tailors in seoul korea?

[syss]

My last sport coat was around 700 and a 3-piece suit was something like 1200. VBC for both.

Not sure exactly where on the continuum they lie between MTM and bespoke - fittings are initial measurement, basted, then forward/final (with changes if I want, but buttonholes etc. are cut). I've had an extra basted fitting on one piece and they say bespoke and refer to my pattern, so judge that as you will.

 

[SuprMe]

Hi again!
First, thanks for all of the feed back! In my rambles I think I forgot to mention the second biggest issue after limited budget, time. He will be flying out on Oct. 25 for 2 weeks of work (5~6 days in suits) and will need the suits/shirts/etc. completed a few days before that.


@syss From what I gather a bespoke suit would require multiple fittings typically overs several weeks. They derive a pattern based on your form as well as your requests. Where as a MTM suit usually only requires one fitting as they simply scale a common pattern to fit your measurements and adjust as necessary. Most MTM suits are complete in 1~3 weeks.


My biggest concern with going to tailorable is turn around time. I don't see that they do MTM, though I will call tomorrow and see what they say. I am SUPER interested in trying them though. Their suits look sharp and they would be within the stretched budget for 2 suits.


As much as I would love to drag him down to BnTailor, it is super out of the budget (@2k/suit) from everything I've seen. Even if time allowed for the import of fabrics to reduce costs, the suits are very sharp, but overall not really a great deal either. So, for now I've ruled them out.


Shirts! I will definitely look up Hamilton for shirts (Do they have fun/offbeat colors?) He will not wear a white shirt, colored is a must, bright colors are better.
The best feed back we received was from a OTR H&M bright turquoise shirt with a (cheap) black skinny tie. He didn't like the fit of the shirt, so it made it's way out of rotation.


Ties! Are there any brand names I should be looking for or paticular styles/color cobos that are fairly classic? The Knit ties are not something that he is really into atm. Skinny ties (2~2.5") are his favorite.
Due to his affinity for bright shirts I have been sticking more with solid color, high contrast ties. Like, black with a bright blue shirt/silver with a red or burgundy/gray or white with pretty much anything. Is this wrong?
Over all my plan with the ties was to get a number that would work for now (3~5 ties from tie bar) and then shop for the more extravigent ties throughout the next year adding ties into a collection. I also have to pick up a real tie box, haha.


In terms of fabrics what should I be looking for? I have seen flannels suggested for a classic gray suit and have seen the terms "Super 100s" "Super 120s" and "Super 150s" suggested for the others (black/navy). Also, if I know what to ask for and am willing to pay, is it not possible to get great fabrics from one of the MTM guys?
His favorite suit (which fits horribly) is OTR from MSGM. It has a nice fabric but it cut for a Korean and they were unable to alter it significantly enough for it to look good. I'm really looking for similar or better quality.

Favorite blue shirt (That he doesn't wear):

 

[syss]

Suits
Given your deadline, Tailorable custom is out - it's usually a few weeks between each fitting with them. Hahn's or Saville row could accommodate your deadline. I'm sure you know that Chuseok is coming up in a few days, so places may be closed next week and I would expect delays even if they're open.

Some benefits of MTM/bespoke are fit and options so if Tailorable RTW fits well there's no reason not to just go with that. It sounds like you're looking for basics, so the RTW fabric and style options will be fine.


Shirts
Hamilton has a million bolts of fabric so I'm sure they have something for you. I haven't been there in a while (and I tend toward classic colors/patterns) so I don't know offhand. They'll certainly have a variety of shades of blue and pink, checks and stripes, etc.


Fabric
Read the primer on suits here, and an article on super numbers here if you're curious.
The takeaways are that the higher the super number, the finer the wool, which translates to a softer but arguably more fragile fabric. There are forum debates as to what is best but don't worry too much about it at this point. Tailorable and B&Tailor will carry mostly British or Italian fabrics, while the Itaewon tailors will carry mostly Korean (or Chinese), which are generally less expensive and not as nice. They'll still be serviceable though.


Quality/style
I don't know what MSGM is, but all of the houses under discussion have decent to excellent quality. Style-wise, there are examples of Hahn's and Saville row's work in earlier posts on this thread and you've seen Tailorable and B&Tailor yourself.

 

[Idreamofsakura]

Anyone know how much the custom fees are for importing fabric? Was considering purchasing some fabric for a suit.

​

Also for those purchasing fabric here's a list of common fabrics you'll encounter at tailors if it helps at all for those getting something done here.​

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​

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Here's a hierarchy of the Samsung fabric in case anyone would like to know. I can try and look for sample photos if anyone is interested. I always hear people purchasing Samsung Fabric but always curious which line they purchased.

​

From top to bottom Cheilan-> World Best -> VIP ->Marche-> Temptation, Prestige-> Genesis, Castelario, Bonabitto

Also I'll be checking out another factory shirt maker called Frank Lord to get some shirts made. Maybe it will be an alternative to Hamilton. Will update later.

 

[QQQQ]

@SuprMe Wait, is your husband Artosis the caster??

 

[Claghorn]

I never got hit with fees importing fabric, but I never brought in more than a jacket length.

 

[DeSense]



I never got hit with fees importing fabric, but I never brought in more than a jacket length.

Packages arriving from normal posties and handed over to Korean Post have a decent leeway margin. Normally $150+ incl. shipping should be taxed but IRL I have received stuff declared $300+ without issue. When using Fedex for items made and delivered from EU, a signed shipping invoice with origins statement ensures that only 10% VAT is charged (instead of normal +10, +13).

 

[Claghorn]

One of the reasons I bought from Yount so much is that he always put the value at less than 150 when I bought from him (didn't even ask him to)

 

[boogi]

I have been purchasing bespoke suits here in Seoul for the past eight years. There are premium tailors such as bntailor, , DI tailor,
Segi tailor. These tailors have up to date fabrics from loro piana, scabal, zegna, drapers etc.
These tailors have at least 30~40years experience in making suits. I think their tailoring quality is one of the best in the world.
Price for Scabal suit from these tailors start from USD 2,500 ~4,000. Depends on fabric.

 

[GBR]



I have been purchasing bespoke suits here in Seoul for the past eight years. There are premium tailors such as bntailor, , DI tailor,
Segi tailor. These tailors have up to date fabrics from loro piana, scabal, zegna, drapers etc.
These tailors have at least 30~40years experience in making suits. I think their tailoring quality is one of the best in the world.
Price for Scabal suit from these tailors start from USD 2,500 ~4,000. Depends on fabric.

Advertising?

 

[isatcong]

Hope this isn't inappropriate (too advertisement-y?), but I want to recommend a shop a lot of people probably already know about: Fabric Corner. It's a common result when doing an ebay search, but a lot of people on this thread recommend getting your own fabric, but I couldn't find any good posts here on how to do it. I was lucky enough to have a friend just push me straight to Fabric Corner, and it worked out great.

I know this is my first post here, as I've just been lurking, but the modicum of proof I can offer is over here at http://www.reddit.com/user/tinola, where I've made a similar post and have a longer comment history.

This shop is flat out fantastic in their customer service.To just rip directly from my post over on reddit, I ordered enough cloth for two pieces, but actually wanted three (noob mistake). Nic, knowing I was on a timeline for an upcoming event, actually had her husband drive up about 3.5 hours from London to her shop in Leeds to try and get the fabric shipped in time for me. When she missed the day's UPS pickup, she then spent the rest of the evening trying to liaise with the UPS depot and get it shipped anyway. It didn't work out, but that doesn't change how hard she worked her tail off.

Anyway, hope this can help others looking to import their own fabric - for the record, I bought no-name 130s (97% wool, 3% cashmere), and the fabric was great. Can instantly tell the difference between it and the Korean fabrics that were in my price range (under 1m).

This question is for anyone that can answer, related to the post I've quoted above...



1. I am in Korea on a military SOFA visa and can import my own material duty-free. I read the post above, but I don't understand something about the ebay store. If I see a fabric that I like, how do I communicate how much of it I want to buy? There's a measurement in the description, but I don't know how much it takes to make a suit.

What I need in a suit: I want two pairs of pants, a vest and a suit jacket. How much material would I need to accomplish that? Can anyone give me an example based on the ebay site posted in the quote above? I'm 5 feet, 11 inches tall and I weigh 182 pounds.

 

[Idreamofsakura]

This question is for anyone that can answer, related to the post I've quoted above...



1. I am in Korea on a military SOFA visa and can import my own material duty-free. I read the post above, but I don't understand something about the ebay store. If I see a fabric that I like, how do I communicate how much of it I want to buy? There's a measurement in the description, but I don't know how much it takes to make a suit.

What I need in a suit: I want two pairs of pants, a vest and a suit jacket. How much material would I need to accomplish that? Can anyone give me an example based on the ebay site posted in the quote above? I'm 5 feet, 11 inches tall and I weigh 182 pounds.

You should go through this thread http://www.styleforum.net/t/77536/amount-of-fabric-needed-for-suit-and-pants for some more info but as mentioned by Manton the a typical formula for an average sized man is 1.5 for pants, 2.5 for a jacket, 3.5 for a suit. I'm 6'2, 230 and may need to order a little more than that. But most importantly talk to your tailor for what you're looking for. I've asked other places in Dongdaemun and Gwangchang wedding market area and they will charge you including fabric or a flat fee , which is their price normal.

 

[isatcong]

Many thanks.

 

[Immanuelrx]

What are some suggestions just to make alterations. I picked a random place in Itaewon to fix my sports coat. He took my measurements (It seemed not very well at the time, like he was rushing but no one else was in the store) and gave me a date to return. Upon my return, the waste was way to form fitting for my taste. I prefer a classic look, not form fitting SC. That probably my fault as I didn't specify. The second issue was that he made the sleeves too long. I tried to politely say as such but he disagreed but said he would make them any length I wanted. I am not going back. Anyways, I am looking for a tailor that can alter my new acquisitions into a more classic fit. What are some good places to go? Thanks Gents.

 

[Immanuelrx]

Anyone know how much the custom fees are for importing fabric? Was considering purchasing some fabric for a suit.

​

Also for those purchasing fabric here's a list of common fabrics you'll encounter at tailors if it helps at all for those getting something done here.​

​

​

​

Here's a hierarchy of the Samsung fabric in case anyone would like to know. I can try and look for sample photos if anyone is interested. I always hear people purchasing Samsung Fabric but always curious which line they purchased.

​

From top to bottom Cheilan-> World Best -> VIP ->Marche-> Temptation, Prestige-> Genesis, Castelario, Bonabitto

Also I'll be checking out another factory shirt maker called Frank Lord to get some shirts made. Maybe it will be an alternative to Hamilton. Will update later.

I apologize if this has been answered, but where can you get the samsung fabric? Also, I have yet to have acquired any bespoke suits. Can I go to any tailor and have them make a suit out of my fabric or are there certain places to go? Thanks