(Disclaimer: For information and entertainment purposes only. Not intended as personalized advice of any sort. Please consult a qualified professional. Some links may provide an affiliate commission to the author.)
Rule 5 of the James Bond Lifestyle is: “I dress up; even at home alone.” In a previous post, I mentioned that a man would be well served to be the best dressed in the room, because the best dressed owns the room. Buy yourself some nice suits in black, navy, and charcoal/grey, pair them up with crisp white and light blue dress shirts, and build yourself a nice collection of ties to keep the looks fresh. Have three pairs of comfortable dress shoes (Black, brown, and tan leather. Oxfords, not brogues!). Get a navy blazer with gold or silver buttons. Buy a tuxedo. Buy yourself a couple of nice watches that will go with a suit or casual wear. Go for the New England Prep look, because it’s always a winner. It’s a timeless look that will look good on you yesterday, today, and tomorrow. You will likely save a ton of money if you go for timeless looks, because you won’t have to go shopping every season for the new, hip thing.
You can set the trend by carrying yourself and dressing with confidence, subtly communicating to the world “This is what cool and hip style really is. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. It is self-evident.” If you’re in a warmer climate, then invest in linen suits and broadcloth dress shirts. And remember, when in doubt, overdress.
We live in an age where pretentious, extremely online, antisocial, narcissistic, mentally damaged and spiritually broken people post on social media for the quick dopamine hit of likes, shares, and reacts. They derive perverse pleasure from tearing down others and whipping up fake controversies where none exist. They delude themselves into thinking they are rebelling against the system, when in reality, they are the system. One example of this is when a stereotypical blue-haired checkmark type with hipster/problem glasses posts their preferred gender pronouns, and flexes on anyone and everyone by demanding they be addressed as such. It is rarely he/him or she/her, but rather they/them or xe/xir, or something else that doesn’t exist and isn’t really a thing. As any sane man or woman knows, there are only two genders.
The blue checkmarks of the world may think themselves “so stunning and brave” for flexing on the whole world with their fake preferred gender pronouns, but in reality, it is a sign of weakness. Deep down, it is a cry for help, from infantilized, petulant children in (mostly) adult bodies, begging people for attention, to distract them from their lonely and sad existence. In another time and place that isn’t Clownworld, they would be locked up in an institution, and kept heavily medicated and sedated, and out of sight from polite, civilized society.
Unfortunately, we no longer live in such a time, and we do very much reside in The Current Year of Clownworld.
When such insanity and degeneracy becomes a defining characteristic of modernity, it becomes necessary to, as Julius Evola put it, “Revolt Against the Modern World.”
Just as it only takes one brave man to ignite a revolution, so too can quiet, simple acts become revolutionary in and of themselves.
When the modern world becomes crude and crass, elegance and the art of being a gentleman or lady becomes a revolutionary act.
When so-called mainstream media and the modern world tell you to fornicate endlessly and casually with anyone and anything that moves, chastity and waiting until marriage becomes a revolutionary act.
When blue-haired checkmarks tell you to not get married, not have children, take hormones, and get a sex change operation, then traditional masculinity, femininity, marriage, and having children in a nuclear family becomes a revolutionary act.
When modernity tells you that wearing tracksuits, sneakers, pre-ripped jeans, t-shirts, yoga pants, and hoodies is acceptable professional attire, a man wearing a suit and tie, or a woman wearing a dress, becomes a revolutionary act.
True strength and its accompanying projection of confidence comes not from demanding people call you by a particular pronoun, but by how you present yourself to the world, and your own sense of self-worth.
It’s why I don’t have to, and actively refuse to, put my pronouns on any signature block or social media - I just put on a suit and tie, walk into a room, and people know to call me “Boss.”
Why? I look like the man in charge, the man who gets stuff done, and the man who is not only worthy of people’s respect, but who also should not be underestimated.
Maybe you don’t have that level of confidence yet, and that’s okay. You can start by crafting a new image for yourself, by changing your clothes.
I’m not talking about going down to the nearest department store and buying the cheapest monkey suit that’s on sale. You’re better than that, and you deserve better than that.
I’m talking about getting some custom, or bespoke, suits made just for you.
“That’s crazy!” you might be thinking. “There’s no way I can afford that!”
Have you forgotten one of the golden rules of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”? Only poor people say “I can’t afford it.” The rich always ask “How can I afford it?”
“Okay, well how can I afford it, then?”
Glad you asked. Make it a part of your vacation to Vietnam.
Seriously, if you have ever wanted to explore Vietnam, and needed a good excuse beyond “I just need to get away for awhile,” going to Vietnam to have custom suits made is an excellent one. As of Summer 2022, flights from the USA to Vietnam are about USD$1500-$2000, and hotels in Vietnam can be as little as USD$500 or less for a week’s stay. If you budget around USD$1000, you can come home with anywhere between four and ten custom suits. In other, more established “name brand” places like New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, or Tokyo, $1000 will barely get you one off-the-rack suit or a few custom shirts, if even that.
So for as low as three grand US, you could have a great, truly memorable vacation, living like a jet-setter for a week. On top of that, you can bring home a killer wardrobe, and look like a boss while you tell some really cool stories about your travels around the world.
I would say that is money well spent.
And I’m not the only one - Andrew Henderson, the Nomad Capitalist, recommends Vietnam, as well:
Hoi An is no doubt a really cool place to go, about a 30-minute drive from Da Nang—which some people think is going to be the next Shenzhen—a big, up and coming nomad hub. It is certainly a very charming city to spend a weekend if you are in Ho Chi Minh City with all the digital nomads and location independent entrepreneurs.
There are different levels of quality. There are places where you can get $80 suits – I was paying double that amount and some of my friends 4x more. $250-300 for a suit? That’s pretty good.
Hoi An, Vietnam is quite possibly the cheapest place in the world for custom suits or any kind of custom clothing. Shorts, skirts, pants, blazers, even underwear — they do it all. Having had suits and shirts custom made in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China (see more below) the quality here is pretty good. And the prices are much lower.
While a good custom-made suit in the U.S. could easily set you back $1,000, you can get one of decent quality in Hoi An for $100 or less.
Ho Chi Minh City is one of the top nomad destinations in Southeast Asia and is a larger city with less of the tourist crowds.
My friend in Ho Chi Minh City offers custom suits that would make a Savile Row tailor jealous. In fact, his staff was trained by Savile Row tailors. I have personally had suits made for me in Ho Chi Minh and it comes highly recommended.
Whereas Hoi An might offer the more introductory offer and potential for deals, and Hong Kong (below) is a bit more traditional but still with excellent efficiency, Ho Chi Minh City is somewhere in the middle and is a great option for those who are spending time in this part of Asia and want to get some custom suits made without much hassle.
Henderson also recommends Malaysia, Hong Kong, and even Colombia:
It is no great secret that Hong Kong is great for many things, including custom clothing. Hong Kong is better than Singapore for this in my opinion. My personal tailor is actually from Pakistan and has a shop in Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side.
I go there all the time. I’ve even had him ship stuff to me. And I’ve had him make suits, shirts, and more.
Hong Kong is where you go when you want it done properly but you still want the Asian efficiency and deals. For me, I don’t really want to go to Italy and have a suit made. I don’t want to pay $5,000 for a made-to-measure suit.
I can go to Hong Kong, get a suit for around $700- Hong Kong quality made for a guy with an expensive office. For example, I just wore a new suit for my birthday—the color looked beautiful, it fits well and you can go out to a club and not feel uncomfortable.
I am a huge fan of Kuala Lumpur (I rate it the most livable city in Southeast Asia) and have done a few custom shirts here.
I have gone to Lord’s Tailor, where the elite in Malaysia go, and that’s about $125 for a shirt. At Fox Tailor at Suria Mall in Petronas Tower, I paid around $75-80 for a shirt—which wasn’t as good quality, so I would advise going with the first option.
I have also gotten shirts done in nearby Singapore, but I wasn’t as impressed. Kuala Lumpur is better for tailoring. I enjoy being out of the spotlight with tailors—for example, some tailors will boast that “Bill Clinton came there”—but I’m not looking for that.
A funny analogy is like a restaurant where the menu is in English, Russian, Swahili, and Chinese, but the food is terrible. I think it’s best to find your own guy, someone who understands your style. If I were seeking an offshore service provider, I would pick someone and always work with him—it’s the same thing when it comes to custom suits.
My favorite place is in the basement of Pavilion Mall in Kuala Lumpur – a tailoring shop called Summermen’s. I had my wedding suit made here.
If you’ve ever been to Asia, there are a lot of interesting things in the mall. Some of the best tailoring places are not the most attractive. I went there recently to order some versatile custom shirts. You can watch my shopping trip here on our YouTube channel.
Prices vary based on the quality of the fabric, but it’s relatively inexpensive. The most expensive shirt you could buy there costs over 200 US dollars. The shirts are made rather quickly right in KL, it may take only around three or four days.
Bogota is also another great option if you are in the Americas or want to try getting custom clothing done in a different part of the world that might offer different styles and choices.
Here in Bogota, I just ordered a lovely wool-cashmere blend pea coat.
There were two options: They wanted 1.625 mm pesos, which is around $550, for the lesser quality wool you could feel was a little cheaper. I ended up paying 2.07mm pesos for the higher quality one. ($690).
I worked with a really professional tailor named Simon who knew what he was doing and delivered a great product.
How far would you travel for a good suit? Have you ever had a bespoke suit made in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, or Colombia? Subscribe and tell us about your experience in the comments below!