What to Look For When Having a Suit Made in Asia

Hagrid was wearing his best (and very horrible) hairy brown suit, plus a checked yellow-and-orange tie. This wasn’t the worst of it, though…
~ JK Rowling

The advantage of getting a bespoke suit in Asia: you can end up with a killer suit that fits like a glove and looks like it cost 3 grand, for less than a tenth of that price.

Tailor-made suit from Kathmandu. Cost: under $300.

The disadvantage? If you don’t know what to discuss with your tailor beforehand, you can end up with a Hagridesque suit that fits like a…mitten.

Rinch had a suit made in Nepal not too long ago, and we wanted to share what we learned from the experience. You’ll find the tips and suggestions in this post to be relevant to ordering a suit anywhere in Asia. The next post will be location-specific, with detailed recommendations for where to buy a suit in Kathmandu.

Hopefully, the info here will save you time, energy and money. My intention, as always, is for you to enjoy a peaceful travel experience, unplagued by nightmarish visions of too-short pant legs and mismatched pin stripes.

Before You Choose a Tailor

suits hanging on rack at a Kathmandu tailoring shop

samples at Dormeuil's, a Kathmandu tailoring shop

If your tailor has any samples on racks, inspect these carefully to get an idea of the quality and finish. If you’re not impressed by the average quality, you have two choices: you can either walk away, or you can have a very specific conversation where you say not like this, and not like this…

When you find someone you can really communicate with who understands what you want and who is good at their craft, it’s a winning combination. You have to trust your tailor.

Important Details to Discuss With Your Tailor

Peaked lapels and a 4-button cuff

If you don’t raise these points yourself, your tailor will stitch your suit according to his own preference, which may turn out to be disappointingly incompatible with yours. So when ordering a suit in Asia, always go over the following:

Peaked or notched lapels? If you have a preference, take a photo of exactly what you want.
Sleeves should come down to the break below your pinkie. (Not always standard practice in Asia.)
If you ask for real buttons on the cuffs, take a photo of exactly what you want. Once the buttonholes are cut you can’t move the buttons, so you won’t be able to take up or lengthen the sleeves.
Make sure the material at the shoulder seam lines up exactly, especially with pin-striping. You may need to be very emphatic about this.
If you want a boutonierre you should ask them to strengthen the backing. Do you want one? Well, many very high-quality suits do not have them, as a point of style, but it is something that adds a nice touch. It’s really a matter of personal taste.

Choosing a Suit Fabric in Asia

I just wanna get the record straight
That when they talking about the shiny suit
They talking about me
And I own this five hundred million dollar shiny suit
~ P. Diddy

First, always take the cloth outside so you can see it in the sun. An accidental shiny suit is a terrible thing, although deliberately shiny certainly has its place.

Local or Imported?

There are some extremely high-quality suit fabrics being made on the subcontinent. You can’t tell the difference between these less expensive local fabrics and a pricey fabric imported from Europe.

Rinch has just commented to me, “I had my suit made with fabric from Italy, but only because I liked the pattern. I couldn’t tell you if that fabric was genuine or a knock-off. You’ll save a lot of money by using Indian fabric, rather than paying full-price for something which may not be any better.” (Now he tells me we could have saved money….:))

Thinking Ahead

Research what fabrics are going to be in fashion for the next couple of years when you’re making your suit. They may be a little harder to find in parts of Asia. For example, checks are in this season, and there were only a few samples of those in Nepali shops.

Shirting

ready-made shirts for sale at a Kathmandu tailor

(I’ve never heard the word shirting outside of Asia. I know that many people decry the practice of verbing nouns, but I adore it.)

Rinch recommends getting your shirt fully tailored. Make sure to point out your wrist measurement to the tailor, as the standard cuff size can be comparatively small in some Asian countries.

You can also buy a ready-made shirt if you prefer. Shirt sizes listed on the packages aren’t always accurate, so don’t wait until the morning of Rinpoche’s cremation before trying on your new shirt. However, if you do end up feeling tight around the neck and wrists, a good tailor can do amazing things with buttons and bits of cloth to solve the problem.

Additional Tips to Remember

…I’ve got a very nice suit – I’m not even a bad person — so why can’t I get a shag?
~ Colin Greenwood

Here are a few more important things to keep in mind when having a suit made in Asia.

Be aware that the styles that are popular and fashionable in your current location may not be appropriate elsewhere. If you get a shiny, silky suit made in Kathmandu, you’re going to look sharp in this environment, but shiny’s not the way to go for a Sydney business meeting. Ditto on the paisley hand-stitched pocket flaps.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Ask as many questions as you can think of as to how they’re going to make it and what their techniques are and who’s going to make it. Specify that you want their best tailor to do the work.
If you’re seeking an inexpensive knock-off of an expensive brand, research the details that best represent the manufacturer. For example, Gucci generally uses five buttons on the cuff and their buttons have Gucci stamped around the outside. It would be lame to have a Gucci knock-off that was too obviously a phony (lame…or….awesomely kitsch?).
Even in Asia, suits are too expensive to risk making a stupid decision. Take someone with you to get a second opinion. If that person is your wife, and she doesn’t know much about suits, she won’t actually be very helpful, but at least she will smile at you and say you look like James Bond.

This is the suit Rinch had made in Kathmandu. The final cost was 19000 rupees (about $255 AUD or $270 USD):

"Show me your tiger!"

One last tip: for general information about what to look for in a suit, Rinch recommends A Tailored Suit. As a bloke who normally lives in t-shirts and jeans, he found the information there to be invaluable.

Have you had a suit tailor-made anywhere in Asia? Tell me about it in the comments.