Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Bangkok Tailor: Narry's
An $80 suit? Yes - can but not much material to choose from. I figure if I can wear this black suit twice a month for two years - I've gotten my money's worth and can toss it. 
This $120 suit is of better material but somehow it ended up being cut a bit larger than the black suit. I've noticed the lining on both jackets is thinner than at Nickermann's. The pants are only lined down the front and then just to the knees. One annoying thing is that the jackets are walking advertisements for Narry's. They've sewn-in three different labels inside each jacket. I'll take them out later.The shirts look good and were 800 baht each. I'll give an update later on how they wear but at the moment, I'm quite happy with the shirt material and the cut.
Even though this shop is definently set-up to serve the tourist trade - I've always wanted to try it after having seen their ads in Thai Airways' in-flight magazine. The shop is much more convenient to get to than their map implies. Just get off the BTS Skytrain at Nana (E3) station and get off going toward Soi 11. Take your first left onto Soi 11. You'll be walking thru a motorcycle taxi stand - then cross over to the new Grand Business Inn. Take your first right on the next side street and you'll see Narry's right there in the corner.
It's always open 0800-2100 (SUN 0900-1900). It's a bit like a dim sum place because they have all these signs up promoting their sales. They group their cloth based on price. It gets a bit confusing so I'd just tell them to hold off their sales pitch while you take a moment to examine the material. Definently allow enough time for two fittings and ask to try every pant and jacket. Be specific if you want an American-cut or their preferred Milan Armani-style. Don't forget to bring your dress shoes (or ask them to tailor them extra long so you can shorten them back home).
Overall, I saved some money but found the experience not to be relaxing. My suits were handed to me with the customer numbers still sewn to the sleeve (that white tag in the pic) and had some grease spots inside the jacket (which they cleaned after I pointed them out). It was nice that they took credit cards at no extra charge - but that might've also been why they didn't really want to bargain the price even after I added on more shirts. If you go, I'd wait to be served by Mr. Narry himself - he's very patient and works without a hard-sell.
Contact: 155/22 Sukhumvit Road, Soi 11/1,Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110
(Behind the new Grand Business Inn - next to Swiss Park Hotel - and on the same road as the big Ambassador Hotel) Tel: +66 (02) 254 9184-5, +66 (02) 651 0898, Mobile: +66 (01) 374 0046 http://www.narry.com/contactnarry.php
