Looking Dapper

Where to get a Custom Suit for Your Next Big Event

  

If you're a man, you probably either have a dated, dusty and out of style suit in your closet or nothing formal whatsoever. In either case, maybe you are managing just fine with slacks and dress shirts. But what if you are required to attend something more formal? You need an update but you dread spending forever shopping and trying things on. The department store options are pricey, and cheaper suits may not be so stylish or may not even fit properly. For many, the best option will be to get a custom made suit. It sounds time consuming and a bit intimidating, but it can be done to order in less than a week here in Daegu quite easily.

I am currently planning a formal event myself; my wedding in Mexico this August. There's so many details involved and least of all is what the groom will wear. Mine has very particular taste and is a bit taller than the local population so we decided early on that custom was the way to go. I was a bit anxious about the cost and process but we are really satisfied with the end results.

Near Camp Walker are several custom men's tailors. We found a shop called The J and decided to see what they had to offer. It's a small shop near the Palace Hotel with a well curated window display featuring some of their designs. The owner and designer, 황대호, Mr. Hwang, greeted us warmly when we entered. We told him we were looking for a two-piece suit for our wedding and he showed us his book of fabric swatches. We took some time to select the fabric we liked, an Italian made wool blend in a stone grey color. He quoted us W320,000 for a custom jacket and pants, which we paid up front. Next, my fiancé was thoroughly measured while they discussed the vision for the final suit. The length of the jacket, the particular taper of the pants, and small details like how many buttons would be on the jacket were considered and agreed upon. After about 20 minutes, we were finished with our consultation and told to come back in a week.

So many shades and textures to choose from

One week later we went back to the shop. The suit was tried on and no further alterations had to be made. It looked amazing! Mr. Hwang’s tailoring is impeccable. The jacket is silk lined with several interior pockets and fits like a glove. The pants are exactly what we envisioned. Overall, a very dapper and handsome suit, perfect for our wedding.

Final try on at the shop

Check out my fiancé! We both love this suit and had such a great experience getting it made to order in Daegu.

Detail from the pants

 Detail from inside the jacket

 Perfectly hemmed

The J

27, Icheon-ro, Nam-gu, Daegu

더 제이

대구 남구 이천로 27

Cell 010-3510-9400

Telephone 053-472-3737

Treasure Hunting in Daegu’s Thrift Shop District

Before moving to Korea, I was a thrift shop fanatic and I shopped almost exclusively at second hand stores out of a desire to cultivate a totally unique wardrobe and not spend and arm and a leg doing so. I was addicted to the thrill of finding a diamond in the rough, something rare and beautiful waiting for me to come along and discover it. It's really like treasure hunting and something I've always missed from back home. It took a little exploring for me to realize that Daegu has a MASSIVE amount of amazing thrift shops all collected together just outside of Jungangro station. To get there just go out exit three of Jungangro (or exit 13 of Banwoldang works too) and all the clothes shops are thrift and vintage stores. There are literally dozens of these shops, mainly concentrated on this same street but you can also find a few on the parallel street (with the 3-story Daiso and all the jewelry shops) and the connecting perpendicular streets between.

I noticed there's two main types of shop. First is very cheap shops with piles and piles of clothes, often in bags and often with all merchandise under W5,000. Even though the clothes are in bags which require digging through, the clothes are in great condition and many are surprisingly in brand new condition. The other type of shop you will encounter are curated with stylish and posher items and all the garments are hanging on a rack. These fancier shops tended to be a bit pricier as they have higher-end vintage finds. You can even find luxury designer brands; I spotted Dior, YSL, and Missoni in one shop. These designer brands go for more but most of the tops and dresses were W10,000 in these stores.

One strange but wonderful thing I noticed is that a lot of these shops, especially the cheaper and less curated variety I mentioned, had a lot of older garments circa the 1990s and 2000s that were inexplicably unworn. I saw a lot of things easily identifiable as vintage with tags still attached.  I came across so many very cute swimsuits that were clearly never worn (trust me- you can tell).  It's a thrifters dream; amazing retro finds in mint condition. Where did these new-old clothes come from? Many of them had Japanese writing and brands on the tags so maybe there's just warehouses of unsold clothes from the 90s Japan is selling in bulk in Korea. Its a mystery I've not solved but it is very cool to have access to all these vintage fashions from Japan here in Daegu.

  

Here's a few things to keep in mind for your Treasure Hunt:

Bring cash. These shops are cash only.

Knowing how to ask the price in Korean and what the various answers mean is going to be a major help! These shops are all run by older people who were generally warm to me but didn't speak English.

There are no fitting rooms.

Some of the clothes are not that old, there's a lot of last-years trendy subway shop finds that I try to avoid in favor of higher quality older clothes.

Don't be afraid to dig through big bags to find the good stuff.

And finally, my haul:

I only spent W32,000 on seven pieces. My favorite find was the lime negligee from Japan with the tags still on indicating it was originally sold for an equivalent of W180,000. I found that digging through a bag and paid W4,000! I can't wait to see what I find on my next shopping trip which will definitely be soon.