Tailored Suits in SE Asia

Donnie

Nobjocki wrote:

If you want to pay £50 for a suit that is entirely your right.
But you might as well walk around with a large sign saying " I know I look cheap and nasty in this suit but I'm hoping that there's some idiot out there who really thinks it was made by a good English tailor and by the way please ignore those sparks of static electricity flying off me "
C'mon people - if you buy a 50 quid suit it's gonna look like a 50 quid suit - you ain't fooling anyone.
It's the sartorial equivalent of a combover.

Troll :rolleyes:

nej

Donnie wrote:

Troll :rolleyes:

Very restrained of you!

Thing is, how many interesting stories have started with "I went to a tailor and...", compared to "I was on holiday in Thailand and..."

People are always far more impressed when I tell them I got a nice suit made for next to nothing whilst in Phuket.

Same with fake watches. I've had much better conversations with people about my "Rolex" and "Breitling" than I would have if I'd actually paid £3000 for them.

Plus of course, if you can spend £3000 on a watch and £2000 on a suit, people will assume you are a bit of a pretentious kn0b.

£2000 on a suit, or £100 on a suit and 2 weeks in Phuket... hmm....

melancholly

the best place in vietnam is hoi an - the place is filled with tailors who make fantastic quality clothing. for all items i was measured initiially, then went back the next day to check for the fit and tried it on again before handing over any money. i bought some wonderful clothes (sadly loosig weight means that they don't fit any more!) that have lasted very well. i spent $100 for a suit (jacket with skirt and trousers), winter coat (With very cool lining), evening shift dress, evening skirt and 2 handmade scarves for gifts. I still wear the coat a lot. they even had catalogues from various companies like next, so you could flick through and pick something you liked.

i have changed shape dramatically over the last 5 years and i doubt i will be exactly the same size in 20 years - no point paying a fortune for something that will inevitably look dated and fit badly 10 years down the line!!

although value for money doesn't mean something is cheap, expensive does not mean good quality. if you haven't experienced the tailors in vietnam or other parts of south east asia, best to tone down opinions that aren't based on any experience, ey?!

black-saturn

melancholly wrote:

the best place in vietnam is hoi an - the place is filled with tailors who make fantastic quality clothing. for all items i was measured initiially, then went back the next day to check for the fit and tried it on again before handing over any money. i bought some wonderful clothes (sadly loosig weight means that they don't fit any more!) that have lasted very well. i spent $100 for a suit (jacket with skirt and trousers), winter coat (With very cool lining), evening shift dress, evening skirt and 2 handmade scarves for gifts. I still wear the coat a lot. they even had catalogues from various companies like next, so you could flick through and pick something you liked.

Thats where I got my evening dress from. Hoi An was my favourite place in Vietnam and also Da Lat.

Donnie

Nobjocki wrote:

Precisely... it all comes down to taste.
Personally,given the choice between 2 weeks in Phuket constantly watching for the next Tsunami or a superbly-made suit by a genuine craftsman which takes two or three fittings and which will probably last for 20 years I think I'd prefer the latter.
Value for money doesn't mean the same as cheap.

Are you trying to tell us that the only genuine craftsmen are in the UK?

You know that you are just making yourself look increasingly stupid, don't you?

I used to work for a top British fashion designer, who was very meticulous with her choice of materials and quality of work.
So, I know a least a little about a quality clothing.

Without a doubt, you can get quality clothing made in Asia. Of course, you can be unlucky and end up with a poorly made cheap suit.
But that runs along with being scammed anywhere.

An acquaintance of mine visits Thailand to obtain hand made suits for work purposes.
Even though he pays over the top, he gets three hand made 'Designer' suits, replete with 'Designer' linings and logos for around £200. At least three fittings are scheduled.

I have clothes made by a Chinese tailor in Bangkok. He doesn't outsource any of his work. It's just himself and his assistant.
I had him reproduce three pairs of trousers from a designer pair costing £70 in the UK. The designer pair, from the UK, had a label stating 100% Wool on the label.
Each and every tailor I took them to in Bangkok was extremely sceptical of the quality of the material used.

The Chinese tailor produced three identical pairs for less than £30. He even advised against my choice of cloth and recommended a stretch material. Which, in fact, turned out to be a match for the original material used on the 'Designer' pair.

There's in no doubt that this tailor is an experienced craftsman.


There are more 'genuine' craftsmen per capita in Asia than there is in the UK. A reason? People have to work with limited resources and learn to recycle resourcefully.

I wouldn't dream of paying the ridiculous prices charged for quality clothing in the UK.
I buy most of my clothing in China now. High quality, relatively low prices.

Nobjocki

You are,of course,entitled to buy your clothing wherever you choose - and by the sound of your increasingly hysterical tone of voice you obviously feel quite defensive about it.
My point is this - if everyone were to buy their clothing,their cars,their food,their furniture etc etc from the Far East then pretty soon Britain will have no manufacturing industry or craftsmen to speak of.
I personally prefer to spend my money Backing Britain - unfashionable,I know,but each is entitled to their own.
British tailoring is the very best in the world -and considering the expertise and skill that goes into the making of a fine Savile Row suite excellent value-for-money.
However,Donnie,if you ever find yourself standing in a dole queue because your job has been out-sourced to a Far Eastern country where wages and conditions are below what you would consider to be the basic minimum you'll look the bees knees in your cheap Chinese suit .

stamford

mcampster wrote:

I'm heading to Malaysia for a few weeks in September, and was hoping that I would be able to pick up a couple of tailored suits whilst I was out there.

A few years ago, I did them same in Thailand, and although the suits were not top notch quality, the fact that they were a perfect fit more than made up for it, and at less than £50 each I have been really chuffed. Unfortunately, I've put a few pounds on since then, and now need to 'upgrade'.

Is Malaysia similar to Thailand in this respect, or are prices/quality completely different?

Thanks

I bought a good one in Ipoh Malaysia a few years back, probably cost a bit more than Thailand but still excellent value & quality. Took em a couple of days

melancholly

Nobjocki wrote:

You are,of course,entitled to buy your clothing wherever you choose - and by the sound of your increasingly hysterical tone of voice you obviously feel quite defensive about it.
My point is this - if everyone were to buy their clothing,their cars,their food,their furniture etc etc from the Far East then pretty soon Britain will have no manufacturing industry or craftsmen to speak of.
I personally prefer to spend my money Backing Britain - unfashionable,I know,but each is entitled to their own.
British tailoring is the very best in the world -and considering the expertise and skill that goes into the making of a fine Savile Row suite excellent value-for-money.
However,Donnie,if you ever find yourself standing in a dole queue because your job has been out-sourced to a Far Eastern country where wages and conditions are below what you would consider to be the basic minimum you'll look the bees knees in your cheap Chinese suit .

i find it slightly surprising that anyone who can afford to buy a handmade saville row suit needs to use a moneysaving webiste
i think your generalisations that all of the far east uses slave labour slightly offensive.
and as far as supporting britain goes, i think supporting british farming and manufacturing is slightly different than high fashion.....

and the 'hysterical' replies are more due to your ill-informed comments trying to make people feel guilty for wanting to get a bargain on holiday than anyone being defensive!

melancholly

black-saturn wrote:

Thats where I got my evening dress from. Hoi An was my favourite place in Vietnam and also Da Lat.

just imagine the wedding dress you could get made there!!

Nobjocki

melancholly wrote:

i find it slightly surprising that anyone who can afford to buy a handmade saville row suit needs to use a moneysaving webiste

Okay,so I'm filthy rich but since when did that preclude anyone from looking for a bargain.It's how I earned so much money in the first place.
I just find it peculiar that anyone should think jetting off to the Far East and picking up a cheap suit is in any way thriftier than spending the airfare and hotel money on a decent British suit in the first place.
Come to think of it - isn't it surprising that anyone who can afford a holiday in the far East needs to use a moneysaving website ?
My butler is quite happy with his two weeks on the Algarve.