Denim in Bangkok

[Ord]

Went to Jatujak again yesterday, found a few other interesting shops in sections 12 to 18 (not second hand, though).

I also found a VERY good leathercraftsman and i'll post his address as soon as i exhume the business card from the dark depths of my pockets.

He has lots of good thick (11 to 13ish oz) blanks to choose from and does the dyeing, carving trimming and detailing by hand on the spot to order. I had a nice chat with him and he trimmed down one old belt i had perfectly and quickly

As someone asked in private, it's worth mentioning that pronto at zen central (near the ice skating (!) rink) has plenty of red wing shoes in big sizes in stock. I noticed all their collabs have ridiculously small back pockets, though. Big turnoff for me

[ronaldlsh]

Ord, how's the workmanship of the chainstitch at Dee jeans? Planning to bring my IHs and skulls over with me next week.

[OmpaOmpo]

Ord, how's the workmanship of the chainstitch at Dee jeans? Planning to bring my IHs and skulls over with me next week.

Not bad really, just got my PBJ XX-011s done there last week. Was only 100 baht.

[Ord]

Ord, how's the workmanship of the chainstitch at Dee jeans? Planning to bring my IHs and skulls over with me next week.

Done well and quick, on the spot (at buddy and family they wanted me to leave the jeans there). like Ompa said, 100 baht.

Got other pairs done there on my last visit and one already shows nice roping

[Ord]

Quick heads up for those in BKK who can buy with a currency that has an extremely favorable exchange rate (pretty much just ozzies).

I went to Pronto at Central World/Zen yesterday and they've got some nice Naked&Famous pairs. The Momotaro collab in a variety of sizes, the Frankenstein WGs in 28 (which i couldn't find anywhere online, as the smallest i found was 29) and the 26oz monsters in black denim.

Also, the usual full range of Flathead (F310, 1001, 5001, and so on) and PBJ in pretty much all sizes

Prices are still much higher ANY of the many online shops all over the world, regardless of the currency you use, though

[OmpaOmpo]

Was wondering if anyone can recommend me a good place to get my jeans tapered?

I've tried MBK's Dee Jean's hemming services, but am not sure if they do tapering?

P.S. - English speaking ones perhaps? I wanna make sure no miscommunication screws my jeans up

[Ord]

The shop in front of Dee does it.

The last time i was there i brought in two pairs that had just been tapered from the outseam (selvedge side) at my usual seamstress shop, to have the hems chainstitched.

On that occasion, I asked if he could have done it from the inseam and he said that it was indeed possible, would have cost 200ish baht and would've taken 2-3 days.

Since i don't wear my jeans cuffed, i paid 30 baht for mine and it was done well, exactly according to my indications and in no time, i couldn't be bothered spending 200baht and waiting 3 days for the job to be done from the inseam.

Anyway, yes, you can have it done at MBK. Remember, in FRONT of Dee (the guy has thai-muslim themed stuff on the walls, which is a good way to recognize the shop if you pop your head in it. He also sells denim and second hand ralph lauren shirts). Yes, he does speak basic English.

Chainstitch hemming is done on the Union Special while you wait. 100 baht a pop

[OmpaOmpo]

The shop in front of Dee does it.

The last time i was there i brought in two pairs that had just been tapered from the outseam (selvedge side) at my usual seamstress shop, to have the hems chainstitched.

On that occasion, I asked if he could have done it from the inseam and he said that it was indeed possible, would have cost 200ish baht and would've taken 2-3 days.

Since i don't wear my jeans cuffed, i paid 30 baht for mine and it was done well, exactly according to my indications and in no time, i couldn't be bothered spending 200baht and waiting 3 days for the job to be done from the inseam.

Anyway, yes, you can have it done at MBK. Remember, in FRONT of Dee (the guy has thai-muslim themed stuff on the walls, which is a good way to recognize the shop if you pop your head in it. He also sells denim and second hand ralph lauren shirts). Yes, he does speak basic English.

Chainstitch hemming is done on the Union Special while you wait. 100 baht a pop

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'll prolly check them out, 200 baht is mad cheap

[Ord]

U're welcome!

Please, post something about your experience if you end up getting the job done there

[Analyst]

I've had good experiences going to Buddy & Family in MBK. Basically you go inside all the way to the back and go up the narrow stairs. On the second floor, they have a Union Special for chain stitching, which costs 100 THB.

I took my Momotaro 0905SPs, purchased in Tokyo, in to have them tapered. They took in each leg from the inseam side and even used similarly pink thread. The job cost 200 THB and they finished in two days.

Take 5 and Tanner Lee & Na use this place for all their chainstitching.

[Ord]

As a few people asked via PM, here is the a picture of the leathercraftsman (one of many) in Jatujak.

I really like him, because he's a nice person, makes belts while you wait, exactly to your order (number of holes, shae of the tip, edge sealing, dyeing and so on), prices are VERY honest.

print it out and show it to someone at the gates and they'll be able to point you to the right direction.

There are other places selling wallets and belts but prices are crazy and their attitude is foul to say the least if you don't look like a gullible idiot willing to part with 3-4 average thai salaries to buy something fancy. Stuff them.

[egyptian]

Bangkok construction worker style fades:

Thought this would be appropriate thread for the pic since it's denim in Bangkok!

[lucaas]

damn, that must be crazy fades.

but It is true, many worker / labor in Bangkok using Levi's Thai fake, since it's quite cheap ($10 -$15) for durable jeans.

and many of them have sick fadezz

[BIGBERTHA]

Gonna be in Bangkok two weeks from today. Can't wait. Trying to figure out what we can cram into two days before we head north???

[BIGBERTHA]

Denim shopping is a must!!

[egyptian]

Denim shopping is a must!!

I've been there many times. You should visit Jatujak Weekend Market for used & raw thai denim.

Also in the intersection of Sukhumvit 71 in the evening there's raw selvage repros (edwin, levi's) for 350THB (12 usd?).

There's definitely a strong denim culture in Thailand. They buy raw, wear them and sell forward for a higher prize! But of course, majority is locally made. until the couple of last years there were no japanese repros available and I'm not sure if LVC is even now.

[louisbosco]

Denim shopping is a must!!

take5 and pronto is also a must. both are in their respective malls across each other. siam paragon and siam square.

[lucaas]

careful for American / European tourists, they charge the price high like around 700 bath or more..

[egyptian]

careful for American / European tourists, they charge the price high like around 700 bath or more..

Sometimes you need to bargain, but luckily not so much in Thailand than for example in China.

In this Sukhumvit 71 intersection that mentioned the price is fixed and there's a big sign with the price.

[lucaas]

yes, bargain is a must in Chatuchak Weekend Market.

[BIGBERTHA]

actually i'm not really looking for denim to be fair...my bangkok wants:

1) pocket knife

2) belt

3) loopwheel tees

[Ord]

actually i'm not really looking for denim to be fair...my bangkok wants:

1) pocket knife

2) belt

3) loopwheel tees

If you're after good knives and don't have too much time in your hands go straight to Chatuchak. Plenty of original and fake folders to hang on your front pockets. Section 16. There is also at least one custom knifemaker (very probably there's a few) inside the weekend market but i doubt i could find it again myself.

I Posted a while ago the address of a good and cheap leathercraftsman (again at Chatuchak). Browse previous messages to find a picture of his business card. Forget about fancy superthick english hides tanned by virgins in mount Sinai's oak bark blessed by biblical prophets and stuffed with whale oil, but certainly you can find a very nice beater cheap as chips. You MIGHT find N&F belts at Pronto and very probably some obscenely expensive Japanese leather belts at Take5 in Siam Square.

Loopwheeled stuff, I can only think of Take5 as a place that has similar stuff in stock. In the second hand clothing of Chatuchak, though, you could find some vintage gems. One full day is not usually enough to browse accurately

Have fun and happy hunting

[Ord]

Huh, i just read you're heading north, and I presume you will do Chiang Mai as well. If you are independently mobile (renting a motorbike), there was a tiny custom knives shop on the road from CM to Sankhampeng. It is a nice trip anyway, so if you do it go slow and look around, if the sho is still there you'll probably find some interesting stuff.

I strongly doubt they use half decent steel to build those knives, and i remember prices being pretty high, but there's ample room for negotiation, as you may already well know (or learn soon).

Stay away from Pai. Unless you really like human zoos populated by (very) rich young people wearing "organic" cotton Thai pants (the uniform is bought in Khaosan road the very first day), sporting dreadlocks and pretending they're cool people travelling off the beaten track and doing stuff "tourists" don't do. The best part is the lecture about Thailand and Thai people they are going to give you, citing word by word from the lonely planet guide. They are in the know. They have been there 3 weeks already!

[poly800rock]

thats interesting you describe pai like that, i always heard good things.

[Ord]

The case could be the accounts are more than 10 years old (Pai was a gorgeous placid place before it became trendy), or they were reported by people who enjoy watching freak shows.

For the latter you can go to khao san road and see a selection of the best. Some backpacker hostels in Chiang mai offer good entertainment too if like the genre. But in big cities you can always walk away from the show, in Pai you're surrounded, and that, to me, spoils the beauty of the great place it once used to be

[ronaldlsh]

Any good spots for some decent boots?

[Ord]

Not a boots fan but i have seen a few places around chatuchak. Really know nothing about quality and price. You can also find plenty of used redwings in the used clothing section. There is actually a workwear outlet in Sriracha with a HUGE redwing sign outside, but i have only seen it passing by, and I'm quite sure prices are out of my budget

[Rain]

These used denim comes from Cambodia (Poipet), and Malay'?

[ronaldlsh]

Where is Sriracha?

And which section is it that has all the used clothings?

[Ord]

google maps for the first question, browse this thread (just a few posts above) for the second