Ongoing Bespoke Projects

[acapaca]

While we're on the topic of SEA, are there any strong tailor recommendations from the forum? I travel throughout the region (or at least I once did! and plan to again) and would love to take advantage of any hidden gems.

 

[An Acute Style]

P.s. in that region for almost any type of business dealings you'd probably spend 25% of your time in a t shirt 25% in a polo or casual shirt 24 % in a dress shirt and 1% will require an actual suit

Is the last 25% in the accounting department?

 

[The Chai]

Is the last 25% in the accounting department?

In undies ; -)

I meant to 50% in casual shirts or polos of some sort

 

[The Chai]

While we're on the topic of SEA, are there any strong tailor recommendations from the forum? I travel throughout the region (or at least I once did! and plan to again) and would love to take advantage of any hidden gems.

Jeremy tok in kl seems good not that I've used him. He has a blog called the "the kerbau" where he posts his stuff and documents his process

 

[blacktaro]

Go fully lined. Especially in south east Asia and if you sweat alot. I know its counter intuitive but removing the lining does not do that much in such humid weather. There are better ways to counter that (e.g. linen shirts, open weave cotton, undershirts for swear absortion). The sweat will make your jacket stick to your back. It will make it harder to take off and put on your jacket which you'll be doing alot. Unless you're going to be replacing your wardrobe once every three years you're gonna want it to last. Lack of lining plus sweat stains plus friction will wear it out super fast. Especially if you have a light weight fabric. On that note since its your first commission I would not go that light weight of a suit unless its mohair. Even then I advise against it. You start going that weight when you have like 5 plus suits and have a constant rotation. Get a fresco or tropical weave at 280 plus grams. As for most of the other details most south east asian clientele I've dealt with dgaf. They wouldn't really notice the difference between spalla camicia etc. Nor would that care. However again it's your first suit. Stick to notch lapel ropes shoulder and two straight flapped pockets. Leave the patch, tickets, lightweight or fancy fabrics and other add ons till you have some basic stuff in rotation. Get bamberg lining. And please no colored lapel buttonholes. Get the thread to match. People will notice the difference... ? personally I think a milanese buttonhole defeats the purpose of a business suit. You dont really want to stand out. You kinda want to be the gray man and blend in but that's just me...wearing a suit in that region will already make you stick out like a sore thumb.

Thanks a lot for your insight! Going fully lined was also recommended by my tailor in order to avoid a crumple back later in the day. Meanwhile, I am locating in Northern VN which has a cold winter (sub 10 Celcius) so there is room for warmer jacket but the summer is definitely a mess (up to 40 Celsius). However, I will definitely take your advise and get it fully lined. Currently, I already have a good amount of RTW suit, jacket (around 15 items) which would help to ease the stress on this consigning suit.

 

[blacktaro]

While we're on the topic of SEA, are there any strong tailor recommendations from the forum? I travel throughout the region (or at least I once did! and plan to again) and would love to take advantage of any hidden gems.

There are some good tailors here in Vietnam (Hanoi & HCMC afaik) but due to the small scale, fabric selection is not too excellent but still acceptable. Price is very good tho. The sartorial community is growing quickly that push the demand for good quality tailoring lately. Let me know if you are in the area so I could gather a list for you.

 

[jiredell]

Not sure if ever posted a pic of the final product:

blue, one button (thanks to this thread for the idea!) 3 piece suit.

 

[acapaca]

There are some good tailors here in Vietnam (Hanoi & HCMC afaik) but due to the small scale, fabric selection is not too excellent but still acceptable. Price is very good tho. The sartorial community is growing quickly that push the demand for good quality tailoring lately. Let me know if you are in the area so I could gather a list for you.

I'm actually in Hanoi as well! I've been in Vietnam for a few months, after having been based in Malaysia the past several years. (I actually did try Jeremy Tok there, but for shirts. The experience was...regrettable.)

Here in Vietnam so far I have tried Pham Tailor in Saigon, and Armoury and Ngo Minh in Hanoi. Each of the three has done some things well and some things not so well. I'm definitely interested in hearing other recommendations. For Hanoi, I hear Pham Brothers has a strong reputation. I'd also like to find out more about Vietnam Bespoke Shop.

And yes, I'm seeing what you mean about the fabric limitations. I've been thinking about trying to source my own, with a tailor that doesn't mind that.

Thanks for the help!

 

[MontyLo]

These are en route and should round out my belt collection for a while. Rory Nichols bespoke belts in Horween Russian hatchgrain bull rush and deep purple. I opted for a slightly more geometric buckle on these to go in rotation with my other black and dark brown belts for tailoring, as opposed to a more rounded ones I really like for my casual belts and lighter browns.

 

[blacktaro]

I'm actually in Hanoi as well! I've been in Vietnam for a few months, after having been based in Malaysia the past several years. (I actually did try Jeremy Tok there, but for shirts. The experience was...regrettable.)

Here in Vietnam so far I have tried Pham Tailor in Saigon, and Armoury and Ngo Minh in Hanoi. Each of the three has done some things well and some things not so well. I'm definitely interested in hearing other recommendations. For Hanoi, I hear Pham Brothers has a strong reputation. I'd also like to find out more about Vietnam Bespoke Shop.

And yes, I'm seeing what you mean about the fabric limitations. I've been thinking about trying to source my own, with a tailor that doesn't mind that.

Thanks for the help!

Then we are in the same city. The overall consensus is majority of the shop operated by young sartorial guys are only doing sale (getting your measurement, taking note on your preferred design, etc.) and outsources the cutting to others. As rule of thumb, I would look for shop who do most the job themselves i/o outsourcing.

Pham Brothers has a solid reputation in the sartorial community in Hanoi. Its relative shop - Carlos Pham, is also very reputable (even though they don't want to be mentioned together in a same sentence).

The Armoury is okay per my experience. Had a pair of trousers and chinos made there earlier but it took a long time to finish as there are a lot of thing needed to be fix from he 1st fitting. But Tung is a very nice guys and interesting to talk with.

Vietnams Bespoke Shop (VBS) quality was wonderful before 2019. However, when they change the makers of their suit, the quality is going down as I heard. Their style/ fabric choice is still very interesting tho.

For now, the ones that has a very very solid reputation and I would recommend from my and my friends experience are:
Antonio de Torres (pricey, starting from USD 1000 afaik)
Sir Tailor (pricey, starting from USD 1200)
Long Tailor (this is the best value for money, starting from USD 500) - This guy do everything himself and lots of pricey shop outsources to him. Turnover time is very long, might take few months to finish.
Hanoi Peak Bespoke (good value for money, price start around USD 300, fully canvased atm) - If you are into slimmer cut.
H Tailor (good value for money, starting from USD 300) - If you are into fuller cut.

Just wondering if you're able to speak Vietnamese tho? As a lots of good tailor can only speak Vietnamese.

 

[dieworkwear]

Wait, there's a menswear store in Vietnam called The Armoury? Did they take the name from The Armoury in Hong Kong?

 

[blacktaro]

Wait, there's a menswear store in Vietnam called The Armoury? Did they take the name from The Armoury in Hong Kong?

Their official name is Armoury Sartorial, not sure where do their name come from but I had a question similar to your earlier to the shop owner during my fitting but received no answer.

 

[dieworkwear]

Their official name is Armoury Sartorial, not sure where do their name come from but I had a question similar to your earlier to the shop owner during my fitting but received no answer.

Man .... looking at their IG, it seems unlikely they're unaware of The Armoury in HK. That's kind of lame.

They even copied The Armoury's waistband design.

 

[acapaca]

Then we are in the same city. The overall consensus is majority of the shop operated by young sartorial guys are only doing sale (getting your measurement, taking note on your preferred design, etc.) and outsources the cutting to others. As rule of thumb, I would look for shop who do most the job themselves i/o outsourcing.

Pham Brothers has a solid reputation in the sartorial community in Hanoi. Its relative shop - Carlos Pham, is also very reputable (even though they don't want to be mentioned together in a same sentence).

The Armoury is okay per my experience. Had a pair of trousers and chinos made there earlier but it took a long time to finish as there are a lot of thing needed to be fix from he 1st fitting. But Tung is a very nice guys and interesting to talk with.

Vietnams Bespoke Shop (VBS) quality was wonderful before 2019. However, when they change the makers of their suit, the quality is going down as I heard. Their style/ fabric choice is still very interesting tho.

For now, the ones that has a very very solid reputation and I would recommend from my and my friends experience are:
Antonio de Torres (pricey, starting from USD 1000 afaik)
Sir Tailor (pricey, starting from USD 1200)
Long Tailor (this is the best value for money, starting from USD 500) - This guy do everything himself and lots of pricey shop outsources to him. Turnover time is very long, might take few months to finish.
Hanoi Peak Bespoke (good value for money, price start around USD 300, fully canvased atm) - If you are into slimmer cut.
H Tailor (good value for money, starting from USD 300) - If you are into fuller cut.

Just wondering if you're able to speak Vietnamese tho? As a lots of good tailor can only speak Vietnamese.

That's great information! Thank you so much. Lots to chew on there. I don't speak Vietnamese, no, but thus far I've been able to get by. I do actually have a linen jacket in the works at a place whose name I couldn't even tell you but is near Ben Thanh market in HCM. I popped in because there was a jacket in the window in a color I've been looking for, and though the guy didn't speak a whole lot of English I was able to figure out (though I guess I could be mistaken) that he's an independent guy who does the cutting himself, so I thought I'd give him a try, since I felt something was a little missing in the fitting process at the other places, due to what you describe. They would usually take pictures to show the cutter, and I'd do my best to share my observations if I thought it was needed, but I tried to stay out of it as much as I could.

Long Tailor is one that had popped on my radar, so I'm happy to hear your recommendation. I think I'll go pay a visit. Thanks for those other value recommendations, too. That's really the angle I'm taking here, and hoping to save some budget for a high-end experience in Italy or London in some post-covid universe.

 

[blacktaro]

That's great information! Thank you so much. Lots to chew on there. I don't speak Vietnamese, no, but thus far I've been able to get by. I do actually have a linen jacket in the works at a place whose name I couldn't even tell you but is near Ben Thanh market in HCM. I popped in because there was a jacket in the window in a color I've been looking for, and though the guy didn't speak a whole lot of English I was able to figure out (though I guess I could be mistaken) that he's an independent guy who does the cutting himself, so I thought I'd give him a try, since I felt something was a little missing in the fitting process at the other places, due to what you describe. They would usually take pictures to show the cutter, and I'd do my best to share my observations if I thought it was needed, but I tried to stay out of it as much as I could.

Long Tailor is one that had popped on my radar, so I'm happy to hear your recommendation. I think I'll go pay a visit. Thanks for those other value recommendations, too. That's really the angle I'm taking here, and hoping to save some budget for a high-end experience in Italy or London in some post-covid universe.

Glad to hear your experience with VN tailoring, which have improved a lot in term of quality and style for the last decade. I hope my home country could one day stop being remarked as place to consign fast, cheap, fused, inferior quality suit.

Long Tailor is good place, this guy is not so friendly and does not talk much but his quality is undeniable. You should take a Vietnamese coworker along as a translator because I’m not sure if he could speak English and his shop located quietly in a busy area that even local like me had a hard time finding it.