Tailormade Clothes, A Ripoff Or Worth It?

[afp76]

Being a slightly larger dude compared to most Thai men, I ventured to the tailors at Sukhumvit to see if I could get myself some properly fitting clothes.

There's a fairly large selection of tailors, some was very "high end" and others.. well, very affordable to say the least.

Aiming for something in the middle, I found a gentleman who asked what I was looking for and what colours I like.

Being the fashion ignorant male who normally prioritize other things before clothes was slightly overwhelmed.

I mean the variety of colours, collar styles, folding... I had no idea what I went in to!

Blurting out "I like red" (while my body considering a quick escape to Tesco for T-shirts instead), the tailor provided me a set of red textiles of different texture and attributes.

Looking close on the samples, I gained some courage and told him I've never done this and to make it easy he must provide me with choices with examples.

So after a while, 3 shirts and a pair of trousers were ordered and with that gained greater insight in tailoring.

And was it worth it?

Well, compared to the price of getting tailor made clothes in my own country it probably was.

And with my non-existent knowledge in textile quality and fashion, I probably won't suffer at all.

It was bit fun experience too.

Then, tell me your stories. I'm curious to know your experiences in meeting the best/worst tailor in Bangkok.

[Parker1973]

On my first visit to Bkk around 7 years ago i was in a Tuk Tuk and fell for the old trap of 'we just stop here u can look' routine.....he pulled up outside a tailors, and as i wore suits everyday back in London i thought id go take a look.....

I always thought having suits made to order was for 'other people',ie those with huge amounts of cash as in London u can easily pay £1000 plus for a hand made suit....

Anyway,24 hours later i had the most beautiful suit delivered to my hotel,double lined trousers,very well made and great material for less than id buy one off the peg back in London....

Since then ive had several suits made with varying results,even had 2 made at the same time from the same shop,one was great,the other total crap....

Have fun and choose carefully but theres no feeling like going to work in a suit that was made to fit.....

[BigRick]

Put it this way someone has to pay for all that fancy stuff in the shop. If you are smart you can buy the fabric at Patunam and save a good amount of dough. There are some important things to remember double stitch, density and type of fabric button quality and shrinkage . The number of measurements to get it right. When you see if it fits go through the full range of motions crunch down on your knees extend your arms back forward see if it bunches up on your shoulders. One way to spot decent fabric is to hold it up to a light if you can see through it then its a low thread count(Unless silk) speaking of silk the quality is important it should burn like a human hair.

[bifftastic]

Show us photos of your new red trousers!

[ChristopherWilliamsBKK]

truth is most of the time it's a lottery.

your order goes from the high street "showroom" to the back street sweat shop. If you're lucky the boss isn't busy and makes it himself. if you're unlucky the intern with 2 weeks experience makes it.

[CharlieH]

Alot is luck of the draw as many so called Tailors all use the same central machine shop.

If you can find one that actually makes the suit, true Tailors not just shop fronts working on commission.

BigRick has it spot on !.....also make sure what you get is what you actually agreed upon, some will show you wool and swap it out for Polyester.

[Theo007]

About 26 years ago, when on holidays in Bangkok, I wandered into a tailor shop on Sukhumvit and was measured for a suit. Since I have a spinal condition making a jacket for me is very difficult. There was absolutely no problem and over the years I became a family friend. A number of my friends in Australia invited the tailor to visit and he did so and they have also become long term clients. I am still wearing some of the clothing made 15 years ago! These people do not need to employ men to stand outside trying to drag people in, they are so well known. The name of the shop is " Gulati " and it is on the corner of Sukhumvit and Soi Nana.

[RedNIvar]

All the tailors are centralized. There are only a handful of tailors and is mostly dominated by the Thai Chinese. The fabric is mostly run by Thai Indians. Most of the tailor shops you go to make their money from the material and not the tailoring. They take the measurements and send it off to these tailors. There are many of these shops out there that rip you off on the material. So if you will be a regular customer, let them know that and ask them to get their tailors to double stitch and take their time on completing your order. Do not rush it. If it is your first time, it is always better to go somewhere someone you know had been too before. If not it's like flipping a coin.

[Semper]

Show us photos of your new red trousers!

Hilarious.

[ukrules]

It's curious that people mention the 'double stitch' aspect of the garments all the time.

From what I understand they're sewn together on a machine with two needles which does both lines of stitches at the same time so this is a standard feature of clothing manufacture. I've only ever used one tailor though and I believe all of my shirts are 'double stitched'.

[thaihome]

The name of the shop is " Gulati " and it is on the corner of Sukhumvit and Soi Nana.

They are one of 3 shops owned by various members of the Gulati family. The others are Raja and Rajawongse, all right in the Soi 4/Suk area. Though the shops are not commercially connected, they all have some of the better reputations and flocks of satisfied customers.

TH