I got some clothes tailored in Hoi An, Vietnam - a testimonial
Hoi An is situated on the north bank of the Thu Bồn River near the coast.
The Vietnamese coastal town Hoi An is famous for its tailors. Hoi An has hundreds of tailor shops due to its historic role as a 16th-century Silk Road trading port, which fostered a deep-rooted tradition of craftsmanship. The industry boomed following its 1999 UNESCO World Heritage designation, attracting tourists seeking, fast, custom-made, and affordable clothing (often within 24–48 hours). I was warned that these tailor shops often are tourist traps. Many would just get your measurements, let you pick a fabric and send it to a sweatshop in the suburbs of Hoi An, where the clothes are produced under eery conditions. However, I did my research and found two tailors with their own in-house tailoring, Yaly Couture and BeBe Tailor.
I wanted a dress similar to this Michael Kors creation from the year 2006.
My first choice - a disappointment
My first choice was Yaly Couture, showing off some very fancy designs on their webpage. At 8 am sharp, I arrived at their workshop, equipped with sketches and pictures. Their bored salesperson tried to sell me a ballroom dress. I had to repeat several times that I wanted to have bespoken pieces. She finally led me to the 2nd floor, where another equally bored girl just shook her head looking at my sketch of the shooting vest I wanted to get tailored. I tried with the easier stuff: a simple T-shirt and a simple long lace dress. I was hoping for silk jersey for the T-shirt but they only had cotton spandex blends and charging 65 US Dollars for a short sleeved T-shirt. With all the work included I would have been fine with that price. Since they did not have the fabric (black, powdery pink or something with flowerprint), I decided to look elsewhere. She did not even bother showing me fabrics for the dress. Disappointed, I left and went to my 2nd choice, BeBe Tailor.
BeBe Tailor - Yes, but…
I tried my luck a few blocks further down the road at BeBe Tailor. I showed them my sketch of the shooting vest and they looked at my like I asked them to fly me to the moon and back. So I pulled out my T-shirt. They did not have a big choice of jersey either but I found the quality and softness I was looking for. It came to 43 CHF (or 55 $) per T-shirt, which was okay for me.
As for the dress I showed them the dress I was wearing and a picture with the fabric I wanted (see picture above). They directed me to some cotton eyelet lace. I love eyelet lace but not for this dress. I already picked the fabric when my eye fell on some lace that was very similar to the one in the picture. I asked for it and they were like “oh, this is too expensive” (do I look so poor?) and “the other is prettier” (it was pretty but not the style I was aiming for). I insisted and I think I convinced them at the end. The dress cost me 160 CHF (or 210 US $) which is perfectly good price for a bespoken tailored lace dress.
At BeBe Tailor they had a big choice of fabric.
We sat down to talk about the details of the dress and the T-shirts. They gave me a tablet with ideas. I thought it was their samples of garments but it was just Pinterest! So I pulled out my phone, gave it to one of the girls, told her that I wanted a short lace dress and let her scroll through my pin board with pretty dresses. I let her pick what she would think was doable. Funnily enough she picked a dress that I personally would have considered as a bit too tricky but anyway, I liked it! I picked another fancy lace, which would make the dress look very different from the one in the picture. The price was 85 CHF, which is a great price for that kind of lace!
When we were done, I walked around the shop to check out some more of their fabrics. One of the girls was following me around and suggesting a women’s suit, when I was admiring a lovely blazer. I gave my shooting vest another try. To make a long story short, with some psychological warfare and a few compromises from my side, I managed to get them to make me one. You can read about it here.
The gray pants that are a bit too tight at the thighs and needed a longer zip.
Rocking the cream-colored silk blouse with the green pants.
The white dress fits like a glove and the sewing is of high quality.
How it went
The shooting vest turned out really nice. There are some flaws here and there but all in all, it does it jobs and looks really elegant.
Two days later, I had to go back for the first fitting. When getting clothes tailored, do not expect them to be perfect on the first fitting. They are meant to be a bit too big and too long, so they can be adjusted perfectly to your bodysize and bodyshape. The T-shirts were exacty copies of the one I gave them as example. The dresses needed some adjustments. I freaked out a little bit, when one of the girls started to chop off the short dress with huge scissors while I was wearing it, not using a skirt hem marker! This could only go wrong. And it went wrong: the short dress is super short now, too short actually. I have to figure something out to make it a bit longer. But the white dress! Oh my God! The white dress is stunning! The only flaw is that they forgot to add the pockets (and to be honest, I forgot to mention it during the first fitting, so that one is also on me).
Also the shooting vest turned out nicely. Convinced by the quality of their work, I decided to get two pants and some silk blouses. The silk blouses were around 100 CHF each, which is an absolute steal for tailored silk blouses. I have a difficult body shape (very slim but at the same time very curvy with a long torso) and I never find pants that fit. Oh well, they underestimated my curves too, which turned the first fitting of the pants into a little comedic act in their fitting rooms: The pants got stuck at my thighs and the girl helping with the fitting had to open the seam at the back. Oh well, now I could pull them up to my butt but not over it. The seam had to be cut open all the way down. The other ladies in the fitting room witnessing the scene had a good laugh. I got sewn into the pants. Done with the fitting, I was told to take them off but I could not. The ladies watching were crying tears how I had to get cut out of the pants.
With a longer zip in the front, the pants fit me on the second fitting, however, they run really tight at the thighs and the butt. They really underestimated my curves. The silk blouses are lovely and the workmanship is of excellent quality. I wore the blood-red one as soon as I got my clothes delivered to my hotel. I got so many compliments! Even the guy renting sunbeds at Cua Dai Beach loved it!
To sum it up
No threads sticking out, no fraying fabric, no loose buttons: The quality of the work is very convincing.
BeBe Tailor really did a great job with my clothes. There are some flaws here and there: The pants could be a bit wider around the hips and thighs, the short dress is a little too short, the jetted pocket in the shooting vest is placed too far to the back and they forgot to add the pockets to the white dress. The T-shirts and the blouses instead are perfect. And the white dress is stunning even without the pockets! Sometimes I felt a little bit rushed and I wish they would have given me more time and space to check out their samples of fabrics and clothes they had there. I tried to haggle but I think they have more or less fixed prices. They rather unwillingly gave me some discount on the silk blouses but there was no discount on anything else. I kind of expected them to give at least some discount, since I got a lot of things done. Since I did not go to another tailor (only to a place where I got a bikini and swimsuit done), I cannot say if BeBe Tailor is more expensive in comparison to others, however, I think I got my money’s worth at BeBe’s.
Some practical tipps for getting clothes tailored in Hoi An
I researched before arriving in Hoi An which tailors I wanted to check out. However, there are so many! Most have very similar dresses and suits exhibited but there are some that have a very unique style. Try looking in situ which tailor has the style that you want. Not all of them have websites and Google Reviews are not always helpful, especially when it comes to style.
Bring pictures of clothes you like or clothes you already own and want to get replicated. They are really good at copying with little alterations. In my experience, they struggle designing something from scratch (since they are tailors and not designers). Go on Pinterest and research what you want so that you have something to show them. They seem to work best with pictures or already exisiting clothes. You might also look around at the shop directly and pick an exhibited design.
Have a clear idea what you want but at the same time be flexible: You will have to decide on many details such as buttons and zips. However, they might not have exactly what you imagine and you might have to adapt to what they can work with.
Be prepared to pick your fabric from very small samples. Since they have a big choice, it is helpful having already a rough idea of what material, color or pattern you want, to narrow the choices down to a reasonable amount.
Do not expect perfection on the first fitting. The clothes will be too big and too long. That’s the way it should be. From there, they will adapt the clothes to the shape of your body and you will have the possibility to decide if you want your garments a bit wider or more fitting, shorter or longer.
Give yourself and them enough time. The quality will be much better if they can take their time and you can come in for as many fitting as you need.
Keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Cheaper often means that the fabrics used are lower quality and that you get less fittings.
