Any recommendations?
Rich

Can anyone recommend a tailor in Singapore for a men's suit? Thanks!

My male friends are all very happy with Oxford Tailor, their shop is on the 4th floor of OUB Centre, Raffles Place. Their owners (Alex and Diana) are Singaporeans and the quality of their workmanship and fabric is much, much better than at all the Indian-run tailor shops near Orchard Road that cater mostly to tourists.
Expect to pay around S$500-600 for a suit in the best fabric quality they have (120 or 130 thread), and between S$60-100 for a shirt.

I will be in Singapore for a few days at the end of February. My travelling companion and I are thinking about getting some custom shirts and perhaps a suit made.

Can anybody recommend their favorite tailor...and why?

Thanks,
Mike

There has been a lot of discussions on tailors in Singagpore, in this forum and others. Everyone has their favorite. There is one at the Raffles that has been mentioned several times.

I had a suit and two shirts made in SIN when I was there last year. I got it at:

Mode et Creation Pte. Ltd.
Far East Shopping Centre (4th or 5th floor)
545 Orchard Road (next to the Hilton)
Anthony Tan
tel: 62353202

I was looking for a suit, and was tired of the pushy tailors that are on the 1st floor of most of the shopping centers. Reminds me of bar girls trying to get you into the bar. The tailor's name is Anthony. He does his own cuttings, but ships out the sewing. Two fittings and he delivered everything to our hotel. Great fitting suit and shirts. When I make it back to SIN, I'll purchase some more.

Check out the Hong Kong forum, and do a search on 'tailors' and you'll find a lot of useful information regarding tailors. venk posted a guide on getting tailored clothing in Hong Kong. It should work anywere. I copied it below:

A guide to getting tailored clothes in HK having done this for several years in HK now...and having grown up with tailored clothes.

It is a little more complicated than just finding a name as will become clear below:

1. Forget about it if saving money is your primary objective. You can get $180 suits and $20 shirts but they will be crap and not last but will be slightly better than JC Penney store-brand clothes. It is not worth going to HK for this.

2. Finding a good tailor takes time. You will probably go through several of them before you find one you like. Frankly, the biggest problem for any neophytes in tailored clothing is figuring out what they want. There is very often a large gap between what you want the tailor to do and what will look good on you and you will like wearing.

3. An excellent tailor can also be your stylist and listen and suggest without any ego or snobbishness and will be straight with you on what he thinks will look good and what won't. There may be one or two tailors like this in HK but you are better off in the UK or in Milan for such an experience and you will pay through your nose. So do not expect a tailor and stylist all in one.

4. Think of venturing into tailored clothing as a multi-step process where you try out some tailors and you also learn quite a lot in the process.

5. The first thing to do before you set foot in any tailor in HK is find some clothes locally or in Europe that you think fits you very well as well as the fabric type that you like. If your typical practice is to head for the bargain bins in the depatrment stores and decide between plain and striped, then you can pretty much walk into any tailor in HK and come out looking better. Let us assume that you want to do better than that.

6. First thing is to find a training (i.e., for you) tailor. This will be a mid-level tailor such as Ash Samtani, Sam, WW Chang, etc in Kowloon. I would recommend any of them. Not too expensive but not the cheap scams peddling on Nathan road either. Don't expect you will come out looking better than someone wearing custom tailored Armanis in these shops. Try two or three of them initially because a good rapport is very useful.

7. The objective in this training step is to get an idea of what you like and what fits and what doesn't. If you go to a very expensive tailor at this stage, you will waste a lot of clothes that you will never wear even though it is of very high quality because you were wrong about what you thought would look good on you or wanted.

8. For the initial few clothes, don't overspecify what you need in terms of style and fitting. Let these tailors suggest. It is actually very instructive if you take a few of your off-the-rack clothes that you like and show them as examples you like. Now be prepared for them to tell you 100 different things wrong with it. They will point out every minute problem (where it doesn't fit right, where it is too tight/long/bunched/pulling/etc). Their clothes will not be perfect either but they are very good at finding problems with store-bought clothes. The purpose of this is not to get into a debate with them or get defensive about your choice but rather get knowledgeable about what is good and bad fitting.

9. The biggest problem with mid-level tailors in HK is that they are not very creative. They have an expertise in some specific styles and as long as you like them it is ok, otherwise you can expect bad to middling work in output. So the objective at this stage is for you to get comfortable in some clothes that they are comfortable creating. You can specify certain things like tight fit, narrow cut, loose cut, tapered cut, etc., as your preference but you could be wrong about what actually fits you right so just humbly listen first.

10. Allow time for at least 2-3 fittings the first time around. Most of the mid-level tailors will want this although many of them can deliver with one fitting. But this is not a good thing for starting out. Once they have your fittings in their records, subsequent purchases can be done with one fitting unless you are departing significantly in fabric or style.

11. Start with a shirt or two, a pair of trousers and perhaps a suit or may be even just a sport jacket initially. be conservative about fabrics. Do not get their thinnest ones (which tend to crumple very easily and wear badly or their industrial strength wrinkle-proof fabrics which feel like wearing canvas). If you really want to get a feel for fabrics, visit some designer stores preferably in Milan and feel the fabric and structure. Do not listen to the HK tailors for fabric advice. For them, everything they have is good. They will be very reluctant to tell you the problem with certain fabrics. You will have to find out the hard way.

12. In the fitting they will take care of the usual stuff like bunching, stretching, etc., (which is why it is hard to believe that George Bush's suit was bunched up at the back because of tailoring in that infamous shot in the debate, no self-respecting tailor even a cheap one will let that happen). This does not mean you will not have other problems but this is where you learn how to look for standard problems in fitting.

13. Once you have your initial set of clothes, wear them for a while and see how they feel. You may be very disappointed in some of them but hopefully some will feel good and wear well. Try to notice what is good about the ones you like. After a while, you will notice that your store bought stuff no longer feels as good. They have a bit too long/short sleeves, have extra cloth where they shouldn't, etc. Congratulations, you are getting acclimatized to tailored clothing.

14. It is worth going back to the tailor where you got the clothes you like best and getting a few more in the same/similar fabric design. That will give you some basic wardrobe of reasonably fitting clothes. Based on your need for style and fashion, this may be all you need and you can be quite happy with that tailor and continue to re-order.

15. But you will most likely start being even more pickier than you used to be. You will notice some bunching near certain hems, pockets that are too deep or too shallow, etc. You may notice that your suits fits perfectly but doesn't necesarily make you look good in a way that will get noticed - there is lot more to a good-looking suit than just good fitting. And this is where you have grown out of the mid-level HK tailors because unless you can find/select fabrics that you like and work for you and know exactly which style suits you (assuming food fitting) and can express this in detail to the tailor, you are not going to get much better in your clothes with these tailors. You might even feel that the tailor that has worked for you before is slipping in quality/workmanship. He isn't, you are just getting pickier and more aware of what works and what doesn't.

16. This is when you need to graduate to the next level of tailors but this is going to increase the cost roughly about 100%, so you need to decide whether you want to go to that step or not or you are happy with what you have so far. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend any mid-level HK tailor if you have reached this stage because they will not be able to saisfy you.

17. If anyone has reached this stage and has been able to find a tailor he can recommend at the next level. do let me know because I have not found one yet in HK.

Thanks for the tailor rec and the reprint from Venk.

I thought I had seen a previous discussion about tailors in Singapore, but I did a search and couldn't find anr posts mentionaing tailor in the Singapore forum. Perhaps they were prior to the Flyertalk change to its current format.

How much would you expect to pay for a shirt from Mode et Creation?

i agree with Satx78223 that everyone has their own favourite ones. a truly good one which is not too expensive is the local brand singapore tailor 'CYC'. the website is below. location also stated inside the website. hope this helps.

http://www.cyccustomshop.com/09customer/store_main.html

I will be in Singapore for a few days at the end of February. My travelling companion and I are thinking about getting some custom shirts and perhaps a suit made.

Can anybody recommend their favorite tailor...and why?

Thanks,
Mike

Thanks for the tailor rec and the reprint from Venk.

I thought I had seen a previous discussion about tailors in Singapore, but I did a search and couldn't find anr posts mentionaing tailor in the Singapore forum. Perhaps they were prior to the Flyertalk change to its current format.

How much would you expect to pay for a shirt from Mode et Creation?

I paid about $85 Singapore dollars for each shirt. I just remembered I bought three shirts. He had a nice large selection of material to chose from. I especially like the way his collars look and fit. Two of the shirts were pin stripes, and the stripes were aligned perfectly on the sleeves coming off the shoulder. There were places a lot cheaper but I'm happy with what I received.

I don't wear tailored clothing, as I just get my clothes at Dillards or Land's End, but most everyone recognized the clothes I bought as being something special.

I'm not really sure about suits, but for shirts I would recommend CYC at Raffles Hotel, they have been in the business for a really long time and even the Mentor Minister in Singapore gets his shirt done at CYC. They are very proffesional and have a wide variety of design and materials available. Hope this info helps

Just like to share that I got my suits made at

OTTO MAN
Tailor is Mr Felix F.L. Neo
3 Coleman St #03-25
Peninsula Shopping Centre
Singapore 179804
Tel: +65 63360370
Fax: +65 63369001
felixneo@singnet.com.sg

So far pleasant experiences. I find his workmanship to be good & the price is reasonable.
I personally rate it "Mid-level" tailor

If you got a big budget, you may want to consider CYC

I had 3 shirts made at Mode et Creation Pte. Ltd. It cost S$200 ($127 USD on my credit card bill). They fit better than any off the shelf shirts that I have ever owned. My business partner ordered a couple of sports coats. He couldn't finish them before our departure, so we will see what they look like when they arrive via mail.

I will be in Singapore for 4-5 days at the end of this month, and am thinking about getting a suit tailored here... I obviously want to avoid the cheap stuff, but what's the middle-upper price range that I should expect per suit / shirt from a quality tailor??

In other words, what's reasonable to make sure I'm not getting ripped off? :D

I bought three shirts and one suit at Mode et Creation Pte. Ltd a little over one year ago. The total bill was S$885. The shirts were about S$85 each and the suit was about S$600. I am happy with what I bought and feel it was worth it.

To answer your question about what is reasonable, I don't know. I do know there were stores selling suits for a lot less, and some for a lot more. Took a city tour our first day in town, and during a stop in china town, went to look at a tailor shop. They started quoting S$1500 for a suit, and by the time I walked (ran) out, they were down to S$700 for the same suit.

Hopefully more will post on their experiences.

A friendly bump reminder (I'm off on Monday! Whee!!!)

Let us know how you made out ;)

Guys
i found this post doing a random search for "Singapore tailors" to do research on suits in Singapore, and instead came across the good reports abt CYC, so I went to check them out, never having had a tailored shirt before.

I'm a local Singaporean but I've lived overseas for over 10yrs, & have found local stuff to be of better & better value. Certainly bespoke shirts where I live start at Aust$160, whereas CYC starts at S$99.

Anyhow I went in & although they did have a huge range of material & I'm sure my shirts will be great, I found their service to be pretty appalling. I was dressed casually & obviously a local, & the person "serving" me seemed more interested in the paint on the ceiling. They were also of the snob-bullying school of retail, which I found mildly uncomfortable to plain pointless. This wasn't helped when another staff came back from her lunch break & also looked at me with disdain.

It's most unfortunate because I have lots of friends who travel through Singapore & would pick up some shirts. Also I have many shirt wearing years ahead of me & have been on the lookout for a good shirt tailor for a while. No matter how good your shirts are, a customer is a customer, even if he's not LKY!

Hi Pluggin, welcome to FT.

I'm with you on the service at CYC. Yes, the shirts are well made, my wife has 1 but when I went with her to collect, I just didn't like the place

There are a few reasonable tailors at Far East Shopping Centre on Scotts Road, a few doors down from the Hyatt and more or less right across from the Royal Plaza on Scotts Hotel.

The outfit I can recommend is Christian Armani Tailors (sounds really dodgy, I admit) which you can reach at +65 67336407. They do acceptable quality clothing for a more than reasonable price. It does help to know exactly what you want though. Oh yeah, and the more you buy, the better the price you will get.

Good luck, and have fun in Singapore!

:D I think Cristian's brother George has a place in Lucky Plaza! The Armani really get around - I am sure I have seen some of their outlets in many places in SE Asia!

There are a few reasonable tailors at Far East Shopping Centre on Scotts Road, a few doors down from the Hyatt and more or less right across from the Royal Plaza on Scotts Hotel.


Just to clarify, I think the shopping centre that alex0683de is referring to is actually Far East Plaza not Far East Shopping Centre. Far East Plaza have quite a few tailors which claim to be able to do a suit in 6-12 hours, and often have photos of the famous people they have served.

Far East Shopping Centre that satx78223 has mentioned is next to Hilton on Orchard Road itself!

had some nice shirts made in BKK, but will not get back there for awhile. I will be traveling to SIN quite a few times in the coming months, good thread (no pun)

Jack Custom Tailer in Singapore at the Far East Plaza mentioned here.

I ordered some stuff. Had a pair of pants and shirt done. Both were good and I am a big guy. I have other stuff in the mail, as my trip was too short to get additional fittings, hopefully they will turn out okay.

Jack has several other positive posts throughout FlyerTalk.

The guy I was dealing with (not jack) was extremely friendly, courteous and able to provide some advice on various aspects. They have all my size dimensions on file now, so I can order additonal shirts as neccessary.

Thank you satx for your recommendation of Mode et Creation. Last month, it was my first stop on a Friday morning in Singapore. Made infinitely easier my staying next door at the Hilton. He's on the 4th floor. Great selection of fabrics for suits & shirts. Had 3 shirts and 2 suit pants done for me to try on Sunday afternoon. Decided to take those with me and to add additional pants & shirt to the suit jacket which were being shipped. Everything else arrived to US within 3 weeks.

He does excellent work and I would highly recommend this tailor. In fact, as I was trying on the shirts and pants, my wife started jotting down id numbers for more shirts to order in the future. No games on pricing - upfront, honest and straightforward. Prices were around S$85 for shirts and S$600 for suit and S$110 for additional pants

Thank you satx for your recommendation of Mode et Creation. Last month, it was my first stop on a Friday morning in Singapore. Made infinitely easier my staying next door at the Hilton. He's on the 4th floor. Great selection of fabrics for suits & shirts. Had 3 shirts and 2 suit pants done for me to try on Sunday afternoon. Decided to take those with me and to add additional pants & shirt to the suit jacket which were being shipped. Everything else arrived to US within 3 weeks.

He does excellent work and I would highly recommend this tailor. In fact, as I was trying on the shirts and pants, my wife started jotting down id numbers for more shirts to order in the future. No games on pricing - upfront, honest and straightforward. Prices were around S$85 for shirts and S$600 for suit and S$110 for additional pants
I heartily second (or third, or fourth..?) the recommendation for Mode et Creation. ^

AliJohns
#02-14 Far East Shopping Centre
Scotts Road (I Think)

Alis is a very small tailor who sends his sewing out, but will deliver to your hotel if needed. Over the years I have bought 3 prs of trousers, a silk skirt and jacket, and a chegsom. All of which are still giving me good service and look good. His ladies trousers are wonderfully comfortable and the last 2 pairs set me back around S$300 IIRC. This was with a 100% wool material (needed as I work in Tasmania). Depsite the fact it had been over 3 years since I had been there he found my old measurements easily and told me I had lost weight - which is something every gal wants to hear!

He is a wonderful indian gentleman who works with I think its his brother. You are always offered drinks when you go in, and he loves Australians.

The suit and shirts I bought at Mode et Creation a couple of years ago are holding up well. When I go back to SIN this year, I'm stocking up. It's the little details in the workmanship that Anthony does, that makes his tailoring stand out.

Justmen's Shop Pte. Ltd.
19, Taglin Road.
#01-36/39
Tanglin Shopping Centre
Singapore 247909
(732) 737-4800

I have used them for years for suits, sport jackets, shirts, and pants. They are wonderful, reliable, classy, and once you are in their system, they can do mail items to you.

I had just had 2 shirts done at Mode et Creation. The cutting and fit is excellent and the collars fit perfectly. I strongly recommend this tailor.

Justmen's Shop Pte. Ltd.
19, Taglin Road.
#01-36/39
Tanglin Shopping Centre
Singapore 247909
(732) 737-4800

I have used them for years for suits, sport jackets, shirts, and pants. They are wonderful, reliable, classy, and once you are in their system, they can do mail items to you.Just a couple of doors down the road... My favourite tailor is Mr. Latif at De Zlin Custom Tailor in the Tanglin Mall (corner of Grange and Tanglin and connected to the Traders Hotel). I have purchased suits, blazers, pants and many shirts over the years.
--
13F

Another plug for Mode et Creation. I had a suit and two shirts made up earlier this year. Only thing is after the fitting (HOW big did you say my waist was) I decided to lose some weight. Not sure ho wmuch longer the suit will be a good fit for :(

Do allow plenty of time though - we had 5 clear days (got measured up on the Monday and collected on the Saturday) and it was still a bit 11th hour to get the job done.

Over a 10 year period we've used

Fahion Tailor
150 Orchard Road
#02-01 Orchard Plaza
Singapore, 238841
Singapore

Fashion Tailors fashiontailor@pacific.net.sg http://www.fashiontailor.com.sg/Order.htm

Suits, shirts, blazers. Quick, not inexpensive but well sewn, and a good selection of fabric.

Which is recommended over the other? Bangkok Tailors or Singapore Tailors on a cost/quality basis.

Bangkok is cheaper because everything in Bangkok, from rental to wages, is cheaper. But quality varies in both places.

For me its definetely Bangkok tailors over Singapore tailors. Both pricing and quality. Ive found that the seams stay longer and the stitching is well done. Also the linings are found to be better. Ive found a couple of tailors that are quality in Bangkok. If anyone needs any, just let me know.

I have just had a few suits made by Jack Custom Tailors in Singapore. This place was recommended by a few people in Singapore and online. DON"T BOTHER! The guy priced my 3 suits up at $6000 SD eventually going down to $2000 which sounds better but was still $1000 more than I should have paid. He shows you his photos of famous people he's made suits for and his books which shows receipts for suits he's made at $6000 each! To cut a long story short, he made 2 of the suits inside-out and the workmanship was shoddy at best. Also, I had another suit done at another shop in the same mall (Far East Plaza), and as you will find out, no one in the shops actually takes your measurements. A guy from "upstairs" comes down and does it. It was the same guy who took my measurements even though I went to 2 different shops! My advice, by a suit you like off the peg and get any alterations done at a tailor near to where you live. I think Jack switched material on me and all my specific requests were totally ignored. Also, he told me my suits would not be ready until the day before I had to leave Singapore, leaving me no time to get things corrected. Please keep away from Jack Custom Tailors.:td:

Hello livewire21 and welcome.

I also had an unpleasent experience with Jack Custom Tailors....he quoted me what I later learned were low-ball prices for some alternations and when I arrived at his shop with clothes to be altered, the cost was changed from the original quote. Needless to say, I "walked" and found a delightful alternation shop which did outstanding work for about half the final proposed price that Jack Custom Tailors offered.

I have now used this much smaller shop about 6 times over 3 years and have been very pleased each time. I will post details after my return in about 10 days as I will be visiting her again on my forthcoming SIN trip.

MODE ET CREATION at FAR EAST SHOPPING CENTRE (beside Wheelock Place - Borders)

AAA service ... Mr Anthony (owner) is very friendly. Totally no hard-sell at all.

I also found him via internet reviews and all have been good. Didn't think tailoring would be so easy and smooth process.

After some chit-chat with him, discovered he has been in this line for 30 YEARS! and have worked with ZEGNA (even before they opened S'pore outlet) Till now, he still maintains top workmanship by doing the measurements, cutting and blah3 personally.

Only had to do 1 fitting session, easy peasy, save time save hassle. Got the suit for $600, shirt for $120.

Rates quite standard (depending on material chosen) but he will always offer you "cheap and good materials" unless you personally decide on the very expensive stuff =D

Why would anyone in the right mind want a MTM suit from Singapore? :confused:

http://www.answers.com/Savile%20Row

Just to reiterate satx's recommendation, Anthony continues to do a good job.

Mode et Creation Pte. Ltd.
Far East Shopping Centre (4th floor)
545 Orchard Road (next to the Hilton)
Anthony Tan
tel: 62353202

London-trained, he doesn't do "quickies", so you need about six days from the first fitting to the final pick-up at a bare minimum, with at least one intermediate fitting. I am still wearing jackets he cut for me in 2003 quite happily, and I added to more to my collection this month.

Please note that he will give you exactly what you ask for, so be specific and knowledgeable for the best satisfaction.

I had a trip to Singapore and decided to check out Mode et Creation.

My experience with Anthony Tan was just as described above. No pressure, excellent advice, and a very good price quoted upfront. My main concern was my stay in Singapore got cut short and only had 5 days to complete the transaction. Anthony worked out a plan that fit my schedule. I even decided to upgrade to a better material (absolutely no pressure from Anthony.)

Due to my schedule, he measured me on a Saturday and came by my hotel for the fitting on Tuesday evening. Anthony said it would take a couple of weeks to complete the suit. I realize I was taking a risk in not having a second fitting and trusting the suit would show up on my doorstep a few weeks later, but everything worked out great.

I found a friend who agreed to deliver it, saving me the shipping fees. (Anthony even reminded my friend of the refund due.)

I can't compare Singapore tailors to Bangkok tailors, but I do recommend Anthony Tan at Mode et Creation.

I think Far East Plaza has great tailors. Some with more than 20 years experience in tailoring. Can't recommend all of them but I can recommend Mohan's Custom Tailors. I've been there a few times and have always felt welcome. The staff are friendly and i've never felt unwanted, no matter how little I spent. check out their website; www.mohanscustomtailors.com.sg