-Or, why a 24-hour suit may not be such a great idea-
The discussion is almost a daily one: “Why does it take so long to make a suit? Why can I not have a bespoke tailored suit in 24 hours the way they do it in Bangkok? And yes, why is it more expensive to tailor here in Kuala Lumpur than in Bangkok?”
We have quite a few questions to answer here, and let me do it as I would do it in store with any customer who rightfully wants to understand why this is so.
First up, we at Kinslager do offer a 24-hour service for a tailored suit. This is mainly for customers who have a “real emergency” as they may have arrived from a foreign country and the airline had lost their luggage, which happens more often than you think. If they cannot find anything that fits off the rack, there are few choices left. One choice would be to have a tailor made suit done in 24 hours to so they are able to attend important business meetings as early as possible. You can already read it here – the suit can only be “tailor made” and not “bespoke tailored”. Yes, the suit will be still individually cut, but in 24 hours there is hardly any time left for a fitting process, which typically makes the difference between a well fitted suit and a suit which is only ok to wear. Of course, this would also mean there will be no time for hand stitching or even a high-end full canvas.
Also, in Bangkok, your 24-hour suit will not be a Bespoke Suit. Why can I be so sure about it? A Bespoke Tailored Jacket takes a Master Tailor anything from 3-4 working days to finish it. There is no reason to believe that any tailor in Bangkok can work this magic in 24 hours alone, unless he has 3 other tailors working on it at the same time. This typically brings out a lot of inconsistencies in the process and hence, is hardly practiced. In any case, the fitting will be a concern, be it in Kuala Lumpur or in any other place in the world.
Secondly, at least with us at Kinslager, the price will also go up compared to having the same suit made when you give us sufficient time. Why is that so? Very simple, as when you order a 24-hour suit, the in-house tailor has to forfeit his planned schedule and work on cutting the fabric of your suit immediately. The cut pieces would then need to be transported to the workshop, where the tailors there will have to attend to it right away. As soon as the finished suit is ready, a pick up service – already on stand by – will take it back to the shop. At the store, our in-house tailor will work on small adjustments for customers right away to ensure we get the best fit possible, with the limited time given.
With the 24-hour suit, the customer trades off the necessity of needing a tailored suit done very quick with the perfect fit and many other extras as hand stitching and other detailing. There is nothing wrong with it if you are in an “emergency situation”, but doing it when you could get a much better result is clearly not a smart move.
Finally, a good tailor in Bangkok is not cheap either – for sure not cheaper than in Kuala Lumpur – and they will not be able or reject to offer a bespoke tailored suit in 24 hours either.
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