Tailor made

For Mr Yu, however, the biggest change has been the 1997 withdrawal of the British Garrison from Hong Kong. In addition to making a full range of men's and women's casual and business suits, jackets, trousers and company uniforms, the Oriental Tailor Company was also the British Army contract tailor, so Mr Yu saw a lot of business sail away with the soldiers.

"As the Army contract tailor, we were located in Tamar Army Headquarters in Central where we specialised in made to measure formal dress uniforms for officers, choker neck jackets, overalls, military caps and hand-made George boots," said Mr Yu.

"Today we remain experts in the field of both military formal dress uniforms and uniforms for private companies as well as organisations like the girl scouts," added Mr Yu, who came to Hong Kong from the mainland in 1953, and worked as a tailor's apprentice in Wanchai before starting his own company in 1960. "Business is down, but I'm managing to keep myself occupied and working."

Indeed, Hong Kong Police officers and inspectors know Mr Yu as the tailor of their summer and winter mess kits which are worn during formal occasions and mess functions.

He is a regular visitor to the Police Training School where Bob travels to take the measurements of police officers about to pass-out from their intakes. The formal mess kit consists of a jacket, trousers, cummerbund and dress shirt and takes Bob's company about three weeks to complete.

Mr Yu's latest order was for 22 sets, but the average order is usually for about twelve ¡Ð which are sewn in the company's workshop close to his showroom in the Fu Yuen Building on Wan Chai Road.

Judging by the response of officers who try on their new mess kits for the first time, Bob does not disappoint. After 20 years of making Force member's fancy attire, his attention to detail, deft tailoring and use of quality material in both the winter and summer formal kits are second to none.

"In the early days because of tradition, the mess kits were made from a very heavy material ¡Ð which officers found too warm for Hong Kong's hot and humid climate. Today, all the mess kits are made out of quality, natural fabric which is a lot lighter and hence cooler and more comfortable," explained Mr Yu.

Speaking of tradition, Bob says that he no longer gets the same high number of requests for formal kilt mess kits. "Which is a shame, because people ¡Ð especially women ¡Ð find officers in kilts very appealing. I myself think that they are unique and add a whole different dimension to an officer's formal look.

Police in need of a formal mess kit and who are interested in getting the Oriental Tailor Company treatment, can phone Bob Yu at 2904-7352, or by appointment on 2802-7850.