The picturesque city of Hoi An is most notably known for their monthly Lantern Festival.
However, it is also one of the world’s tailoring hubs and should not be missed for this reason alone. With its unique position on the Silk Road, Hoi An served as a major trading port for more than 2000 years, creating an intersection of cultures and serving a growing number of tourists through the centuries.
Despite prior knowledge that Hoi An was the spot for custom clothing, nothing could prepared me for the sheer number of tailoring businesses throughout Hoi An’s old town.
Coming armed with Youtube research and recommendations from our hotel was a blessing in what otherwise would have been an impossible task: choosing between hundreds of shops that lined every street. Shops ranged from high end ventures with sprawling showrooms to crowded indoor markets with individual stalls jammed side by side, stacked ceiling high with hundreds of folds of fabrics in every print and color imaginable.
Prices could also range drastically, but regardless, having anything custom made in Hoi An is still going to be far more budget friendly than most places in the world.
Like any heavily touristed area around the world, shop keepers will try to corral you inside with offers of deep discounts and quick turnarounds. I am easily overwhelmed and turned off by this type of sales tactic, so there were plenty of stores that I bypassed despite being curious about their fabrics.
The Process
The tailors in Hoi An work quickly, with most places being able to complete projects within 24 hours, if not sooner. I recommend visiting a tailor on the first day of arrival to ensure adequate time for fittings and reworks if necessary. My husband had a suit made and we ended up going back two more times to make sure everything was perfect so leave yourself time before you have to leave Hoi An.
As most shops will be able to create any design you like, aside from shop recommendations, choosing the tailor you want will ultimately come down to budget and fabric. I had brought my own favorite dress and pants that I wanted replicated, but when I spoke with shops about other designs, they pulled out iPads and had me show them what I had in mind. The tailors are exceptionally skilled and while some had binders full of designs, it seemed that many of them were able to work from images or photos of designs alone.
As I wanted the pants and dress I had brought with me duplicated, and they were oversized fits, I did not require the careful measuring that my husband needed for his apparel. My husband ended up getting a pair of silk pants, silk button up shirt, a short-sleeve button up and a two-piece suit made. He chose the styles off of the various mannequins in the stores and the tailor made her own recommendations regarding the suit based on his frame.
Pricing
We ended up going to a few different shops so the prices ranged a bit. At a higher end store my dresses came to about $40 usd each, and my husband’s two piece suit with a custom short sleeve dress shirt was around $140 usd. His silk shirt and pants ran around $40.
My favorite items came from a shop inside the dizzying market where the stalls were jam packed side by side.
The endless folds of hundreds of fabrics were so beautiful and I ended up chatting with the sweetest young lady who quoted me $24 for my pants. I chose 3 different fabrics, all with wonderful colors and prints and thin, airy fabric. It was honestly quite difficult to choose as there were so many fun prints to choose from.
Payment and Tipping
For the higher end stores we paid a deposit for half of the price of the entire order, and the second half to be paid upon delivery of the pieces. Most places will take a credit card, but be prepared to pay a small fee if paying with a credit card, roughly 2-5% of the purchase. For all transactions, phone numbers were exchanged on WhatsApp and we agreed on times the following day to do our fittings and pickups.
Tipping a tailor is generally not expected in Vietnam, especially for high end stores where a service fee may be included. However, if you get exceptional service, tips are certainly appreciated.
Fittings and Pick Up
The fittings are a great opportunity to have any additional adjustments as needed. My items being very loose fit, I did not require any adjustments. My husband however had several adjustments to make everything just right, including swapping out button colors on the suit and taking in the sides and length of the silk shirt. If you are new to tailoring, do not be shy about communicating the adjustments you need. There is full expectation that things will need adjusting so kindly let them know what you need since these are clothes that are being custom made for you and should fit perfectly.
We agreed on a time later than evening to review the garments after the adjustements. My husband tried on all the pieces one final time and was satisfied with the changes.
The more casual pieces were folded and bagged for us, and the suit was bagged in a sturdy suit bag that folded in half for easy carrying. We paid the remaining portion and were on our way, ecstatic with our purchases.
I was incredibly impressed at the speed and value of the pieces we had made. I look forward to going back to Hoi An to have more things made as the variety of vibrant fabrics and prints available was unlike anything I have seen back home.
Shop Recommendations
For simpler pieces like my harem pants or dress I would highly recommend the ladies at Thy-Nguyen Cloth Shop, stall A034 inside the Hoang Dieu market. I loved their fabrics and fun prints and I really enjoyed working with them. For pieces like a fitted suit or anything more upscale I would recommend Nhat Silk where my husband had his suit made. Your lodging will also be able to recommend their favorite shops. I wish I had shopped around a bit more for my dresses as I was not thrilled with the color and print options available at the place I had my dresses made, but this is just all the more reason to make my way back to Hoi An.
Custom Leather Goods
We did not take advantage of this, but Hoi An also has custom leather shops where you can have shoes, bags and other leather goods made. As we were not in the market for leather goods I did not get any price quotes, but I was tempted by the variety of styles and colors available for sandals and bags.
Final Thoughts
Hoi An was such a lovely town, and albeit very touristy, did not detract from the energy of the town. We spent only 3 nights there and knew immediately that it was not going to be enough time and are already looking forward to a much longer stay in the future.
