There's a very good little tailor around the corner from Yaxiu that friends and I have been using for a while. Take the road to the right of Yaxiu, and take a right at the crossroads - pretty much the first shop on the corner. Very reasonable - including material (not much choice) a 2-piece suit and 3 shirts came out at 560Y.

There are two tailor shops in Dongdan Beidajie. They are opposite an Italian restaurant. Walk north 50 metre from the Yinjie Bridge and you can get there. They are on the east side of road.

I have had a few friends use a tailor in Yashow Market. They all have been pretty pleased with repsect to the price, which is quite reasonable, and quality. They make house/work calls and can have a suit ready in two days.

Yashow Market
Third floor, No. 3066
phone (english): 133.3103.6913

The general manager, Huang Yuming, seems to know his stuff.

Hi
Can you tell me what prices they pay at this tailor shop? I would like to get some shirts and trousers made but not sure of what the right price is.

thanks

isn t there an article about tailors in the latest issue of the thatsbj?

My business partner, Senli, offers bespoke service and quality, as opposed to Beijing tailors that just churn out cheap suits. You will notice the difference immediately during the measuring. While stitching and constructing the suit, he pays attention to every millimeter and details like button-holes (handstitched). The quality of the materials (buttons, inner canvas, thread) he uses also puts him several notches above other tailors in the city.

Whether you like traditional Saville Row or avant garde Dior Homme style, we can make it happen. From many experiences with other tailors, I have learned that it is hard to find a one who can turn vision into reality. The price for business suits starts at 1,800 (with fabric) and cashmere coats are around 2,000 RMB. Casual blazers and wool overcoats are less. Of course, you can bring your own fabric as well.

The address is 46 Liangmaqiao Rd. in the Yaxing Dasha. You will see his shop through the window on the first floor. Please call 13910092410 to schedule an appointment. We also offer translation and consulting on the fit and style of your garment.

I have had cotton women's shirts suitable for officewear made at 2 tailors at Yaxiu, costing 80Y and 100Y and have been very pleased with them, although the buttons are generally nasty, as has been discussed before on the forum. I took shirts and had them copied and that might have accounted for the success. People say Yaxiu is expensive but I wear these shirts all the time. It's a shame the range of fabrics is so limited.

I had trousers made at Daxin market on Chaoyangmennei and have not been happy with the result. I sew myself and have had to unpick the side seams and resew the waistband so am not impressed. They were too tight, the tailor altered them once but in a very desultory way (I turned them inside out and saw how carelessly it had been done) and when I said they were still too tight at the second trying on he said they weren't and clearly wasn't going to alter them. Last time I'll be going there.

A friend of mine who has lived in both Shanghai and Beijing says the quality of the fabric and the tailoring is better in Shanghai. But, it is also a matter of finding the best tailors and paying the price. If you want cheap, you get poor quality, regardless of the city.

So about the same tailor quality as Beijing then?

Seriously though, if you want to pay peanuts for a suit, it'll look like crap and probably fall apart in a year or so. I'm not saying you need to spend huge amount of money either.

There are a number of good tailors here in BJ. Almost as good as the ones I used to get done in HK.

Having dealt with tailors in many parts of Asia and numerous tailors in Beijing, I would conclude that the quality to price level is not particularly high here - on the whole. Shanghai and HK offer more options on the high quality.

In Beijing, it is hard to find a tailor who will give you the style you want with quality that will last. In most cases, service and a dedication to crafting excellent garments is missing. Most tailors simply hope to churn out as many garments as possible, and can thus offer a low price. The goal with a good tailor should not be volume.

I go to an excellent tailor in "xiao xi tian" just north of Ji Shui Tan subway station... his name is Lu and he has a tiny shop down a hutong which doesn't look like much but boasts a long list of foreign clients and is always busy, as he's popular and has been around a long time. PM me for the contact details / directions.

I have also had one very nice suit made by LiRen tailors in Yaxiu market (the first tailor shop as you come off the escalator on the 3rd floor). I don't know if one suit is enough to tell, though.

If you really want to see a "rip off joint" go visit: Da Xin Fabric Store.
It is located on the corner of ChaoyangMenDaJie and Donsi Bei Da Jie.
Went to have 2 shirts and 1 shorts copied. I have been to some tailors here, but never have I had such BAD service and bad workmanship - and all that at rip off prices. Actually, I wanted to try it out as I saw they had a fantastic choice of materials over 2 floors.
I was quite sure from the beginning that it would be a bad experience. The "chief designer", Oscar, told me I had to pay for everything in advance and the buttons were extra. The materials are quite nice, but all much too expensive. Then the price for sewing the things is extra! The pieces to be copied were apparently thrown on the floor and trampeled on. Everything was filthy. The new pieces were also quite dirty, not even folded properly - as well as being badly sewn. So, all I can say is - forget the place. Anything else is better than that unfriendly, over-charging, excuse of a fabric shop. When I questioned the sewing and the way of making business, Oscar just ignored me.

The above poster is absolutely correct. Suits, blazers, and coats are Senli's specialty. While Senli's shirts are better than the 80-100 kuai Yaxiu ones, the advantage is not as overwhelming as it is with the suits.

Another point is that most of the fabric for shirts is domestic, whereas the vast majority of the suiting fabrics are imported from either Italy or England. The fabric of a Senli suit is dramatically better in terms of durability and style (and there is far more selection), whereas the shirt fabrics are better but the difference is not as substantial - the quality of the work is noticably better. We are looking into importing shirting fabric.

I've made shirts at numerous tailorshops in Yaxiu and Xiushui, and the fit is okay but they can never make a perfect collar and the stitching on the seams is really third rate. So I would still recommend a Senli shirt just because, though they aren't as stellar as the suits, they are quite presentable - I would not wear one of my Yaxiu shirts to meet anyone important.

Still, you do need "expendable" shirts in Beijing. Think about the oil splashing up onto your shirt and the dirty air. Shirts tend to become soiled more easily than suits due to their lighter collar and closeness to the body. Some shirts in one's wardrobe should be slightly "expendable" -which why I still use my crappy Yaxiu ones - whereas an "expendable" suit is not even going to look good and fails to offer good value.

In any case, we often do weekend specials in which a complimentary shirt is offered with a suit order. Just for transparency's sake: Senli and I are close friends and partners. We are working on a number of projects together.

I don't think anyone said that you can get a decent suit made in two days.
You can get a decent suit made over a longer period.

Saville Row suits are, obviously, far better quality. But then a fully bespoke suit there is also over two thousand pounds (30,000rmb). I'm not really sure what your point is (other than impressing us with how expensive your suits are). If you spend lots of money on hand-made things they are generally better quality. It's hardly a revelation.

If you go to a good tailor in Beijing, and you are very careful about the choice of fabric and style/cut then you can get something that any but the most discerning fashionista would deem to be a well-made, stylish, durable suit. I suspect you're an investment banker...