Before choosing: what you want made
Workshops mainly make suits, shirts, trousers, dresses and coats. A simple shirt or dress can be done quickly; a three-piece suit or a coat takes more fittings. Decide on your budget and your schedule before walking in: a serious tailor does not rush you.
Where to have a suit made
Workshops are concentrated around Sukhumvit (near Asok and Terminal 21), Silom, Siam and Pratunam. Some work in wholesale fashion districts such as Pratunam and Platinum Fashion Mall, others in street-front shops or on the upper floor of a building.
For fabric, Sampeng Lane and the neighbouring Pahurat district sell by the metre at wholesale prices; a tailor can also go with you. To understand Thai silks and cottons before choosing, Jim Thompson House and the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles show the techniques and qualities.
How to choose a workshop
- Read recent reviews on maps and travel sites and look at photos of finished garments, not just the shop.
- Choose the workshop yourself. Never follow a stranger (or a tuk-tuk driver) who offers you "an exceptional promotion today": they are paid a commission, and your price includes it.
- Visit two or three workshops and compare written quotes: fabric, lining, buttons, number of fittings, delivery date.
- Ask to touch the fabric and see the composition label. A very cheap "cashmere" is almost always a synthetic blend.
- Be wary of a promise of a suit in 24 hours: quality suffers.
How many fittings and how long
A good workshop offers at least two fittings: a first with the garment basted together to check the measurements, a second with the garment nearly finished, then the alterations. Plan at least three to four days on the spot, more for a full suit. If you only have a day or two, choose a shirt or simple dress instead, or have a garment you have bought altered.
Keep some margin before you leave: once you are home, you will not be able to have a badly fitting garment redone by the workshop. Aim for delivery the day before you leave at the latest, never on the morning itself.
What to ask for and check
- A written quote with the fabric, its reference and the total price, alterations included.
- A reasonable deposit, with a receipt in the workshop's name. Do not pay the full amount before the last fitting.
- Free alterations if the garment does not fit.
- Measurements taken with a tape measure, not by eye, and noted down.
- At the end: check the seams, the lining, how the collar and sleeves hang, and try the garment both sitting and standing.
Traps to avoid
- Touts who approach you in the street or near a temple saying the palace is closed: see our guide to scams in Bangkok.
- The "special price today": it does not exist; compare.
- Shipping abroad promised by an unknown workshop: take the garment with you instead.
- Card payment without checking the amount in baht: refuse conversion into your own currency and pay in baht. See our guide to paying in Bangkok.
- Branded items sold "made to measure" at very low prices: they are copies.
If you are short of time
For a quick shirt, dress or trousers, you will also find cheap ready-to-wear in the malls and markets: see our guide to shopping in Bangkok and the Siam malls.
Pour aller plus loin
To go further, read our guide to shopping in Bangkok, our advice on what to bring back from Bangkok, and our guide to the budget in Bangkok to decide how much to spend.
