Where suits are still made by hand
- No.24, State Theatre Building, 285 King's Rd
- Mon-Sat 11am-6pm, closed on Sundays
- +852 25786559
No signs of stopping
Brilliant Tailor Shop in the State Theatre Shopping Arcade is run by the two Tsang brothers. The old Mr Tsang (76) remembers the golden days of the tailor business well. In the 1950s and 60s, North Point was home to more than a dozen shops and business was good. In those days there was no garment industry; suits were made by tailors: “In the past, every street had one or two tailor shops, even more than rice-shops” he explains “our workshop made eight to ten suits in a single day and when it got busy we used other tailors in the neighbourhood”.
Meet the master tailors
Brilliant Tailor Shop continues to tailor suits by hand. The Tsangs still use a Brother sewing machine made in Japan 50 years ago. “This old machine is very durable, I think it can be used forever,” explains Tsang “But we don’t have so many orders now, what we sold in a month then, may take us a year now”. Demand may be dwindling; the Tsang brothers will continue their craft.
In the past, every street had one or two tailor shops, even more than rice shops.
The glorious times of State Theatre
Mr Tsang recalls how busy State Theatre once was, “The theatre was so popular in the 50s, many people came here for movies. There were many record stores in this shopping arcade, they are all gone now.”