For Chong: Cheap suits from a great Bangkok tailor
If you’ve ever been in Bangkok for more than a few minutes you will undoubtedly have had some rascal on the street approach you to try and tempt you into buying a suit. There are so many tailors in Bangkok that it’s often difficult to differentiate one from the other. They all seem to offer much of the same thing with the same sort of price tag, but I’m always wary of those pushy salesmen who try and pressurise you into going into their shop. When it comes to buying a suit in Bangkok, I want to be able to feel relaxed and not like I’m just some farang mug dragged in off the sidewalk.
I’m leaving the city soon and so it became do or die in terms of picking up a cheap suit in Bangkok. I’m pretty clueless when it comes to Bangkok tailors, but I was recommended For Chong by a friend of mine and I’ve just been to pick my suit up. It’s fab and cost 4,800 baht. The process was unrushed and methodical. A couple of weeks ago I went to the tailor to get measured up, then a few days after that I went in for a fitting, another week later and I now have a kickass suit to take with me to Phuket.
The tailor’s is right next to the Thong Lor BTS station. You go out of exit one and walk back towards Prom Phong, past a shop selling toy cars, a pizzeria and a small supermarket. It’s about five minutes’ walk down the road on the right. The Thai chap who runs the place is an interesting character who I think is one of those people who lose something as soon as they put it down. Each time I paid him a visit there was something he couldn’t find for a few minutes. Aside from his forgetfulness though, he did a good job with my suit.
I had a good feeling about this tailor’s because it’s always busy with a well-to-do sort of clientele despite being located in a quiet spot on Sukhumvit Road. Furthermore, there weren’t any signs outside advertising prices; this tailor’s isn’t aimed at tourists. You should always be careful of a tailor’s that displays deals tarketing tourists, especially if they’re in US dollars. Also, unless you’re really in a hurry, there’s no advantage of having a suit rushed. I saw a tailor’s in MBK today with a sign that read: “Get a suit in 18 hours!” A good suit takes time.
It’s best to go to For Chong as early as possible because in the evenings it tends to be full of uni students picking up their suits. Check it out for great cheap suits in Bangkok.
Techno’ tags: Thailand, Bangkok, Bangkok tailor
June 12th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
who picked the fabric i wonder
June 13th, 2007 at 10:29 am
It was a good job you did, or else I might never have actually got anything.
November 6th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
i have thailand tailors and i really want to have a contact with you …
November 26th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
I used to have a tailor shop this industry did make many people wealthy.
December 15th, 2007 at 1:24 am
Sorry to deflate your bargain but ANY suit that costs around 200 USD is going to look like shit. Try Brioni or Kiton. They’re goddam expensive but you’ll look and feel great.
March 29th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I agree the suits from Thailand can’t compare to Brioni or Kiton but if you are willing to spend 200 to 400 Euros on a suit then you can get quite a wonderful suit at Inders Fashion on Sukhumvit Road Soi 11 - they use really high end fabrics and they produce suits for many tailors on Savile Row. You will not be disappointed. You can get more info on their services at http://www.indersfashion.com! They have done some great suits and shirts for me and my friend!
March 31st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
What you get for that price is polyester fabric. It is no cashmere in Thailand.You can check any website for the price of resale cashmere fabric.I, my self is a tailor in Bangkok and tell you that the price for a mixed tropical wool will cost you at least 450.-USD or 298.- Euro. It is a trick to check cashmere.
April 20th, 2008 at 2:33 am
Hey.. i have a little problem.. ordered a suit at Brioni in bangkok.. but it still hasent arrived backhome in Denmark yet.. and i have lost the number to the shop.. anybody have an idea how i can contact them??
May 15th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Hi Stoffarh. I have a feeling that you’ve been scammed unfortunately!
Alternatively for a good tailors as well that we use is Crown Tailors on Sukhumvit soi 8. Good stuff indeed.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Here is the phone of brioni shop for stoffarh
(66) 02-611-6655
info@brionibangkok.net
May 27th, 2008 at 10:10 am
i went to savilerow in bangkok,the tailor is near patpong road.It is really good.they made clothes that fitted me well and i m very satisfied with the service.i would suggest the foreigners to get the suits made from them.The price is very reasonable and the material is good.
it is located in the 118 rose hotel,suriwongse road,near patpong road.
u can contact them at the no. 0858441307 or 022354427
June 8th, 2008 at 11:59 am
If you are planning on having clothes tailored in Thailand or anywhere in Southeast Asia, please read this. So many people get ripped off by this that I am surprised that it is never included in the guides nor has anyone I know of written an good guide to negotiating the pitfalls of this venture. It should be a boxed text in LP Thailand. This attempts to correct that.
The first thing you have to ask yourself when considering having a suit tailored in Southeast Asia is, “What do I expect?” If you have some fantasy about getting a “bespoke” suit equivalent or even close to what is produced by top notch tailors in England, New York, and Naples - then reconsider.
What you can get from some of Asia’s better tailors is a bit of hand detail work - and even that is enough to increase the dollar per stitch value of your investment considerably. Bespoke also generally means that you are working directly with the tailor who designs, fits, and cuts the pattern for your garment.
Second, it is important to understand that workmanship is only about 50% of the value of a good suit. The other 50% is material. You could bring all of the tailors of Saville Row to Bangkok and give them a go with a rayon / polyester / sheep wool blend pinstripe and not get a single wearable garment. And, I am not just talking about the fabric, I am also talking about the thread, the interfacing, the lining, etc… You can’t make a 60 dollar suit anywhere in the world using anything except crap material. A suit made of bad material will look like you found it in a ditch after one use because this sort of material simply can’t hold its shape or structure.Making a good suit requires shaping, pressing, reshaping, stitching, shaping, pressing reshaping, etc… until it is perfect. There are also several necessary fittings before a final product can be arrived at.
Most tailors in Asia have absolutely no design sensibility or if they have one, it is very different from your own. You simply cannot trust a tailor in Asia, as you can trust a tailor on Saville row or in Naples, to read your mind and produce the garment that you really want. Here, you have to ASK for EVERYTHING that you want. Now ask yourself, are you in a position to do so - to even know what you want? Well, if you can walk into a shop and say you want a “single breasted three button roll to two button double vented jacket with peak lapels, a natural shoulder, high small arm holes, high waist suppression, floating canvas, a patch left breast pocket, angled side flap side pockets, with a ticket pocket on the right”, then you might be ok. If not, copy this and tell them, became it is probably what you want anyway. The problem is, if you don’t know what it means and why and if your tailor does not speak perfect English, you still won’t be able to communicate what you need to get a good suit.
One warning, tailors in Thailand, even the good ones, love big shoulder pads. This is probably because Thais are naturally small in the chest and shoulders. If you are even a moderately build westerner this can make you look like a football player. You most likely want some shoulder padding, just strongly impress on the tailor to use VERY SMALL shoulder pads.
Not to equate money with value, but sad to say, if you are not ready to spend around 400 USD for good custom tailored suit (this includes fabric), I doubt you will get something worth while. This is about 4 times the street price from the Indian tout-tailors, but at least here you are not waisting your money and will get a garment you can wear frequently and which will stand up in a formal situation. If you are not willing to spend this much, a ready-made product is the way to go. There is nothing inherently wrong with clothing manufactured for companies like Zara, Banana Republic, or the Gap. These clothes usually use 100% wool or cotton, are well made, and designed to fit almost everyone. And if they don’t fit you perfectly, that is when a cheap tailor can really come in handy.
Shirts are one place when you can do very well in Southeast Asia. I have had shirts made from several tailors in Bangkok, Laos, and in Vietnam, and many have stood the test. I have taken several Bangkok made shirts to top tailors in New York and London and they were frequently impressed with the products. Better tailors will have a good selection of 100% cotton.The tailors of Thailand can generally produce a magnificent copy with all of the improvements you might ask for. Pants also tend to be done well here and follow the same rules.There actually are good tailors in Bangkok. Most are on Sukimvit around Asok and Nana BMT stations. The best I’ve found is Savile row Tailor bangkok(savilerowfashion @gmail.com)), but others are also quite skilled and a little dedication and research can turn them out. This doesn’t mean that you’ll get what you want, but at least you won’t get robbed. Look for a tailor that uses 100% wool fabrics from Japan or Europe or bring your own. To test if wool is 100% wool, take a swatch of it and light it with a match. Wool will smell organic and burn a bit. A synthetic with crumble and melt like a plastic fork in a fire. A good tailor will work with your fabrics just as happily as he will sell you his own. His work is making clothes, not selling overpriced synthetics.
June 8th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Highly recommended
June 14th, 2008 at 10:23 am
We used Brioni in Bangkok and had huge problems with them. The two suits were not what we asked for, but they were of the opinion that they fitted so too bad. I asked for skirts that were 50’s style, but got a-lines, and jackets didn’t have the collars I requested, and the pants had no waistband or pcokets as picked out of the catalogue. We had a four hour stand off with them on attempting to get them changed, where my husband was pushed violently, and I was threatened harm by a group of guys. Warning: stick together, they will seperate you to get what they want. They refused to refund money, so we either went home empty handed, or continued on. After the four hours, we finally got them to agree to change the suits to what I had picked out, but alas when they were delivered they still weren’t what we wanted. The final product, being a french cuff shirt doesn’t have it’s buttons on the sleeves, one of the jackets is lop-sided, bith the skirts are missing their buttons, and the pants have no pockets or waistbands. Brioni refused to speak with us, and we came home disappointed :(
July 14th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Interesting steve. Looks like you’ve just copied that entire writing all from the Lonely Planet and then used it and changed it to “your own shop name.” Either this is a case of blatant advertising or else you’ve just taken something not yours at all and copied it! Either ways, not acceptable!
July 14th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I did wonder why someone would write such a long comment about buying a suit.
September 4th, 2008 at 7:51 am
i had brough couple of suits from khoasan road and they were not up to the mark.Refuse to give a refund back as promise. would not recommend anyone going to boss tailor khoasan road
September 25th, 2008 at 1:22 am
anyone happen to know the telephone number for for chong?
October 11th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Stay away from Brioni - those slimy buggers ripped us off big time. The work seems descent but there are some obvious flaws in it. Not worth USD700. Bollocks.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:13 am
While my visit in Bangkok I stayed at Somerset lake point sukumvit soi 16. I had my clothes made with the hotel tailor (TAILOR PRO) which is located on the 1st floor. We got some suits made which fits perfectly well without any alteration. From what I have learn they make suits for famous stars elija wood, peter thorn, Michael de. We got the suits on promotion, where you need to take the pamphlets in the hotel room to the store in order to get a good discount