Quality Tailor in Beijing
 

Any quality tailors in Beijing? I want to get a good suit made, but I don't want to pay too much. Any idea on prices?

I highly recommend FeiFei tailor shop. I have had many things made there. It is a small, privately owned shop (no sweat shop labor). Ask for the shop owner Xiao Fei. The shop is located at:
35-1-103
Xin Yuan Jie, Beijing (near Capital Mansion and Kunlun Hotel)

FeiFei doesn't stock a lot of fabric, but they can get any fabric you need, or you can supply your own fabric. Of course, asking them to get the right fabric is easier if you speak Chinese.

If you want to buy your own suit fabric, the cheapest place is the fabric market in Tianjin. If you have a free day, you can take the train there (takes a little over an hour). If you can't leave Beijing, I recommend Yue Xiu market on ChaoYangMen street. But, be prepared to bargain heavily if you go there. Yue Xiu won't be as cheap as Tianjin, but the price is still reasonable after bargaining and the fabric is good (but I don't recommend the tailoring service at Yue Xiu). I would avoid getting your fabric at the market in WangFuJing. This place is loaded with tourists, the prices are horrific, and the tailoring quality is questionable.

The price will vary depending on how much you spend on fabric. An average man takes about 4 meters of fabric to make a suit (safely). For nice 180 thread count Australian wool, the fabric should cost about 65 yuan (US$8) per meter in Tianjin, or about 85 yuan (US$11) per meter at Yue Xiu. Tailoring cost is usually about 400 yuan for a decent tailor. In total, you should pay between 600-800 yuan (US$75-$100) per suit depending on the fabric quality and how good you are at bargaining.

The tailors can make any suit you want, with any features. They are also very good at copying suits from pictures, so if you have a picture of the suit you want, bring it with you. They can also arrange to have the suits delivered to your hotel.

There are cheaper tailors in Beijing, but I wouldn't recommend them if you are wanting nice suits. Some people may recommend the fabric market at MuXiYuan in south Beijing, but I went there recently and found that there was very little suit material for sale.

Two of my friends had suits made by the tailors at the Silk Market (2nd floor) about 10 days ago. It's a one or two day turnaround, and they were both pretty happy with the suits. Personally, I thought it was a little overpriced (~$190 usd/1500 rmb).

TravelManKen is correct on both counts. The major markets like "Silk Street", Yue Xiu, Ya Xiu, and WangFuJing do make decent suits. But, they will try to price gouge, especially on the cost of the fabric.

Also, the big markets don't give as much personal attention to each customer. They figure that everyone is a stupid, wealthy tourist that is leaving the next day, so why commit to extra relationship. It's a wealthy tourist revolving door to them.

One other thing to consider (as I mentioned above) is labor practice. The large markets have a big warehouse full of people working hard, but the workers only get paid a few yuan. Most likely, the worker only got about 30-40 yuan of the 1500 yuan that TravelManKen's friend paid.

Any recommendations in Shanghai?

Please help. I'm in Beijing now, and I couldn't find feifei's location. Could you please provide more detailed directions?

Sorry, have been away for a while. You need to find the Beijing Capital Mansion building just north of the embassy district. Go north from Capital Mansion for about two blocks, and the street will split into a "Y". Take the left street. Fei Fei is in a small, ground floor shop on the left had side of the street about one block from the place where the street splits.

Here is an exact address: Capital Mansion, No. 6 Xin Yuan Nan Road, Chao Yang District, Beijing

You can also call the Beijing Capital Club Tel: (8610) 8486 2225 and ask for directions (the club in in the Capital Mansion Bldg), or have the receptionist speak directly to your taxi driver. I don't believe they ask if you're a member, just tell the person that answers (always fluent in english) you need directions.

If I go to FeiFei (will be in Beijing next week), should I expect to be quoted 600-800Y for top fabric, os should I expect to have to 'negotiate' down to that level.
Thanks

Ed

I have heard of a fabric market called Muxiyuan which is a little far from the city center. Is this place worth a visit or will Yue Xiu be good enough?

Hi there

Could you provide Fei Fei's direct phone number?

Could you or any other forum users advise on other choices available for quality tailoring? I am looking to make a few men's suits and working shirts.

I've been to the one at Sanlitun Beijing Friendship store (near the embassy area), and that was so so. I also saw a quality tailor shop called Dave at the Kerry Centre. But there prices are out of my budget. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

On the advice of a colleague, I've recently started using "Lisa's Tailor Shop" in the 3.3 Mall and have been pleased with the product. Shirts cost 100 a pop and suits go for 1000-1800, depending on fabric quality. Last month, I brought one of my Paul Smith suits there and asked them to copy it with double stitching; they did a bang-up job. I don't doubt that the places in the CBD are better, but I'm pretty sure that a big portion of the price difference goes towards paying their sky high rents.

It sounds great! Could you please advise on the address and telephone number? I am not familiar with 3.3 Mall.

Btw, when you mentioned double stitching, did you mean double stitching on all parts of the jacket? Hand stitching?

Looks like others have found Lisa's

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijin...ors/has/lisas/

http://www.lisatailor.com/

Alright, this has been a REALLY long time coming, but I figure I can make a post finally worth writing about:

I made it to Lisa's tailor shop in Beijing last August, and only have good things to say about her, the people in the store with her and the products I was given for the past 7 months!

I visited Lisa the last time I was in Beijing and found out just how cheap the suits would be for me - on two day notice - US$125! I got two made for me, single-breasted, 3-button, double vent, etc. Both turned out great and have held up many times wearing them over the past few months. In addition to the suits, I got 7 shirts made, for US$12 each!!! All of them were modeled after a Hugo Boss pattern (of a shirt I brought in for them). Aside from a minor difference in the shirts, they all look good and have held up tremendously well for such a cheap price!

So, overall - I'd without the slightest hesitation, recommend Lisa. Later on this trip, I went to Singapore and got a suit & 2 shirts made at Ron Tailor (near the Le Meridien hotel) and wouldn't recommend them at all.

In addition, I've got a suit made in Seoul and two shirts, both of which I would recommend.

If anyone has any more questions about these places, definitely let me know - but Lisa in Beijing is a great tailor to work with - spoke English, and treated me really well!

-jeremy