Hello everyone, and welcome to another of my reviews. In this article, I’ll review a new suit commission from the Bangkok tailor Boss Apparels.
While returning from shopping at MBK Centre, I chanced upon Boss Apparels, located next to the National Stadium train station. A quick Google search revealed that Boss Apparels has an impressive 4.9/5 Google Rating, prompting me to try them out. Let’s see how my experience went.
Boss Apparels – the Video
For hands-on footage of my experience with Boss Apparels, do watch the YouTube video below:
Boss Apparels – the Experience
Being located right at the exit of National Stadium station, Boss Apparels’ showroom is hard to miss.
The showroom is the most spacious of all the Bangkok tailors I’ve visited. The walls are lined with a myriad of fabric rolls, offering the customer many choices.
The same goes for shirting fabrics—there’s a staggering amount to choose from. Aside from the variety, Boss Apparels also practices price transparency, where prices are clearly stated upfront. This is not always the case with Bangkok tailors, who often don’t have a fixed price list, resulting in customers (usually tourists) overpaying for sub-par fabrics or construction.
Mack (the boss of Boss Apparels) tells me that many tourists fall into tailoring tourist traps. They follow tuk-tuk/taxi drivers to tailoring stores, which mark up the price to pay a hefty commission to the tuk-tuk/taxi drivers. Mack feels so strongly against the matter that he even put up a cautionary sign in his shop.
My initial impression of Mack was that he was clearly passionate about his job (and was slightly angry at those he felt were besmirching the reputation of Thai tailors). Undoubtedly, such passion led him to be recognised domestically, having won many awards since founding Boss Apparels in 1992.
Mack first orientated me by showing me the construction of his finished garments.
For example, Mack highlighted that his jackets possess softly padded shoulders, allowing the shoulders (and consequently the sleeves) to drape naturally on the wearer.
At this point, I was served complimentary coffee from the neighbouring cafe, Beans & Brew. Mack explained that his son had recently established the cafe and was trying to help promote it by offering free cups to his customers.
Out of curiosity, I decided to visit the cafe. The ambience is cosy and inviting – the perfect respite from Bangkok’s traffic and heat.
I was impressed by the cafe’s professional equipment, which the staff adeptly handled. I recognised it as a DFC machine, which tends to cost around 20,000 USD—it’s definitely on the higher end.
I tried the cafe’s hand-dripped filtered coffee, which was aromatic and robust. I’m no coffee connoisseur, so I can’t expound on the specifics of the bean’s origins or roast, but it was a mean cup of coffee.
After a quick coffee fix, I returned to Boss Apparels, and consulted with Mack on the suiting fabric. After pouring through the rows of fabrics on offer, I eventually decided upon a textured black fabric from the B+ package, which is priced at 9,500 THB for a suit.
In terms of material, the fabric is a poly-mix. I would say the quality is similar to what I got from Michael Tailors. It’s serviceable, but nothing to shout about. To spice up the look, I opted for a double-breasted style with peak lapels for additional flair.
If you’re looking for premium fabrics, Boss Apparels also carries them from esteemed European mills such as VBC and Holland & Sherry.
I also decided to get a shirt done. Seeing that I was wearing a pastel pink shirt, Mack suggested a pastel yellow shirting fabric, which he said would complement my skin tone. While pale yellow wouldn’t have been my first (or second) pick, I decided to be adventurous and went along with Mack’s suggestion.
With the fabrics selected, Mack proceeded to take my measurements. It was immediately clear that he has a ton of experience in measuring bodies. For example, he remarked that I don’t like to wear ties and said he could tell from the shape and muscles of my neck. Longtime readers will know I subscribe to Richard Branson’s belief that “wearing a tie is like wearing a noose around your neck”, and thus rarely wear ties in my reviews. Mack’s attention to detail astounded me – it’s something that can only be honed through decades of experience.
The next day, I returned to Boss Apparels for my basted fitting session. Like most Bangkok tailors, the basted fitting is supervised by a dedicated jacket fitter. This is par for the course for more traditional tailors such as Boss Apparels and Rajawongse Clothier, even Singaporean ones such as Mohan’s or Ehkay Corner Tailors. Conversely, younger tailors like Galaxy Tailors tend to supervise the fittings themselves.
For those uninitiated with tailoring, a basted fitting process is where the tailor will let you try on a skeleton jacket, held together by temporary white basting stitches. For more information on the basted fitting stage, read this educational article here. To me, a basted fitting stage is essential to a true tailoring experience. To quote a line from the aforementioned article: “It’s the difference between flying first class and flying on a private jet.”
The baste fitting allows the tailor to adjust the skeleton garment. In my case, the jacket fitter felt that the jacket was a tad too long and used pins and chalk—quintessential tools of the trade—to denote the necessary alterations.
As always, the most problematic area is my back, which didn’t drape cleanly due to my sloped shoulders and concave back. The team spent a good ten minutes adjusting the back – you can see the fitter pinning up the sides of the back for a better fit.
This also highlights the importance of a basted fitting – making these adjustments to a finished garment would be much more difficult.
After pinning up the necessary areas of the back, the fitter then attaches the sleeves. This ensures that the sleeves drape nicely and also allows the fitter to double-check the length.
At this point, I was impressed by the meticulousness of the fitting. However, I was less sold on the colour combination—I increasingly felt that the pastel yellow shirt clashed with the black suit.
That being said, I was happy with the shirt’s fit, so I decided to get another shirt done specifically to be worn with the black suit. After browsing through the shirting fabrics again, I eventually decided on a textured maroon fabric. Maroon and black is a tried-and-tested colour combination, but not as boring as white with black.
Before I left, Mack also suggested that I take in the trousers, which would result in a more contemporary look.
I returned to Boss Apparels the following day to collect the finished garments. From the offset, I could tell that the necessary alterations had been made, as the finished suit fit like a glove, with the back draping astoundingly well. Notice how the back follows the arch of my body—that’s hard to achieve, especially with a lead time of three days.
Unfortunately, the red shirt was not yet ready for collection, so Mack said he would mail it to my Singapore residence when it was completed.
Boss Apparels – Suit Review
I’ve since received the red shirt. Let’s now take a closer look at the fit and finish of my suit from Boss Apparels.
The front fits well, with the shoulders lying flat without any bunching. The shoulders are thinly padded, which allows the sleeves to drape naturally. There’s slight tapering around the waist, while the jacket length is appropriate as it ends right around the base of my thumbs.
I’m also pleased with the sleeve pitch, which drapes well. This is not easy to achieve, as the sleeve pitch is dependent on one’s posture. In addition, the jacket also lies flat on the shirt without an unsightly collar gap – a detail that lesser tailors miss.
The drape of the back is great – I would say it’s even better than Rajawongse Clothier. Mack and his team paid close attention to my back during the basted fitting, and the results speak for themselves. It’s remarkably impressive, especially given the short 3-4 day lead time.
The rest of the suit is fairly standard. Firstly, the poly-wool suiting fabric is serviceable, with a slight texture for some visual interest. The fabric feels similar in quality to my Gentlemen’s Atelier suit, which costs $539 and comes without the shirt.
The jacket also features an in-built pocket square made from the suit’s red lining. It provides convenience to the wearer, especially for those who don’t wear suits regularly and thus may not own pocket squares.
The wide peak lapels lend an extra flair to the suit, giving the wearer additional presence.
While there are a variety of double-breasted button patterns, I chose the classic 6×2 configuration, which is also the most versatile. The tone-on-tone black buttons keep the look subtle, allowing the contrasting red pocket square and shirt to stand out. Unfortunately, the lapel roll is lacking due to the suit’s fused construction.
On the plus side, the buttons are hand-shanked, which provides the fabric space to drape in when buttoned. This increases the buttons’ durability and lifespan and is often only seen at higher-end tailors.
On the inside, the maroon lining provides a nice juxtaposition to the matte black suiting fabric. Pipe stitching runs down the edges of the lining—a nice sartorial touch.
As always, I opted for side adjusters on my trousers – having belt loops on tailored clothing would be ironic.
I would describe Boss Apparels’ cut as classic—very similar to Rajawongse Clothier. It’s not as conservative as Michael Tailors, but it’s also not as modern as Narry Bespoke Tailors. As a result, the suit is versatile and appropriate for a wide variety of scenarios.
Overall, I enjoyed my suit from Boss Apparels. The fit is phenomenal for the price, and I appreciate the classic (I would say it’s slightly retro) cut. I’ll put it this way—the look is less Song Joong-Ki in Vincenzo and more Tong Leung in the Goldfinger. The look doesn’t reinvent the wheel or command attention but allows the subtle details to shine. In other words, this suit from Boss Apparels exudes sophistication without being ostentatious.
Conclusion – so Boss Apparels “shiok” or not?
If you’re looking for the best fit for your buck, it’s hard to find a better tailor than Boss Apparels. I found the fitting process at Boss Apparels to be thorough and meticulous, with Mack’s attention to detail translating to a well-fitting suit. Furthermore, the prices are reasonable and transparent – you don’t have to worry about getting ripped off here. Boss Apparel’s classic cut should also appeal to a wide variety of tastes and will be appropriate for both work and events. Admittedly, the fashion advice is a tad questionable (the pale yellow shirt should be paired with earth tones apparels like Khaki, not Black), but if you know what you want (navy suit/white shirt, etc) then the value proposition of Boss Apparels is hard to beat.
Suits from Boss Apparels start from just 6,000 THB (~S$234), with shirts starting from 1,500 THB (~S$58). My particular poly-wool suit from the “B+” suiting range costs 9,500 THB (~S$370), which I believe to be a great starting point for those new to the world of tailoring. Those interested in commissioning clothing from Boss Apparels can quote the promo code “WAHSOSHIOK” or flash this post in-store to enjoy a free shirt with a minimum purchase of 10,000 THB. As the icing on the cake, customers also get to enjoy free cups of coffee from Beans & Brew next door – what’s not to like?
Book an appointment with Boss Apparels here.
Boss Apparels’ Location: Rama I Rd, Wang Mai, Pathum Wan District, Bangkok, Thailand,10330
P.S: Check out The Shiok Store here – it serves as a curation of my favourite products from my favourite brands.
P.P.S: Do check out the new “Discounts!” page for exclusive discounts for Wah so Shiok readers! More brands will be added very soon – stay tuned!
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P.P.P.P.S Shiok is a common word Singaporeans use to express admiration or approval. As of 2016, you can find the definition of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary.
