Hi! I plan on hitting Dema fashions for jeans, but am having difficulty deciding which "Raj" is better for suites...Raja's or Rajawongse? Is either better for women? Thanks!

The owners of Raja and Rajawongse were once partners and both have good reputations. I don't know about Raja's but Rajawongse does not seem to do much for women.

I have not used the Raja Borothers but on 2 trips I have been 100% satisfied with the quality of fabrics, tailoring, price and courtesy at Monet Sarto. The propietor, Jack, does a very good job biut be prepared for 3-4 fittings on a suit, 3 on a sport jacket and 2 on slacks. I get $300+ slacks with 160 superfine Canali mill fabric for ~$72.

I love the suits, and cashmere sport jacket and overcoat that Jesse and Victor have made for my husband at Rajawongse, but I would not use either Rajawongse for womenswear...I don't think Rajawongse even offers. I don't know Raja's, except what I have read.

I just had a terrific (woman's)suit made at Cotton House, in O.P. Place behind the Oriental Hotel -- conservative, for court appearances, etc. I have never had a suit jacket fit so well. They have a selection of excellent suit fabrics. For all other women's wear, I'd go to T. Silk, in the same building as Cotton House -- someone there has a real designing flair.

The only problem with my suggestion is the hassle of the woman having fittings at O.P. Place while the man has his fittings by Sumkhomvit!

Thanks so much everyone! I am in fact looking for women's suites, so the info on Cotton House was a big house. My boyfriend, how ever, will probably have 2 suits done... one with one of the Raja cousins and the other at Monet Sarto.
Is Cotton House far from the Shangri-La hotel?
I'll check out T. Silk as well, as I need a nice dress for weddings, etc.
Thanks again!

errr.. big HELP, not house...

you can get the boat from taskim pier next to the sh-la directly to the oriental and it is right in back

My fiance and I were planning on getting some suits made on our honeymoon in BKK, however it seems we have underestimated the time needed to have a quality suit made. We will only be spending 2 days in BKK and had heard that suits could be organised in that time and mailed home to us.

Are you guys saying this is a bit much to expect for a quality suit? I'm not after an expensive Armani type suit but a good quality tailored suit which would be more than I could afford to have done at home. Should we have them made in Chiang Mai instead, where we will be spending 5 days?

Any thoughts would be appreciated,

Cheers.

junejuly, it takes time to have a good custom suit made. The more fittings you have the more likely you'll be satisfied with the results. Having two suits made, one at each tailor will mean that you will spend much of your time in Bangkok at one tailor or another. You'll lose out of the lowered costs of having two suits made at one place. Unless this is a trip where all the two of you want to do is have clothese made, I think you'll find two men's tailors and two women's tailors to be about the only places you'll see while in Bangkok!

i'm not sure you would be happy with a suit crafted in less than two days...but it can be done..

CM might be a better alternative, but i do not know of a good tailor there..

Thanks for the input... Kathy, do you think that with 5 days I can have 2 good suits made with one tailor? Should I maybe just stick with Cotton House, as we are staying at the Shangri-la, and Bob's helpful post helps me understand that's not too far... Or is there something better? Geographically/practically speaking, where should my boyfriend get his made?
Can't thank you enough for your great input.

ps- I'm planning on getting in quite a few fittings, and having the finised product shipped; I figure that will hopefully get me 3 fittings; at the very least 2. I'm trying to contact them in advance so I can hit it almost immediatly after landing for the first visit....

JJ - T Silk is in the same complex (OP Place) as Cotton House - they did a fabulous job on some outfits for my wife who did not care for the fabrics offered at Cotton House. Worth checking out...

There are really 2 different issues here: the quality of the garment (materials and workmanship), and the quality of the fit.

If you go to a known BKK tailor and have the garments sent to you, the quality of the materials and workmanship should be the same as if you were in BKK for a longer period of time. The quality of the fit might be the difference: you would likely be able to have only an initial fitting and one more fitting. With a reputable tailor, most people will be pleased with the result result. Those who are very particular about the fit, however, may not be completely pleased.

With a CM tailor, you'd be able to spend enough time to get the ideal fit, assuming that you find a tailor with the skills to execute that. However, there doesn't seem to be much information about tailors in CM regarding quality issues (fabrics, workmanship, tailoring).

Kathie's point is also a good one: the time you spend in tailor shops is time that you don't spend somewhere else.

ttt

We just returned from Bangkok. Cotton House is quite close to Shangri-La - you can walk. My experience at Cotton House was not the best. First, I found the fabrics to be limited in selection and quality. The tailor next door, Tramps, told us they used to import from Italy, but now just use local fabrics. I had decided on 1 sleeveless cotton blouse, 1 long sleeve white cotton blouse and one pair of pants. I found the help there to be somewhat unpleasant by Thai standards. My measurements were done on 25 December. We returned to Bangkok early Jan for another 2 days. The sleeveless blouse needed 2 additional fittings. The pants just one, but keep in mind that I had brought a pair of pants for them to copy. The long sleeve blouse was a total disaster - somehow they measured wrong for this - it was about 3 sizes too big. They were quite aplogetic about the mistake. After I left the store and continued to shop in the mall, they tracked me down in the middle of the mall with their tape measure to re-measure me for the 3rd time. They did come to the Peninsula to deliver clothes and do the additional fittings, but I got the feeling that this isn't standard. They changed the time we agreed upon by leaving a message with the concierge. We waited around and then they never showed until we called them - not great if you are waiting to go sightseeing or spend your day doing something else. They set up a final time to come back later in the day for the delivery and to make sure everything fit. Again, they were late. The pants came out nice - the sleeveless blouse will most likely be too tight after washing. The white blouse was still a mess - the girl tried to convince me to take it and get it finished when I got home - telling me it wasn't so bad. I declined on the white blouse. The store is steadily busy so I guess there must be people who have better experience with them. As a side note, my husband had shirts, jacket and pants made next store at Tramps - a beautiful selection of men's fabrics - expert tailoring - very professional. I would highly recommend them. Don't underestimate the time this process takes for men and women - best to use tailors who are close by each other or you'll spend quite a bit of time running back and forth.

Crown Tailors is another excellent tailor if you need advice. Theyre on sukhumit road inside soi 8. I'd recommend them again anyday.

Watts - Are you recommending Crown Tailors for women's tailoring specifically? I'm interested as my husband and I have been assuming we'll use Cotton House for wool suits for me and Rajawongse for sports jackets, trousers and shirts for my husband. Given the distance between the two, and the not so great reports on Cotton House lately, maybe we should reconsider. LSKohn - Was your suit at Cotton House Thai silk or wool? Craig - what were the fabrics your wife liked at T Silk? Claire

Claire - my wife likes those fashionable textured fabrics - difficult to describe really - usually for a business-like jacket and a skirt. She also had a gorgeous formal dress made (a copy of one in another shop's window) and she intends to have another made in February - we just received a response to a letter she wrote asking about copying a dress she saw here at home. Hope this helps - let me know if I should ask her for more details.

The tailors in BKK all do the same thing. They take your measurements, and they stock the material. The Thai/Chinese then make the stuff off-site. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't all use the same places to make the clothes. I'm assuming somewhere in Chinatown?

The more fittings you have, the better.

The best selection of fabrics I have found is at Alta Moda at Central World Plaza.

Be very picky about stitching & details. Good custom suits have functional buttons on the sleeves. They can do things like that, but usually only if you ask.