Buying a MTM suite in SE Asia as a student: Is this even a good idea?

[QL2L]

Hello All,

First off, I apologize as I know this has likely been discussed. However, the threads I was able to dig up through search were all relatively dated and the info within them ended up raising more questions for me than they answered.

I'm currently a student that will be participating in a recruitment process for my professional program this Fall. I've never purchased a nice suit and my current getup is basically a suit jacket and separate pair of dress pants that I've had altered after purchase. While they've been adequate for my needs thus far, I've decided that it's finally time to bite the bullet and buy my first "nice" suit. I've been told by a couple of shops that I visited locally (I'm in Canada) that given my proportions, it would make more sense for me to go the MTM route rather than get an off the rack suit and have it tailored, as I would end up paying around the same and wind up with something that fits worse than an equivalent priced MTM suit. Of course, I'm sure they were each trying to upsell me.

However, I will be backpacking to SE Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc) this summer and have been told that I should at least look into having an MTM suit created for me while I'm over there. From reading the threads I've found, it seems opinions have been somewhat divided on whether or not MTM suits are worth it, apart from those found in places such as Hong Kong (which I will not be visiting). On the other hand, it seems that some people have had great success in getting suits from places like Rajawongse in Thailand.

Therefore, my questions can be generally summed up as follows:
a) Is there some sort of consensus on whether suits from tailors such as Rajawongse are worth pursuing?

b) Are there other specific tailors/stores in Thailand/Vietnam/Indonesia that people can recommend to me? My budget would be a maximum of $1000, though I understand a good suit can be had for around half of that.

c) What sort of timeframe is needed to have a good suit created? I understand that I would need to be present for one or more fittings. I will be traveling around SE Asia for roughly a month. Is this a sufficient amount of time? On the flipside, I'd want to avoid a situation where I was tied to the immediate area because I had to come back for a fitment every week.

c) Most importantly, Is this even feasible or a good idea, given that as of now, I am not well versed in different cuts/textures/construction methods and it is unlikely I will be anywhere near an expert by the time I go traveling? I ask this question because it seems that those who have been most satisfied with their suits have been individuals who knew exactly what they wanted when going in. Meanwhile, it seems like I would personally need to be able to talk directly with someone to assess what exactly I'm looking for (I'm looking for something more conservative/classic that I can wear for a few years without it going out of style by virtue of being too trendy, but I really don't know how to describe to a tailor what that might be). I'm worried about being taken advantage of (which I'm guessing would happen once they realize I'm a student from another country who is not a suit expert) and winding up with something that, while perhaps cheaper than a Canadian counterpart, winds up not being what I want...or worse yet, ends up being a cheap POS.

Once again, apologies for asking questions which I'm sure have been discussed (though I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for in older threads). I would really, really appreciate any input and advice anyone could provide towards a lowly suit noob like me!

 

[Millerp]

With a budget of $1,000, you could certainly get a decent MTM suit from a known retailer in Canada.
Why risk the unknown in SE Asia?

 

[acidboy]

why not get an otr on sale (like from BB) and have it tailored? your plan's too risky.

 

[unbelragazzo]

I agree that the plan is risky. You don't know what you're doing, there may be language barriers on top of that, you won't have much time to get it done, and then you'll have to carry the thing around with you all vacation long. If I might ask, is there something particular about your proportions that makes you feel a MTM suit would be a great improvement? If you're willing to spend around $1k, you might be able to get a Samuelsohn, although I think they're usually a little more. Maybe someone in Canada can give better info on that.

 

[QL2L]

Thank you for all the replies. To address the questions:

-I suppose the reason I was willing to look into this more risky avenue was, as most things are, because I would like to either spend less, or spend an equivalent amount and come out with a superior suit.

-In terms of my proportions, I was *told* that because I am quite short yet have a bit more of an athletic build compared to other people my height, the off the rack suits will always either fit a bit too loose around me and have proper arm lenght, or have arms that are too short and fit well. I was told that having a good off the rack suit altered to fit would end up costing me basically as much as a lower end M2M and would still fail to fit as well as one. Of course, as I said, I imagine a lot of this was upselling on the salesman's part. I'm sure I did not come off exactly as an expert.

I appreciate everyone' s advice and I think you're correct regarding the risk, especially with regards to time and and language barriers.

On that note, I was wondering if people could make any recommendations for brands I should look more into? I saw someone mentioned Samuelsohn and I'll definitely be doing a bit more research on them, but other than that I've only really ever looked into a Canali M2M suit at Harry Rosen and will need to do a bit more research on what other brands are available. I'm also open to a tailored OTR suit if it turns out that what the salesman was telling me was BS, or the difference in fit is fairly negligible; I'd rather have a slightly worse fitting but higher quality suit, than get the lowest end M2M possible. Lastly, absolutely stupid question I'm sure, but what's "BB"? Thanks again for the help!

 

[unbelragazzo]

Getting arms shortened is one of the cheapest and easiest alterations you can do on a suit jacket. There's no reason to do MTM for this.

 

[unbelragazzo]

also, BB = Brooks Brothers

 

[QL2L]

Thanks guys/girls, I appreciate the advice and it's nice to know I don't necessarily have to go the M2M route.