在香港，如何找到好裁縫？你需要考慮這幾點

HONG KONG — Think of a major city, and you often think of a business. In London, it’s the pub; in Tokyo, the sushi restaurant, and so on.

香港——每當想到一個大城市，你經常會想到一種生意。對于倫敦，會想到酒吧;對于東京，會想到壽司店，諸如此類。

In Hong Kong, it’s the tailor’s shop, home to a magician with cloth who can take your measurements one morning and produce a finished suit the next day. It sounds like a stereotype, but this city of about 7.4 million has hundreds of such businesses, supported by legions of tailors and seamstresses toiling away in drab industrial workrooms tucked into out-of-the-way neighborhoods or across the border in mainland China.

在香港，則會是裁縫店，這座城市是布料魔術師之家，他們在早上測量你的尺寸，第二天你就能拿到做好的西裝。這聽起來像是刻板印象，但是在這座740萬人口的城市中，有數以百計這樣的裁縫店，支撐在背后的是大量的裁縫，他們在偏僻的街區(qū)中，或是在位于中國大陸界內單調的工業(yè)工作室里辛勤勞作。

Residents here are used to visitors who ask for tailor recommendations, along with suggestions for the best dim sum and xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) and how to avoid waiting in lines for the Peak Tram. The usual advice begins with two points to be considered well before starting the hunt for the right shop.

這里的居民已經習慣了客人們請他們推薦裁縫，連帶著詢問最好的點心和小籠包餐廳是哪家，如何不排長隊就能坐上山頂纜車。要想找到對的裁縫店，通常的建議是先考慮兩個問題。

First, what do you want in the finished garment? In detail.

首先，你希望成品是怎樣的?要說詳細。

On their own, Hong Kong tailors will produce a standard version of any piece of clothing. That kind of mass-market mind-set has enabled many shops to develop robust e-tail operations and global customer networks, with measurements and fabric selections determined during scheduled visits to major cities and garments made and dispatched from Hong Kong.

讓香港裁縫自己決定的話，他們將會制作任何服裝的標準版本。很多商店靠這種大眾市場心態(tài)開發(fā)了興旺的裁縫電商業(yè)務和全球客戶網絡，他們會定期前往大城市確定尺寸、選定面料，在香港制作服裝并發(fā)貨。

But if you want specific features — topstitching, a watch pocket in trousers or channels for shirt collar stays — you have to say so when you place the order.

但是，如果你想要具體的式樣——輯面線、褲子上的表袋，襯衫衣領內襯上的條帶——你下訂單時就必須說清楚。

Another possibility: Bring a favorite garment to be copied. (And that’s what will be produced: an exact copy.)

還有一種可能性：帶上你最喜歡的服裝去復制。(做出來的東西和原物一模一樣。)

Second, consider your travel schedule. Many tailors can, indeed, produce a suit overnight — or will measure you just before you dash to the airport train, then send the finished garment by express delivery. But having at least one fitting, and preferably two, will produce a much better result. So maybe it’s worth skipping the Big Buddha on Lantau Island if you don’t have a lot of time.

第二，要考慮你的旅行日程。很多裁縫確實可以在一夜之間做好一套西裝，或者在你沖到機場快線之前測量好尺寸，然后通過快遞把成品發(fā)給你。但至少試穿一次，最好是兩次，效果會更好。所以如果你沒有太多的時間，不去看大嶼山的大佛可能是值得的。

Once you’re ready to find a tailor, many concierges (even if you’re not staying in his or her hotel) will be happy to make recommendations. Or search online for “Hong Kong tailors” and scroll through the scores of blog posts, horror stories and even a few tales of praise.

如果你準備找裁縫，很多門房(即使你不住在他們的酒店)都很樂意向你推薦。你也可以在網上搜索一下“香港裁縫”，瀏覽博客帖子、恐怖故事甚至幾個表揚帖。

One common warning: Ignore the men who try to hand you a tailor’s leaflet as you exit the Star Ferry terminal in Kowloon. Most of those operations are low-end businesses with second-rate fabrics and poor quality control.

一個常見的警告是：當你離開九龍的天星碼頭時，要無視那些給你發(fā)裁縫傳單的人。這些商鋪大部分做的是低端業(yè)務，使用廉價面料，質量管控也不好。

Thinking about the quality of garment you want may help you narrow your choices.

想一想你想要什么質量的衣服，這可能會有助于你縮小選擇。

Central, the cluster of glass-and-metal skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island, is the city’s traditional finance and banking neighborhood, so tailors there primarily cater to executives who want classic styles in top-end suiting materials from Ermenegildo Zegna, Loro Piana, Dormeuil or one of the many heritage woolen brands in Britain. Most customers are men; women can get coats, pantsuits, and jacket and skirt combinations, but they are likely to lack the kind of fashion-forward styling seen on the runways in Paris or Milan.

中環(huán)是香港島上很多玻璃和金屬摩天大樓的匯聚之地，是該市傳統(tǒng)的金融和銀行區(qū)，因此這里的裁縫主要面向希望穿著經典款式的高管，他們要求使用杰尼亞(Ermenegildo Zegna)、諾悠翩雅(Loro Piana)、多美(Dormeuil)品牌或英國羊毛老字號的頂級西裝面料。大多數客戶都是男性;女士可以定制大衣、長褲套裝，以及西裝裙的組合，但是他們可能不會有巴黎或米蘭T臺上那種以時尚為重的風格。

Several tailors in Tsim Sha Tsui, commonly called TST, the shopping and entertainment center at the tip of the Kowloon peninsula, also serve executive tastes, but many in this tourist haven also have a broad range of lower-end fabrics.

尖沙咀位于九龍半島的尖端，是購物和娛樂中心，這里也有幾個裁縫是為高管口味服務的，但這個旅游天堂里的很多裁縫鋪都有大量低端面料。

Fabric is a good indicator of price. A suit made from top-quality materials, which will pack with little wrinkling and keep its shape over time, is likely to cost from $1,500 to more than $3,000. Moderately priced fabrics will result in lower-priced garments. But, regardless of what someone on the internet says, a $300 suit that will fit perfectly, wear like a dream and last for decades is a fantasy.

面料是一個很好的價格指標。優(yōu)質面料制成的西裝價格從1500到3000美元(約合人民幣1萬到2萬元)以上。這些面料不怎么起皺，可以長年保持有型。價格適中的面料制成的西裝價格也較低;但是，無論網上的人怎么說，一套300美元的西裝，要想既合身、又襯人，還可以穿上個幾十年，那都是在做夢。

Suzie Wong might have known such a tailor, although that 1960s styling would be awfully dated these days.

蘇絲黃可能就認識這樣一個裁縫，不過那種1960年代的造型放在如今來看可能會非常過時。