Business suits

Cloth for a working week in this climate

The cloth that feels most expensive in the hand is often the worst choice here. A tight, smooth, high-count worsted looks superb on the roll and stops moving air the moment you step outside; by the second meeting it is holding every crease from the car.

• High-twist wools: they resist creasing and recover overnight
• Tropical weights for the hot months, when most of the year is hot months
• Heavier worsteds only where the day is spent in air conditioning
• Patterns that hide wear — a fine check forgives more than flat navy

More on cloth and construction.

Rotation, and why two beats three

A suit worn on consecutive days does not recover. The cloth needs a day to release the creases and the moisture it took on, and a jacket that never gets one ages several times faster. Two suits worn alternately will outlast three worn without thought.

This is the practical answer to the question people arrive here actually asking, which is what a suit is worth. We cannot publish a price, but we can tell you that the number of wearings you get is decided more by rotation and construction than by what you spend.

Two trousers, one jacket

Trousers fail first, at the seat and the inside leg, while the jacket is barely worn in. A second pair cut at the same time from the same bolt — so the colour matches, which it will not if you order later — roughly doubles how long the suit survives as a suit.

Trousers on their own are under trousers, blazers and separates.

Fit

For daily wear, comfort and fit are the same problem. A jacket that pulls across the back when you reach for a door handle is not too small, it has an armhole in the wrong place, and that is a pattern decision rather than an alteration.

• A high armhole, so the sleeve moves and the body does not
• A collar that stays against the neck when you sit down
• Trousers cut to sit at the waist without a belt holding them there

Construction

Weekly wear is exactly where fused construction shows. The glue holding the front of a fused jacket gives up under heat, humidity and dry cleaning — all three of which a Bangkok working suit gets — and the front bubbles. A canvassed chest keeps its shape because it is stitched rather than stuck.

The full argument is onfull canvas, half canvas and fused.

Shirts to go with it

A suit is let down by the shirt more often than by itself. Business shirts are cut on their own page — seebusiness and formal shirts.

Making it last

More suits are ruined by care than by wear, and the three things that matter most cost nothing.

• Brush it after wearing. Dust is abrasive and it is what actually wears the cloth at the collar and cuffs
• Hang it on a shaped hanger with the pockets empty, and give it a day before the next wearing
• Dry clean rarely. Solvent strips the wool and flattens the finish; spot-clean and press between cleans instead
• Repair early. A loose button caught now is a button; caught later it is a tear in the cloth behind it

Fitting rounds

1. Measuring and cloth selection, at your office or hotel.
2. A basted fitting on the half-made suit.
3. Further fittings as the corrections go in.
4. A final fitting, then delivery to you.

How many fittings your garment needs depends on the garment and on you, and it is agreed at the first appointment rather than promised here.

The sequence is on how a fitting works.

Questions we are actually asked

Where is the best place to get a tailored suit in Bangkok?

The useful version of that question is what to ask rather than where to go: how is the jacket constructed, how many fittings are included, and can I see the suit half-made. A tailor who answers all three plainly is showing you the work.

How many suits do I actually need?

Fewer than people expect, rotated properly. A suit worn on consecutive days never recovers; two worn alternately outlast three worn carelessly. If you are starting a wardrobe, two suits and several shirts is a better first order than three suits.

Which cloth survives the commute here?

High-twist wool. It resists creasing, it moves air, and it recovers overnight. The tight, smooth cloth that feels expensive on the roll is usually the one that traps heat and holds a crease from the taxi.

Two trousers with one jacket — worth it?

Usually yes. Trousers wear out first, at the seat and the inside leg, long before the jacket does. A second pair cut at the same time from the same cloth roughly doubles the life of the suit as a suit.

Can you fit me at my office?

That is the normal way we work, and for business suits it is the common one. We come to your office between meetings rather than asking you to cross the city.