
A lightweight garment in spite of its structure, the jacket never clings. Buttonhole stitching is tight and well-finished. The buttons are of good-quality plastic. Pick stitching is tidy and consistent throughout. The lining, though a different color than was requested, is mated tightly to the edges with mostly machine stitching.
Baromon receives comparisons to Oxxford, the Chicago firm, which is understandable given the conservative and clean silhouette. Of the three tailoring houses reviewed in this series, its style is the most understated. The suit in the photographs was approximately HK10,000 (roughly U.S. $1,300) for a Scabal Super 120s 10 ounce/300 gram worsted in 2008.
H. Baromon Limited
The Galleria
9 Queen’s road Central
Hong Kong
Shop 203-204, Second Floor
Telephone: (852) 2523 6845
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7 comments:
I would love to see the same for Chan, I am thinking about a new suit and I think you said Chan does tour. You had a suit or two made by them and your input would be helpful. What is going on with that very visible seam going down the back of the jacket?
The jacket has not been pressed recently; this, in addition to the high-contrast setting we used to reveal greater detail in the photograph, likely accounts for the seam's apparent prominence.
You are one of the few blogs on real men's style and it makes sense to start adding Guest Posts; selectively, as I know you will.
The front view disturbs me. There, I said it out loud. Is it just that daylight is showing from elbow to shoulder, or are the forearms somehow shouting out to our cro-magnon (I hope) forebears?
I would not have posted this, except that a) this was mentioned as the most conservative Hong Kong silhouette and b) I really am considering booking a ticket and having a suit made.
Can I ask what other parts of the construction are done by hand? I'm a little bit surprised to hear that the lining isn't attached by hand. Do you have any details on the buttonholes, canvassing or sleeve attachment?
Thank you
Plastic buttons and you compare it to Oxxford?
John, as I understand your question, the reason for the space between the arms and the torso is twofold: my arms were held out slightly to show the shape of the torso, and my waist is narrow in proportion to my chest (8" drop).
Simon, regarding the lining specifically, the areas around the vents are attached by hand, as are the armhole and shoulder areas, but the majority of the stitching is done by machine (i.e. around the edges, pockets and panels).
The exterior of the jacket has hand detailing where one would normally expect it (edges, buttonholes, lapels, etc.), and from what I can tell, the jacket is fully-canvassed.
The matching waistcoat, which was not shown, evinces the same attention to detail as the jacket, but the lining is attached by hand. The trousers, however, are practically devoid of any hand stitching.
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