Suits in Vietnam...

[vinhle37]

Matt,

Sorry about not replying promptly to your last post regarding the suits. I was in New York for the holidays.

Anyways, is it still possible to get a suit tailored at Dung's shop if I purchase the fabric from them? I'm not looking for anything fancy. Just a navy suit for starters.

As far the fit, if it doesn't fit properly, I think I can just go to a local tailor and have them alter it a bit... I hope ....

What do you think?

Also Matt, have you ever ordered shirts from Jantzen? I have no clue what style collar and cuff to get...

Thanks!

 

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Rekevalate

I'll drop by to see Minh next time I'm in Vietnam. Unfortunately, I chose Cao Minh this time round and not Dung due to time restrictions.
How did it come out? In my case they got the fit OK but made a terrible mistake in the way it came out - my wide pinstripe cloth really should not have been made in the style we chose, and I really think they should have warned me about that first (as opposed to saying "oh yes, agree, looks bad, but wide stripe cloth always like that with suit cut like that" on collection day). I do think they are the best of the tourist tailors, and do pretty decent work considering their 48 hour turnarounds, but no comparison to Dung.

Originally Posted by vinhle37

Anyways, is it still possible to get a suit tailored at Dung's shop if I purchase the fabric from them? I'm not looking for anything fancy. Just a navy suit for starters.
I gueeeeess. But it will be an act of blind faith, since you will be emailing them saying "Hi there Mr Dung, please pick your favorite navy to the price of $X per meter". I mean you cooooould. I dont think anyone here would recommend that, but I guess you would get away with it.

As far the fit, if it doesn't fit properly, I think I can just go to a local tailor and have them alter it a bit... I hope ....

What do you think?

I think you are underestimating how difficult it is to measure yourself. Dung has no self measurement forms, so you will basically have to pilfer those from some other website and hope he can read them. Then you have to get the measurements right. Hell there are tailors who have been in business for decades and still havent mastered the art of measurement, and you are going to trust your mother to do it. Risky. The tailor will likely take around 30 measurements from various parts of your body and has very specific points at which he measures from (which may not be the same points that your sheet from some-other-tailor's website relies on). It's tricky. I wouldnt want to do it.... Note that the local tailor's tweakage will probably cost you more than the whole suit from Dung. Others will be able to give you a better idea of actual costs, but let's say you want him to take up the leg of the pant, sleeve of the jacket, and the waist - all very minor tweaks. You are up for $100 in tweakage on a suit where you paid the guy who made it $70. Just out of curiousity, are there Viet Kieu tailors in your area? What do they charge in tailoring costs? You may do well to order your cloth from Howard on eBay (very very cheap) and take it to some local tailor in your nearest Little Saigon and get him to do it. May end up with a better product at a comparable price, plus all your measurements will be in tact and tweakage included. Just a thought.

Also Matt, have you ever ordered shirts from Jantzen? I have no clue what style collar and cuff to get... Thanks!

Ive done my Jantzening instore. Start another thread or search the archives, a LOT on here about Jantzen. But for reference I normally get a French cuff with a slight cutaway in the corners. Spread collar. No idea what that is called on the site, since I did it in store while I was in HK. I like it, but everyone different.

 

[Rekevalate]

I'll tell you how it turns out in about 2 weeks. I didn't trust them to measure me so I provided them with a really good fitting suit to copy which I'm hoping they can't go wrong with. I'm giving them the two weeks so they don't have to rush. I picked a fabric with narrow self stripe so the style and fabric should not be a problem. I'm back here in Australia now but my parents will bring it back for me.

Hey, given all the above, what could go wrong?.

 

[Rekevalate]

Hey Vinh,

I've bought fabric from howard on ebay about a year ago. Matt is right, it's pretty damn cheap, choice is good too.

I think you should try Baron Boutique. They're not too bad. Send them fabric from Howard and they'll make the suit for you and ship it to you for about $122US. I would recommend slightly tapered pants, waisted jacket with narrow sleeves, high armholes, working buttons, 3 buttons with rolled lapel (since your a tall guy). When you get this suit, send it to Dung in Vietnam to copy if you want extra suits.

That's just my opinion on what I think looks good. I think a lot of people will disagree but that's cool cause I respect everyones opinion.

 

[Matt]

Since I have a new camera to play with...

Here's the problem with my Cao Vinh:



See what I mean - looks like big ass patches above the darts where the pinstriping doesnt line up. I think they really should have told me this would happen (and then made me a suit with far less waist suppression, hell even make me a sack suit). Especially since they got all 'well of course it looks bad when you do this, we could have told you that on order day' when I collected it, when I really would have appreciated the warning on order day.

 

[vinhle37]

Originally Posted by m@T

Just out of curiousity, are there Viet Kieu tailors in your area? What do they charge in tailoring costs? You may do well to order your cloth from Howard on eBay (very very cheap) and take it to some local tailor in your nearest Little Saigon and get him to do it. May end up with a better product at a comparable price, plus all your measurements will be in tact and tweakage included. Just a thought.

I never thought about that...

I actually live on Bolsa (Little Saigon, Orange County). I'm pretty sure you know where that is. Right?

There's a lot of vietnamese tailors here. The problem is that I don't know anything about suits... I'm not sure how many buttons to get, pockets, vents, lapels... Furthermore, how do I know if a tailor is good? If I look at some of his sample suits, what do I look for? How do I know if it's good or not?

As for the fabric, I looked on Howard's ebay store and there's such a wide selection of fabric. I don't even know what kind of fabric to get. Do I just purchase 100% wool fabric? Cashmere? How many meters?

 

[Rekevalate]

Hey Matt,

Thanks for posting the pics.

Great choice in fabric.

I have a similar fabric in Wain Shiel. My brother in-law, retired tailor made it into a suit for me about a year ago (when he wasn't retired). He refused to make it with darts and I didn't understand his explanation until now. I've tried to attach an image, hope it works.

Would Dung have advise you of this if given the same situation? It is definitely an error on Cao Minh's behalf. In my humble opinion though, it still looks damn fine.

 

[Matt]

Originally Posted by vinhle37

I never thought about that...

I actually live on Bolsa (Little Saigon, Orange County). I'm pretty sure you know where that is. Right?

know it very well. Lived there for a summer. Was the only white person in the neighbourhood.

There's a lot of vietnamese tailors here. The problem is that I don't know anything about suits... I'm not sure how many buttons to get, pockets, vents, lapels...

Topic for another thread number 1!

Short answer - for a first suit, 2 or 3 button suit, 2 vents, straight pockets (on pants and on jacket), ask if he canvases or fuses (stitches in padding or glues it). A high gorge (the little notch) tends to look good on basically anyone.

Scan the web for some pics you like and post them here, you will get good feedback on what to look for.

Remember - you would be having all the same problems getting a suit mail order.

Furthermore, how do I know if a tailor is good? If I look at some of his sample suits, what do I look for? How do I know if it's good or not?

Topic for another thread number 2!

But I would hazard a guess that any of them will do a better job than your own meaurements emailed around the world.

As for the fabric, I looked on Howard's ebay store and there's such a wide selection of fabric. I don't even know what kind of fabric to get. Do I just purchase 100% wool fabric? Cashmere? How many meters?

Topic for another thread number 3!

Short answer - 100% wool for a first suit. A dash of cashmere wont hurt.

I bought his gray Super 150s which is beautiful. He also used to have a charcoal 97% Super 130s wool 3% cashmere charcoal purple pinstripe with is absolutely gorgeous.

3.5 meters covers me. I am 5'10/80kg.

 

[Matt]

Would Dung have advise you of this if given the same situation?

Yup, absolutely. He would be jumping up and down saying "khong duoc khong duoc"

 

[taralis]

so a suit from Dung only cost like 60+ dollars? im going to vietnam the 5feb and going to sew up some stuff for me and my friends and i heard he is the best.

could he do any style i want if i give him a good describition, as long he has the materials and so on?

could he pull this two jackets off?

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...g?t=1168181368

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...g?t=1168181406

sorry for fanboys question, thanks anyway.
m

 

[Matt]

A woman in our midst. Oh boy, getting all nervy.

JK, welcome to the forum.

yeah I dont think replicating the jackets in those pics would give him too many issues - bring the pics with you to be on the safe side though.

In tailoring (for men anyhow, women, not sure), Dung charges 1.2 million VND, which is sorta $70 or thereabouts. Cloth extra. I dont know anything about women's wear sorry - so no idea how many meters you would need.

When it comes to mens wear, I am about a 40R in suit size, which comes out at about 3.5 meters of wool. Dung has everything from 10 buck a meter Chinese crap to 100+ a meter Dormeuil, meaning a basic mens suit in my size could be as cheap as $100 at the bottom end, and well over 400 with better wool - so you can use that as some kind of price guide.

Hope you enjoy your trip, and feel free to PM me if you need any advice on things to do etc etc while you are here.

 

[taralis]

haha were my pics that feminin?

im sure im not a woman, thanks for the information though, whats the average time for Dung to complete a suit?

yeah any suggestion on things to do would be great, ive been in saigon like 10 times before because i have relatives here but when im there i just live the ordinary standard vietnam life and not as a turist (ofc to a certain point). but this time i will go with my friend and therefore i have my chance to live like a extreme turist. so we want to experience everything you should experience. we will stay for about 2month so we surely have the time

 

[Rekevalate]

Hi Mat,

I finally got the suits. A few notes about Cao Minh.

1. They're damn expensive compared to everyone else
2. They're slightly inconsistent i.e. three suits made, each with very slight differences i.e. sleeves in one suit longer than sleeves in another
3. They make great ladies suits
4. Customer service is average
5. They took nearly a month dispite my request for quick service

I don't know how good they are at bespoke though cause I gave them one of my bespoke suits to copy. They did a good job copying the details and measurements.

 

[taralis]

so im in saigon now, im going for dung next week.

wiho

 

[taralis]

so it cost me about 250 euro for 2 shirts and 1 jacket and one smoking. the material cost almost as much as the work.

will be fun to watch how it turn out