Where to buy a cost-effective tailored jacket/suit?

[jackspade]

Am attending a friend's wedding in the U.S. at the end of this month and I need a suit. I'm thinking about just getting a tailored made jacket as nice pants are easy to find at Central.

Was thinking of checking out MBK. Any other suggestions? I'd rather not pay more than 5000 baht for a jacket. Hoping I can find such a price at one of the shops owned by Indians/middle easterners.

Cheers in advance

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[CharlieH]

MOVED to Bangkok forum

[rocketboybkk]

Dude, for 5000bt you can have a suit made or a very nice made to measure jacket

Is that what your after?

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[jackspade]

That's exactly what I'm looking for. A made to measure jacket and shirt, and possibly pants. Any specific locations I could get this done?

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[Torrens54]

What do you mean by "Cost Effective"?

[jackspade]

What do you mean by "Cost Effective"?

Cheap but not crappy.

[mikebell]

Just a cautionary tale: I was on holiday in Phuket. Decided to have a suit made to measure. Chose a grey material (quite expensive per metre.) Went to two fittings. Something didn't feel right. When I got home (UK) I took the suit to a local tailor. My chosen material had been substituted for a cheap mix. I wore it twice. It was like wearing a suit made of cardboard.

[beachproperty]

Had the same problem....needed a nice jacket for friends wedding in the US.....

Went to Macy's in the US before the wedding and bought an "off the rack" Michael Korr's suit (Great material and build) for 3000 Baht ($95 including tax....obviously it was on sale as it was normally $300....BUT have sales ALL the time)

Edited July 4, 2015 by beachproperty

[Ace of Pop]

I avoid Indians and use the Thai Tailors who make the White Suits like a U.S. Admiral . Strange here how No Bodies ware Full Honour style but never done anything

[jackspade]

All the advice is appreciated, but any specific recommendations, folks?

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[beachproperty]

All the advice is appreciated, but any specific recommendations, folks?

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Yeah....guess you missed my post....BUY it in the US....Macy's, Kohl's, Men's Wharehouse ETC....ALWAYS have sales....cost maybe $100 to $150 (3200 baht to 4800 baht).

MUCH better quality than the crap you get ripped off for here in Thailand AND prices better.

Or is it that you think you'll look like a "million bucks" in your new "custom suit" which you can tell everybody that you got for $100. Don't think its going to happen that way but...

Can't get any more specific than that!

Good luck with your big decision......

Edited July 4, 2015 by beachproperty

[jackspade]

All the advice is appreciated, but any specific recommendations, folks?

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Yeah....guess you missed my post....BUY it in the US....Macy's, Kohl's, Men's Wharehouse ETC....ALWAYS have sales....cost maybe $100 to $150 (3200 baht to 4800 baht).

MUCH better quality than the crap you get ripped off for here in Thailand AND prices better.

Or is it that you think you'll look like a "million bucks" in your new "custom suit" which you can tell everybody that you got for $100. Don't think its going to happen that way but...

Can't get any more specific than that!

Good luck with your big decision......

I saw your post. Problem is, I can't get a fitted one at Men's Wearhouse or Macy's and definitely not at Kohl's. Oh, and I'm arriving the day before the wedding. Not gonna leave something like this until the last minute.

Your advice is appreciated. But where'd you get your attitude? Jersey Shore?

Edited July 4, 2015 by jackspade

[beachproperty]

All the advice is appreciated, but any specific recommendations, folks?

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Yeah....guess you missed my post....BUY it in the US....Macy's, Kohl's, Men's Wharehouse ETC....ALWAYS have sales....cost maybe $100 to $150 (3200 baht to 4800 baht).

MUCH better quality than the crap you get ripped off for here in Thailand AND prices better.

Or is it that you think you'll look like a "million bucks" in your new "custom suit" which you can tell everybody that you got for $100. Don't think its going to happen that way but...

Can't get any more specific than that!

Good luck with your big decision......

I saw your post. Problem is, I can't get a fitted one at Men's Wearhouse or Macy's and definitely not at Kohl's. Oh, and I'm arriving the day before the wedding. Not gonna leave something like this until the last minute.

Your advice is appreciated. But where'd you get your attitude? Jersey Shore?

Attitude?....what attitude?

You posted ...I responded with a post that was VERY specific

AND then you post ....".....any specific recommendations, folks?"

So I just posted again the same advice figuring you missed it.

You were the one who was NOT specific in your opening post ..... as you now say you arrive the day before the wedding and don't want to leave it to the last minute.

Sooooo who's got the attitude NOW.....That is unless, of course, you jest...then

Edited July 4, 2015 by beachproperty

[jackspade]

I was incredibly specific in my post. I asked for exactly what I wanted—a decent tailor in Thailand. Your advice was helpful, but like I explained, this is a situation I don't want to cut close (no pun intended).

I was just having a laugh anyway.

Since apparently nobody can recommend a half decent tailor in BKK, I guess I'll be going in my birthday suit...

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[hhgz]

" I asked for exactly what I wanted—a decent tailor in Thailand. "

There are many threads regarding THIS VERY SUBJECT. Not "approximately the same subject", but the EXACT SAME SUBJECT. Incredibly, this very website has a search function, with which you can search any subject including TAILOR.

[Phaeton]

I read the thread below, seems like a couple weeks ago, and the conclusion I came to was that Tailor on Ten was a good tailor

http://www.tailoronten.com

#93 Sukhumvit Road Soi 8,, ( near Nana station), Bangkok 10110

084 877 1543

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/698832-tailor-made-shirts-and-trousers-in-bkk/

[blackcab]

Nickermann's in the basement of the Landmark Hotel.

[rocketboybkk]

I can't recommend a specific place, sorry. Over the years I've had bits & pieces made in BKK & PTY but the quality differs each time.

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[DirtyDan]

As long as you're giving yourself enough time in BKK for a minimum of 2, maybe 3 fittings (one week minimum!) then the majority of fabric merchants around Nana should be able to have their sweatshops make you something.

For 5000 bt you're going to end up with some rougher material (low thread count) but it will wear well and last you a long time, especially if the cut and stitching are decent. My brother uses Rajawongse for his everyday suits and reports they have OK quality in that price range - just ensure you're getting actual wool and not a synthetic blend as the manufacturing process (fusing) of BKK tailors will make the jacket hot-wearing to begin with and you don't need polyester added on top of the sweat box. I've also got workmates that will use Pinky's and Raja's.

I would recommend taking an exact picture of what you want and here's two points to insist on that will make your jacket look better on you:

1) if you're getting a pattern (either pinstripe or windows), make sure the patterns match on the shoulders/sleeves, when the pattern is off, the discrepancy confuses the eye and even a decent fitting jacket will look "off"

2) insist they use very little padding in the shoulders. Your average North American grown man does not need the "extra support" that these local tailors all seem to think jackets require. (Mrs. Dirty calls it the man's equivalent of a push-up bra and locals seem to think "there's no such thing as too much padding".)

Please report back on your experience as some of us are always looking for new places to shop (with a picture of the jacket if possible). Good luck.

[SanukDii]

Don't do it. Nearly all tailors in Bkk are just salesmen....not tailors. They don't cut on premises, use fake material which they will claim comes from Zegna or other high end provider (I have two Zegna suits and believe me once you've owned one you can tell the difference) and send out all work to sweatshops where some unqualified pieceworker will do their best to interpret the measurements you gave in the shop. There are a couple of shops in the Silom area: Pearry"s and another one on Sala Daeng, but they won't fit in to your 5000 baht price point.

I've tried time and time again to get quality work done in Bangkok and always met with failure. Give them a shirt order first...if they can't do that (which they can't) then don't trust them with a suit.

Think about it. How could anyone use high end fabric and turn suits out for the prices they quote - impossible. My friends girlfriend sells suits for local thai weddings here, her price to the customer is less than 2000 baht. Imagine what the tailor is chatging her.

Better buy off the peg in the US

Edited July 6, 2015 by SanukDii

[Sviss Geez]

Yeah....guess you missed my post....BUY it in the US....Macy's, Kohl's, Men's Wharehouse ETC....ALWAYS have sales....cost maybe $100 to $150 (3200 baht to 4800 baht).

MUCH better quality than the crap you get ripped off for here in Thailand AND prices better.

Or is it that you think you'll look like a "million bucks" in your new "custom suit" which you can tell everybody that you got for $100. Don't think its going to happen that way but...

Can't get any more specific than that!

Good luck with your big decision......

I saw your post. Problem is, I can't get a fitted one at Men's Wearhouse or Macy's and definitely not at Kohl's. Oh, and I'm arriving the day before the wedding. Not gonna leave something like this until the last minute.

Your advice is appreciated. But where'd you get your attitude? Jersey Shore?

Attitude?....what attitude?

You posted ...I responded with a post that was VERY specific

AND then you post ....".....any specific recommendations, folks?"

So I just posted again the same advice figuring you missed it.

You were the one who was NOT specific in your opening post ..... as you now say you arrive the day before the wedding and don't want to leave it to the last minute.

Sooooo who's got the attitude NOW.....That is unless, of course, you jest...then

You have.

[DirtyDan]

Let's all take the OP's frame of reference in mind when offering advice. Nobody is saying, or asking for, a super-150 bespoke Canali. A simple, decent fitting, made-to-measure jacket CAN be found in Thailand, but like everything else, buyer beware.

OP "Hi, I'm looking for a Hyundai".

SD "Don't do it. I own two Maserati's and believe me, once you've owned one you can tell the difference."

I'll make a promise to you SD: If I ever meet anyone that needs clothing advice for lounging on the back of their yacht, while berthed in Monaco, (you know, something for eating Grey Poupon smothered truffles perhaps?) an un-lined, half-canvassed blazer, but with wool made only from strands of fiber taken from prehistoric sheep hair found in Peruvian amber nuggets, with the jacket fully bespoken and hand stitched by blind virgins residing in a 400 year old chateaux blessed by no fewer than 9 popes, and hidden somewhere in a valley in the Italian alps that can only be accessed by hot-air balloon 2 months of the year, I'll be sure to heed your advice. Until then, us petit-bourgeois, well we'll have to scrape by on the khlongs of Bangkok, wearing our rags and begging forgiveness for causing these blights upon your fashion senses.

One more piece of advice to OP - Don't pay up front. Let them know you live here (business card) and having to pay shouldn't be a big deal (I imagine there's been more than one tourist that had clothes made, sobered up, and forgot where the clothing was located thereby stiffing the merchant on the costs). I just had a fitting Saturday where they wanted cash upfront - My exact words were that if you're proud of your workmanship, you should have no worries about me happily paying for the finished product.

[SanukDii]

Quite - but if someone was selling me a hyundai and telling me it was a Mazza, to follow your logic, I would have a legitimate complaint.

[DirtyDan]

Quite - but if someone was selling me a hyundai and telling me it was a Mazza, to follow your logic, I would have a legitimate complaint.

This I agree with whole-heartedly as there's a lot on unethical merchants and scam artists in the business. The good part is, you can usually spot them before they strike, if you know what to look for (Google it) - the big point being that there is no way you will get a Maserati for the price of a Hyundai!

Case and point: just two weeks ago our good friend had family members taken for a $1400 (they were young an thought they were being all grown-up by buying "tailor-made" clothing for work and didn't have the forethought to ask any of us that actually live here). This scam involved jumping in the tuktuk and being taking to a physical place for the "fitting" whose personnel then supplied them with incorrect contact information (neither the address nor phone number actually existed) so they couldn't pick up their clothing - if there was any to ever pick up in the first place. The only redemption for the victims of this not-so-bright scam, was they didn't receive any clothing at all, paid with credit card, and could initiate the charge-back. And while the kids (young adults) were upset, they were reminded that it's a good thing they didn't pay in cash as it would be long gone, or received a few ill-fitted chunks of polyester returned to them as that would have made it a legitimate transaction! The CC company is not responsible for your poor choices, but can protect you from an outright scam!

Yesterday, when I was walking home along Sukhumvit, one of the material touts was out in front of his shop, waving at me, 'I will make you nicest suit in Bangkok'. I says, 'Yea, then why are you standing here in jeans and t-shirt? Why aren't you wearing you're own clothes if they're the nicest in Bangkok?'. I love those deer-in-the-headlight-looks people give me sometimes.

Edited July 7, 2015 by DirtyDan