New CMT Maker on the Golden Scene - Part I

 

Long Time No See, Again! 

It’s a bit embarrassing to start a blog post with “long time no see” for the second time, but here we are. Life has a funny way of throwing work and other less enjoyable engagements our way. But, writing about menswear? That’s always a pleasure.

Keen readers of the blog may have noticed that @shirtingfantasy has been a bit under the radar lately. Well, not entirely off the radar, but I've been operating within a new detection zone — the Rad Radar if you will — building an alternative presence under the moniker 何生今年不買鞋 on the national Instagram, also known as 小紅書 (Little Red Book).

Check out @shirtingfantasy’s Little Red Book account!

The shift in focus from shirts to shoes was a natural progression, as any true menswear enthusiast might understand. As shoe guru Gary Tok confessed in his BBC interview, his journey in menswear also began with shirts. After all, shirts are often considered the most personal of garments — so intimate that they are sometimes regarded as underwear in the strictest of menswear standards (yes, you should be covering them with a vest or jacket!).

But before @shirtingfantasy starts sliding into “sole fantasy” or, heaven forbid, “feet fantasy” territory, let’s get back to the foundation of every wardrobe: affordable makers that brighten your day, with a turnaround time fast enough to keep you coming back for more.

Thanks to my dear friendnemy @fupeichina (who, in his words, is the #1 menswear blogger in our nation), @shirtingfantasy was introduced to a new menswear factory contact — the mighty Mr Xu.

Here’s Mr Xu’s contact information. He has graciously allowed me to share it with fellow enthusiasts, which @shirtingfantasy assume you are or soon will be!

Mr Xu is our man on the ground, our key to the Kingdom of Factory-made Menswear.

Is this Kingdom Heaven or Hell? Let’s Find Out.

With the kind assistance of Daniel from Golden Circle, the local fabric merchant, @shirtingfantasy submitted a beautiful length of Marling & Evans wool-linen jacketing to Mr Xu for production at his factory. Word on the street is that his factory manufactures for a large, international brand whose name starts with "S" and ends with "y". However, after a close inspection of the final product, @shirtingfantasy can confirm that the craftsmanship and details differ subtly from the aforementioned brand. (More on that later.)

In true modern fashion, and in the spirit of our city's newfound Result-Oriented policy-making, @shirtingfantasy figured it’s best to let the photos of the finished jacket do the talking before diving into the nitty-gritty that might ruffle a few menswear feathers.

Here’s the jacket, fresh out of the box!

Handmade buttonholes, a special gift from Mr Xu to @shirtingfantasy (normally this comes with a surcharge)

And here’s our cover photo again!

Mr Xu’s factory operates in a sort of MTM (Made-to-Measure) fashion for these CMT (Cut, Make, Trim) projects. Typically, the factory only takes bulk orders from retailers. But, with the recent shift in suit culture post-COVID and a slowdown in demand, they’ve started accepting individual orders from customers like myself.

This brown jacket is actually my second commission from Mr Xu. The first was a Prince of Wales check wool-linen(also from Marling & Evans). Since the second order was essentially a replica of the first — to test consistency and Mr Xu’s new handmade buttonhole service — @shirtingfantasy will use his first commission to walk you through the ordering process.

Step 1: Size and Measurement Communication

According to Mr Xu, the factory’s pattern is based on that of the international brand they purportedly manufacture for. So, the easiest way to determine your size is to visit one of their stores, try on a jacket, and make note of any necessary adjustments.

In our case, @shirtingfantasy already owned over a dozen jackets from the brand, so sizing was a breeze. @shirtingfantasy double-checked the measurements using the brand’s online system, making a few minor tweaks before sending them to Mr Xu’s factory.

For the first commission, @shirtingfantasy opted for a self-facing, unlined, unstructured jacket. Mr Xu’s factory doesn’t charge extra for unstructured designs (more on that later) or for self-facing if you provide your own fabric. The non-discounted price for this service was RMB 980 (or RMB 880 if you drop @fupeichina’s name).

Step 2: Shipping and Payment

In my case, Daniel from Golden Circle kindly handled the shipping of my fabric to the mainland factory and took care of the payment in RMB, since I had purchased the fabric from his store. For other readers, shipping and payment will be something you’ll need to discuss directly with Mr Xu.

After a short wait of about two weeks, the first jacket was completed. As any good Italian maker would, Mr Xu graciously sent over some factory shots of the finished product.

Factory shots: they know what we menswear enthusiasts love!

And here’s @shirtingfantasy's own shot (okay, with Daniel's help as well :P) of the first commission, fresh out of the box. The fit was, quite frankly, perfect for an MTM project.

The Not-So-Perfect Bits

In the interest of objectivity, I feel obliged to point out a few quirks with the service.

1. The jacket’s construction isn’t exactly the same as the brand’s MTM product.

See the factory label? It’s formatted differently from the brand’s. 

2. There’s a thin fused membrane behind the fabric. This is part of their “unstructured” construction, but it’s absent in the MTM products of the international brand they claim to produce for.

The membrane is noticeable but doesn’t affect comfort significantly. 

Membrane is absent in real MTM product from the brand (that Mr Xu's factory claims to make for)

3. The lapel buttonhole wasn’t cut open!

Oops! A small oversight, but easily fixed.

So, with all these “issues,” why did @shirtingfantasy go ahead and order a second jacket? That’s a story for Part II. Stay tuned!

Until then, goodbye!

Mr Xu (aka 大牌西服代工廠) 

Minimum order: 1 MTM jacket / 1 pair of MTM trousers

Price range: RMB 980 (RMB 880) for making of a half-canvassed or unstructured jacket, RMB 400 for making of a pair of trousers

Handmade option: Milanese buttonhole for lapel (+RMB 100), handmade buttonholes for whole jacket (+RMB 200), handmade pick-stitching (+RMB 100), handmade bar tacks (+RMB 80), full-canvassed construction (RMB 650)

Contact: Mr Xu (WeChat ID: ww742809593, Instagram: @xuxin6134)