A friend is going to Bangkok and wants to get some things made - dresses and maybe a evening suit - any ideas where she should go? or avoid? the place I went too was not too good!

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, I do not know anything about Bangkok BUT I do know of a woman here in Switzerland who makes fantastic dresses.

Lisbeth Egli makes dresses for Miss Switzerland contest so she definitely makes some high fashion wear. I know her English isn't very good, perhaps some of her assistants have good English if it is necessary though.

Depends a little bit on how much you want to spend.

As far as the Indian tailors go, you'll get a decent deal at Raja's Tailors at Sukhumvit Rd and Soi 4. These guys are aimed at the tourist / expat market and are a volume-driven operation. Expect to pay about $250-300 for a suit, and about 4-5 days turnaround time. There are quite a few Raja's in Bangkok -- the one you want is on Sukhumvit Soi 4 (picture above).

Similar in quality / price is Pinky's, who I have not used personally but who have a decent reputation.

Most of the Indian tailors are volume-driven and rely on tourists, so be careful that you are clear about what you want and check the quality of the work.

For high-end tailoring, the place to go is July Tailors. This is a Thai-run tailor who does very good work. It'll take three weeks, but the suit will be hand-sewn and the fabric on offer is of the highest quality. Expect to spend between $1200-1500 for a suit.

Not much in between these two extremes in terms of quality -- you'll have better luck in Hong Kong or Singapore -- and lots of tourist rip-offs in Bangkok, so choose carefully.

I'm tidying through my boxes of "various" and found the card of a tailor you should avoid at all cost. I had a very short stay in Bangkok but, being blonde, fell for a cab driver telling me that you could have stuff made super-fast. Sure, I thought I'd have a look. Summing up it cost me an entire afternoon where I could have been doing something else because the driver and the tailor were very persuasive in getting me to have something made. Yes, my fault, I know. Oh and cost-wise, I'm embarrassed to tell you but the stuff was badly made, old-fashioned looking (nothing like the pictures shown) and I basically put them straight into bin when I got home. The tailor in question is:

James Fashion International, 439/1 Sukhothai Road, Suanchitlada, Dusit Bangkok

Like I said, avoid. Bear in mind, the trip was last June and I'm still angry enough to bother writing this down.

Take a bus, go to Pattaya, and forget the suit.