The Place for Alterations

I had a few clothes and bags that needed fixing, and a friend recommended this alteration shop on Soi 22.

Mr. Tong
165 Sukhumvit Rd, Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110

Hours: 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
(Please check in advance.)

How to Get There and What the Shop Looks Like

From the Gourmet Market exit at EmSphere, turn left and keep walking.

Cross the road in front of Makro, then go down the small lane beside the barbershop. The shop will be on your right.

The slightly chaotic, very Bangkok-looking interior, with sewing machines tucked inside…

I already loved it.

When I translated the Thai signs with Google Translate, they mentioned services like alterations, hemming, and zipper replacement.

Five Items to Fix

This time, I brought in five items:

  1. My husband’s Nike bag — broken zipper replacement
  2. My jeans — broken zipper replacement
  3. My dress — shortening the hem enough to remove a stain at the back that just wouldn’t come out
  4. Another dress — shortening the hem by 4 cm because it was a little too long
  5. My favorite bag — repairing some fraying

Cheerful Mr. Tong

Photo shared with his permission.

I had assumed he might only speak Thai, but to my surprise, he spoke English, which made everything very easy.

For the zipper replacements, he used YKK zippers and let me choose the best matching colors from what he had in stock.

The total for all five items was 500 baht.

I don’t know the exact breakdown, but it worked out to roughly 100 baht per item.

For one item, it sounds like next-day pickup may be possible, but since I had five, mine were ready in about three days.

Everything Came Back Looking Great

As you can see in the photos, all five items came back looking neat and properly repaired.

I was very happy with the result.

Street-side sewing is cheap and convenient too, but there are a few things I worry about — clothes may be stored outside, which is especially concerning during rainy season, the tailor may not always be there, and I’ve also heard stories of items being left for a while and becoming hard to track down.

So for clothes or bags I really care about, I feel a proper shop is more reassuring.

That said, I’m definitely not against street-side sewing.

For small repairs that can be finished in 30 minutes to an hour and picked up the same day, I still use them.

Next Journey: My First Year of Tailor-Made Clothes — Annual Review

With 2024 coming to an end, I’m going to look back at all the tailor-made clothes I had made this year.

See You on the Next Journey: My First Year of Tailor-Made Clothes — Annual Review.