Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by kotmj

Where are the seven roadblocks?

kotmj — Fri, 08 May 2020 14:01:52 +0800

There are supposedly seven roadblocks to monitor interstate travel. I am going from Bukit Tinggi, Pahang to PJ. Will I encounter one?

Part time student job at Jeremy Tok Tailor

kotmj — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 18:26:18 +0800

Name of Company:Jeremy Tok Tailor at Empire City in Damansara Perdana

Role:Assist in a variety of tasks that I'm currently performing myself. These tasks can be directly tailoring-related like pressing garments or they can be general administrative tasks like responding to customer emails.

Remuneration:RM12/hour, for about 10 hours/week, primarily on weekends (Saturday and Sunday)

Requirements:You must be a degree student. You may be asked to sit for an IQ test.

Contact Person:Jeremy at 0143324628 or jeremytok@gmail.com

You'll likely find this part-time gig engaging if you like making things to a high level and meeting the customers who comissioned these things. We make incredible handsewn suits one at a time. jeremytok.com

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[WTS] Sigma 30mm f1.4 Art for Canon

kotmj — Sat, 21 Oct 2017 19:34:14 +0800

Item(s):Sigma 30mm f1.4 Art for Canon

Package includes:Original lens cap, original hood, original pouch

Price: RM1300 non-negotiable

Dealing method:COD in KL/PJ

Location:Damansara Perdana

Contact method/details:0143324628
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Item(s) conditions:Wear marks on exterior, especially on lens hood. Perfect optics: no scratches, no fungus, no dust, no haze.

Picture:

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[WTS]Fujifilm Fujinon XF 27mm f2.8 pancake

kotmj — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 23:18:16 +0800

Item(s):Fujinon 27/2.8

Package includes: Lens, original front cap, original back cap

Price:RM1000 non-negotiable

Warranty:None

Dealing method:COD in Damansara Perdana/Bandar Utama

Location:Damansara Perdana/Bandar Utama

Contact method/details:0143324628
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Item(s) conditions:Pretty new with some specks of dust

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Where to buy Zhongyi Lens Turbo II Canon EF-Sony E

kotmj — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 02:34:17 +0800

This is out of stock at digitalsmania. Anyone saw this anywhere in KL? I would prefer to buy in person, not through Lazada.

Sold

kotmj — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 03:32:24 +0800

Item(s):Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 Art in Canon mount

Package includes: Lens, lens pouch, original caps, hood and box

Price:RM1850. Those who ask for best price will be ignored.

Warranty:None

Dealing method:COD only

Location:Damansara Perdana

Contact method/details:PM
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Item(s) conditions:Function 10/10; Cosmetics 9/10. The lens hood has a chip on the inside which is not visible from the outside and does not affect the function of the lens hood.

Reason for sale: Went FF

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Your experience with custom jeans

kotmj — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 18:13:00 +0800

I'd be interested to know how those of you who had custom jeans made for yourselves found the experience. Who made it, what options were available, how was the process and how the outcome?

Where to buy Sirui tripods?

kotmj — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 04:27:54 +0800

I've gone to many camera shops in KL but couldn't find any that carries Sirui. Would someone please name a few shops that do. Thanks.

WTS Canon 650D

kotmj — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 01:06:47 +0800

Item(s):Canon EOS 650D

[b]Package includes:Every thing in the box, except the box: Battery, charger, manuals, CD, strap, cable. Includes the EF 50mm/1.8 lens.

Price: Final price RM 1000. No best price.

Warranty:None

Dealing method:COD in KL or Subang

Location:KL

Contact method/details:0143324628
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Functions perfectly. Cosmetically very good. Shutter count = 4900.

Making myself a new suit

kotmj — Sun, 03 May 2015 00:42:56 +0800

I don't normally post in lowyat anymore, but come here often for the garage sales section to look at cameras and lenses for sale. But I thought it would be interesting to document here the progress of my new suit. Interesting, because I am curious to see how the reaction will be. Though I'm a tailor, I very rarely make clothes for myself; it's one thing to have things made for oneself, and quite another to make it by oneself, even if only partially.

This is actually the second time I'm documenting on lowyat a suit I'm making; many years ago, I did likewise with the first jacket I've ever sewn. Ah, the old days.

Naturally, it all starts with a paper pattern.

Most people think tailors make clothes to their measurements. That's why the clothes are called made-to-measure, right? Humbug. In reality, clothes are made to patterns, the way any mechanical part -- say an engine block -- is made to technical drawings. Paper patterns like the above are the technical drawings of a jacket.

Since I am having a traditional handsewn jacket made, a canvas needs to be constructed. The canvas is really the skeleton of a jacket. You will never see the canvas once the jacket is finished, but it determines how the jacket looks and feels. There are several layers of canvasses with varying shapes which together form a composite called, simply, eh, the canvas. Here, the body canvas:

Then, on top of it, the chest canvas:

And, on top of that, the shoulder canvas:

Each layer has its role to play. Another layer of cotton felt goes on and various processing steps take place so that the canvas -- as in the composite -- is produced.

Then, the cloth is cut and the skeleton baste made for a first fitting.

The paper pattern is corrected to reflect the changes deemed necessary, and a pocket baste made for a second fitting.

This is currently the state the jacket is in. In fact, the picture above was taken just an hour ago.

You may be curious about the cloth. It's from a boutiquish label called H.Lesser & Sons based in London, an old and illustrious name that became increasingly irrelevant, and ultimately, chronically loss-making, and had to be taken over. The colour is known as airforce blue, a very agreeable shade; not as stern as plain navy.

WTS Canon EF 35/f2.0

kotmj — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 17:38:17 +0800

Item(s): Canon EF 35/f2.0

Package includes:The lens, front and back caps, filter and box

[b]Price:RM800 best price

Warranty:Nil

Dealing method:COD

Location:KL

Contact method/details:PM me or 014-3324628
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Item(s) conditions:Gently used. It was made in 2011, a recent production.

Picture:

WTB Canon EF 28/2.8 non-IS

kotmj — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:56:04 +0800

If you have one, consider selling it to me. Please PM. Thanks!

WTS Pentax-M SMC 50/1.4

kotmj — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 04:13:39 +0800

Item(s): Pentax-M SMC 50/1.4

Package includes: Lens, aftermarket caps

Price: RM350 (best price)

Warranty: 1 week

Dealing method: COD Klang Valley

Contact method/details: Please PM
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Perfect optics. Very smooth focussing. Very clean. Please PM for COD appointment.

Shipping

kotmj — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:45:51 +0800

Man, I've seen the light. THIS is tracking, not the lame ass sh!t USPS or the Jap EMS serve up...

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The Anaconda Protocol

kotmj — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 00:31:34 +0800

Thought I'd start a thread specifically to discuss this program.

Discuss alternatives to the expensive Anaconda, talk about recovery issues, suggest alternative lifts to replace some of those in the program, philosophize on the principles underpinning the design of the program, etc.

Have you seduced a female colleague before?

kotmj — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:26:29 +0800

Just wondering what your experience was intentionally seducing a female colleague and getting intimate with her. My boss booted out a worker a few years back for getting romantically involved with a co-worker.

Dress suggestion

kotmj — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:37:57 +0800

So I'll be giving a technical presentation tomorrow (not at work) in a group of people where at least 3 of the young women fantasize of doing indecent things to me (something I want to encourage). One of them is actually pretty. However, there is also a fatherly figure whose esteem I want to keep. I also have male friends in there I go out for drinks with and some people I do not know. I do not want to alienate anyone with my dress.

How should I dress?

"Dressed up"
Light grey odd jacket
Pale blue shirt
Navy cotton chinos
Dark brown suede oxfords

"Dressed down"
Pale blue shirt
Navy cotton chinos
Beige chucks

"Really dressed down"
Off white polo without brand
Navy chinos
Dark brown suede oxfords

"f*** everyone"
Navy body-fitting T-shirt
Off white chinos
Dark brown suede oxfords
Navy braided belt

Pls choose.

Can someone please translate this for me?

kotmj — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:32:23 +0800

SF meetup (sort of) in KL

kotmj — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:48:38 +0800

Gshen of styleforum will be in KL on this Sunday through Tuesday. We will meetup at ALT possibly on Sunday afternoon for some sartorially-motivated business, and will have a meal thereafter. Please, do join us. I look forward to meeting all of you. It ought to be very interesting. Gshen will bring along the Dugdale books, so if you want to finger them, come!

He is the guy who came up with this iconic thread:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=90990

So you want to get a suit made

kotmj — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:33:04 +0800

So you want to get a suit made

So you’d like to get yourself a suit made just for you? It is impossibly difficult to get a good bespoke suit in this country, at any price, but here are some pointers to make the best of a difficult situation.

There is good reason why the suit is regarded as the pinnacle of men’s dress. The jacket in particular is a highly evolved piece of old world technology. It has had hundreds of years of evolution and optimization behind it. The result is a garment that, when made in the traditional way is very comfortable, durable, and very flattering.

The way a suit flatters the wearer’s proportions is unmatched. No other piece of contemporary garment in a man’s wardrobe is sculptured the way a tailored jacket is. The chest area of a jacket is made convex even if the wearer’s chest is flat and ribcage small. Moving down from the chest, the jacket narrows considerably to form the appearance of a trim waist. Moving down further, the jacket widens to encompass the hips. If the wearer has even a moderately acceptable figure, the jacket bestows him with a strong shouldered, powerfully built, hourglass appearance. Morever, the sculptural quality of the jacket is very durable because it is built on a foundation of horsehair canvas which has been permanently shaped with a series of darts and wedges as well as hand stitches. The lapels roll gracefully. Finishing touches like hand-sewn buttonholes give the jacket a heirloom quality.

The above describes a jacket as made by an accomplished tailor with traditional methods and materials. However, I have yet to meet an accomplished tailor in Malaysia. And the traditional methods are painstakingly labour intensive, which is why nobody adopts them anymore. Traditional materials are very expensive too.

Instead of shapely jackets, tailors are predisposed to make less shapely ones because they require less ironwork, are easier to sew up, and require less conscientous fitting. A strongly waisted jacket requires several fittings to get right – where the cloth lies smoothly on the body instead of pulling and rippling. The horsehair canvas has been replaced with a synthetic fusing because it is much faster than the hand process of marrying cloth to canvas, besides the fact that fusibles cost almost nothing compared to quality horsehair canvas. The hand padded lapel and collar have become extinct. It is rumoured that there are only four tailors left in the country capable of making a fully canvassed jacket in the traditional method.

Customers, often unknowledgeable, do their part to degrade the potential their garment has. They often pick a wool-polyester mix, preferably with cashmere fluff mixed in. Such cloths have no place in a bespoke garment. Indeed, in this country one should never, ever source his cloth from the tailor. There is simply too much fake stuff from China masquerading as Italian. Tailors also markup their cloths to an absurd level.

Your first step
Your first step should be to look at a thousand bespoke suits. This sounds like some outdated Zen philosophy, but the reality is that one needs to sensitize oneself to the look of bespoke suits. The wording of my instruction is precise: Look at a thousand bespoke suits. Suits you see being peddled by Gucci or Ralph Lauren or other brands in magazines are not bespoke. These are RTW suits. Worse, the suits you see in magazines like GQ or Esquire are often not wearable. They are tolerable for a photoshoot especially if you are highly paid to do so, but they are almost all too tight to be practicable in everyday life.

After having looked at a great many bespoke suits you will have formed a pretty definite idea of your ideal suit.

Your second step
Now it’s time to go shopping for cloth. Avoid the cloth shops along Jln TAR or elsewhere like the plague. Tailors and cloth shops are not the place to source cloth from. The quality is dubious; the price is ridiculous.

The place to buy cloths from is eBay. Looks for the shops British Fabrics and AKSTextiles.

„But,“ you protest, „I need to feel the cloth first!“ At this point in your experience curve, it is better that you do not feel the cloth. If you buy by feel, you will end up with a thin high super number if you are moneyed, and if you are not moneyed you will end up buying a wool-polyester mix with cashmere fluff thrown in. In other words, with no experience to speak of you will buy exactly those cloths which are least serviceable.

For your first few suits, stick to plain dark grey and plain navy. Never black. Avoid anything with stripes for now. Stick to a plain weave grey or navy.

Weight of the cloth should be above 10oz (300g) if pure wool; wool-mohair mixes can be lighter. Mohair cloths are highly recommended for our climate because they wear much cooler than wool. Fresco, the name given to a particular type of weave, also wears cool. Avoid high super numbers – anything above Super 100s is unnnecessary; those above Super 120s are fragile.

Consider Irish linen in a heavy weight (11oz) for casual jackets.

Any cloth you buy should come from the UK. Avoid Italian cloths.

You will need 3.5m of cloth for a 2-piece suit if you are below 6‘ tall.

Your third step
Once the cloth is in your hands, it is time to decide on a tailor.

If you are in Singapore with any regularity at all, you should use Iris Tailor. It is by far the best tailoring shop in SE Asia.

The outlook is bleak if, like me, you rarely travel. For it is an understatement to say that Malaysian tailors are wretchedly bad, at any price. Price plays no role in determining the quality of a tailor – they are all bad, no matter how expensive.

Many forumers have used Ah Loke Tailor. The results are mostly underwhelming, but no worse than Bespoked in 1U or Lord’s in Bangsar. At least ALT is cheaper by a quarter, and has a more contemporary cut that yours truly has had a hand in influencing. At ALT, a fused suit will cost RM900 if you supply your own cloth. A fully canvassed number will cost an additional RM500.

It is necessary to go to the tailor 3 to 5 times before taking delivery of your suit. Your first visit will be a measurement and definition session. You will be measured up and your preference recorded. Lapel width, number of buttons, type of back vent and such will be discussed. There is absolutely no reason to get excited about the „creative“ possibilities – avoid all tailoring shop proprietors who call themselves creative directors. Always default to classic options with regards to lining colour, number of buttons, lapel width and all such options offered to you. Many are tempted to make their suit special by asking for novel details like pink lining, contrast buttonholes, contrast pick stitching, extra skinny lapels, etc. All are ill-advised. The supreme challenge of your suit is the fit, which no Malaysian tailor understands. Novel details are like gaudy makeup. On an ill-fitting suit it is like gaudy makeup on a pig.

The next visit will be a fitting session. You will wear the half-finished suit while the tailor inserts pins in various locations to remind himself of the necessary changes to make. Depending on the customer and tailor, this may be the only fitting session or there may be several more. Your last visit to the tailor will be to pick up the finished suit.