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| J. Crew |
Over the past year, I have depended on my custom-made shirts as my everyday 'work' uniform. 'Work' meaning work-for-money kinda work, 'mommy' work as in pick-up-the-kids-from-school-meet-with-the- teachers-go-to-the-family-day-kinda-work and other extras like go-to-the-mall-and-pay-in-the-Bayad Center-because-I-have-received-a-disconnection-notice kinda work. So the shirt is quite versatile right? My closet has such a frustrating selection that I even wore one to an out of town trip simply because I 'had nothing to wear'. So what if I look stuffy? I prefer it over t-shirts still. I have given up on buying t-shirts because they have a very short lifespan - they get deformed upon washing, they bore holes for I don't know what reason ( speculation : over use of fabric softener?), and they fade after a couple of uses. (ok, blame it on the househelp.)
So a year ago, I went to King Philip Tailoring, the branch near San Lorenzo Village Makati to try their services. They charge P1,500 for labor on a long sleeved shirt.They also carry a selection of fabrics but I brought my own from Fabric Warehouse.
As I have earlier mentioned, I am quite
predictable. In fashion choices, I cannot go too girly nor trendy. I have long depended on polo shirts, even back when I was in college. My frustration is that women's off-the-rack shirts have collars that have a tendency to lay flat and sloppy over time. KP shirts come with collar sticks ( in plastic material). These are good because they keep the collar upright, the way I like them.
I have specified French cuffs, because I like how polished they look. Downside is, I don't get to show off these cuffs since I like wearing my shirts with sleeves folded, similar to how model wears it at top most photo sans popped collar. They work out nice since they are snug and fit right after folding, even if the cuff is kinda stiff. ( If you want to wear them long, no need for cufflinks since they come with buttons to connect them "kissing style".)
After a year, my shirts are still doing their rounds. I still like wearing my shirts, they still have the same shape, they have not faded, their collars still stand with pride. Except that...
I cringe at the label.
After thoughts:
1. Prior, I have seen David Celdran feature the legendary
Hongkong tailors as well as the exclusive Ascot Chang on his show. I thought, maybe our local tailors are worth a try...I guess I expected too much. Over at King Philip's..
- Browsing through their catalogs is like a travel back in time. I swear. I should've taken pictures. Their catalog pages look somewhat like this...
Even their official receipt looks like it came from another era. Let me look for it...
- I expected a well-versed person in the art of tailoring to attend to me and answer my questions and maybe recommend the best styles for my body type , but I got a regular shop keeper kinda service.
- I wanted to choose buttons, the ones I had in mind, but in the end I had no choice but to pick the simplest and most ordinary ones instead.
- And the kicker, one shirt was misaligned.
2. This particular branch does not accept credit card payment. They have someone run out to the nearby Glorietta branch to have it swiped there. Hmm, so much for executive class.
3. I spent around P350-400 on my fabrics from Fabric Warehouse. A couple I picked were just right, the others though were not as cool and light. I have yet to discover where to find quality fabrics at a reasonable price. There are no decent white fabrics in FW if you want it for your perfect white shirt. I got my white fabric instead in KP. It was expensive ( that I had 3/4 sleeve style shirt made instead to save haha!) but the quality of the fabric is good.
Coming soon : The P350.00 Kamuning Challenge
