I find them hit or miss, although there are plenty of good tailors overall. I’ve not had that much work done, not like the wife and especially not recently – I tend to stick with jeans largely now – but many are very good. The best ones I’ve found are geared more toward Thais and not foreigners due usually to a lack of English-language skills. In the tourist areas, there are lots of “Indian” tailors. While the shops may be owned by Indians and the front staff are Indian, the work is always farmed out to Thai labor. Hua Hin has especially undergone an explosion in Indian shops, seems like now you can’t walk two blocks in that town without them trying to get you into their shop. But I’ve never found acceptable work done in the tourist areas.
I know people who never have clothes made here, but instead wait until they go to Hong Kong and have it done there. Some even have a preference for Singapore. But really, you can find someone good if you look, and the prices are pretty reasonable.
Tailors, that is. I’ll add too that the best ones seem to be geared toward Thais because they’re more likely to build up a good repeat business. When we lived out in a suburb of Bangkok, there was a lady who had a shop right in our building, and she made all the wife’s clothes. Really good workmanship.
Expats may or may not be here long. Tourists will be gone and on the other side of the world when their suit falls apart, too late to complain, so a lot of the less-talented ones gravitate toward that area.
Tie #2 is in the U.S., but is several states away. I should get it early next week. This one seems to be about 2 days ahead of the other two, so I expect them at the end of next week.
I don’t know if you have dollar stores in your area but while they are really hit or miss I’ve seen some fairly decent looking ties for a buck in some.
Another place dollar stores really shock is how cheap OTC meds and vitamins are, I mean you can get thirty multivitamin/mineral tablets for a buck that are as good as Centrum. OTC meds that are six times as pricey even at walmart.
Personally, my rule is not to buy anything at a dollar store that you swallow.
I love them for cheap cleaning supplies, and greeting cards, and household knickknacks or whatever, but I just can’t help feeling that super-cheapo medications simply can’t be of good quality.
Tie 2 is now in the city ~20 miles from me, and probably has one more distribution center to go. Tomorrow is looking better, and it almost certainly will be here by Tuesday. The other items haven’t made it to the U.S. yet.
I can confirm the stitching–you will have to reinforce the fold at the back, but that aside, I’ve ordered some great ties from similar vendors. Expect a 4 week wait at least, however.
Vietnam–specifically Hoi An–is still the place to go for tailor-made stuff. I bought 3 suits of wool/linen, 5 pairs of pants, 4 mandarin-collar shirts, and 3 ties for about $500 Canadian.
It’s a decent tie, and definitely wearable. It’s less silky and flexible than the Merona and Dockers ties I have ($20-30 at a dept. store). So that makes it a little bit harder to tie. The knot in the photo was my first attempt, and it was a bit off. But realistically, I’m not very good at tying ties, and my next few attempts were better. The stitching on the back is definitely looser and, I dunno, less frequent? than my other ties, but it doesn’t appear to be in any danger of coming apart. It’s the exact same length and width as my Merona ties.
Appearance wise, I can’t see any difference compared with my other ties. Ultimately that is what is most important, and it is definitely good enough. If money were no object, I would take the dept store tie. But I would much rather have 5 of these ties than one of the dept. store.
Oh forgot to add, it has (almost certainly) fake Armani tags on the back.
Yes, I’ve heard good things about the Hoi An work. And it sure is an industry there, as the wife and I saw when we visited this wonderful little city 2-1/2 years ago. (You can see us riverside in the city at the top of this page). Hoi An somehow escaped the ravages of the Vietnam War and is a Unesco World Heritage site. Simply a delight to wander through, and one covered bridge graces the back of one of the country’s banknotes. But we didn’t have any clothes made there ourselves.
Ok, so the last two ties came in. Tie 1 is a cheap piece of shit, and not really wearable in any sense. Probably good enough for a kid, but really, not worth it.
Tie 3 is quite nice. I don’t think I would be able to distinguish it from my department store ties. It might be a little bit thinner, and the stitching on the back isn’t quite as tight, but all in all, it’s nice. It also has fake Armani markings and says Made in Italy. It seems to be a little bit more soft and flexible than Tie 2, and I would give it a slight edge. Tie 2 might be a bit different because there seems to be a bit of ribbing with the stripes.
All in all, I would say Tie 2 or Tie 3 are solid options. I don’t think anyone would be able to tell the difference between them and a dept store tie while you are wearing it. Certainly not without any sort of ridiculously close inspection. I think they are a good value, and definitely worth it.
After buying these, I found that you can get used ties for pretty cheap by buying lots on ebay. Cheap, as in on the order of 2-3 bucks a tie including shipping.
I’ll let you all know when the shirts come in. For some reason, only one of them sent me a tracking number, and that one hasn’t left China yet.
I wonder if he ever got his shirts?
I actually bumped the thread because I’m in the market to buy a handful of ties, and I was trying to recall how this turned out…
I have bought some on Ebay (briefs, t-shirts, boxer briefs). they seem well made, just as good as regular stuff. I suspect what’s being sold on Ebay is factory seconds/overproduction.
