If there's anything men hate, it's changing rooms and jostling crowds. Tan Teck Heng shortlists two new online options for the armchair-shopping gent.

Vanda Fine Clothing
vandafineclothing.com
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6842 2124

In the musty corner of a Geylang industrial estate, a dapper young couple and a seamstress huddle together. They are not elves held against their will by an evil queen, but the enterprising minds behind a handcrafted menswear online outfit.

Vanda Fine Clothing (named after the national orchid) was started just last November by Gerald Shen and Diana Chan. The 26-year-old duo - who have been dating for seven years - shunned promising careers in investment banking and hospitality to pursue the art of making pocket squares and neckties with old world workmanship but quality, unconventional materials.

It was not an easy decision to make - they have invested a total of $35,000 comprising savings and loans, but "we want to do what we love and make a sustainable living", says Mr Shen. "If I wanted to be a billionaire I would have continued in investment banking!"

It's tedious work too - the business is not a scalable operation since everything is handsewn, and the three toiling elves are currently churning out only 80 ties and 40 squares in a month which are just meeting orders.

While they seem to be doing well - they have since clinched a Spring Singapore grant for young entrepreneurs and are looking to extend their line into bespoke shirts - most of the profits go back into the business, and they are paying themselves such a meagre salary that their one employee laughs at the figure, Mr Shen says.

Not that it has affected them sartorially, since they are perpetually togged in preppy outfits. Plus their glamorous air is an image that goes well with their quality accessories, made from fabrics sourced directly from mills in Europe as well as kimono silk from Japan.

The squares ($45 to $60) are finished with a rolling technique that gives it a less "flat" finish. The multi-fold ties ($125 to $155) in particular feature interesting patterns like houndstooth and grenadine weaves, and are not lined with cheaper material such as muslin or cotton, effectively tripling the cost price. Ms Chan offers a hand-stitched monogram service so clients can personalise their purchases in a manner befitting a proper English gentleman.

But for those who are used to the sleek and manicured corporate look, be warned that the accessories may not suit your style: the organic and natural feel which Vanda Fine goes for puts a tasteful but quirky spin on formal wear.

That perhaps explains why 80 per cent of sales come from the United States with only 5 per cent from Singapore, though locals take up a high volume of total site traffic (up to 30 per cent). After all, Singaporean men are typically more conservative when it comes to fashion.

"People here are interested, but they are just not buying because not many people around are wearing our stuff yet," observes Mr Shen. The key word, of course being "yet". Trendsetters, take note.

ButtonNStitch
buttonnstitch.com

Designer Sherrey Chng-Bahuguna likes to give her men's shirts women's names. Like Sakura for a white one with pale pink stripes and dobbies (faint, texturised dots), or Trisha for a grey shirt (which is Sanskrit for "desire", she explains).

It's not because the founder of ButtonNStitch is the female version of car-crazed men who name their roadsters after their favourite Hollywood starlets. With her penchant for Asian names, she wants to make it clear that hers is a brand from this region. "There aren't many homegrown brands for men's apparel," she adds.

The online menswear outfit was started in May this year, and just shortly after Ms Chng founded BagBistro, an online multi-label women's bags boutique. The ex-corporate high-flyer was previously in marketing and supply chain management, but has since embraced online entrepreneurship to make time for her two boys (aged 18 months and three years).

What's more, she believes online retail is part of the appeal for male shoppers, who want their shopping fuss-free and "have a pattern of shopping different from women", she says. "Men are lazy shoppers - the moment they find something they like they keep re-buying it!"

And she's keeping it purely Web-based because it's a trend she believes is here to stay: "By 2018, 35 per cent of stores will be online, according to reports I've read."

Ms Chng came up with the idea when she realised shopping for shirts for her husband was a tremendous task. "It was very hard to please him: the ones he liked cost a bomb, and I felt there had to be a happy point for quality as well as price."

ButtonNStitch aims to fill that gap with its affordable 120 to 160 thread count offerings, with prices starting from around $80. There's no need to spend exorbitant sums on ready-to-wear shirts from the usual suspects if brand names are not an issue, says Ms Chng. "After all, if you're dissatisfied with our shirts, you will be dissatisfied with the ones that cost three times as much off the rack because we offer the same quality, if not better," she says confidently.

For those who hate the uncertainty of online shopping, Ms Chng stresses that the first exchange is free if clients misjudged their sizes.

Speaking of fit, the shirts work well for average to stouter body types. Don't be afraid to try the slim fit - unlike the usual "Asian slim cut" which assumes Asian men to be stick-thin, these shirts don't require you to suck in your gut. Unless you ordered a second dessert at lunch, that is.