Suit Geek n.14 Mr.Cao Tan

“Suit Geek” is PRINCIPLE M's original feature column where each month we reach out to one of our loyal customers & friends and ask him to share his clothing, life, and his unique point of view on gentlemen‘s style. Click ''above to read previous interviews.

For our 14th interview, we invited our friend & client Mr. Cao Tan. Those who know about The Refinery might have already heard about our guest today - he never missed a single trunk show. He loves to chat, so we often talk about menswear. Sometimes, he also gives us some advice, which turn out to be pretty helpful.

The love that he has for menswear is both sensible and sensitive, meaning there's a path for his love for menswear, with different stages, deeper and deeper. But, all filled with passion, if that makes sense. He also shares his interest for rock music and cult films in particular, which would definitely make you feel that, this is an interesting guy.

WEARING SUITS TO WORK?

"My name is Cao Tan. I work at a consulting firm as a consultant. Our company has a variety of consulting services, and I’m in charge of human science. "

Justin: Do you have a dress code at your company?

Mr. Cao: We have a very strict dress code. When you’re at work, you must dress in business formal attire, which means suits with or without a tie. This is to present a professional image to our clients.

“However, the reason that I’m wearing suits everyday is not just for following the dress code, it’s also a hobby, a passion for me.”

PM MTM Single-breasted Suit commissioned by Mr.Cao

Justin: I like the tie you’re wearing today, very interesting.

Mr. Cao: Haha. I got inspiration from Jamen’s pink animal tie!

Jamen has a pink tie with animal prints on it. We shared a picture of him wearing his tie on Weibo and asked people if they could recognize the animals on it.

Justin: So, your company’s dress code is pretty conservative and you still would wear a tie like this to work?

Mr. Cao: Yeah. Others may feel odd, but I don’t care.

Mr. Cao does his fitting.

"When I wear a suit to work everyday, of course I’ve been asked if I was going to attend a formal event in the evening. They may feel strange and I would also ask myself if I’m overly dressed. But, then in the group chat (with menswear lovers) they all tell me, people will get used it sooner or later. This is you. "

Justin: If you go walk your dog, you’d still wear a suit?

Mr. Cao: Haha. Look, I’ve been wearing suits all day! I have my “dog walking look” - I’d also wear dress trousers. It’s made by an incredibly soft fabric, very comfortable.

Mr. Cao in his tailored shirt.

FROM CITY BOY TO CLASSICAL MENSWEAR

Mr. Cao shared his classical menswear journey with us, in a very clear chronological order. He used to wear track suits a lot, “city boy” he describes his style. Later on, because of his profession, he had to rethink about the way he dresses himself. He bought suits from big fashion brands before, also tried tailored suit once, didn’t work out well. It was not until he went to Italy that he really changed his view on classical menswear.

"My tailored suit journey really began when I went to travel in Italy."

"I was quite shocked. I went to Florence and Rome, the people there would dress in suits so casually, walking their dogs or something. The suit looked so good on them, wider lapels, high waisted trousers, the proportion looked great. Then, I realized, you don't have to wear suits for a certain occasion; it can be your daily outfit."

"I went to a few stores on the streets in Florence, trying to absorb more about Italian suiting style. At that time, the means to study those things were limited and I couldn't find any offline communities to help my learning. So, when I got back from Italy, I went online to search all of the information on suits, then WeChat entered everybody's life, so I joined a few groups who all share the same love with me, also know the best places to commission a tailored suit in Beijing. Then, people recommended PM to me."

Mr. Cao in his new Semi-bespoke jacket.

Mr. Cao mentioned how fitness changed his needs for suits.

"I started working out in 2015, then I couldn't find any ready-to-wear suits that fit me well. Ready-to-wear shirts are worse, I can never close the first button, which is why I tried tailored shirts here, turned out to be pretty good. Then, I started making suits, and it's been very nice."

Live rock n roll, vinyl records and cult films

Mr. Cao loves rock music. We interviewed a musician Hongwei for our Suit Geek column last December. Mr. Cao jokes, "I was upset that you didn't tell me about the interview first! I would've come and asked for an autograph or something, haha."

"When I was 13 or 14, I bought a rock album for the first time. That was Nirvana's Nevermind. The cover was a baby swimming and I found that very interesting. The first time I listened to it, I just felt it was too loud. I didn't have money at that time, so each time i bought an album I would listen to it over and over again. After a while, I started liking it."

"At that time you didn't have much choice. You just bought whatever the store sold. Now you can download an app and listen to whatever you want."

Nirvana 'Nevermind'

Justin: Do you have vinyl records?

Mr. Cao: Yes I do, I like them very much. A vinyl record has A side and B side. Every time you go to switch a different side, there's a sense of formality for doing it. Besides, you can't skip a song when you're playing vinyl records. Nowadays, we're so used to online streaming services, we would only listen to the first 30 seconds, probably even less, then you'd skip to the chorus or change to the next one. Vinyl records slow you down, "forcing' you to listen to the music all the way through. I appreciate this sort of 'vintage formality'.

"When you hold a vinyl record, you can feel the weight and that makes you feel this is something valuable, like a piece of art."

"You'll learn to cherish it, too. Because vinyl records, each time you listen to it, it gets worn off, and that will damage its quality. So, the less time there is left for you to enjoy it."

Mr. Cao in PM X TR001 Leather Jacket

Speaking of live concerts around town, Mr. Cao has got something to say.

"This new Mao Live House is not the same one as the old one, so it won't feel the same. Lots of rock bands started from there. Also, D-22 at Wudaokou, Hongwei must have known, their band used to play there before, now the bar got torn down. The owner was an American working in finance business, got some money in his pocket. Rock n roll is just a passion for him. I think he also owned a music label. Back then there were many local bands playing there, including Joyside. I like their earlier times better, it was very punk. Now, it’s more like British style rock.

D-22, Beijing

Mr. Cao also mentioned a few cult films, incldung Rubber and Dobermann, which none of us have ever heard about.

Justin: I can see you're really into niche markets.

Mr. Cao: You see, when you're young, you like those things because you want to be different. Then, after a while, you found yourself actually into those things, interesting, isn't it?

Interviewer: Justin

Writer: Carrie

Photographer: Adora

Produced by PRINCIPLE M