Southeast Asia Trip (Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong)

[roadie2]

I'm heading out to southeast asia for most of December and am looking to get a few suits and a number of shirts made. Among smaller cities and villages, I'll be in Bangkok, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) for about 4 days each. Does anyone have any tailors in these cities that they recommend in the sub-$50 range for shirts and sub $500 range for suits? I will be bringing a shirt and suit that fit me extremely well to copy and am planning on getting a couple of fittings done even with the time constraints.

From what i've heard so far i'm planning on using Milan tailor (Bangkok) and Jantzen (Hong Kong) for shirts and Tricia and Verona (Ho Chi Minh) and Lam Tailor (Ho Chi Minh) for suits.

Anyone have any insight? Would appreciate all help in the matter.

 

[Lord-Barrington]

My understanding is that you're going to want to skip getting anything made anywhere but HK and people here are going to tell you to go to Jantzen.

peace out.

 

[F. Corbera]

Ho Chi Minh City's bespoke tailors are underrepresented here, sadly.

Let's hope that the tide turns.

 

[dragon8]

I believe that Peter Lee of Kay Baron will fit your needs.

 

[dbc]

Originally Posted by dragon8

I believe that Peter Lee of Kay Baron will fit your needs.

+100

Very good for shirts.

I think you can get a suit done by Peter at < US$500 if you can accept a half canvassed one.

 

[dragon8]

Originally Posted by dbc

+100

Very good for shirts.

I think you can get a suit done by Peter at < US$500 if you can accept a half canvassed one.

The reviews were positive on Peter Lee.

 

[chris lewis]

I can't speak for the other cities, but pretty much all Bangkok tailors use the same 2 or 3 factories to do the assembly work. The &quot;tailor&quot; doesn't do much more than take your measurements and your money.

 

[k4lnamja]

you can get a quality bespoke shirt for $50?!

 

[somatoform]

Originally Posted by chris lewis

I can't speak for the other cities, but pretty much all Bangkok tailors use the same 2 or 3 factories to do the assembly work. The "tailor" doesn't do much more than take your measurements and your money.

True. Often you'll see the motorbikes bringing in the packages of shirts into the tailor from those 2 or 3 factories.

But still good shirts, very nice shirts actually. My one problem was that my great fitting shirt shrunk one or two sizes after one wash. I guess they didn't soak the fabric before assembling like they said they would.

 

[dbc]

Originally Posted by dragon8

The reviews were positive on Peter Lee.

I know I used him just a fortnight ago and am very happy with the work.

In fact, I just asked for two more shirts to be made.

 

[roadie2]

Originally Posted by k4lnamja

you can get a quality bespoke shirt for $50?!

I'm pretty sure this is the case; I think Jantzen is around this price point

Anyone have specific experience with tailors in Ho Chi Minh? My impression is that it might be 80-90% of the quality of a suit from Bangkok but at half the price.

 

[dragon8]

Originally Posted by roadie2

I'm pretty sure this is the case; I think Jantzen is around this price point

Anyone have specific experience with tailors in Ho Chi Minh? My impression is that it might be 80-90% of the quality of a suit from Bangkok but at half the price.

Jantzen is around that price point. If you're going to go to HK then i would forget the tailors in the other city.

 

[MikeF]

Here is my advice, having tried tailoring in all three cities.

1. Get your suits made at WW Chan in Hong Kong, or perhaps one of the other high-end Hong Kong tailors reviewed elsewhere here if you want to try to save a few hundred dollars. Even though WW Chan is relatively expensive - at the high end for Hong Kong, and vastly more expensive than the options in Bangkok and HCMC - it still represents superb quality for the price, and you can be assured that you will get a great suit at the end of the process.

2. Get your shirts made at Jantzen Tailor. Again, the quality is excellent for the price.

3. If you are really adventurous, consider visiting Louhu Commercial City (a giant mall, mostly filled with counterfeit goods) in Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong. It would be a day-trip. There you will find a whole floor devoted to a giant fabric market and about 100 tailors. I would never get a suit made here, but I have had good luck getting outerwear and pants made or copied at low cost, then delivered to my hotel in Hong Kong. You might be able to get similar work done in HCMC at an even lower cost, but fabric selection in Vietnam is very poor, and certainly not as good as what you will find available in Shenzhen. My only caution here is that you will need to spell out everything you want in terms of construction, design, etc. If you specify something, it will be done. If, however, you give no specification, you will receive the cheapest possible option.

4. Skip Bangkok. Here you will get HCMC-quality tailoring at higher prices. Also, my experience has been that many Bangkok tailors lie to your face about nearly anything - fabric composition, construction methods, etc. - in order to get your money.

5. HCMC tailoring is very cheap - you can probably get shirts made for $15-$20, compared to Jantzen at about $50 - but my results have been disappointing. Fabric selection is poor and communication is difficult. More often than not, I do not get what I asked for and wanted. This is especially the case when the garment is not something with which the Vietnamese are well acquainted (e.g., winter overcoats). In HCMC, I would get pajamas or perhaps a pair of pants or a cheap shirt to wear under a sweater, and nothing more.

I know it's tempting to try the cheapest possible option, but my experience has been that you largely get what you pay for. I actually suspect the best bargains might be in Shenzhen, where most of the work for Hong Kong tailors, including WW Chan and Jantzen, is almost certainly done, but I don't speak Mandarin so it's difficult to pursue seriously.

 

[roadie2]

Originally Posted by MikeF

Here is my advice, having tried tailoring in all three cities.

1. Get your suits made at WW Chan in Hong Kong, or perhaps one of the other high-end Hong Kong tailors reviewed elsewhere here if you want to try to save a few hundred dollars. Even though WW Chan is relatively expensive - at the high end for Hong Kong, and vastly more expensive than the options in Bangkok and HCMC - it still represents superb quality for the price, and you can be assured that you will get a great suit at the end of the process.

2. Get your shirts made at Jantzen Tailor. Again, the quality is excellent for the price.

3. If you are really adventurous, consider visiting Louhu Commercial City (a giant mall, mostly filled with counterfeit goods) in Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong. It would be a day-trip. There you will find a whole floor devoted to a giant fabric market and about 100 tailors. I would never get a suit made here, but I have had good luck getting outerwear and pants made or copied at low cost, then delivered to my hotel in Hong Kong. You might be able to get similar work done in HCMC at an even lower cost, but fabric selection in Vietnam is very poor, and certainly not as good as what you will find available in Shenzhen. My only caution here is that you will need to spell out everything you want in terms of construction, design, etc. If you specify something, it will be done. If, however, you give no specification, you will receive the cheapest possible option.

4. Skip Bangkok. Here you will get HCMC-quality tailoring at higher prices. Also, my experience has been that many Bangkok tailors lie to your face about nearly anything - fabric composition, construction methods, etc. - in order to get your money.

5. HCMC tailoring is very cheap - you can probably get shirts made for $15-$20, compared to Jantzen at about $50 - but my results have been disappointing. Fabric selection is poor and communication is difficult. More often than not, I do not get what I asked for and wanted. This is especially the case when the garment is not something with which the Vietnamese are well acquainted (e.g., winter overcoats). In HCMC, I would get pajamas or perhaps a pair of pants or a cheap shirt to wear under a sweater, and nothing more.

I know it's tempting to try the cheapest possible option, but my experience has been that you largely get what you pay for. I actually suspect the best bargains might be in Shenzhen, where most of the work for Hong Kong tailors, including WW Chan and Jantzen, is almost certainly done, but I don't speak Mandarin so it's difficult to pursue seriously.

Which tailors in Ho Chi Minh did you use? Any recommendations?

I agree that Chan would be the best option but I just can't afford to spend $1,000 on a suit and doubt he can turnaround a quality product in 4 days.

 

[chris lewis]

Very few places are going to turn out a quality suit in that time frame. Multiple fittings are needed if you want something that will actually fit well, and that's not going to happen in 4 days.