Suits And Shirts

[Barry Shaw]

Any Advise On The Best Places To Have Suits And Shirts Handmade ?

 

My Options Are Short Stays In Singapore, Bangkok, And Hong Kong.

 

Advise On Tailors, Prices, And Tips On How To Go About It Would Be Appreciated.

 

I Only Have About 2 Or 3 Days In Each Place...

[realproperty]

A lot depends on whether you know suits, wear suits often and care about the details. If you just buy off the rack and cheap, you might be very happy. I was in Bangkok and went to the tailor on the recommendation of the Shangri-la--Tom's International. When I said I wanted good material, they took me upstairs to the good stuff, not where the material they use for the $150 deals is. The material was great and they measured me. I went back later for a fitting but not a fitting on each suit I bought, just a fitting on one suit and not both sleeves, just one sleeve. They then make the suits off that one fitting-like a template. If you have ever had a custom suit made, you will know what I mean. They then delivered the 2 suits to the hotel. I put them on and the sleeves were too long, the sleeves did not hang smoothly--like they were sewn on with arms hanging straight down, as if arms hang directly at one's side and as if you did not have an elbow. They did some pinning and took them back to readjust and they were then delivered to the hotel the night before we left Bangkok. They were OK from what I could tell but when I got home, they never felt great so I took them to my tailor at home. He said the material was excellent, the workmanship was ridiculous. Too narrow across the back, gaping neck at the back, sleeves biased backward, glued facings, cheap linings. He has pulled the jackets apart and salvaged them. (the pants were fine) Like I say, if you know anything about what a jacket is supposed to look like and how it is to be made, be careful since after you leave town, you cannot quite take it back for further alterations. By the way, you prepay when you order, not when you get the suits and decide that you like them. Insist on two fittings at the tailor shop for everything you buy and be very critical. (These guys are not doing you any favours so don't feel like you are imposing.) As for the shirts, also great material but funny fit. The stiffening material (between the collar material and the cuff material) is hard and makes the shirt at the neck uncomfortable and they use those pre-sewn in stays instead of sewing in a sleeve for a plastic or metal stay to slide into. Anyone who sends shirts to the laundry knows that after a while, the sewn in plastic stays start to show through with ironing. Make sure you tell them what you want and look carefully at samples. In the end, for me, it was no bargain although it is easy to get excited about made to measure and shirts thrown in for a good price. I could have bought one very good suit at home for what I paid including the alterations at home. On the other hand, if you don't much care and just buy off the rack at home, you might just have gotten a bargain. The deal is hard to resist but if you are a critical dresser, either buy at home, or make sure you have the time to have them get it right.

[Barry Shaw]

Thanks for that real 'property'. Very useful tips and advise.

I am also in the property business in Israel..We are taking a well earned

break flying out to Singapore to catch the RC Rhapsody via Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangkok, to Hong Kong.

Looking forward to it, though we still don't have entry visas to Vietnam and Cambodia. Hope to do that on board..

 

We have never experienced the Far East, but hope to hit the ground running..

[realproperty]

You are the only person on these boards who had a sense of what realproperty means. On our Princess cruise, the Vietnam visas were handled on board and we only needed our own visas for mainland China. I don't know about Cambodia.

 

How many suits could an Israeli need? I thought everyone just wore slacks and a shirt. My brother lives there and I think he has one suit which he never wears unless he comes back to Canada for a function. Buy carefully and don't let the hype make you buy something you will regret. In the end, I think you get what you pay for regardless of the currency.

[Barry Shaw]

You are right. Israel is a very informal country. Although I am a businessman I NEVER wear a suit and tie for work here.

I do need a new one, however, for my business trips to starchy and more formal England, and for my talks to groups..

 

Have you tried having a suit made in Hong Kong? Where would you recommend?

[realproperty]

No idea. I did my thing in Bangkok but suspect that one persons beautiful suit is another man's schlock. If you only need one suit, buy a good one and look and feel like a million bucks. I am a lawyer and where suits too often and have a range of day to day to special. Like I said, the process is rushed and you do get a suit in 24-48 hours. The kind of suit you get is probably really variable depending on the tailor and the care taken.

[Barry Shaw]

Have you any experience or tips about buying laptops and electronics in Hong Kong? Where to buy? What to avoid or look out for?

[DonahCBrown]

Any Advise On The Best Places To Have Suits And Shirts Handmade ?

 

My Options Are Short Stays In Singapore, Bangkok, And Hong Kong.

 

Advise On Tailors, Prices, And Tips On How To Go About It Would Be Appreciated.

 

I Only Have About 2 Or 3 Days In Each Place...

 

We were on the Sapphire with Realproperty, but, happily, had a much more positive experience. We had made arrangements ahead of time (after much research online about tailors in Bangkok) with Rajawongse 'Dress for Success' Tailor shop. It is located next door to the Landmark Hotel. Victor and Jesse did a beautiful job on a dinner jacket, trousers, dress shirt combo for DH, who is not easy to fit. Everything was fit to him perfectly - the first set of measurements were done on the day we arrived -even before we checked into our hotel. Fitting and pining was done in the afternoon of day 1 of our stay, and we picked up the finished product on our way to the ship.

 

Two tailor shops get most of the good online press and they are run by relatives - Raja's is one and the other is Rajawongse. There are a couple of others we considered, but we were really happy with the outcome and now that DH is in their 'database' we can order via internet. Materials were very nice, cut is conservative, but suited DH fine, and fit and finish is amazing, particularly so when you consider the time they had available.

 

Sapphire Princess also had Hong Kong Tailors (company name as well as descriptor) on board doing tailor made clothing. Looked like they had nice stuff as well, but they were a good bit higher than Rajawongse (DH's outfit was $350 US, and Jesse threw in a pair of cufflinks when I realized I hadn't packed any, and the formalwear comes with a reversable cumberbund and two bow ties)

 

Whoever you choose, don't go with the recommendation of the cabbie or the hotel, as they are apt to take you to their cousin - do your homework online, make contact with the shop ahead of time (and get a nearby location you can give the cabbies - have heard of people who were taken to the cabbie's cousin's place even when asking for some other tailor shop - Jesse told us to tell the driver to take us to the Landmark Hotel and then how to get to his place from there - easy, it is next door) and make an appointment for your arrival day. A lot of the shops are open late. It helps if you have a picture, or, better yet, a suit you like that fits you well, that they can work from so they know what your preferences are. If you are very high fashion oriented, and like extreme cuts, you'll need to do your research with that in mind. I'm not sure Jesse and Victor would do that well for you. You can get a quality product, for a lot less than you'd pay at home, but you DO have to work at it a bit.;)

[MarciAnn]

If you are looking for high end fabric and workmanship, I would recommend Lord's Tailors in Hong Kong . Myhusband has an office in Hong Kong and his partners there recommended them. We were staying at the Mandarin Oriental and they also spoke incredibly highly of them. My husband was extremely pleased. It was true Loro Piano fabric (many represent this but it is not true) and the workmanship and fit were flawless. It cost about $800 or so but it was the equvalent of a $2000 suit. The shirts he had made (at about $80 each) were also excellent quality. If I recall correctly, they were located in the Peddler's Bldg but if you are interested write back and I will find the address.

[yiddishkopf]

Look for the books by Susie Gershman entitled "Where to Shop" -- the Hong Kong book lists a tailor named Danny -- I don't remember any more than Danny and I gave the book to a friend. I had two suits made at his shop and my SO had a sport jacket and a shirt made. In 1997, Jack's sport jacket was $600. One of the suits I had made is now 10 years old and is still among my favorite items of clothing. I took patterns with me because I had been in Hong Kong previously and the suits I saw in windows looked like they were garage sale quality.

 

In Singapore, we did take the advice of a cab driver. My SO was happy with the jacket he had made. I had a Chinese style dress (Chongsam) made there but I don't love it-- there is nothing really wrong with it, but I just don't love it.

[CRUISERTN]

We were in Hong Kong several years ago and used "A Timeless Tailor" located in the shops at the Sheraton Hotel on Nathan Road -Kowloon. My husband had several very fine quality suits made for around $350 (U.S. dollars) each....I think if you google them you can find their website. You will need two or three fittings for them to do it right....They also travel to various cities in the U.S. several times a year, and, also, once they have your measurements on file, you can email them with an order and credit card info and they will make the garment, charge it to your card and ship it to you. I would avoid the tailors who are soliciting on the streets.

[CRUISERTN]

P.S. -The Sheraton Hotel is located across the street from the Peninsula Hotel on Kowloon - just a few blocks walk from the Ocean Terminal where the cruise ships dock. (Salisbury Road & Nathan Rd.)

[bentho]

I was quite happy with the suits I had done up at Crown Tailors in Bangkok a while ago. Had recommended the shop to someone else on this forum as well. Their suits costed somewhere around the $300 mark, but I'm well impressed.

 

realproperty,

The fusing of the cuff and collar wasn't probably done well. I had that same problem with another tailor before I had discovered Crowns. What was worse was that after a few washes, the cuff and collar started to have bubbles on them..which made the shirt unwearable all together :(