Ho Wai-ming
Colorblind tailor Ho Wai-ming disliked tailoring as a child and instead did an array of odd jobs to make a living in the 50s and 60s. After marrying, he followed in his father’s footsteps and took up tailoring again with his wife, raising his three children with the money he made from it. The 75-year-old recounts his life story, which is irrevocably intertwined with tailoring, with Grace Tsoi.
HK Magazine: How did you take up tailoring?
Ho Wai-ming: There were two periods when I worked as a tailor. My father was a tailor, so when I was 14 I learnt tailoring from him and helped him with his business. We made suits. I worked with him for five years. During the Korean War, the American warships would stop by every month. We would get a lot of orders from the navy. When they landed, we had to work ceaselessly—and I didn’t sleep for seven days! I quit because the job was too tough.
HK: How did you find out that you are colorblind?
HW: On the very first day I started helping my father, my relatives gave me some gray fabric so that I could make underpants. Back then, we all made underwear by ourselves. I picked up pink threads for sewing. I didn’t know it was pink—I thought it was gray in color. After I finished sewing, I showed it to my aunt. Shocked, she told me I used pink thread. I was very depressed after finding out that I am colorblind. But I found a way to make things work out. I would ask my colleagues to collect all the fabrics, zippers and threads—of course they were all the right color—before working on the sewing machine.
HK: What did you do after you stopped helping your father?
HW: I once worked as a bellboy at a restaurant on Lockhart Road in Wan Chai. I didn’t have a basic salary. But the boss offered free meals and said I could keep the tips. Fortunately, a lot of taipans would ask me to fetch bargirls to have suppers with them, and so I got a lot of tips. But the restaurant closed down because the bargirls stopped dining there. Then, I became an apprentice and I learnt a lot of things including welding, plumbing and electricity. I worked in the company for three years. Then, just like Li Ka-shing, we all made plastic flowers for export. I stayed in the business for 12 years.
HK: Why did you pick up tailoring again?
HW: My wife was my neighbor’s sister, and she knew tailoring as well. After we got married, she stayed home to take care of the kids. My wife would mingle with the ladies, and her friends found out that she’s good at making garments. Then, my wife started her own business making clothes. Her business thrived, and I later quit the job at the plastic flower factory to help her. Five years after we started the tailoring business, we saved enough money and bought our home.
HK: After so many years, it turned out that you used the skills learnt from your father to make a living. Do you think it’s an interesting coincidence?
HW: Definitely. I am forever thankful for my father. I would have never thought that I could support my family by tailoring. But I became very proud of my skills. None of my customers had asked me to alter the garments I made for them. One of my customers was a huge man, with 42-inch waist and 48-inch hips. He had never been happy with his tailor-made clothes until he met me. I think I have a knack for taking accurate measurements of people with different bodies.
HK: Do you still make clothes for yourselves?
HW: No, I no longer do that, because ready-to-wear garments are a lot cheaper now. Of course, the quality is not as good as tailor-made clothing. Sometimes, my children beg me to make alterations for their clothes so that they fit better. My wife and I always laugh at the so-called fashion trends, because we have seen all that in the past!