Gangnam tailor: Italian vs English wool wedding suit, JJ Republic

JJ Republic Sinsa Main Store: location and parking

JJ Republic Sinsa Main Store (제이제이리퍼블릭 신사본점) is a made-to-measure tailor shop in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam, Seoul (2nd floor, 13 Gangnam-daero 152-gil), open 11:00-20:00. Parking is free, and valet parking is ₩5,000. For custom suits, especially for weddings and for the parents of the couple, it's amazing value for money.

I'm preparing for my wedding and looking at outfits for the family. My brother-in-law did the interior work on our apartment, a full renovation, and still gave us a cheap price, so I was so grateful that his suit was the very first thing I came to order. ☺️ Valet is ₩5,000 when an attendant is there, but nobody was around so I parked myself and wasn't charged. (This was a weekday afternoon.)

JJ Republic Sinsa Main Store has floor-to-ceiling windows, so natural light comes pouring in and you can see the true colors of the fabrics better. The shop feels classy, which makes trying on a custom suit more fun. It was a cloudy day, sadly, but if you want to see the exact color when ordering a suit, the sunny Sinsa shop is the one to go to ~ 🥳

Italian fabric vs English fabric: what's the difference?

Italian and English fabrics are both 100% wool, but Italian fabric drapes softly while English fabric is crisp and holds its shape. At JJ Republic, think of it as four main fabrics. The Cheil Industries (Jeil Mojik) fabric contains polyester, so it has that shiny sheen typical of polyester suits.

Italian fabric is 100% wool and, compared with English fabric, feels softer, almost silky? (not actually silk, but soft and smooth to the touch). Recommended for bigger guys! They say it's because it flows along the body. English fabric is also 100% wool, but it's stiff and firm, as if it has an angular shape. So it suits people with a slighter build who need a stronger fabric to support the garment.

Fabric recommendations by body type

• Heavier build → flowing Italian fabric
• Thin and slight → English fabric

That was the tailor's recommendation. My personal opinion: thin people definitely need English fabric. 🤍 For softer, fat-type builds you need to hold things in a bit → English fabric, and for big, muscular guys → Italian seems better.

Why a custom suit for the wedding guest of honor

I chose a custom suit for my brother-in-law because I wanted him to look elegant and stand out at the ceremony. He doesn't wear suits for work, and he apparently has just one spring/autumn suit and one winter suit. He did a great job on our interior, so he more than deserves this 👍

What is a spring/autumn suit?

A spring/autumn suit (chunchu-yong) means a suit you can wear in all four seasons. Midsummer might be a little hot, but it works. In winter you layer up anyway and indoor heating is good, so unless you wear suits to work, order a spring/autumn one.

English khaki vs Italian charcoal

The last choice I agonized over was English-fabric khaki vs Italian-fabric deep charcoal. I couldn't decide, so I tried it on myself. Khaki suits me and I'm the kind of person a stiff material really works on, so it was perfect for me (?). It has a slight green tint, and in sunlight it looks even greener.

The khaki is the one above. If it were my own clothes, I'd have picked khaki. (I'm a khaki lover.) This time I just played it safe with plain charcoal.

Charcoal suit, blue custom shirt, brown lining

At JJ Republic I added a blue custom shirt (high ₩50,000s) to the charcoal Italian-fabric suit to take away the dullness. I figured guys won't reach for a suit in a flashy color, so I went with safe charcoal Italian fabric.

• Collar - wide (the first collar option)
• Color - blue
• Sleeve - square cuff

This is what I chose.

For the shirt's blue tone I picked the third from the left. You can also choose the suit lining, and I went with 7704 brown. A different lining feels more upscale, right? I almost went burgundy but held back and chose brown ✅ A navy tie goes well with a charcoal suit and blue shirt.

When the custom suit is done, you can also pick one necktie. It's a freebie 😝

Tailors make it right next to the fitting room

At JJ Republic Sinsa Main Store, the workroom is right next to where the measuring is done. It's a custom tailor shop where skilled craftsmen make the suits themselves! Their hands were moving so fast, they were no ordinary tailors-?

Tip for choosing a custom suit: look at the fabric first

My experience is that with a custom suit you should look at the fabric before the price. I came to JJ Republic because the prices were reasonable. For my fiancé's formal suit I got a cheap ₩390,000 one in Sinsa and regretted it a lot. I'll only use it for photo shoots and rent a high-end suit elsewhere. It looked cheap and not pretty at all.

So with the experience of my second suit order (?), I focused on picking a good fabric.

There's also a ₩590,000 promotion for two formal suits, but the fabric is polyester, so I didn't like it. Add ₩100,000 and I really recommend Italian or English fabric :)

Final price summary

• Italian-fabric suit ₩599,000
• Custom shirt ₩59,000
• Suit collar stitching ₩20,000 extra

I like stitching on a suit collar, so I paid extra to add it.