Tailor made clothing

Hello Everyone,

In less than a month now I will be going to India for about 3 weeks! Among the many things we're hoping to do there, I'm hoping to have a few items of clothing tailor made. Specifically I'm hoping to get a suit tailor made, a few collared shirts tailor made and then possibly provide a t shirt for a self made design to either be embroidered or printed onto it.

I'd love to get all three done but I'm only there for 3 weeks and am only ever in any one place for 3 days at a time. The best opportunity we have I feel would be in Kochi where we start and end the trip. This would allow us to have the arrangements made for the clothing at the start of the trip for it to be collected at the end of the trip. I've detailed my itinerary below:

Kochi (2 days)
Alleppey (2 days)
Kochi (1 day)
Udaipur (3 days)
Jodhpur (2 days)
Pushkar (3 days
Ranthambore (2 days)
Delhi (2 days)
Kochi (1 days)

I would love some recommendations on the best locations to have this done, keeping in mind I need to buy the fabric, get sized up and then have it made. Any recommendations on good places to go to would be a great help!

Thanks

Hi,

I had 3 salwar kameez suits and one sari made in Delhi when I first arrived. It was delivered to my hotel 24 hours later. I had one salwar made in Udaipur in 6 hours. In Jaipur I had 2 dresses made for me also in 24 hours. I selected my fabrics,described what I wanted,they measured me then in 24 hours I had my clothing. This next trip I will have more Indian clothing made,but this time I will bring pictures of the styles and colors I like
Actually was fun and simple and cheap having clothing made.

In Delhi it should be possible to get a suit tailored & delivered in two day's time. Visit a Raymond's outlet to buy the fabric and talk to their tailoring section.

I have a few questions of my own.

Have you had tailor made clothes before (especially suits) ? Do you know exactly what you want in a suit, or shirts?

In an ideal world you would choose the fabric, and get measured. Have a first fitting; then a second fitting; and a final fitting to collect the suit. Whilst many tailors advertise 24 hour turn-around, you're really not going to get the best outcome from such a quick job.

That said, I had two suits and a shirt made whilst I was in Mumbai; and my travelling companion had a number of casual tops made in Kochi (Fort Cochin).

The options - fabric and tailors - aren't as good in Fort Kochi (compared with Mumbai) - however I think it is your best bet, because you'll be able to go through the fitting process over a few visits. Bonus tip - make finding your tailor the first thing you on arrival in Kochi, not the last.

If I can find the name of the tailor my travelling companion used in Kochi, I'll post it here.

Once we were in Agra and my wife wanted a leather jacket.
By 2 PM we went into a little shop and selected a model and the promised it would be ready by 8 PM. It took 'so long' because they had to go to a market to buy the lining.
When we arrived at eight it was nearly finished and fitted perfect.

At that time another tourist entered the shop and asked if they could make a jacket for her. But she was leaving next day. The tailor promised to deliver at eight in the morning.

Thanks heaps for all the feedback guys, the general vibe of the feedback is a day should be fine, though several would be required for multiple fittings.

DrRudi, I have not had a suit tailored before and don't have anything specifically in mind short of what fabric i'm hoping to use for the shirts and suit. If do find out the tailor your friend used and if he recommends him that would be fantastic! I'll also have to check out Raymonds.

What price will I be looking at roughly per suit and per shirt? Also does anyone know of a place where I can provide a design to be printed/embroidered onto a T-Shirt?

@ Elmaz,

No luck on the Kochi tailor I'm afraid. I'll see if I can find my receipt for my suits and shirt to give you an idea on price.

If you're going to try Raymond's in Delhi, can I suggest you go to Vaish instead?

http://www.vaish.com/index.html I suggest you email them to find out how quickly they make their suits.


As you haven't done this before, you need to be armed with all of your specifics before you start, because you only get one chance.


Jacket - 1 button, 2 buttons, or 3?

Jacket - single breasted or double breasted

Sleeves - working cuffs or not? How many buttons?

Pockets - how many outside? Flap or not? Straight or slanted? How many pockets inside? Where? Button closures?

Lapels - notch, or peak, or shawl?

Vents - side vents, rear vent, no vent?

Lining - what colour?


Trousers - flat front or pleats? How many pleats?

Turn ups (cuffs) - or not?

Buttoned turn-ups?

Pockets - seam, slant or straight? Coin pocket?

Back pockets - 1 or 2 - button closures?

Lining - full or half?

Waist strap - belt loops? Side adjuster?


Shirts

Collar: Point, narrow point, spread, curved spread, two button, three; button down, pin collars ....

Cuffs: French or Portofino? Square, rounded or contoured?

Front: plain, placket, hidden buttons, placket with twin buttons?

Back: plain, box pleat, two side pleats, split yoke, two darts?

Bottom: sweep, straight, v-cut?

Pocket: yes or no? Pleat, square, rounded, angled ?

Monogramed?

EDIT: Elmaz - I paid 34,200 INR for two suits, and one shirt (that's about $650). I can't recall the split - from memory the shirt was more than I would pay for an 'off the rack' shirt in Australia; the suits were much less than I pay for suits (although, obviously you can buy a $300 suit).

DrRudi thanks for the heads up, definitely have made this process a lot clearer. Vaish look really good, I'll definitely be looking into them. It's looking like we'll have 3 days and 2 nights in Delhi now so its working out really well.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Goddess, do you remember where you had them made? Anyone you can recommend? We were thinking of just buying some off the rack ones in Delhi, as we'll only be there a full 1.5 days. But it might be enough time to get them made if we did it early in the morning before our day tour. Otherwise, Udaipur might be a good time to get some made. Would love to hear any recommendations.

If you are a smallish-size (US14 or smaller and not excessively tall) then you may find wonderful SKs in your size on the rack. If you are a large size or very tall, you should have something made.

You can get great fabric pieces specifically matched for SK at many of the state emporiums in Delhi; I like the ones from the Rajasthan emporium -- blockprinted and in great color combinations. Ask there about a tailor; I've never found one in Delhi.

In Jodhpur, I found a tailor in the bazaar, got some fabric, and they made it up in about 5 hours. They did a great job and it was inexpensive ... but can't recall that 1989 price.

Hrm. I'm about a US 10-12 on the bottom and a 14-16 on top, 5'7", so I guess we'll see if I can sneak in just under the wire. Otherwise, I guess I'll be trying to locate a tailor. Thanks for the info.

Any resources for shoes? I am having one hell of a time finding a good pair for the trip. Every time I think I've found some, they turn out to suck. I've tried a pair of Keens sandals and a pair of Bjorn sandals to no avail. I'm about ready to go back to my plain ol' flip flops, but they don't seem very travel hardy.

Bringing new footwear that is not broken in is not a good idea.
Old one that you have gotten used to and are broken in are safer and always better.

@Ceashel - the Lord knows Keen's don't do it for me either. Try Merrell's, or Propet.

Hi Ceashel,

I remember it was a store in the Karol Bagh Market,and I THINK it was called Nirulas.I was taken there by a driver,and it was definately one of those commision shops. However,I received wonderful customer service,tips on what would look nice for my body type,a few lessons with how to wear a saree,and really beautiful quality clothes.At the time I thought I was getting a little fleeced as a tourist and my first day in India, but after travelling for a couple of months and having a few more suits made I realized what quality I received at this store in comparrison to the others.

I won't be bringing back to India the cheaper items I had made in other cities,but the ones I paid more for in Delhi still look like new and will be returning with me to India
I am a size 12-14 and it was very difficult finding clothing.There is Fab India in Connaught place, but I found their larger sizes ugly and not stylish.Looked more like my grandmothers drapes ;P Anokhi has size XL and some of them are equal to a US 12 - 14. It is much nicer to pick your own beautiful fabric and have gorgeous stylish clothing made. If you have more than 24 hours to give the tailor,they can add alot more detail to the piece.

As for you Shoe Question I bought Merrels and I love them.They made bouncing up and down the millions of stairs in India and the many hikes uphill to the many forts a breeze
They don't even look like they have been to India and I put alot of miles on those shoes.I also brought a pretty pair of slip on sandals to dress up a bit. So glad I did as I had a tough time finding my size of shoe there.