KosraeTV

HKG is a better value now IMHO with the exchange rates and such. But I still get items done in BKK as I have a tailor I like. You can get your coats and shirts made at either BKK or HKG, it's up to you to find the shop with the selection and service you want.

LucWise

I'll be heading to Bangkok for two weeks in late August staying at the Chaophya Park Hotel (247 Rachadapisek Road, Dindaeng, Bangkok 10400, Thailand). Does anyone know of any good tailors near this hotel??

KosraeTV

I stayed there two years ago, I think there was one on site but could have moved out and my memory might be wrong. But you are near the MRT and take that over to Asoke station, and walk up towards Nana area or take the BTS over to Nana and you will find 100's of tailors. Very simple. The transport in BKK a child can figure out, fast, clean and cheap. I wouldn't look for a tailor near your hotel, I'd go out and find a tailor that you like. Won't take long, and they are open late if you work all day long.

Plus... I'd be willing to bet that you could find one close to that hotel (I just happen to go to my same tailor on Sukhumvit) as you can find a tailor in every corner in BKK even in the electronics mall called Pantip there is a decent tailor.

jhen

Hi guys,
Has anyone tried Moon River ?
This post has too many of the same tailors doing the same thing.I was referred to Moon River by one of my cousins in Bangkok last year in June,As far as I know the shop has been there since the past 20 years doing grate work,It has been taken over by VJ the current owner since the past year and a half.
Out of 100's of tailor shops including the likes of Rajas,and pinky's he is the only one with in house tailors.so fittings were a breeze and the actual cutters were always there to see my fittings.
The shop has a large range of fabrics to select from the tourist 5000 baht to the real Italian Zegna fabrics for 48000, He is very informative and recommended me to try my first suit with a reasonable quality of 11,000 bats.
once we got the fittings right and I used the suit for 6 months,I was confident of trying out 2 more suits with the higher quality ones from 14,000 baht,did a perfect job,
I was more informative and wanted working button holes on the sleeves and a proper hand stitch on the lapels.really liked the finishing and fit.I also had 5 shirts for 5500 baht and got what I was looking for.next time I will try for some of the better imported wrinkle free cottons,as they are very expensive in the US.
The new owner does road shows to the US twice a year as well,check out his web page www.moonriverbyvj.com

brianclev

Can someone recommend some places to have shoes made?

I've used An An at corner of Soi 1 & Sukhumvit--but they never fit right--and I'm tired of dealing with him. Last time, he made two pairs--and one pair was too big (I don't understand how they can be made at the same time yet different sizes).

Also, are there any bargains for real leather belts? Or is it better to get these in U.S.?

I heard that for leather, Argentina is the place to go.

maskedavenger

Leather Home, Pattaya 2nd Rd. and Pattaya Tai....actually just south of this intersection on the right side as you walk southbound. There are actually two shops next to each other with a hobby shop in the middle. The one you want is on the left side, looking at the building. Ask for Somsak. Tell him exactly what you want...and you will be happy. He doesn't always meet deadlines, but this is Thailand. Also, a nice side item is that you can see the shoes being constructed if you stop by each day....the workers are friendlies.

brianclev

Is that in Pattaya or Bangkok? I'm looking more for a place in Bangkok.

greggoak2

My partner and I are spending three-and-a-half days in Bangkok this fall (an early morning arrival on a Thursday, then an early afternoon departure to Siem Reap on Sunday). Is that enough time for fittings if we're both getting suits and shirts made (and is the weekend an issue for this)? After Siem Reap, we're headed to Phuket for four days, so we could have the final products shipped there if needed. But if that is NOT enough time, I saw one post on here from last November suggesting an initial fitting in Bangkok then final fittings and picking up the product in Phuket. That poster suggested Tom's International in Patong (the poster reported that their affiliate store in Bangkok is called Tony's Fashion House and is on Rangnam Road).

Suggestions? Other shops with Bangkok/Phuket branches? Or is my time in BKK long enough anyway? I'm looking for a cut above the usual tourist tailor and I'm willing to spend accordingly.

I'd also prefer someone who treats their laborers with respect (not the usual sweatshop set up) and am likewise willing to pay accordingly. Or is avoiding sweatshop labor for this sort of thing a fantasy (or does it put me back at U.S.-level prices for custom tailoring)?

IndyDavid

Gregg -- if you choose someplace Thursday morning, they could have something for you to try on by Friday noon & you could pick things up Saturday night (most are closed Sunday). However, beware.

My partner and I had suits made in Bangkok in January: a total of 8 jackets, 5 pairs of pants, 8 shirts and 3 ties from 2 different tailor shops. None of them fit very well. One tailor (the famous Rajawongse) only offered 1 fitting and didn't make any of the changes I requested. The sleeves are too long, there's a ton of unnecessary stiffening in the chest so it doesn't drape right, etc. He grudgingly agreed to fix the 3 suit jackets and ship them to me after I refused them at final pickup. The versions that arrived in the US were still not very good. He promised the shirts with the too-big necks would shrink too. Not true. The Rajawongse suit fabric also has some slubs in it and is starting to pill after about 8 wearings. Very low recommendation there.

The other place (Raja's on Sukhumvit down & across the street from Rajawongse) offered us a fitting every day for 4 days in a row, and those jackets fit slightly better. But the big problem for me on any suit jacket is the collar & they nobody adds the collar until the last second anyway. By then it's too late to fix -- the jacket's done & your plane is leaving. My Raja's collars never sit up at my neck in the back -- they always slide down a little, leaving a gap and forcing me to constantly tug on my lapels to keep the top of the jacket against the back of my neck. Annoying.

I have a suit that was 90% off at Macy's that fits better and cost less than the clothes we had made in Bangkok. My off-the-rack Joseph Abboud suits all fit like a glove in comparison. So I'd never do it again. Both those shops keep prices down by giving every customer the same suit and refusing to fix anything, especially if it would mean recutting fabric and starting over.

Remember too that since everything is made by hand, no 2 are ever alike. Two of my 3 Rajawongse shirt collars are fine; the other is 1/2" too big. One of my Raja's suit jackets fits better than the other. Even things like the depth of the breast pockets in the jackets varies significantly -- one is so deep I can barely fish out my Blackberry; the other is so shallow there's an unsightly bulge when the jacket is buttoned. So even if you do succeed in getting 1 garment right, your others will all be different and will never fit the same.

Caveat emptor.

David

l etoile

Thanks for this. We'd been to Raja's (as in Jessie and Victor) before and had been pretty pleased, but this time my son went to July Tailor to have a very specific style of shirt made. It was far more than Raja's (a little over $100 US), but they were excellent. A vice nice selection of fabrics too.

yosithezet

At the recommendation of KosraeTV I decided to try Herrmann for my first experience of tailored clothing. I had a few BKK stopovers in the last month so it seemed like a good opportunity. I decided to get a suit, two pair of pants and two shirts. For the additional pants, I had some pleated dockers that I really liked which had worn out so I took them with and asked that they be copied. For the shirts, I wanted one of them to have French cuffs so I could finally use the cuff links I bought in CMB 2 years ago.

The first visit to Herrmann's was on a Friday. We discussed concerns I had with regards to travel in hot, humid climates and what fabrics would work best. I was measured and fabrics were selected.

The next day, on Saturday, I had a fitting with the tailor, rather than salespeople, where I tried one of the extra pants, the two shirts, the suit jacket sans sleeves and the suit pants. At this point we identified that due to the different material being used for the extra pants they didn't fit quite like the dockers. I was hesitant to make a change assuming that it would work out in the end as I wear them a few times.

On the following Saturday I was able to try everything on. We were now down to the final bits of fine tuning. I was very happy to find that they had made adjustments to the extra pants that I hadn't asked for to ensure that they fit better. The collar of one of the shirts was too tight and it had a bit of extra fabric at the nape of the neck. The suit pants were missing suspender buttons which I'd asked for. Everything was noted and on Monday I went it to pick everything up after ensuring that all the fine tuning was complete.

I spent the next week test-driving the new threads and am very happy with how they turned out. Price-wise, all of the items together came out the same as the mediocre-quality, off the rack Men's Wearhouse suit which I bought last year. Now to have an extra pair of the suit pants made so that I can wear the jacket a few days in a row when traveling. Who said FlyerTalk is about points and miles? It is clearly about the shopping!

LucWise

What was the total cost of all the items you got, yosithezet?

yosithezet

20K THB and I'd be happy to hear opinions on the price.

maskedavenger

Very nice post. The Raja on Nana soi 2 (next to Nana plaza Entertainment) just up from Rajawongse can become very nasty and vile (the old man, not Bobby)....when things don't go his way. When the suit looks horrible and he is told the reasons why...and what must be done to fix it....he gets very upset (re; profit loss)....as he sees the suit having to be returned to the sweatshop for more alteration. The place is well known amongst BKK expats.....but watch out if you need more adjustment to make things right. I wrote a story earlier about how he was trying to really rip off an Asian tourist....by giving him a quick spin and telling the guy that the suit looked great. I don't like this place at all...especially when there are so many better venues. This is of course a YMMV situation.

AJetSetter

i've had similar problems with Rajawongse (Jesse and Victor) near the Landmark Hotel. very nice people, salesmen really. it was apparent that their busines has been growing on the back of word-of-mouth. lots of traffic in and out the few times i went in the store.

the sleeves on the shirts they made for me were too long and the collars too big. 'it will shrink with washing' jesse tells me ... riiiiight. also, the sleeves are too long and since the cuffs are quite rigid, the end the sleeves disappear behind the cuffs making it look like i'm wearing bracelets or something. icky. i had one suit made just to try it out (several of my friends of recommended it to me), and was thoroughly disappointed. the stitching around the edges of the sleeves are uneven and embarrassingly visible when i wear a light coloured shirt.

no more rajawongse for me.