By the early 1960s, Mr Choo Foo Wah had changed the name of his tailoring business from Singapore Tailor to Fatman Singapore Gents' Wear Company.This photograph was probably taken when the shirt department was set up in 1967 within this main shop at 241 Jalan Besar. Mr Choo and his wife (Mdm Chan Pow Lian) are standing on the far left in the first row of the photograph.Mr Choo started out as an apprentice to a local tailor (specialising in making Western suits). In 1955, he set up his own business, Singapore Tailor, at Desker Road (1955–1957). Later the business was renamed Fatman Singapore Gents’ Wear Company, with its main shop in Jalan Besar (1957–2009), followed by the Whampoa area (2009–2018), as well as branches along Victoria Street (1975–1981) and in the Orchard Road area (1981–1994). Fatman Singapore Gents’ Wear Company was one of the local renowned tailor shops that specialised in the making of men’s Western suits as early as the 1950s. In the 1960s, with Western culture making greater inroads into the local fashion consciousness, there was an increasing popularity for made-to-measure clothing which led to a demand for tailors who could replicate coveted Western designs. Between the 1970s and the 1980s, Fatman was one of the most renowned tailor shops in Singapore, ordering fabrics from London to satiate the growing demands of consumers, who also appreciated Fatman's fine workmanship.
