Travel Tip of the Day: My Favorite Thai Tailor Coming to a City Near You

My Favorite Thai Tailor Touring the US this Week
I’m not much of a shopper when I travel. In fact, I usually travel with only carry-on bags so I have no room whatsoever for souvenirs, except maybe a shot glass for my dad (he has quite the collection). However, when I travel to Bangkok, I almost always bring (or buy) an extra bag to check. That’s because everything in Thailand is so inexpensive—especially tailored clothes.

When I was in Bangkok in late October to see my wife speak at the TBEX (Travel Bloggers Exchange) conference, I met Scott Eddy, who was also speaking at the conference, and he told me about a fantastic tailor that he’s been going to for the last nine years.

It had been a few years since I’d bought a suit, so it was time, but I wasn’t going to pull the trigger unless the price was right. I walked into Jackie’s (137 Corner Soi 9, Sukhumvit Road), which is an old school tailor shop conveniently located next to the BTS Nana Station stop and met the two owners. Aman and Nicholas are brothers who took over the shop from their father, who started it back in 1969. Like many tailors in Bangkok, these guys are of Indian descent but they’ve lived in Bangkok their whole lives.

They told me to choose the fabric, color and patterns that I wanted and took my measurements. It was a little daunting but exciting at the same time to make so many choices right away. There’s so much to choose from that your head starts to spin. I wanted a fabric that wasn’t cheap and wouldn’t wrinkle so they told me it would cost around $430 US, but that price included three shirts.

I looked around and picked out my fabric, and then they asked what I wanted the inner lining of the jacket to be. Something conservative or flashy? Since no one sees the inside, I wanted something flashy but of course, not over the top. I asked if they had any fabric with a world map on it and sure enough, they did. Score! I ended up choosing a dark navy suit with a pale blue lining and my name—”Johnny Jet”—written on the inside in red.

I had to go back the next day for a fitting and since they needed to do a couple of adjustments, I needed to make one more trip back. When the suit was finished, they couriered it to my hotel room the night before I departed Bangkok.

Tip: If you aren’t planning to wear the suit immediately, have them pack everything so it’s folded. It’s much easier to pack.

I loved everything about the process and the suit. The only thing I didn’t like is that I decided to get a stiff new collar that scratches my neck on a couple of the shirts, so I can’t wear them. But I’ll definitely be buying more from them. And what makes it even better is that you don’t even need to travel to Bangkok to order from Jackie’s. They have such a huge customer base based on referrals that one of the brothers, Aman, is constantly traveling around. He comes to the US twice a year, including this week. He brings swatches of all the patterns with him and measures clients head to toe.

If you’re interested in meeting with Aman, you can email him at jackstailor (@) yahoo.com for an appointment. Thanks to my friend and colleague Mary Jo Manzanares for alerting me to the locations and dates of where Aman will be (see below) while touring the United States. You can visit Aman in his hotel room or he can possibly come to you.

• December 14th — Philadelphia, Baltimore
• December 15th — Raleigh
• December 16th — Fort Lauderdale
• December 17th — Portland (Oregon)
• December 18th — Seattle
• December 19th — Seattle, San Francisco
• December 20th — San Francisco
• December 21st — Las Vegas
• December 22nd — New York City

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