Tailored shirts for women

The problem a made shirt actually solves

Almost every complaint about a ready-made women's shirt is the same one, and it is not about quality. The button between the bust points pulls, or gapes, while the shirt is simultaneously loose at the waist. Size up and the gaping stops but everything else becomes a tent.

That happens because off-the-rack sizing adds width uniformly around the body. A bust needs width in one place and shaping either side of it, and no amount of going up a size delivers that — it is a pattern problem, not a size problem.

A drafted pattern puts the room where you need it: usually a bust dart, a shaped side seam, and a waist taken in independently of the chest. The shirt closes flat and follows you rather than hanging off the widest point.

The other three things that are usually wrong

• Sleeve length — cut to your arm, each side, rather than to an average
• Shoulder point — where the seam sits changes how the whole sleeve hangs
• Body length — a shirt to tuck and a shirt to wear out are different cuts, not the same shirt worn differently

Decide the last one before the cloth is chosen. An untucked shirt needs a shorter, straighter hem and a closer body, or it reads as a shirt that escaped.

Collar, cuff and placket

All of it is yours to specify: collar shape and height, cuff style and depth, whether the placket is stitched down or hidden, and which side the buttons sit. Those choices are recorded with your pattern so a later order repeats them without the conversation happening twice.

The collar shapes themselves, and the two measurements nobody mentions, are in collars and cuffs.

Cloth, for a city at thirty-five degrees

The same rule as everywhere on this site: the weave decides more than the fibre. An open weave in a lighter cotton moves air; a dense smooth poplin looks crisper and wears hotter. Voile, open-weave cottons and linen blends all do well here, and linen alone creases within the hour — which is either the point or the problem.

More on linen and warm-weather cloth.

Where the fitting happens

At your hotel, your office or your home, anywhere in Bangkok — not in a shop's shared fitting area. For shirts in particular that is worth having, because the measurements that matter are taken close to the body and the garment is tried on more than once.

The measurements are taken by a male tailor — there is no female tailor here, and it is better said now than discovered at the appointment. If you would prefer to have someone with you, or want a particular time of day, say so when you call. It is an ordinary request and easier settled at the booking than on the day. More on the visits inwhere we come to you.

Ordering, and ordering again

The first shirt carries the measuring and the pattern; after that it is cloth and making, which is why three or more usually makes sense at once. The pattern is then kept, so another order — a different cloth, a different collar, or five more of the same — needs no new appointment and can be placed from anywhere. Seereordering from abroad.

Men's and unspecified shirts are ontailored shirts, and the rest of the women's catalogue is under tailoring for women. The sequence of appointments is inhow a fitting works.

Questions we are actually asked

Where can I find tailor-made women's clothing in Bangkok?

You do not travel to it — The Boss Tailor comes to you, anywhere in Bangkok, with the cloth and the measurements taken in your own hotel room, office or home rather than a shop's shared fitting area. What you are looking for in any tailor is the same thing: a pattern drafted from your measurements rather than a stock block adjusted toward them, and a fitting that happens while the garment can still be changed.

Where can I find tailored clothes in Thailand?

Bangkok has a large tailoring trade and most of it is oriented toward menswear, which is why this keeps being asked. The useful filter is not the city but the process: ask whether the pattern is drafted for you, and ask where the fitting will happen and who will be there. Both are reasonable questions and a straight answer to either tells you more than a portfolio does.

Who are the best tailors for women in Bangkok?

Not a question anyone selling tailoring should answer about themselves. What you can check instead: is the pattern drafted for you, will you see the garment part-made, and where does the fitting take place. Ask all three of us as readily as of anyone else — the answers are more useful than a ranking, and they are the same questions a man ordering a suit here should be asking.

Why do ready-made shirts gape at the bust?

Because they are cut for a chest measurement rather than for a bust, and the two need different shaping. A ready-made shirt adds width uniformly around the body, so the button between the bust points pulls while the waist stays loose. A drafted pattern puts the width where you actually need it — usually through a bust dart and a shaped side seam — which is why a made shirt closes flat and a bought one in the same size does not.

How many should I order at once?

Three or more usually makes sense, because the first shirt of any order carries the measuring and the pattern work while the rest are cloth and making. Once the pattern exists it stays on file, so a later order — a different cloth, a different collar, or five more of the same — needs no new appointment and can be placed from another country.