We are in the process of planning our trip to Southeast asia for November/December. We will be flying in from the US arriving in the early evening and will be staying in Bangkok for our first night before moving onto Siem Reap. We will return to Bangkok approx 7 days later for a 3 day stay.

We are interested in having clothes made while in Bangkok, and from reading other posts, I am thinking it would be a good idea to hit the tailor shops the day after our arrival to pick fabrics and get measured, and then do the fittings upon our return to Bangkok later in the trip. My husband is looking to get high quality wool pants and maybe a suit. For me probably a suit as well, and some pants/tops.

We are looking at staying at the Peninsula, Oriental, or Sukhothai. Which is closest to the tailor shops?

Also - we plan to go to SJ Jewelers from Kathie's recommendation and figure if we want to have anything custom made, we could do that as well during this one day of shopping to kick off our trip.

Thoughts on the hotel location? For the 1-day stay, I think we would rather be closer to the tailor/jewelry store and for the 3-day stay later in our trip it doesn't matter as much.

Tailor recommendations are welcome too. Thanks in advance!!

i guess it depends on which tailor you might want to use....the very best tailors are two cousins who own seperate shops on soi 4, sukhumvit and directly on sukhumvit itself....the landmark hotel is the closest to these and the jw marriott is the next closest...

from your list of hotels it would not matter which you stayed at as all would be a taxi ride, but are doable....i prefer the peninsula...

if you are interested in jack at monet il sarto, my tailor, you might want to consider the marriott resort and spa as that is his location...

there are many many tailor shops around bkk so no hotel is very far from one...

as for SJ, unless you are a guest of the king at his palace, none of the hotels are that close....but a short taxi ride will get you there...

my jeweler is right across the street on soi 4 from one of the best tailors...the jeweler is in the lobby of the very grotty nana hotel and is called thai stone jewelry....so the hotels i listed above would help you there....btw, the sheraton grande is not far from here as is the westin...the SG is very very nice as well...

RHKMKK -

do you know the name of the cousins (or their shops) that you mention?

Basically for my husband, we are looking for high quality wool fabrics and excellent workmanship. Would your tailor Jack at Monet Il Sarto provide that? How much does it cost for pants, a suit?

It sounds like as long as we are willing to use taxis (we are used to that as we live in NYC) any hotel should be fine.

Also - do you think it is a good idea of our plans to pick fabrics/get measured and then come back 7-8 days later to start the fittings? Thanks!!!

lorib1 - We just returned from Bangkok in business class on the same flight that you are taking. We used Rajawongse Clothiers and yes, Jesse is one of the cousins that rhkkmk is referring to. Jesse's son Victor is also involved in the business. They have a tremendous selection of very high quality wool fabric and great workmanship. I bought 3 suits there on this past trip and 4 suits there in February 2006. They charged me $300 per suit but they told me that they have switched to charging in Baht because of the weakness of the dollar. They do not take credit cards but do take cash, personal checks and travelers checks. The shop is popular with US Embassy personnel and George Bush "the elder" is a repeat customer. They do not do women's clothing and I am sorry that I can not recommend a place nearby. My wife uses T Silk Place and has been very happy with them. They are located in OP Place behind the Oriental Hotel. If your time is limited, forget about going to two places that are far apart.

SJ will send a car for you if you call them so you don't have to worry about a taxi.

Don't count on accomplishing too much on your first day in Bangkok. Shops like Rajawongse don't open until 10 - 10:30 and you will likely spend a good hour or two picking fabrics and doing the measurements. A trip to SJ will probably take up the better part of the morning or afternoon. Also keep in mind that you need to get to the airport 1-1/2 to 2 hours before your flight to Siem Reap and that it takes at least 1/2 hour to get there and more if it is during rush hour.

We prefer to stay on the river when in Bangkok but we have also stayed in hotels closer to Rajawongse Clothiers. Taxis are great when traffic is light but the sky train is reliable and comfortable if you don't mind climbing stairs to get up to it. Sky train stops are convenient to several hotels as well as Rajawongse Clothiers.

When you return to Bangkok you need to return to your tailor as soon as possible to do a fitting. This should allow enough time for adjustments to be made.

Craig -

Thanks for the prompt and detailed info. It sounds like Rajawongse is what we are looking for. Even if the prices go up to $400-500 for a suit - for high quality fabric and custom made, that is a good price.

How late do most of the shops stay open?

Thanks for the tips on the sky train - we are also used to the subways here in NYC so the up/down on the stairs is a daily occurrence for us.

When does rush hour occur in Bangkok with traffic getting to the airport? We could stay in Bangkok that 2nd night instead of flying to Siem Reap that early evening and fly to Siem Reap early the next morning, which would still allow for a full day at Angkor Wat.

Shops close between 6 and 8. If you are going after 6, call first to make sure they will stay open for you. Rajawongse is technically open until 8.

Rush hour ends around 6 PM so if you leave for the airport any time after that you should be ok. The problem at rush hour is getting from your hotel to highway that goes to the airport. We find that traffic is somewhat worse around the central shopping area hotels than it is around the river hotels.

It will be a very long day for you if you take the first flight out to Siem Reap. It leaves at 7:30 or 8 AM which means you'll be getting up very early. There is not much traffic at 5:30 - 6 AM though.

Jack at Monet Saro stays open until 9:30 and will stay until 10 PM. He has a wide selecton of 120-160 superfine wools from Italian mills. Slacks were $60-$70(lined) and suits were $@50-$325 based on material selected.His workmanship is first rate but he requires 3 fittings on suits and 2 on slacks. The prices quoted were May '06 when Baht was 38=$1USD. It now is 33=$1USD. In an order of more than $about $750 he split the shipping cost with me. It arrived when promised.

you might find that jack's suits cost about $200+ depending on fabric...and he has some very nice fabrics...

craig has given you what many consider the best tailor...

for women's i might suggest cotton house in back of the oriental hotel in OP Place, the same place as craig has suggested for his wife'w tailor...

i would plan on a first fitting the first day possibly....

jack will come to your hotel also for fittings after work....

thanks again for the replies. Does Jack at Il Sarto do womens clothing?

Do you all know of a tailor that would do wool pants and suits for women as well?

Another question on payment as it seems that some of the tailors do not take credit cards. If you pay in Thai Baht - do you generally get a better price?

Many thanks!!

Bookmarking for future reference.

you may or may not get a better price for cash....depends on the tailor...

jack does do some women't clothing....he has done coats, jackets, vests, robes and slacks for my wife and shirts...

cotton house does mostly womens stuff...