I think this nailed it; although the trousers aspect sticks while jeans erode into that market.

For someone who lived 20 years in India I hate the locally tailored stuff. In the 80s and early 90s people used to gift 'cut pieces' to family and friends to go to your local tailor for making a shirt.

Horrible: however good the material may be, the measurements and quality of the guys working for the tailor varied wildly. So you would end up with ill fitting shirts of questionable inside material (collars, cuffs etc). Also the cuts/layouts of the shirt was usually from the 70s/80s.

My parents go to a tailor associated with a Raymond's store and give him a eurpoean shirt/trouser to copy and buy the cloth required it. Still they are inferior to a shirt you would buy in europe as the material of the collar gives way with 5-6 washes. Also the mechanical attachment of cloth to inside collar material is done differently in indian tailor shops.

The trouser are also not up to european standards. The inliner and trouserfold are not done the same way.

Its a simple matter of technology moving on and the tailors not keeping pace.

Am i reading this correctly? The consensus of FT'ers who are experienced Indian bespoke tailoring customers is that the workmanship doesn't measure up to, say, Singapore or Hong Kong or one of the other Asian tailoring centers? And I guess, to that point...where is the best place to get suits and shirts made?

Only don't get your shirts stitched in India. You can still get very good quality trousers and suit stitched in India. There are some very high end tailors doing just that. But for shirts I will suggest either buying one of the good readymade brands (in India - Van Heusen, Luise Phillip, Zodiac, Allen Solly are my favorites) or try other Asian cities to see if you can find comparable quality.

God bless Eddie Bauer! After lots of taylor made clothes in London, Thailand, Hong Kong etc. I have concluded that I'd rather have a nano tek shirt from Eddie. Really wash and wear. Comes in big and tall sizes. EZ returns. Reasonable prices.

Of course, if you want a purple striped shirt with white collar ...

I'm looking for two pair of trousers to purchase over the next couple of days in Delhi. Rather than running around to the usual suspects (Khan Market and CP) does anyone (GU?) have a recommedation. I don't mind ready-made, but I'd like something that's decent.

Any advice?

There are many high end shops in South EX Market#2.
You can try there!

I bought a couple of trousers last month at the Van Heusen shop in South Extension II, E12. They did minor alterations in a couple of hours. Good stuff ^

To the extent there was a debate above, I am with GUWonder. Clothes tailored by a good craftsman to fit my body work far better for me than ready-made ones anywhere. The trick in such things is to find a good tailor. The same goes for the shop where you buy the fabric. In principle this is no different from finding a reliable brand or store for any goods including clothes in your home country, except that you have had a long time to form an opinion back home where as you may be on a short visit to India.

BTW, while it may be convenient to purchase the fabrics and get them tailored under one roof, the best tailoring shops and best fabric shops are not always the same. I try to decide on a case by case basis whether to compromise for convenience or not: for a short sleeve shirt I probably will; for a suit probably not.

From http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...gewanted=print:

"The irony is that our Indian friends love Polo, J. Crew and Banana Republic. To them, it is exotic and desirable to walk into a store and buy something off the rack. For us, all of the time and work and hassle is somehow appealing. The sheer energy of creation is the point. The feeling of having clothing pinned and sewn and adjusted, and torn apart and resewn, is what makes the whole process especially luxurious and old-fashioned. It feels as though the suit or shirt or skirt has found you, and molded itself to your desires."

The "sheer energy of creation" is not at all the point. This is the usual sort of idiotic travel/fashion section gushing to justify buying an inferior product. Conspicuous consumption.

Today, mass produced, wash and wear shirts are better than the local, hand sewn product.

I'm sorry, but for someone who has been disappointed umpteen times in his youth by Tailors spoiling a perfectly good piece of cloth with their own ideas even though you told them to stitch/cut it in a different way, the romantic gushing is too much. The worse part is that I didn't have the luxury to ditch the clothes and the coat and buy a new one, so I ran around for years in the stupid cut. I still frown when I see pictures of me wearing that crappy stuff. Give me a suit of the rack anytime: I can see how it fits and ask for some refitting. My Boss suits may cost 300EUR, but they look and wear great for many years. Shirts and trousers are the same. Jeez...

Wow! Where can I get a Boss suit for 300 Euros?

Germany... if you look around smaller Men's outfitters. This is including the VAT refund (so a 350EUR suit becomes 300 all incl.). The BOSS store in MUC had a 50% clearance sale recently... nice...

Thanks for the info. I need a new suit.

I may get some if I have the time. I have not had a suit stichted in DEL in a while now. I am on my way to DEL on EWR-DEL non stop and am waiting in the Presidents Club right now for the flight to begin boarding. I have other reasons for going too. When are you going to DEL?