So I just moved to Seoul ...

PM me with specific questions and I'll be happy to answer. There is another member here, Ryeono (sp?) who has had a positive experience getting a suit made...my two have not been as nice. There are some fantastic places to get shirts at various levels of quality. Ties, shoes, and suits I either order online or have a friend ship to me...the mark-up on menswear of commensurate quality is insane. I also have a fantastic alterations tailor I can recommend.

Welcome to Seoul!

I now hang my hat in Manila, but spent several years in Seoul. The Seoul threads here are a good source. For shoes I'd recommend http://www.unipair.com in Gangnam, but you will certainly (over)pay, e.g. Alden shell longwing at approx $1100. Allen Edmonds has an online Korean shop where you'll find the MacNeil at approx. $500. At the Shinsegae department stores you'll find Boon the Shop, which has a wide array of SF-favored brands in smallish quantities. Shinsegae also sells John Lobb shoes. About 1 hour north of Seoul is an okay outlet mall, Paju Premium Outlet, that has a Shinsegae outlet (Incotex, Belvest, etc), Lansmere (Attolini, Isaia, Sartoria Partenopea and Boglioli), Zegna, and Jil Sander.

If you're a big bloke you'll have trouble with off-the-rack clothes and finding shoes larger than size 10 or 11.

Unipair was featured on CNN recently. It is, as the above poster mentioned, overpriced. If you do feel like getting a pair of Aldens, I'd try them on, then order online. Same with most brands. Even with shipping and customs, you'll end up saving money; the markup is that bad (there are a ton of things cheaper in Korea though...tops would be dentistry and contacts).

 

Holy shit @ AE in Korea. Their showroom is a ten minute cab ride across the river. I've some that need to be resoled...I know where I'm going this weekend. Excellent info Curzon.
 

Shopping is pretty bleak. I'd ship everything in unless you're already well-versed in bespoke suiting. Enjoy cheap food, easy girls, and cheap cab rides home (don't forget to buckle up) - rinse and repeat.

If you got a fat wallet, check out Zimmermann & Kim. I have not visited there but from what I have heard from Korean blogsphere, they are one of the best shoe stores in S.Korea. They handle Gaziano & Girling and Vaas. Mr. Zimmermann himself is a member of SF, although I'm not sure how frequently he checks the forum. 

Happy to help, claghorn. Anyone looking for resoling may want to consider unipair for it; they have a couple Japanese-trained cobblers in house and I recall leather soles will run you about $150, which is more than AE's recrafting but doesn't have the shipping cost and wait.

Forgot to mention there's a BB and Polo outlet at Paju Outlet too, but the BB is almost all the for-outlet diffusion line and Polo is mostly a miss with its items. Never saw RRL there. Just south of Paju Outlet is another outlet that has a Paul Smith shop with not bad selection.

But imployt correctly stated shopping is bleak. I quite enjoyed a lot of Korean girls, but some are a bit mercenary. It's more fun in the Philippines. The clothes are for shit, but I'm rarely wearing 'em.

I didnot know unipair did recrafting. More excellent advice. The Brooks Brothers in Sinsa, Gangnam carries more of their mainline stuff, but at a huge mark up.

If you are interested in bespoke suit, the best two places seem to be Spolverino (스포르베리노) and Lerici (레리치) for the quality. But they are not so cheap--expect to pay at least $1000 USD. 

 

I don't really follow any Korean blogs, mostly because the biggest blog service provider Naver is shitty as hell. But the only Korean menswear blog that I follow, Andy's Room has praised these two tailors as the best in S.Korea. You can check the review for Spolverino by the forum member ho1joon's post. For Lerici suit, check out Andy's Room's this post and the other one. I cannot post images because Naver blocks it (as I stated earlier, they suck). It also seems Lerici doesn't have a website but their number is 02-549-5356.

 

But keep in mind that I am not sure whether you can well communicate with either tailors in English. I have no bespoke experience yet, but my impression is that the good communication between the tailor and the customer is essential to get a satisfying experience. If it seems there will be a language barrier, you might be better off with other places mentioned in SF. They would certainly be cheaper.

 

For bespoke shirts, the best reviewed place is Steady State and it seems they are pretty fluent in English.

 

For shoes, this place seems interesting. They claim to offer hand-sewn shoes with variety of customization options. They also have a shop called Diamond Walker in Singapore and you can see some of their works on their website.

 

It would be helpful if yer white. But without beard. From what I'm told, most of Korean women are not fond of it.

Eureka! I'm a cleanly shaven, round-eyed, high-nosed honky.

In addition to steadystate for shirts you may want to check out Goshe, http://blog.naver.com/gustosignore/40060906546. English is spoken. Home page: http://blog.ktmyshop.co.kr/%EA%B3%A0%EC%89%90 ,

Premium line starts at 99k won, approx. $100.

Ho1joon has done very well with Spolverino and I think it would be the first place I'd check were I in need of another suit.
Edited by curzon - 11/19/12 at 10:14pm

I live in Seoul also.  I suggest buying Carmina at Unipair.  Their carmina prices are on par with Epaulet in New York and they have a large selection.  I recently bought one cordovan boot and one scotch grain boot from them and I am very happy with the boots and the service.  Jay Kang is the director who speaks english fluently and has a lot of knowledge about all the brands there so ask for him if you visit or email the shop.  Jay has always provided excellent service for myself and some friends here in Seoul.  The rest of the staff are great people and very helpful.  If you are visiting Seoul I believe you can get a 10% tax refund.  I have had resh shoe repair fix shoes and put on toe taps with good results.  If anyone has any questions about the shop send me a PM.

so it's more fun with regards to teh ladiez? deets plz...

Apologies for the proceeding serious answer:

Serious answer (Click to show)

Wow, there's a party in here! Welcome to Seoul!