I was driven to James Fashion in Bangkok Thailand by my cab driver, without asking. I went in the check it out, not intending to buy anything. Finally I asked the cost of a taylor made silk skirt. The sales man said 2000 thai baht (about $50). So I considered buying one. I began looking at fabric and found 3 that I really liked. I could not decide which, and so the Salesman said, OK 3 skirts for 2000 baht. I said, 3 for 2000? He said yes. So I ordered 3 in the 3 fabrics.

When I got to my hotel, I looked at the bill and realized that he'd charged me for 3 at 2000 baht each! So, I called to cancel my order because I'd been mislead as to the cost. He said I could not cancel, and insisted I come in for a second fitting. I said no, I am cancelling, do not charge my card. Again he said I could not cancel, and he would send the taylor to my hotel to do a fitting. I said no, I don't want the skirts because I was lied to about the price. He said that I was not, that it was ridiculous to think that anyone would offer me 3 skirts for just 2000 baht! I didn't go for the fitting. I left without getting the skirts.

Next thing I know, I see a charge on my bank account from them. I called the bank to dispute it, but after research, they could not find that I took nothing from the store, so I had to pay. I'm still fighting.

Rain
Pt. Richmond, California
U.S.A.

Don't do business in Thailand is the message.

nding a good tailor in Thailand won't be easy, but it will be possible.

Here are six tips -- based on experience of living in Bangkok -- to help you find a good tailor. Maybe.

Easiest to follow someone else who has had good experiences at a certain shop. But, be careful even with that: people recommend only what they know. If they know only one shop, that's the one they'll recommend to you.

What To Buy: .

If you don't have a recommendation here are my suggestions:

(1) Do not enter enter any shop that has touts out front. A tout out front is a sure sign of worse pressure inside.

(2) Do not follow recommendations from taxi driver or bellboy. They can't afford tailor made clothes, so they don't know quality or value. But they will get a commission, which you will pay in the price of your order.

(3) Select a tailor _inside_ a 5-star hotel. If a tailor shop is dodgey, it won't last very long in the hotel.

(4) Select a tailor shop where the staff is _not_ East Indian. That means, the staff is Chinese-Thai. There are only a few such shops in Bangkok, perhaps 1% or less of all tailor shops. (East Indians reading this may feel offended. Volunteers in the "politically correct thought police" may feel outraged and complain to the moderators. I do not apologize for this fact: you will have a lower chance of being cheated by Chinese-Thai tailors, than by East Indian tailors)

(5) Select a tailor shop outside tourist areas. If you don't know the city, that will be awkward, but possible. Easiest is at a big shopping mall in the suburbs. The best malls for that purpose are named, "The Mall" -- a chain of malls all around Thailand, with several locations in Bangkok. Remember, in the suburbs, _not_ in tourist areas. If you see more than a few other Caucasians, you are not yet in the suburbs.

(6) Select a shop that displays Thai government uniforms in the window. That indicates they have Thai local customers. It will be impossible to find this sort of display in any tourist areas. Must go to the suburbs.
2000B is way too much for a shirt, and how do you know it is silk, did you do the ring test. I would dispute gain with your credit card and tell them they took the money unauthorised. Yet again you need to do your research extremely well.... Thai/Chinese are the best people to deal with in Thailand. I would send an e mail to James Tailors and copy and paste this site, mention there name is on Bangkok scams, also other sites as being unscrupulous as well. With prices like this your better of going to LL Bean in Maine at least you get what you pay for

We had dealings with James Tailor at one time, and he has a few other branches mascarading under other names as well. Nasty bits of work dont deal with them!

If these so called tailors shops are any good, why do they have to have people outside following you down the road to get a sale?

Rule one of getting business dont p*** off your customers before, during and after they buy!

People arent stupid, they may be intimidated at the time, but theyre not stupid and they dont keep quiet in telling their friends how crap these tailors places can be.

Feel sorry for the genuine tailors who are far outnumbered by the cheats and scammers.

On James' website they say they have been nominated by national geographic as top ten tailor in the world. Take a close look at the scan from the national geographic. Either the national geographic can not spell correctly (enormous lange & Bollt) and their grammar (see below in blue) is terrible or James are lying.

James' fake photocopy job:

http://www.james-fashion.com/quality.html

Max, its laughable, and I will write to National Geographic thanking them for the wonderful advice for this tailor!! I must remember to go there when I need new dish cloths hahahah.... James Tailors are absolute fakes

you can't cheat an honest man.

If you get custom clothes made in Thailand, you are a fool.

A taxi/tuk-tuk driver telling you that your destination is closed/burned down/no good is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Walk away and find another driver or make up a white lie "We went their yesterday, it was open" and see how they react (occasionally they are telling the truth!)

You were lied to by the driver and then threatened by him into entering a shop you didn't want to: did you honestly expect a happy ending? Of course he could have a friend in the police to help him in his scam, but it would have been easier to say "Fine, I'll speak to a police officer myself, tell him that you are threatening me" that would have made him scarper.

If you order clothes, insist on paying after inspecting the finished product and then pay in cash. An honest business who makes quality products would have no problem with this

Hey Jimmy. Does the P in your name stand for thieving prick?

Two years ago I bought two suites and a couple of shirts from Gulati. The cut was nice and the material on average. I did two fittings and overall result was good. This time I am going to provide fabrics directly from Italy

Actually, with the thousands of garments James puts out, they are bound to get one right!

Provide the fabrics from Italy?
Make sure they don't swap it out for cheap synthetics.
Thailand is really good at one thing.
Providing poor girls for the nitelife industry.

My partner and I were recently in Bangkok and both had suits, shirts, in my case, dresses and shirts made by James Tailors and we are very pleased indeed with the service and the quality of the garments. When they were delivered to our hotel, we needed some alterations done, but were leaving that day for Phuket. They did the alterations, posted them to their branch in Phuket and delivered them by car to our hotel from there. I am so pleased with everything, I have been looking at their website with a view to buying extra blouses. And while we were in the shop, a German couple came in to buy who have been having clothes made there for the past eight years. Can this be the same shop?

written by Max, Sun 18 Jan 2009 09:22:22 CST
On James' website they say they have been nominated by national geographic as top ten tailor in the world. Take a close look at the scan from the national geographic. Either the national geographic can not spell correctly (enormous lange & Bollt) and their grammar (see below in blue) is terrible or James are lying.

James' fake photocopy job:

http://www.james-fashion.com/quality.html Yes the sme one, and if you werent scammed then you were lucky, coz they have a dreadful reputation!

Quoting "(4) Select a tailor shop where the staff is _not_ East Indian. That means, the staff is Chinese-Thai. There are only a few such shops in Bangkok, perhaps 1% or less of all tailor shops. (East Indians reading this may feel offended. Volunteers in the "politically correct thought police" may feel outraged and complain to the moderators. I do not apologize for this fact: you will have a lower chance of being cheated by Chinese-Thai tailors, than by East Indian tailors)"

Did you know that JAMES Fashion is owned by Thai-Chinese? Not only james fashion but 99% of tailor shop who hire tuk tuk and taxi drivers to bring them customers.

My suggestion to people who are looking to purchase tailor made garments is to walk on sukhumvit road and see any tailor who seems to be busy with their work without any tout outside.

And if you are paying 4000 or 5000 baht a suit, you would get shit.

Fork out 10,000 and see the difference.

Again... learn to say no. I had shirts made in Kamala Beach in Phuket, only a couple of dozen shops in the whole town but half of them tailors, all had touts and several including ours (Mr Krishna) were run by Indians (I also susect that all had their orders actually made at the same factory by the same people, nevertheless) my shirts, tailor made in excellent fabrics cost me the equivalent of A$20 each, I'm still wearing them a year later and going back to get more. Negotiate, be friendly but be firm, you'll need to pay a deposit but pay in cash. William K's statement that "Thailand is good for one thing, providing girls for the night economy" may have something to do with what he goes there for. I wasn't there for that but I found the country beautiful, the people friendly, the food delicious and the hospitality outstanding.

I was taken to James Fashion bya Tuk-Tuk driver on April 16 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand. A friend and i both ordered $85 dollar blouses. We were not charged a dime over $85 and we got exactly what we paid for. I will admit we were watching out for scammers but were not aware that James Fashion were scam artists. I jsut know they did not scam us that i know of.

I do know we went to a travel agency and bought a Tour the same Tuk-tuk driver took us to. We found out later we could have gotten it cheaper from our Hotel's service. Live and learn i guess.

85$ for a blouse in Thailand.
That is funny.
15$ would be about right.

Why in the world would you use a credit card in Thailand?

"Why in the world would you use a credit card in Thailand? "

@Mike, I think you mean a non-Thai credit card right?

mike


I use my paypal card and citibank visa with no problems in bkk and hkt.

they have a good level of protection for fraud

( at least so far so good for me)

Weird. I had a good experience with James Fashion back in 2003, and was planning to return to them later this year when I visit Thailand again. A friend and I had some really nice silk and linen shirts made, and the price was excellent. (About $15 apiece.) The shirts have held up very well, too.

Lead to this shop by our tour guide- saw loads of other tourists in there!!

Kept on showing us brochures of luxury brands and mentioning about the quality of their cotton- it was crap!

Never really thought of it as a scam as we were never interested in purchasing suits/shirts etc

I got a Taxi and the driver wanted to take me there,I m sure its the same shop, he said he got money to bring people to the shop, so I said ok, you can take us so you get paid, as he said he got paid even if we didnt buy anything, it looked ok inside though I thought the shoes were pricey, I got a pair of dress pants made which were the same price as off the pegg ones from the uk, they even brought it to my hotel, my advice would be pay cash as they cant charge you more this way, I ve got to say Im very happy with my pants,
also noticed a lot of Tailers in Pattaya first time I walked down beech road I must have shaken hands 5 times with various Tailors, they also have a habit of saying I no your brother just to spark up a chat, we ended up just walking past as if they were invisable in the end, it works.

Hi there,

I had a suit and quite a few shirts made up by James Taylor in Thailand when I went there with my wife on our honeymoon a few years ago. I have to say the suit is amazing and the quality of the cut and the material is superb. I think there may be a few tailors using the same name to confuse. The e-mail address in the pocket is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and the make is James Taylor Fashion International. I can't remember where it was in Bangkok but the premises were impressive.

I think the key is that if you are looking to get a suit made, make sure you get the transport there yourself then you are under no obligation and no commissions are to be paid out.

As in any country, you get what you pay for. When I first went in I looked first and foremost at the quality of the material. You can get cheap suits for a cheap price, but the key there is the labour cost is cheaper so spend your money on the material and you can't go wrong. Also a guide is how many fittings there are and also ask to take a look at the suits in progress.

My wife also had some dresses made, but they were a disaster, not from a fit point of view but she got carried away with fabrics that looked ok in Thailand but not great when we came back home.

Enjoy the experience. Another way to find a good tailor is ask the concierge at a good hotel or expats from embassies.. There was another good place opposite James Taylor where President Clinton went. I'm sure you couldn't go wrong there either!

Happy shopping.

I had a tuxedo made. Really REALLY good quality, 10,000 baht. The men who dealt with me were east Indians, but the men who measured me up definitely looked Chinese. The tuxedo is amazing. Such good quality. A policeman who took us out to dinner suggested it because he said when he has to get his ceremonial uniform, he gets it made there (the army as well). 5 piece tuxedo, red silk vest, Kashmir jacket, a perfect fit. Looks like something I could walk down a red carpet in. I found places willing to make me the same tuxedo for 6,000, or a suit for 3,500, but my gut instinct said go with James Fashion. Oh and about the tuktuks, of course they get commission and fuel vouchers, that's just how Thailand works, get over it or stay home.

I noticed that the posts seem to be interchanging Jame's Fashions and James Tailors. They are across the street from each other. I recently purchased some suits and blouses from Jame's Fashions. In retrospect, I could have bargained more. Some things to keep in mind - proper tailoring takes multiple visits (this is true wherever you are), the salesman are assertive and pushy and you need to be just as assertive and pushy. They will push to deliver to your hotel. Push to visit their store for all fittings. In all, I went three times and ended up with nicely fitting clothes. Had I picked up after 1 or 2 fittings I would have been unhappy. I would suggest getting everything in writing. They will give you a receipt, but make sure that it has everything that they have in "the book" and details what you're getting so there's no dispute later. Use a credit card. It will give you some protection that cash won't. Adjust your expectations. A high quality product isn't going to be had so the bargain basement prices that you see advertised.

I live in bangkok and have done for nearly 8 years - ive tried and array of tailors and since a mix of experiences always stayed with Gulati on corner of nana Soi 3 - Sam and Jez offer a good service and if there have ever been things im not happy with theyve made changes as and when required.

Thanks for the tip Apples, but how do we know your not Sam, Jez or even Gulati biggin up your shop?

Tailors: James Tailor Fashion

It all might look quite fancy and high quality. They even have bodygards in front of their doors and do also pick up from your hotel. The guys there know how to make a customer to feel like you are in good hands. BUT you are not. They can even show you the "Best of Best"book in which they are mentioned in as one of the best tailors in Bangkok.

Don't buy anything there. The material they show you looks quite good but after one time wearing it you see that it is the biggest crap.
My wife's dresses were very badly tailored and after one time wearing there were already holes in the dresses.
I bought two suits which were quite OK at the beginning but after one time wearing it the material looks and feels like the ones from the 80ies!

It was so a ripoff the worst thing we ever bought in our life!

What was the cost Klaus?

We also had very good experience having clothes made and altered by James Tailor. they try to please.

@Janna, oh really now! So if I go and get a suit made by " James Fashion " and it falls apart after a weeks wear, will you reimburse me?

i had problem with taylor shop, janna, are you marry to mr james

I have bought from Gulati many times both face to face and from the UK. I have had one suit 10 years and I am still wearing it regularly. They speak great English and in my experience have been true to their word.

Andy Knapp

I have bought from Gulati many times both face to face and from the UK. I have had one suit 10 years and I am still wearing it regularly. They speak great English and in my experience have been true to their word.

I lived in SFO for a time and got scammed there....it can happen anywhere. Gulati looked after me (and my friends(.

Andy Knapp

@Andy Knapp, totally disagree, I had a really bad experience with Gulati, and will NEVER go back. By the way, why did you use a capital letter only in the surname (strange)? Are you English, no, are you an employee of Gulati, yes! Better luck next time my friend, ha, ha, blo... hee.

@David, I too don't believe Andy Knapp, its obvious he's trying to give some positive publicity Gulati. A message for Gulati, give the customer more then they expect and you'll have a queue of people outside your shop! But you, as most Thai /Chinese business people prefer to shoot themselves in the foot.

Once a cabbie told me he'd drive me to Kao San from Nana for free if I stopped at James Fashion and this other place that makes wallets and belts out of stringrays. It was quite nice buying 5 pairs of trousers custom made out of Italian fabric. They said dry clean only but I machine washed them and 6 years later they have held up better than a pair of Levis. James Fashions was the best Tailor Shop experience in the world with those great resident Bangkok Seik dudes that spoke great english and delivered the trousers to my hotel a week later. I cannot find the place now but with the weak dollar and all the cheap Chinese goods here it is probably not that great a deal any more. I met a sharp lawyer from LA and she spent several thousand at James on yuppie ladywear for back home after she was just made partner. She agreed. The drivers WILL lie like rugs to veer you to their commission or petro coupon. BEWARE and don't close the door unless the cabbie can communicate, knows where to take you and that meter is flipped. Bangkok has great boat, rail and bus transport and taxis should be avoided.

Too the dude above, can you prove what you say about " James Fashion " or are we all to believe what you say? I'll just say, your talking from your rear end.

I bought 2 suits and 2 shirts and got 3 ties for free. Total sum 16.000 baht.
The service was impecaple and the suits look like a million bucks!! I have no complaints what so ever!

James Fashion rules!

Btw regarding taxis in Bangkok I had zero problems, just aske them to use the meter. Its so damn cheap it's ridiculous!

There are crooks everywhere in this world but I didnt see any in Thailand - Love Thailand love Bangkok

Yes yes I know I could have gotten 3000 baht suits in other places, but Im happy with mine and they cost a fraction of the price in my home country.

James Fashion FTW

@Christian, I don't believe you, because I got a suit made last week by " James Fashion " and it fell apart this afternoon whilst I was giving a presentation to my CEO! I will NEVER EVER set foot in James Fashion again, you've all been warned.

Christian, how long have you been working at " James Fashion "?

I just got back from bangkok... i was at gulati and was treated extremely well there... made a suit, with 2 extra pants, and an array of 6 shirts... gf also made 3 shirts there... it all came out splendid! the fitting was perfectly done! i made a suit at armani about a block away and it sucked... the gulati suit cost me 8000 baht and the armani one was 3000... the armani one was off a couple of times and after multiple fittings, still cant match the gulati one no matter what... i love the service gulati provides and the quality of their goods... would really love to get back there soon for a visit... i say this out of gratefulness at the good deals that gulati gave me...

@jeRm, everyone knows that James Fashion can't make anything that won't fall apart after a week, why are you biggin them up, do youhave any vested interests perhaps?

After a guided half day trip, me and my girl were brought to James Fashion after a stop first at a jewelry shop. I had a strange feeling and were suspiscous. But I´ve made a stop earlier at another taylor shop and were thinking of to get a suit. After all talk about quality and recommendations, I said I was interested, but didn´t really have the time. My flight home was next day and we had other things planned. Then the salesman said to me we could do the fitting right no. Then another salesman said something to him in a foreign language and looked harsed to him. And my salesman suddenly changed his mind and said we do the fitting early morning the nextday. I got the deal and were very satisfied with the suit. However I have this strong feeling that their suits are premade and that they only meassure you to know what size you are. This feeling gets stronger when you think at it afterwards and recons that he always recommended you to choose between 2-3 different models and then 2-3 different colors. I said I wanted a special cut on the shirt and wanted it realy short. He recommended me to not. But I told him thats how i wanted it. When I recieved the suit at the hotel the next morning I was really happy with the quality and the fitting of both suit and shirt. But I noticed that the non regular things I asked for the shirt was missing. Wich makes more me believe that it´s all premade and not taylor made for you!

@Sammy the swede, well done for sussing them out, I too thought there was something strange about the fitting and them insisting on delivering the suit to my hotel. I dismissed it at first and after reading your email above, the puzzle is now complete. I just can't believe the way these people do it with the biggest smile I've ever seen, really two faced!

I heard from a tailor/bar owner over a few drinks, after i had purchased a long jacket in James, that the tuk tuk drivers get 300 baht for each drop off (no sale necessary) and up to 35percent on any thing bought by a dropped off "customer". Probably all to be taken with a pinch of salt but He also told me that all suits were mass made in the same factory for all the tailors and that the materials and machinists were the same. of course then he offered me a suit for alot less..... James are supposed to keep their more expensive material upstairs and the cheap crap downstairs so if you are going to get ripped off by these people at least take some good fabric!?! I was green in Bangkok traveling around Thailand for a few months now and I'm dreading returning to James for my Coat I'm quite large so not easy to find such a jacket for such a price at home in Ireland that's if it is what i wanted in the first place... sure C'est la vie... live and learn I guess.

I am aware buying the jacket was silly when i had so much time but i need to sort out my finances.... silly Impromptu thought i guess. It's done now!! :S

If you are going to bargain... walk and ask for the tuk tuk money discounted after some time here I've noticed that you can't beat asking, keeping calm bargaining and drinking as much free beer, tea coffe, food as you can.... Do a shop crawl for a night on the tear ;) use the system. get a tuk tuk to take you free where ever you want to go tell him you'll stop for his "fuel voucher" walk in keep calm and buy nothing! free travel in Bangkok just leave a little earlier and take in a few extra attractions.... Highway men of the highest degree!! definitely worth seeing them in action... Did i mention the free beer?

Bejesus Sean, I'll be down there tomorrow evening, thanks.

Reading all these comments I guess that we have to be very careful reagrding the exact names of various tailor shops. My experience with JAMES TAILOR was just outstanding. They were punctual, efficient, polite and technically first class.

two weeks ago in March 2010 I bought 5 suits and 18 shirts from them - the tailor was Charlie, a very good man. No doubt about it - a first class job, top quality job and good value.

Probably not the cheapest but great value.

Have to disagree with Nick above, I had the complete opposite experience at " James Tailor " so either Nick is working for the forementioned tailors or I'm lying? Take your pick readers?

All of the different comments are confusing to me. I was in Thailand 5 years ago and was taken to James Tailor by a can driver. I bought a Manradin collar suit, 3 shirts, 2 blouses and 4 pairs of trouser for about $800 US. I have been very satisfied with everything except 2 mandarin collar shirts where the top button doesn't close exactly right. I will be in Bangkok again in Jan.2011 and plan to buy more things at James unles someone comes up with a better idea.

My friend works for a tailor in Bangkok.
99% of the shops are rip offs.
The shop pays the seamstress(15 year old girl) 200 baht to sew it together.
The shop gets the fabric for free on consignment and pays around 1,000 baht for the material (after you pay).
They deliver it on a motorbike taxi for 20 baht.
See, most shops have less than 1,300 baht invested in that suit.

Now you know.

That sounds about right Bangkoker, I too heard this is what tailors do as my wifes father owns a sweat shop factorym that makes up these clothes.

Do not go to "Jimmy's Finest Tailoring" 73/6 Corner of Soi 3/1 Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok. I learned the hard way. They substituted high-quality fabrics for cheap ones.

Gulati Tailors on Sukhumvit and Soi 3 is owned by East Indians and delivery top quality products at a fair price, and have for twenty years that I have been going there.

W

Wes, thats funny, because when Gulati made up my suit, it fell to pieces in less then a month!

I've had my Gulati suits 3yrs now, no major problems, aside from the odd button coming off which could happen on any suit, went there for suits during a holiday as a family friend lived there a long time and recommended them. Not sure if name dropping got me a better product but I'm surprised to hear people say they are poor. I've had Saville Row tailoring and it is probably better fabric from SR, however I also bought another made to measure in England and its not as good as gulati which was qtr price. Maybe I was lucky, but Gulati do get 'local' recommendations...

Hi this is Robert buy suits in khaoson road VIP tailor small but realy good quality and good price pay 5000 bath they have 3000 also 7500 bath I buy just standdat quality

ThiS is special for mr Stan haidi my name is Robert I have my shop in khaosan road we have three shop we have fore diffrend quality for suit I know you by suits in james fashion is all ways expensive you sad 1suits 3 shirts2blouse and4pants yes and you pay 800$ same price you can gat for 2more suits suits quality is best primium top quality as I sad we have fore diffrend quality normail medial good and best primium top is send me a mail before you come to Bangkok send me mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it / This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you have time you go to YouTube overseastailor you can see me at thear

Advice to everyone, beware of all tailors, including the guy above, just do some research before commiting to one!

Wow, I am surprised to find so many complaints about this tailor.

I travelled to Bangkok 2 years ago with my husband and we bought 2 mens business suits, 2 mens business shirts, 1 ladies evening jacket and 1 ladies winter coat. All were beautifully made, very very reasonably priced (the dollar was very stong at the time which also helped). I found the service excellent, not pushy at all. They were very patient and helpful, gave us free drinks in the shops, paid for our taxi's to and from the shop (they actually gave us too much money for the taxi so we pocketed the change) and delivered the finished garments to our hotel along with free gifts: 6 silk ties and a beautiful ladies scarf.

Today all the clothing remains in excellent condition, except the suit pants which are starting to wear between the legs (mind you this happens with all suits pants - even the most expensive ones). I have highly recommended this shop to family and friends and intend to return to the shop later this year when I return to Bangkok.

Also, for the record - I am in no way connected with James Tailor, I am simply a very satisfied customer.

Something funny is going on with this shop. I went to get a second fitting on three suits and picked up a cab outside the Millenium Hilton. I told him I wanted to go to James Tailor and he proceeded to drive right around the Bangkok expressway ring road. He even ran out of fuel and his mate had to turn up in another taxi. In all it took over three hours to get to the shop and watsed an afternoon.
I refused to pay the cab fare, and walked back to Tha Tien pier and got the boat back to my hotel. You live and learn !!

first tip off it mite be a scam is they ask when you are leaving thailand.

if they are in on the scam they will keep the final work to the time you are about to leave, and know you will not be around to cause problems.

" Also, for the record - I am in no way connected with James Tailor, I am simply a very satisfied customer. "

Can you prove that Kate, why so many compalints about this tailor, it must be " a place your bets type " of tailor?