Getting 2-3 suits, what to get? (Asia)

[Suit Up]

Hello everyone,

First post on here after lurking for a while, been reading around these forums and trying to get a sense of the do's and don'ts when it comes to suits and I have to admit, I am left with more questions than when I started.

I would first like to ask if there has already been a thread (with photographs if possible, it can sometimes be hard to visualize), which contains the basics of suits and what is "in", what is not, and what is appropriate for a professional environment.

The reason why I am asking this is that I will be travelling to Asia and will be staying in Singapore from August to December, and I would like to get some suits made during that period of time. Now, I will be graduating there and coming back ready to get on the market (in Finance). I have already read around about tailors, where to go, where not to go, and this information can be found around the forums quite easily (Iris Tailor seems to be the go to in Singapore), but when it comes to the suits themselves, alot of questions arise, not knowing what kind of fabric to choose (wool, cashmere, etc), with no knowledge of fabrics, pruchasing the fabric elsewhere and then bringing it to the tailor, lapel size, length of the jacket, etc (note: I am 5"8 and very slim).

I was referred to GQ's website and to the suits 101 slideshow, which was pretty useful but I would like to hear from other people what should be and what should not be on a suit, in a professional environment (e.g. banking).

As I previously mentioned, I will be graduating and as most students, I would not want to pay $1200 for a suit, I was looking at around $500 max per 2 piece suit hopefully (one grey, one navy and/or one charcoal).

Thanks for the tips

Edit: Should I also consider buying shoes here in Canada beforehand for the fittings or should I buy shoes in HK (where I will stop on my way to Singapore for 4-5 days) while I am there?

 

[Suit Up]

Note: I did read around the forums about getting suits made in HK and Singapore, which answered for the most part the question of which tailor to go to, but I'm now mostly looking for general fashion guidelines (considering a business environment). Any comments on budget and tailors would still be welcome.

 

[dragon8]

I'd buy suits and shoes in HK if possible. The rest of your questions like suit length and the like should be left to the tailor for their judgement. If you can swing WW Chan I'd go to them as they will putt he details according to your tastes and built.

 

[hst]

Given TS budget of about $500 per suit, Iris or WW Chan will be way above the budget. I think TS may need cheaper Mtm in HK or Singapore.

In HK, perhaps, go to Peter Lee to get fused suits.

Shoes-wise, I also agree that HK is a better choice. If TS knows his size, i would say there are much better deals ti be had on the Internet. The US and UK-made shoes in HK have some upcharge.

 

[Verniza]

I'm not sure if there are any decent tailors in Singapore for sub $500 suits. Get quality over quantity. 2 well cut and made suits would be more than sufficient.

Go check out Ed Et Tal in Singapore for shoes, he is a Singaporean shoe maker and carries RTW. Well priced.

 

[Suit Up]

Thank you for the replies, as for the suits I was only going to purchase them in Asia if it is really worth it, if not, I will take care of that when I come back here in Canada.

As for the suits, thank you for the tips, I doubt WW Chan would be within my budget as according to other threads, the starting quotes are over $1200. As for Iris, I thought that they would be my budget but if they are not, I will have to look elsewhere, I know a friend of mine, who is currently in Singapore, just got a suit made at Eurobest tailor (not sure if it's canvased/fused or whatnot) and says quality is good.

As for Peter Lee, I will only be in HK for about 3-4 days, I am not sure if that would be enough, even for a fused suit (which seems like what I should go for with these starting professional suits, and put more emphasis on the cut). As for the pricing there, according to a thread started in January, the basic quotes seem to start at HK$7,800 for two piece suits, which would be way over my budget for now.

My main concern at this point is to get a well built and well fitted suit, since from what I read, that is the most important part, material comes in second and for now with these 2-3 suits, I am not looking for top of the line fabric. Feel free to add comments regarding what was said earlier or what I just wrote, would be very appreciated, open to comments and critiques.

Thank you

 

[Suit Up]

Thank you for the replies, as for the suits I was only going to purchase them in Asia if it is really worth it, if not, I will take care of that when I come back here in Canada.

As for the suits, thank you for the tips, I doubt WW Chan would be within my budget as according to other threads, the starting quotes are over $1200. As for Iris, I thought that they would be my budget but if they are not, I will have to look elsewhere, I know a friend of mine, who is currently in Singapore, just got a suit made at Eurobest tailor (not sure if it's canvased/fused or whatnot) and says quality is good.

As for Peter Lee, I will only be in HK for about 3-4 days, I am not sure if that would be enough, even for a fused suit (which seems like what I should go for with these starting professional suits, and put more emphasis on the cut). As for the pricing there, according to a thread started in January, the basic quotes seem to start at HK$7,800 for two piece suits, which would be way over my budget for now.

My main concern at this point is to get a well built and well fitted suit, since from what I read, that is the most important part, material comes in second and for now with these 2-3 suits, I am not looking for top of the line fabric. Feel free to add comments regarding what was said earlier or what I just wrote, would be very appreciated, open to comments and critiques.

Thank you

Edit: Another thread states that a quote was given at HK$2,900 for fused and additional HK$2,000 for floating canvas, quite a variation between the two quotes, any comments on that as well?

 

[a tailor]

please dont order 2 or 3 suits at the same time. the first order is always for one garment.
if the first one is fine, you can always order more.
but if a first order is for 3 and there is a problem, then you have invested 3 times the
money and have 3 times the trouble.
good luck.

also, please dont say floating. a canvas does not float .
the term is "canvased".

 

[Suit Up]

Thanks for the tip, might order one when I arrive to HK, and then during the semester fly back there to get the other one/ones made if need be (although that would be a little counter productive with a round trip priced at around $250).

Sorry for the "floating canvas" term, took it straight from where the quote was from, thought it was another type of canvassing, thanks for the precision.

 

[GBR]

The best advice for "what is appropriate for a professional environment" is to look about you at your intended employer's offices and follow the trend. What is right for a lawyer's office is not right for a marketing agency and so on.

 

[dragon8]



The best advice for "what is appropriate for a professional environment" is to look about you at your intended employer's offices and follow the trend. What is right for a lawyer's office is not right for a marketing agency and so on.

But dressing like a lawyer is not a bad thing

 

[JLibourel]

At a max budget of $500 per suit, I am inclined to think the OP could do better by getting ready-to-wear suits rather than cheap Asian "bespoke" unless he has some physical peculiarities than render him unable to utilize RTW garments.

 

[Suit Up]

I'm taking every comment in as this is what I came here for,but I'd like to leave with a clear idea of what I'm looking for. I also think it would be unreasonable for me to be looking at a perfect $5,000 suit as a first suit, and where would the fun be in that anyways if I started at the top, you then have nowhere to go.

As I said, I'm looking for something that will look good, fit well and feel good, those are first suits (except for one OTR polyester suit, dating from highschool), and the reason for asking about canvassed suits from tailors in Asia is that I expected that for the same price as a OTR or RTW suit, I could get better quality and better fit for the same price or even lower.

More comments/opinions/testimonies would be appreciated, right now, the opinions still seem to be very split.

 

[Suit Up]

Sorry for double posting, please delete this comment.

 

[dragon8]

I just went to see Simpson Sin tailors who was in town. His suits are in your price range.