Hello everyone, and welcome to another of my reviews. In this article, I’ll review a new suit commission from Bangkok tailor Michael Tailors.
While shopping for electronics in the renowned MBK centre, I chanced upon Michael Tailors, who has a showroom on the first floor. I quickly searched them up on Google, and discovered that they have an impressive Google rating of 4.9/5 (with over 150 reviews). I thus decided to give them a shot – let’s see how my experience went.
Michael Tailors – the Video
For hands-on footage of my experience with Michael Tailors, do watch the YouTube video below:
Michael Tailors – the Experience
Michael Tailors is located in Zone D of MBK Centre, next to Pathumwan Princess Hotel.
I’ll be honest – my first impression of Michael Tailors’ showroom was that it was…unassuming. The storefront feels a tad cramped, and the decor looks stuck in the 1990s.
However, I was struck by the friendliness of the staff, whose personality brightened up the dated storefront. In particular, they conveyed that they could do the fittings in my hotel room at my convenience. Given the absurd nature of Bangkok traffic, that sounded like a godsend, so I decided to try them out.
I was first served by Louis, who introduced me to the packages available. He whipped out his phone and showed me the package pricing on the website – I appreciated the transparency in pricing, which is not always the case with affordable tailors.
Although the shop isn’t the largest, its walls are lined with dozens of fabric rolls. Louis invited me to take my pick, and I enjoyed the old-school feel of pulling out the fabric rolls.
If you’re interested in a fabric, the staff will pull out the roll and unravel it for you. Seeing the fabric in its entirety allows you to better determine if it’s your cup of tea, especially compared to viewing/touching mere swatches in a fabric book.
In my instance, Louis took the fabric I was interested in and draped it over my body, allowing me to accurately envision wearing the fabric. While I was initially interested in a greyish houndstooth fabric (see picture above), I felt it didn’t complement my complexion well.
Louis then broke out his fabric books, and I poured through them to see if there were any I liked. I found myself being drawn to a dark green fabric in one of the books and relayed my preference to Louis.
After deciding on the fabric, we moved on to the measurements, which were done by Roger. I asked Louis about the change in personnel, who relayed that they practice specialisation of labour – he usually handles the consultation with the customer, while Roger is more adept at measurements.
Roger felt competent with the measuring tape and took my measurements speedily. If you’re interested in seeing more of the measurement process, check out my YouTube video here.
The next day, I arranged for Michael Tailors to have the fitting in my hotel room. This time, I was joined by Robin, who specialises in the fitting process. It’s important to note that Michael Tailors doesn’t employ the basted fitting process, so those looking for a true tailoring experience will be disappointed.
During the first fitting, several issues stood out to me. Firstly, the armholes are cut too high, resulting in slight pinching. Secondly, the sleeve pitch of my right sleeve was less than ideal. Thirdly, the jacket felt a tad boxy, so I requested for the waist to be tapered further.
As for the shirt, there was substantial wrinkling caused by my uneven shoulders. Robin took note of this and used pins to denote the necessary alterations. Look at how he keeps his pins in his mouth (please don’t try this at home) – it’s clear this isn’t his first rodeo.
Lastly, I also relayed that I felt the side-adjusters were too long and “flappy” – Robin immediately conveyed that shortening them would not be a problem.
The following day, Robin came down to my hotel again for the second fitting. Right off the bat, I noticed that most of the issues that I identified the day earlier had been resolved, resulting in an eminently better-fitting suit.
This time around, I simply pointed out that the padding on one of the shoulders looks overcut, resulting in slight shoulder divots. Once again, Robin used his pins to mark the necessary alterations and promised to have the finished suit delivered to my hotel before I check out the day after.
Michael Tailors – Suit Review
Let’s look closer at the fit and finish of my suit from Michael Tailors.
Firstly, the fit of the shoulders is good – the fabric lies flat without any bunching. There’s also a slight tapering around the waist, which directly results from the alterations made during the fitting. The sleeve length is good too, exposing about half an inch of shirt cuff. However, the jacket is on the longer side, ending near the middle of my thumb.
During the fitting, I asked Robin if the jacket could be shortened, but he relayed that in his opinion, a proper suit jacket should be long enough to cover the crotch. Although I felt that shortening the jacket would elongate my legs, I decided to leave the jacket’s length untouched. When I review tailors, I try to showcase their “house style” for my readers, so you will be able to decide if their style is your cup of tea. For example, Narry Bespoke Tailors cut their jacket significantly shorter. Which looks better depends on your needs and personal preferences – a politician or a banker may prefer the more conservative cut of Michael Tailors, while someone who works in the creative field may prefer the more modern cut of Narry Bespoke Tailors.
While a tailor’s “house style” is subjective, certain aspects of fit are objective, such as the sleeve pitch. I was pleased to see that the sleeves drape nicely without any wrinkling, which isn’t easy as this depends on the individual’s posture. The jacket also lies neatly on the shirt collar without an unsightly collar gap – a detail that some affordable tailors miss.
The fit of the back is decent, though one can see substantial wrinkling on the lower right back. This is where the lack of a basted fitting hurts the fit slightly – without a basted fitting, it is difficult for the tailor to accommodate my sloped shoulders.
The drape of the trousers is up to par, with a no-break look that gently brushes against the top of my Customwelt shoes.
I liked the dark green fabric, which I found to complement my skin tone nicely, especially when paired with brown accessories. If you don’t have a dark green suit, I encourage you to explore similar shades – it’s versatile enough for both work and events.
Michael Tailors has a range of fabrics, with suiting packages (inclusive of one shirt) starting from 7000 Baht/~S$259. Those entry-level fabrics are mostly polyester, so I decided to opt for the next package tier, which is priced at 10000 Baht/~S$370. For S$370, the fabric is mixed wool, and – though nowhere near luxurious – is satisfactory to wear. The fabric feels similar in quality to my Gentlemen’s Atelier suit, which costs $539 and comes without the shirt.
Despite the affordable price, the jacket comes with a few bells and whistles. Firstly, there’s an in-built pocket square (made from the lining of the suit), providing convenience for the wearer.
The buttons are also shanked, which provides the fabric space to drape in when buttoned. This increases the durability and lifespan of the buttons and is a sign of good workmanship.
Another hallmark of quality tailoring is surgeon cuffs, which refer to functional sleeve buttons.
On the inside, I chose a baby blue paisley lining which gives the suit a bit of character. There’s also pipe stitching running down the edges of the inner lining, which is a lovely detail to see.
As always, I went with side adjusters on my trousers for a cleaner look.
Overall, I appreciate this dark green suit from Michael Tailors – it’s a no-frills suit that gets the job done. The suit is versatile, the fit is decent, and the jacket even has a few bells and whistles that punch above its affordable price point.
Conclusion – so Michael Tailors “shiok” or not?
The unique selling point of Michael Tailors is its convenience – you only need to head down once for fabric selection and initial measurements. Thereafter, you can enjoy the fittings in the comfort of your hotel room, at a time of your choosing, with the completed suit sent up to your room. Given how congested traffic in the Sukhumvit area can get, this allows those with busy itineraries to get a tailor-made suit without having to worry about rushing to appointments. The eventual suit is also decent, and budget-friendly – what’s not to like?
Suiting packages (inclusive of one shirt) at Michael Tailors start at 7000 Baht/~S$259. This particular suit and shirt costs 10000 Baht/~S$370. For those interested in commissioning a suit from Michael Tailors, quoting the promo code ‘WAHSOSHIOK’ or presenting this post in-store will grant you a 10% discount on all suiting packages. After the discount, suiting packages from Michael Tailors would start from just 6300 Baht/~S$233, making them one of the cheapest options in downtown Bangkok.
Book an appointment with Michael Tailors here.
Michael Tailors Location: Mbk center, G-floors, zone -D ( end of zone -D ) Room 1D-09, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
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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.
