Kenn Smith of KingSmith Clothiers
Kenn Smith from KingSmith Clothiers has been the main tailor, sorry couturier, for me since 2016. He is famous with customers, inside and outside of Vietnam, for his high quality bespoke suits. If you do not know bespoke, you definitely need to meet Kenn Smith.
How customers “tend” to buy suits
Store-bought
Most customers tend to purchase their suits at a retail clothing store then have it altered. It saves money, is quick, quite convenient. Unless you are the lucky one, though, these suits tend to look like you purchased them at a retail store. Hence they are known as a store-bought suit. We have all purchase several suits this way.
Tailored Suit
The next step up is for customers to get tailored suits. If they happen to be on a trip to Vietnam or Thailand, they may actually get their first tailored suit for around $100 – $200 USD. We all have been there, I have purchased about 4 suits this way this way in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Problem, suits at this price range means the materials are not good quality. These suits were never really made to be worn frequently. I ran into this problem when I started wearing my suits weekly. Fraying appeared all over the suit, stains will be noticeable. If you start using dry cleaning, then the suit will be dead in about a year if you wear the suit weekly.
So then you naturally start looking for a tailor that can make you a higher quality suit. This time around you will tend to spend upwards of $500 USD for a suit with good quality materials (a jacket and two trousers). This is the price for a higher quality suit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I had a great tailor who made me two suits. Loved them except there was one big problem, the suit did not “suit” me. It was not proportioned to my body.
This is where a bespoke tailor comes in.
Bespoke suits
There is a big difference between a tailored suit and bespoke suit. In layman’s terms, a tailored suit tends to be a pattern that a tailor learned at vocational school. They then take this pattern and try to “make it fit” with their customer. In many cases, it will work. For those with odd bodies, such as myself, it just did not work. This is where a bespoke tailor comes in.
Bespoke makes the patterns, from scratch, for your body. There is no copying patterns from past suits. The whole process is focused on the contours of the customer’s body. From the patterns to the type of suit and finally material selection. This is where an experienced couturier, such as Kenn Smith of KingSmith Clothiers, comes into play. They will be the ones that get the suit to fit you exactly.
Your first bespoke suit in Vietnam will start around $500 USD. Be prepared to purchase 2 in the beginning. When you start wearing this suit, you will love it. Then the process continues one.
Watch the following program to learn more about Kenn Smith and bespoke suits. You can contact him at his Facebook page for more information.