Singapore Expats

Hi
I need to get some trousers and shirts done. do you have any recommendations for tailors ?
i had a look here http://www.singapore-tailor-guide.info/tailor-directory and visited one of the mid range tailors only to find out that pants cost 250 SGD which sounds expensive to me
what would be decent quality pants and shirts prices ?
thanks

You've opened a can of worms and a load of potential hassle in trying to find a 'decent' tailor in SG. Do they exist?

I've not found a good one in the whole of SE Asia yet. HK has plenty, but Thailand, Malaysia and SG I'm not so sure. There are plenty of average tailors around, but if you want something made with top quality cloth, 4/5 fittings to get everything tweaked, you'll struggle. Avoid the muppet outlets littered around in the tourist hotspots with staff trying to drag you in off the street. At least look somewhere where the rent will be more expensive - suntec or raffles - so they need a good flow of business to survive.

If you want a decent pair of trousers, $250 is not expensive. You can look at this from two angles - do you want good material and shape that will last, or do you just want them fitted and will be happy with synthetics if it looks good?

A good cashmere/wool blend, not artificial or synthetic, will cost you at least that amount for just the material. Then add-on the fitting costs and you are up to around $400 as a base price.

2 or 3 great quality suits are much better than 5 or 6 'fitted' suits that look great to the untrained eye, but get near a full length dress mirror and you look like a dogs dinner.

Keep us informed if you find anywhere. I've tried about a dozen places and am yet to get the impression that they really know what they are doing.

The majority of tailors here are order takers and salesmen who take your measurements and ship them off to a common sweat-shop to do the cutting and stitching. There is a lack of in-house expertise.

There is a tailor in the Holland Village mall. I don't remember the name, but it is right at the end of the escalator, 2nd floor. You can see that he is "real". We used him a few times and were pretty satisfied but IIRC he is not far down from the 250SGD range.

http://tjtailor.net/contact_us.html has been around since the late 60's and list's many people around the world, that still place orders from overseas.

I agree with comment that good tailors are hard to find here. However I can vouch for Max at Mohan's in Far East Plaza. I hate the spruikers who try to pull you in, but Max was introduced to me few years ago by a friend who is a regular of his. The shirts I had made a couple of weeks ago are the best I have had for some time. I specified the details I wanted even down to collar width & nothing was too difficult. Cost was very reasonable (around $70 sgd depending on the cloth) I had them within a day or so.
Highly recommend.

Solo56 wrote:However I can vouch for ...

I hope being a customer is your only affiliation, being your first post and all...we'd be upset if it were otherwise.

-Moderator

I am pleased with Christian Armani at Far East Plaza. Second floor. Top notch fitting. First class tailoring. Good selection of fabrics. Ask for Dave.

Fro S$250 you ought to have very good material... a high thread count wool... they should be lined, have rubberized inserts in the waist to keep your shirt tucked in, and much more.

Fabric selection figures greatly into the overall cost of shirts and pants.

I use a guy called Andrew Liew (he comes to my house, so not based anywhere in particular I don't think :S) His dad started the business a many years ago doing tailoring for US Navy Servicemen. He is well versed in Expat fittings and is very reasonably priced. Shirts are around $70-$90 a piece and suits are around $600 with 2 pairs of trousers. all depending upon material of course!

He will tailor from his patterns or copy something you have without issue!

PM me if you want his number, I don't want to put it on a public forum, I don't think it's fair!

Andrew does all his own tailor work! He is a one man band pretty much, he's good.

thailand is a way to save money and quality

richie303 wrote:I use a guy called Andrew Liew (he comes to my house, so not based anywhere in particular I don't think :S) His dad started the business a many years ago doing tailoring for US Navy Servicemen. He is well versed in Expat fittings and is very reasonably priced. Shirts are around $70-$90 a piece and suits are around $600 with 2 pairs of trousers. all depending upon material of course!

He will tailor from his patterns or copy something you have without issue!

PM me if you want his number, I don't want to put it on a public forum, I don't think it's fair!

Andrew does all his own tailor work! He is a one man band pretty much, he's good.

Could you PM me Andrew's number, please? I'm coming over to Singapore from NZ for a good while, and would like to get a lightweight suit or two tailored from someone who knows what he's doing.

mac.james wrote:

richie303 wrote:I use a guy called Andrew Liew (he comes to my house, so not based anywhere in particular I don't think :S) His dad started the business a many years ago doing tailoring for US Navy Servicemen. He is well versed in Expat fittings and is very reasonably priced. Shirts are around $70-$90 a piece and suits are around $600 with 2 pairs of trousers. all depending upon material of course!

He will tailor from his patterns or copy something you have without issue!

PM me if you want his number, I don't want to put it on a public forum, I don't think it's fair!

Andrew does all his own tailor work! He is a one man band pretty much, he's good.

Could you PM me Andrew's number, please? I'm coming over to Singapore from NZ for a good while, and would like to get a lightweight suit or two tailored from someone who knows what he's doing.

Just to note: $70-$90 is a pretty common price for shirts made from bog standard cotton material... no polyester, no nothing. Might even get them for $60 if you dig around and are willing to risk tailoring. For teflon cotton add $30-$40 per shirt, something less for silk cotton, which, while having excellent anti wrinkle properties, is way too damn hot. Teflon cotton has excellent anti-wrinkle properties... a must if you travel very much.

Suits at $600 are definitely in the low end of material selection... I believe that if you actually went and looked at materials, you'd end up in the $800-$900 range... you wanna look cheap in a custom suit?

Cheers.

richie303 wrote:I use a guy called Andrew Liew (he comes to my house, so not based anywhere in particular I don't think :S) His dad started the business a many years ago doing tailoring for US Navy Servicemen. He is well versed in Expat fittings and is very reasonably priced. Shirts are around $70-$90 a piece and suits are around $600 with 2 pairs of trousers. all depending upon material of course!

He will tailor from his patterns or copy something you have without issue!

PM me if you want his number, I don't want to put it on a public forum, I don't think it's fair!

Andrew does all his own tailor work! He is a one man band pretty much, he's good.

Well if his dad was tailoring for US navy only when they called into port then he lost all the British trade. I know TJ's family was servicing the British Army Navy and RAF back in 1970, because I was stationed at Meiktila barracks corner of Dover Rd in 1970, at the time the majority of tailors were camp based knocking out suits in 24 hrs.

Change Alley were TJ was located was a market place back then and i know that they have other family shops too in the area.

Orchard Rd area and you will pay top $ for the same suit becuase the rents are higher don't believe me write down the particulars of the material you choose including the weight and check over in Raffles Place area!

To pay $600 for a suit is on the high side probably because it's Orchard area or tourist price, even with an extra pair of trousers and gold leaf underpants. I would avoid Orchard knowing I can get the 600$ suit for $450 in Raffles Place

SE pricing is about right for a good quality, local honest tailors and shirt prices should be cheaper too than $70 to $90 more like $35 to $60 with choice of material. Always better to visit a few tailors to, get a feel of the people, you want proof of their stories and signed guest books tell a lot. Visitors passing through well end up paying top$.

You must be really careful of the freelancers here in Singapore, there are middlemen touts that visit your home to measure you up and mark up the price they normally have the gift of persuasion to make you think you are getting a bargain like throwing in 2 pairs of trousers.

The sewing is almost always done by contracted machinists from a central point today which service several groups of tailors.

Hi

Have had extremely bad experience with Eurobest which started out with being sold polyester shirts having paid for cotton, and ended up with the guy telling me I lied about when I bought them.

Strongly recommend you look elsewhere.
Good luck!

Cheers

mr personality mennshop at Penisula Plaza.

Eric does nice shirts..

richie303 wrote:I use a guy called Andrew Liew (he comes to my house, so not based anywhere in particular I don't think :S) His dad started the business a many years ago doing tailoring for US Navy Servicemen. He is well versed in Expat fittings and is very reasonably priced. Shirts are around $70-$90 a piece and suits are around $600 with 2 pairs of trousers. all depending upon material of course!

He will tailor from his patterns or copy something you have without issue!

PM me if you want his number, I don't want to put it on a public forum, I don't think it's fair!

Andrew does all his own tailor work! He is a one man band pretty much, he's good.

Could you please send me his contact details? My husband is looking for a tailor. Thanks!