3 ms·

I am not the above poster, but I have a semi-reliable tailor in Southeast Asia. They took my measurements a few years ago when I visited their country, and I se

I am not the above poster, but I have a semi-reliable tailor in Southeast Asia. They took my measurements a few years ago when I visited their country, and I send them size updates when needed. They have excellent fabrics in a variety of colors and weights. I have seen that there are pros and cons (with this particular tailor, others shops can be more professional, but they are also more expensive, sometimes much more). Pros: hard-to-beat price ($35 for a classic or sporty cotton shirt, $60 for wool/cashmere/denim/cotton pants, $150 for a wool or cotton sport coat, $200-250 for a suit) for something that is somewhere between bespoke and made-to-measure, opportunity for low-cost explorations (let's say I have a few unique garments), playing with details and fabrics. Cons: communication is often challenging (most speak broken English, which demands a good deal of patience and intuition), they are not very detail-oriented (some of the uniqueness of the garments were not sought by me, e.g., e.g., bizarre button placement or pocket shape, etc.), quality of garments can vary unpredictably, and they are always asking for more business, which can be tiring. The other option is to buy on eBay, as I have been doing for some time. Although most pieces are priced correctly, some are much cheaper than they should be. I have bought fantastic, semi-current suits (say, suits that are 10 years old, but with classic features, meaning they are relatively "timeless") that have been used sporadically (the color of the ink on the label is a tell, some have been used once or twice) for $150 when new they would have cost 10 or 15 times that. But I get much more satisfaction when I order clothes from my tailor. Those are pieces "designed by me", for me.

kjs3 3y ago
I did something like this for a while. I was in Hong Kong in the late 80s and on the recommendation of a much more seasoned colleague I went to 'his' tailor who measured me in great detail and for what I'd pay for one off-the-rack suit in the US I got 2 really excellent well fitted suits and a week worth of dress shirts. For the next decade or so I would order things a couple of times a year (by sending a letter + money order; no web site then) and it would show up 6-8 of weeks later just as I needed. Even when I included "I gained 10 lbs since my last order", they adjusted perfectly. Then I spent a good while where suits weren't the 'style', didn't order and lost those contacts. Not that I need one now, but it'd be nice to have 1 suit that really fit and looked good for less than US$1k.
- borroka 3y ago
  You did what I did, but 30 years ago, hats off. I've had a few suits made by my tailor and some were well crafted, others, well, let's leave it at that. I would say, outside of SE Asia, $1k is the middle ground between too expensive for a made-to-measure suit and too cheap for a bespoke suit. As I see it, it is more fun to have distinctive garments made. I had a shirt made inspired by a shirt I saw Fonda wear in a Western movie, a denim jacket seen in a Paul Newman interview. It was a lot of fun, but dealing with the tailor took some tenacity and a certain unusual desire to wear those clothes.
  - kjs3 3y ago
    it is more fun to have distinctive garments made On a trip to Korea, one of the team had an entire suite of outfits made inspired by the movie "Electric Cowboy". Outstanding quality. These apparently made him wildly popular is several SFO clubs, esp in the Castro.

kjs3 3y ago

I did something like this for a while. I was in Hong Kong in the late 80s and on the recommendation of a much more seasoned colleague I went to 'his' tailor who measured me in great detail and for what I'd pay for one off-the-rack suit in the US I got 2 really excellent well fitted suits and a week worth of dress shirts. For the next decade or so I would order things a couple of times a year (by sending a letter + money order; no web site then) and it would show up 6-8 of weeks later just as I needed. Even when I included "I gained 10 lbs since my last order", they adjusted perfectly. Then I spent a good while where suits weren't the 'style', didn't order and lost those contacts. Not that I need one now, but it'd be nice to have 1 suit that really fit and looked good for less than US$1k.

borroka 3y ago
You did what I did, but 30 years ago, hats off. I've had a few suits made by my tailor and some were well crafted, others, well, let's leave it at that. I would say, outside of SE Asia, $1k is the middle ground between too expensive for a made-to-measure suit and too cheap for a bespoke suit. As I see it, it is more fun to have distinctive garments made. I had a shirt made inspired by a shirt I saw Fonda wear in a Western movie, a denim jacket seen in a Paul Newman interview. It was a lot of fun, but dealing with the tailor took some tenacity and a certain unusual desire to wear those clothes.
- kjs3 3y ago
  it is more fun to have distinctive garments made On a trip to Korea, one of the team had an entire suite of outfits made inspired by the movie "Electric Cowboy". Outstanding quality. These apparently made him wildly popular is several SFO clubs, esp in the Castro.