This photograph of the interior of the Fatman Singapore Gents' Wear Company shop was probably taken when the shirt department was set up in 1967 within the main shop at 241 Jalan Besar. Prior to this, Fatman's founder, Mr Choo Foo Wah, had opened a subsidiary, the Singapore Shirt Company, at 759 Geylang Lorong 39, specialising in the sale of shirts. 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.
