Post: #26

$130-160 is about the same as Vietnam pricing. I wonder if the quality is similar to Vietnam or Ortiz.

Post: #27

Hey scotian,

Since I started studying law 3 semesters ago, I had to start building up my wardrobe from the ground up. A few things that i learned since. Retail suits suckc(at least in Colombia). I bought a couple last year from two different stores (arturo calle and jhon sonen) that are acredited in Colombia as good enough stores.

The fabric was no the best, but they costed me about 120 usd. After that I decided not to buy from retail again and started looking for a good place to custom make mine.

The place I go to has a variety of options in terms of fabric, styles, etc. They`re pretty fucking good and they have a range of prices. Since I`m on a student budget I bought the cheapest one. It was about 250usd, but it was totally worth it. They have a range from around 250 up to 4 or 500, of course with a fucking sweet italian fabric.

The difference between tayloring it and custom making it is fucking worth it. It shapes my body in the right places and it does`nt look weird. I have an issue with my legs. They are usually bigger than my actual size because of squats, so I had to taylor my suits, and it worked good enough, but custom making it looks fucking nice.

In Colombia you will find from a shitty 50usd suit to a CH or hugo boss one. For the price, a taylor like mine is just worth it. In bogota, expect prices to increase a bit since the city itself is pricier.

hope it helps

Post: #28

(06-02-2014 09:44 PM)Freedom Wrote:  I bought an Arturo Calle suit 100% wool for less than half of what I would be in the US. Arturo Calle is known as the best Colombian brand, anything better would be Italian. The store include tailoring for the price so you can change the sleeve length, pant length, waist, and even leg width.

After checking out 5 stores, I was able to find a perfect fit and had only the pant length adjusted the next day. Although the quality is still not great, as some stitching looks loose on the suit. The pockets are stitched shut so be sure to request opening of the chest pocket for handkerchief/pocket square placement.

Arturo Calle is the cheapest decent suit producer. it`s mass produced. If you want a suit just to get by, go there. If you want to look fresh and successful or whatever, try a better brand or custom.

Jon Sonen or even Zara has better quality than Arturo Calle

Post: #29

(05-03-2016 03:44 PM)semibaron Wrote:  Sorry for reviving this thread.
I'm heading to Bogota for 12 nights and want to buy some custom made suits and shirts.

Do you guys have any recommendations where to go and what price to expect?

I know nice places in Cali. However you can go to the La estacion mall or a similar one to look for a good suit.

Try to look out for the custom ones.

Post: #30

I also recommend Guillermo Ortiz in the centro.

I bought a suit and a couple of suits there.

I went there based upon a poster's recommendation earlier in this thread and also an independent recommendation of a Colombiana friend -- I'm guessing that the tailor shop is well-known in Bogota. There were a couple of other tailor shops on the same street as the Guillermo Ortiz storefront. I didn't go in any of the other stores.

They were able to make everything in one week earlier this year.

Their best wool, English wool (I think 120s), was 1.6 million pesos -- just over 500 dollars at the exchange rate back in February. I think that their less expensive materials were 1.2 and 1.4 million pesos. The fabrics were all what I'd consider to be summer (or maybe mid) weights. Probably not much demand for winter weight materials in Colombia.

I think that the shirts that I bought were 110 K each -- no-iron cotton & synthetic mix. I didn't inquire about all cotton. (I don't want to have to iron my shirts.

The owner's daughter, Paola, is fluent in English.

Post: #31

I had let my suit inventory fall to one over the past ten years. Just bought an off the rack and getting it tailored by a Vietnamese tailor (we have many of them in my city). And reading the thread by Suit on the four basic suits. Invaluable.

Have been thinking of going to Colombia to get suits, visit a friend in Medellin and try to imitate Linux....

Pics of the suits would be welcome if anyone has them.

G

Post: #32

(05-04-2016 08:56 AM)farfallah Wrote:  I also recommend Guillermo Ortiz in the centro.

I bought a suit and a couple of suits there.

I went there based upon a poster's recommendation earlier in this thread and also an independent recommendation of a Colombiana friend -- I'm guessing that the tailor shop is well-known in Bogota. There were a couple of other tailor shops on the same street as the Guillermo Ortiz storefront. I didn't go in any of the other stores.

They were able to make everything in one week earlier this year.

Their best wool, English wool (I think 120s), was 1.6 million pesos -- just over 500 dollars at the exchange rate back in February. I think that their less expensive materials were 1.2 and 1.4 million pesos. The fabrics were all what I'd consider to be summer (or maybe mid) weights. Probably not much demand for winter weight materials in Colombia.

I think that the shirts that I bought were 110 K each -- no-iron cotton & synthetic mix. I didn't inquire about all cotton. (I don't want to have to iron my shirts.

The owner's daughter, Paola, is fluent in English.

The thing is 500 USD is far from cheap in my opinion.

Has somebody more experience with other, cheaper stores than the famous Guillermo Ortiz.

Post: #33

I don't recommend Arturo Calle as a site to get a decent suit. They have nice designs but the quality is very questionable in my opinion. I remember when this brand produced excellent quality suits until mid 2000s (My dad bought a suit there in 1988).

I know a place where there is a tailor in Bogotá who makes very nice custom suits, but unfortunately the prices ain't cheap. (If you choose high end fabrics as Loro Piana, the final price of your suit can skyrocket).

Post: #34

The Arturo Calle jeans that I'm wearing right now say made in Vietnam on them. Unless you're buying custom made suits and shirts, I don't recommend buying clothing in Colombia, its cheaper to do it in the US for decent quality. There's a big garment district in Medellin, I think its in Itagui, I've been in tons of shops there but most of it is poorly made with cheap materials.

Post: #35

(05-04-2016 10:43 AM)DrCotard Wrote:  I know a place where there is a tailor in Bogotá who makes very nice custom suits, but unfortunately the prices ain't cheap. (If you choose high end fabrics as Loro Piana, the final price of your suit can skyrocket).

What does the tailor charge for medium quality?
As we all have learned from Suits awesome suit guide , fit is more important than material quality.

Post: #36

(05-04-2016 04:03 PM)semibaron Wrote:  

(05-04-2016 10:43 AM)DrCotard Wrote:  I know a place where there is a tailor in Bogotá who makes very nice custom suits, but unfortunately the prices ain't cheap. (If you choose high end fabrics as Loro Piana, the final price of your suit can skyrocket).

What does the tailor charge for medium quality?
As we all have learned from Suits awesome suit guide , fit is more important than material quality.

That tailor charges a price between USD$400 to USD$600. You can get a better deal buying your own fabric and give it to him. If you let the tailor use his fabric (because he needs to sell it in a tailoring/fabric bundle), the final price of your custom suit can go up.

The Tailor's name is Alirio, his shop is named after him and you can locate him in this direction: Carrera 10 No 27-51 Local 170 Centro Internacional Tequendama (Tequendama International Center).

Hope this info can help you.

Post: #37

(05-03-2016 08:42 PM)Sidney Crosby Wrote:  $130-160 is about the same as Vietnam pricing. I wonder if the quality is similar to Vietnam or Ortiz.

Yeah, it was cheap. This guy dont have a store though, he`s got more like an office up on the 4th floor of a building that looks like a normal residential building in the middle of a sidestreet (full of suit shops) in candelaria. A local guy took me there.
I think it looks good but got no suit game so cant say for sure how great the quality really is.

Post: #38

What's the turn around?

In Hong Kong you can get a bespoke suit in three days.

WIA

Post: #39

Takes a lot longer than three days thats for sure.
Mine was like 3 weeks and had to go up there twice for final measurements. But he had a lot of work lined up.
The Ortiz guy takes a week at least. I think 4 days for a shirt when i was there.
Extra money probably could speed up the process a lot.

Post: #40

Finding shoes is a problem in some cities. That is,,,, size. I'm a size 12. They use cm and sizes 46-48cm and up is quite difficult to find if it does exist. Bogota might have a broader selection, but in Medellin forget about it.

International brands like diesel, Lacoste etc are better bought in your home countries. Americanino, velez etc ( Colombian brands) you can find decent attire and not crazy prices. As for suiting up, getting custom suits, shoes and jackets that might be the way to go if you want to get the most value for your money.

Post: #41

Shoes is a big problem in Colombia. I forgot my dress shoes so I spent all day looking for a pair in the mall in Cali and nobody has anything above a size 43. I finally found a place that had mediocre shoes for $200 in a 44 that I barely crammed my feet into.

As far as Arturo Calle goes, I only looked at their shoes and they were quire inexpensive, but had a range of styles so if you have small feet you can check that place out.

Post: #42

(01-01-2017 03:27 AM)BallsDeep Wrote:  Shoes is a big problem in Colombia. I forgot my dress shoes so I spent all day looking for a pair in the mall in Cali and nobody has anything above a size 43. I finally found a place that had mediocre shoes for $200 in a 44 that I barely crammed my feet into.

As far as Arturo Calle goes, I only looked at their shoes and they were quire inexpensive, but had a range of styles so if you have small feet you can check that place out.

for shoes, i would recommend the freeport store online. They don't have much inventory on their stores but you can get quality shoes for your size. The are not the cheapest though, so prepare to pay at least 100usd or more on a pair of dress shoes.