p0nderosa: Vietnam - Hoi An

We had four lovely days in Hoi An, and one of the first things we did when we arrived (besides eat!) was to check out some tailors immediately. Our plan was to get a few things made on the first day, and then get the rest of the orders made through the tailor we liked the most.

I went to the famed Yaly first, and ordered a pair of trousers. I was desperate for a pair of high waisted, tapered pants and at that time couldn't find any in the shops (of course, when I got back home they were in fashion and were available everywhere!) The style was different from the usual suit pant so I was a little worried if they would understand what I was after and if they could pull it off. I also went to Thu Thuy Silk and ordered another pair of the pants in a different material. Yaly charged me $35USD, Thu Thuy $115. The material I chose for the pants in Thu Thuy was of a higher quality, but still the price was significantly different. I also tried out a cheaper tailor recommended by my hotel - De De, and ordered a copy of a dress that I had brought along with me.

The next day I had a number of fittings. Make sure you are prepared for these and have enough time/patience/energy if you have more than one fitting. Hoi An can be very hot and humid, and trying on clothes with silk/satin lining can be a little difficult while covered in sweat! The pants from Yaly were brilliant - a few alterations were needed and they let me pick them up later that day. The pants from Thu Thuy were also very good, although for that price I would be surprised if they weren't! Again some alterations and I was able to pick them up the next morning as I also ordered a jacket to match. The dress I had made at De De was really not great at all. Ill-fitting, a bad material choice (yes, I chose the material but the assistants should be guiding customers to appropriate materials - both Yaly and Thu Thuy would refuse to use some materials if they were not be appropriate for the items I requested). I had the dress altered, but was still not happy with the end result. The dress cost $55USD which was overpriced and I certainly wasn't satisfied.

Having had a few things made, and also having spied on a lot of other tourists & my friend receiving their clothes or getting fittings, I decided I was really happy with Yaly - both their service and cost. I had a number of other items made there, a wool dress, second pair of pants, jacket & vest and was happy with them all. I was also a little worried I wouldn't wear anything once I got home, but all those pants I bought get worn constantly - I love them and they fit me like a glove. I know I have recommended two of the pricier tailors, but honestly, if you want to pay $15 for a pair of pants you will get what you paid for - not much. I witnessed quite a few people buy things from the smaller cheaper tailors and the quality was pretty low. I thought Yaly was a bargain, Thu Thuy overpriced but good quality.

My advice for the tailors - take a few days in Hoi An - I think it can be a bit unrealistic to expect people to make a perfect item for you in less than 24 hours, especially when there are hundreds of other tourists expecting the same. I did witness some tourists get frustrated with the results of their clothes when they had ordered them the night before, and had to leave Hoi An the next day, leaving hardly any time for a fitting or two.

Be realistic about what you are getting made. Most of the tailors in Hoi An are experts in suits and basic/popular clothing styles. They may not be able to create something in the new trend very well as they either may not have seen it before, or have not had experience making it/working with the fabric.

Think about what you want before you get there. Cut out pictures from magazines and bring them along. If you can bother taking it in your luggage, take an item for them to copy. You can spend hours in the tailors just looking through hundreds of magazines looking for things you want, or you can give it to them immediately and spend the rest of that time out in Hoi An, instead of amongst rolls of fabric.

Speaking of fabric, the choice hard to make. Yes, there are hundreds of these tailors, and they have thousands of rolls of fabric. But unless you want to spend hours and hours searching through tailors and rolls of fabric, you can always bring some along with you instead. You can buy fabric from one tailor, and then get another to make something with it, but that still doesn't eliminate the time you will spend searching. I think the hardest thing I found is that some of the materials I specifically wanted I could not find. There is a lot of suit material available for example, but a lot of clothes coming out now are made with a very soft, lightweight, flowy, silky suit material - and in Hoi An the suit material was very standard.

Listen to the tailor. They may say they cannot make your item in particular materials, or may advise against certain changes you want to make. Be firm if you have your mind set on something, but also take on what they have to say as they are the ones experienced in making clothes. I saw a few angry customers who were requesting materials that were not suitable, or requesting alterations which would ruin their item.

Most of all - have fun! Don't be too serious about the whole tailor thing. Most of the clothes you get will cost a small fraction of what you would pay back home. You will end up with some amazing pieces, some not so amazing - but hey, that happens to me every time I purchase something from my home shopping strip, and those hurt the hip pocket more.

I have included some pics of the clothes I had made, sometimes it's hard to know what to expect from Vietnamese tailors when all the pictures you might see are people getting fitted or Ao Dai.