tailors in seoul korea?

Hi guys. I saw this had been bumped back up so I figured I would post some of my experience.

I have only personally had experience with two different tailors for suits - Hahn's and Savile Row, both in Itaewon.

I was very unimpressed with Hahn's. The jacket came out with a horrible cut - the chest floated far too high off the body and when buttoned there was almost no spread at the bottom of the jacket. Additionally, when I asked the proprietor to address these concerns he just jury-rigged a subpar solution for the chest and ignored the other issue as just being part of the style in which he had made it. Overall seemed like poor craftsmanship and service. Additionally, he tried to peddle me some of that cheap Korean 180's cloth and claimed it was just as good/strong as anything else. Savile Row immediately told me they didn't stock any of that "fake" stuff.

Savile Row, on the other hand, I have been extremely happy with and have since used it for half a dozen suits and an overcoat. The owner has since the beginning offered very personalized and caring service, and the quality of the tailoring has been excellent. We went through a few fittings at first but they worked with me to get an excellent cut which they have since been able to reproduce on any of my orders. They have also never once hesitated to fully address any concerns or alterations.

On the topic of shirts - you should first be aware that most of the tailors do not make their shirts in house. Both Hahn's and Savile Row outsource their shirts to basically the same external bulk tailor. I have gotten shirts from both of them and they were both lacking. Because of this I would not suggest getting shirts done by either of them (or by most any other tailor for that matter because it will be the same situation). For shirts I would suggest Hamilton. They are particularly focused on shirts and many people I know have testified to their quality. There is a Hamilton store in Itaewon (down closer to the subway station on the side of the road opposite Hamilton Hotel), and a store in Myeong-dong in the middle of the central shopping area.

I'm getting closer to zen with the bespoke tailoring experience in Seoul, it's not in the big leagues, but it works for $500 suits. Shirts are a lost cause if you're looking for something decent.

Being a long time lurker, I've enjoyed most of what I've read on SF. I just thought I would share my experieces with tailors in Korea.

I've personally only experienced two places firsthand. The first one is Western Tailor in Itaewon. This was a couple of years back so I'm fuzzy on some of the details. Not the best fabric, but it was really cheap. I think overall better than OTR for the price (260 USD), but you can probably find better options at higher prices.

The other place I've been to is Sartoria Vanni. I realize that some people have mixed opinions of the place. They stock the typical Korean Goldentex fabrics as well as higher end European fabrics (Scabal, Loro Piana, Zegna, etc.). I found the designer to be very good. I sent her pictures of what I was looking for and she explained the various features of the suit and her opinion on what would work based on my requirements. Because I opted for a Loro Piana fabric, they took two fittings. I'm pretty satisfied with the suit. My only complaint is that I find their suits a little tight. That may be how most of their clients like their suits (I hear they mostly cater to a younger audience), but I have thicker thighs so the pants can be a little bit of a problem. Also, the tailor seems to just do his own thing, so any specific features you want, you should probably lay out up front. btw, here is their blog site (http://espark1118.blog.me/140135035240). It's in Korean, but you can still browse through all of their pictures. I believe their prices are also online somewhere (I don't remember where), but I think the range was about 500 for the low-end Korean stuff to 2000 for the top of the European fabrics.

Therre are a couple other places that I have heard good things about that I would like to check out when budget permits (Saegae, Lansmere, Lerichi, and Tailorable)

In terms of shirts, I have shirts from Hamilton, Goshe, Savile Row (Gwanghwamun), and Andrew & Lesley. Andrew & Lesley seem to have the best construction (also the most expensive), but they didn't have a wide variety of fabrics (they also sell Carmina shoes fwiw). I'll probably make some more shirts from here, but I plan on also checking out some more places in HK. Not a big fan of Hamilton (construction not up to the level of the other places).



XKxRome0ox said:

quick phone picture of the suit from savile row
will try to get better quality photos later

Click to expand...

ryoneo said:

^ Can you get a full length shot?

Click to expand...

finally got some full length shots





i could take the waist in about 1/2 inch or so... but since it's not a big issue, i haven't touched it since i got it made
my midnight blue one should be just about finished now... which reminds me i should give mr.choi a call to make sure he got all the details correct
it's the first time i'm reordering so i am very anxious and hoping for the best

I'm sure you'll like the midnight blue XKxRome0ox. Mr. Choi tried to talk me into it a couple times (he seems to really like it). It looked quite nice but a little too close to black for me so I decided to go with a slightly lighter shade.

so what is the general consensus?

Hahn vs Saville Row?



Accountancy said:

I'm sure you'll like the midnight blue XKxRome0ox. Mr. Choi tried to talk me into it a couple times (he seems to really like it). It looked quite nice but a little too close to black for me so I decided to go with a slightly lighter shade.

Click to expand...

lol
i wonder if he had like an overstock of that fabric or something

i just asked my aunt in korea to go and pick out the fabric herself
we had gone suit shopping together before and she was there with me when i had the first suit commissioned so i trust her judgment in the fabric choice

i really hope this reorder comes out great
then i can just order some more without worrying about it



apple3210 said:

ok thanks for the info.

How good are the shirts btw? thinking of getting a couple of shirts made as well.

Click to expand...

The shirts, like many people have said in here, are just about the same everywhere. You will probably have to go back a second time to get the fit right.

If places like Saville Row and others outsource their shirts to a bulk factory, would it not matter which place you buy at for that price, or is there a shop that you would recommend at the Saville Row price point?

the shirt i had made from savile row ... the fit is perfect
but i need to pick a different fabric next time
i picked a herringbone pattern white cotton which is nice enough
but it wrinkles up really badly when i wear it
wonder if i can get a non-iron fabric ... or something that is equivalent of the brooks brothers egyptian cotton


OH and i need to ask for collar with removable collarstays
mr. choi or whoever made the shirt put a collar on it with a permanent collarstay(?) .. it is not removable

After a co-worker bought a jacket at "England Tailor", I looked it over and thought it was surprisingly good, despite what I had heard about Itaewon tailors. Also reading a good review from the first page of this thread, I decided to give them a shot. Entering, I was a bit weary as they had the tackiest suits on display in all of Itaewon, there was not a single "normal" suit amongst them. Yet, I boldly ventured to order a suit. They did one fitting and the suit came out well, although the fabric wasn't quite as nice as I remembered it, but I checked the rack and it seemed to be the same. Over all, though, the suit wasn't too terrible. The fit was certainly great and the construction and stitching was good, but I still regret the fabric..


EDIT: I went back to have a tux made and they did a very obvious bait-and-switch on the fabric... DO NOT RECOMMEND - SCAM!

wow, tuxedo, are you sure you wanna get a TUXEDO in itaewon? you would better know what exactly you want and then you can talk with the old guy. however, at fist you need to know whether or not the tailor deserve for going for it especilly it is a texedo but not a normal suit. if your requirement is a little bit high, pls go somewhere else but not itaewon, never! it was just my experience, bad enough, in itaewon.

duzichong, actually I'm *not* sure. I didn't think that having a tux made would be that daring, but again, I'm a rookie. I do think that I'm learning the hard way... first, I retract anything even remotely good I might have said about England Tailor. They did a bait-and-switch with me on the fabric, giving me the cheapest crappiest fabric I've ever seen when I returned for the fitting - NOT what I picked. I even checked the rack of fabrics to confirm.


I've decided that if I do attempt to have a tux made in Seoul, it would be at Hahns. I'm also considering online MTM or a better-quality RTW instead. Recommendations?

rostov
if you can get a tuxedo cost 600kw but can just dress one or two times , or another one cost 1200 kw but can derss 10 times or more, so how do you choose? in my opinion, you wanna make a tuxedo because you need it to attend a party which is important to you and good stuff will make you charming, at least let the people know that you are the same range with them and the one who respect them. frankly speaking, that is mostly like investment, hehe.
however, i don't have any tuxedo until now but if it is needed i will go to a reputable tailor in seoul, so forget itaewon and good luck.

I don't think the number of times he can wear a tuxedo will be affected by having one tux or another if it's a matter of opportunity, nor would an Itaewon tux fall apart after 2 wearings, if you're implying that - that's more than a little provincial sounding, and based on what facts? I think the guys who post on here are coming here to seek advice, rather than the kind of day to day uninformed hearsay that they are probably specifically trying to avoid. If you can't get what you're looking for in Itaewon, you aren't gonna get it anywhere else in Seoul. If it's workmanship; they are all on the same level, and if it's cloth; they can get it, it's a motorcycle ride away from any other part of town. That the tailors downtown cost more money, they are better?
You're saying he should forget the reasonably priced, reasonably good product that it appears he can afford, so that he can spend world class money ($1200) on a product that is surely not world class, just so that he can tell people he bought something in Sogong-dong, South Korea and not Itaewon? Yeah right. Because everybody knows what that means.

in my opinion, you wanna make a tuxedo because you need it to attend a party which is important to you and good stuff will make you charming, at least let the people know that you are the same range with them and the one who respect them. frankly speaking, that is mostly like investment, hehe.

Click to expand...

This is horseshit and makes you sound like the Korean hermes man