Born in Taiwan in 1949, Dave learnt his trade from the age of 15 when he began an apprenticeship with a Shanghainese master who had relocated to Taipei. There he learned the time-tested methods used by classic tailors on Savile Row in London.

Little did he know then as a boy that his life and career were destined to be closely tied to the changing political and economic tides of the region.

Unable to get a job in the more prestigious tailor shops around town, Dave found work in a niche market: American G.I.s coming to Taiwan from the conflict in Vietnam. The soldiers would land at around 11:00 pm and need a suit to wear the next morning. It wasn't glamorous work, but it was a start.

During those early days in 1968, he learned how to make a suit quickly, learned what Westerners wanted, and picked up a little English.

Taking all that he had learned in the last eight years of the war, Dave opened his own shop in 1975. At first he toiled away all on his own, making suits for ambassadors and visiting dignitaries. As business picked up, he called on his old friends from his days as an apprentice to help.

By the early 1980s, the diplomats and ambassadors in Taipei were becoming fewer and fewer, but the number of foreign businessmen (and the number of locals needing quality Western suits) was on the rise.

Unbeknownst to Dave, things in Beijing were changing as well in a way that would soon call for a man of his particular talents and skills.

1985 China's Ambassadors and Foreign Minister began to switch from the "Mao Suit" to Western style suits. By that time, however, the traditionally trained custom tailors had all left Shanghai and Beijing for Hong Kong.

Foreign dignitaries living in Beijing complained that life was inconvenient for them. "We can't even find a decent tailor here. We have to go home to get our clothes made."

Clearly there was a need for classic bespoke tailors in China's capital and larger cities. In an attempt to fill the void, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Department in Beijing both opened tailor shops to accommodate the visiting foreigners as well as Chinese diplomats needing suits to go abroad, but without much success.

The suits they produced had more or less the correct elements but did not hang properly and did not look quite like the should have. Dissatisfied customers continued to go abroad to London or Milan or Hong Kong to have their suits made.

After about 10 years, some English merchants of fine suit fabrics and materials were eager to break into the Chinese Market. They approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in hopes finding an entry point there.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied that there was indeed a great need for fine imported fabrics as there were a great many gentlemen in need of fine suits, however, there was no one to make the suits.

"We simply don't have tailors here who are experienced enough to make use of your wares. Perhaps if you could introduce one to us…"

The search was begun. Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei. The merchants met with many tailors and inspected many samples of their work.

It was in Dave's little shop in Taipei that they found the right man for the task.

Dave moved to Beijing and opened his own shop in 1996. Both Chinese and Western diplomats, ambassadors, even kings, came to Dave for the kind of quality and classic style that was simply unavailable anywhere else.

China continued to develop rapidly, and in 2003 as Shanghai continued to rise as China's business capital Dave returned to the source of his inspiration. He opened a second store in the old French Concession which is home to many Foreign Consulates.

Most days you can find Dave in his Shanghai Store on Wuyuan Rd. Times have changed, fads come and go, but the classic business suit remains and the need for quality never dies.

Dave doesn't do much sewing himself these days but continues to pass on his knowledge and commitment to detail to what he hopes will be the next generation to carry on the classic Savile Row tailoring tradition.