Where to get a good suit made?

[brewsterbudgen]

My brother-in-law will be staying for 10 days in Pattaya over New Year and he wants a "good suit" made for him. He's staying in Naklua.

Should he take pot luck at one of the 100s of tailors or can someone recommend someone (Naklua or Central/North Pattaya) who is reliable, fast and good quality?

Cheers

[dddave]

He should do some research before he comes. Since the suit will be used elsewhere, he should determine which materials are best suited to his local climate. Suits come in many styles and have many features that are not obvious but that can make a big difference in usability and comfort. The tailor shop is not the best place to make the many important decisions he'll need to make to get a suit that suits him. He really should have a pretty good idea of what he wants before he goes in.

He should also shop locally before he comes here and find out how much a decent "Off the Rack" suit, altered to his needs would cost at home.

Though tailors in Pattaya & Bangkok advertise very low prices, many people have found that once they upgrade the material to something decent and durable and include features that make for a better suit, the price starts going up and not infrequently beyond what a suit would cost at home.

Many people have found that you very often don't get what you ordered in the first place. I once placed an order for a large quantity of overcoats, all the same cut and cloth, in various sizes at a supposedly reputable Pattaya tailor. What I got was a hodge-podge of materials and styles. What I learned was that a large portion of the "custom" or "Bespoke" apparel sold here is actually mass produced in factories here and in other Asian nations, including China. They will pull a suit out of stock that most closely resembles what you ordered and alter it to your measurements but chances are that the material and cut won't exactly conform to what you expect.

They invariably demand a large deposit, usually 50%+ , when the order is placed so their cost and some profit is covered in case you refuse the suit. You can argue, threaten, yell and carry on all you want.....you will NEVER get the deposit back. It is never a good idea to tell them your true departure date as many will delay delivering the finished suit until the last minute, thus making it impossible for the customer to demand changes and corrections.

I hope you do get some recommendations from people who have gotten what they paid for. I'm sure there are some excellent tailors out there but I think they are probably few and far between.

[manxninja]

Wouldnt buy a suit in Pattaya, cheap and fast is not the way to go.

Better buy off the rack if wanting cheap.

[brewsterbudgen]

Wouldnt buy a suit in Pattaya, cheap and fast is not the way to go.

Better buy off the rack if wanting cheap.

I didn't say "cheap". I was hoping someone knew of a good quality tailor in Pattaya that could make a suit within the 10 days my brother-in-law is in town.

Maybe some hotels have in-house tailors like in Bangkok?

[DogNo1]

I suggest an off-the-rack suit. You can look it over and get exactly what you want. I have NEVER had a tailor-made suit in Bangkok meet my expectations. There's always a detail or two (or more) that are screwed up. You will never get your deposit back. Caveat emptor!

[Swiss1960]

AMA fashion on corner second road / central pattaya road is one of the best, if you search the Pattaya forum, you will find that many posters recommended that shop

But.. this shop IS busy, specially over the holiday season (loads of recurring customers) and your friend should go there shortly after arrival.

AMA fashion does NOT provide good fitting 24-hour suits, your friend will be looking at 2-3 fitting sessions.

[brewsterbudgen]

Thanks guys. I will advise him accordingly.

[toenail]

The comment about the upgrading of material and such will make the special "price" increase for a suit.

Bangkok would be where I would go for a good tailored made suit since there is a permanent business clientele there to show their patronage to a tailor business, not a fly-by- night tourist where the tailor shop does not care if you are happy or not.

In Pattaya, beware: 90% of the hole-in-wall tailor shops (with a couple Indians harassing you as you walk by). These fellows are nothing but a cousin of a cousin...or nephew of an uncle that just stands around to get a sales done. Luckily he may know about how to measure a customer properly. The suits that are made are not made by a so called Indian Tailor, but in sweat-shops by some young teenage boy or young man from the poor areas of north Thailand or Isaan, (these shops can be seen in the south Pattaya area near soi Yensabai). In these shops the patterns are drawn, material is cut, and the pieces sewn together. Not one trained Indian tailor will be in sight (unless he is sitting on his arse making sure the boys are reaching their quota.)

My first year in Pattaya, I could not find a khaki color bedspread so went to a tailor shop that "looked" dependable (large shop along a main street in north Naklua). Because the roll of material did not come in the proper width (since the custom made bedspread was for a king size bed, the shop would have to sew two pieces together -- not a problem. When I went to pick up the bedspread, the fabric grain did not match. Any professional would know to make sure the grain (or weave) would match before sewing the two pieces together. Amateurs?